by dagenie1984 | Jun 16, 2026 | Gardening Basics & Soil
People hear “drought-tolerant” and picture gravel and cactus, which always makes me laugh a little. Out here in the Chicago suburbs — DuPage County, the western collar, the spread from Naperville to Schaumburg — a low-water garden looks lush. It’s...
by dagenie1984 | Jun 6, 2026 | Lawn & Yard Care
After more than ten years of fussing over my own patch of grass on the Northwest Side, I’ve learned that spring lawn care in Chicago is less about a calendar date and more about reading the ground in front of you. We sit in USDA Zone 5b–6a, which means our...
by dagenie1984 | May 26, 2026 | Gardening Basics & Soil
If you garden anywhere in the Chicago area — city lot, Cook County bungalow, DuPage subdivision — you already know the soil’s dirty little secret. Dig down a few inches and you hit clay. Heavy, gray, sticky-in-spring, brick-hard-in-August clay. I spent my first...
by dagenie1984 | May 12, 2026 | Landscaping & Design
I’ve been gardening in and around Chicago for over ten years now, and the single question I get asked most often isn’t about a plant at all. It’s “Julia, how do I find someone good to actually install this stuff?” Folks see a...
by dagenie1984 | Sep 24, 2025 | Seasonal Garden Care
Chicago’s first frost typically arrives around October 15, with the first hard freeze at O’Hare averaging October 19—though it can sneak in anywhere from September 22 to November 24. That narrow window between comfortable working weather and winter’s...
