An Urban Rooftop Garden for Pollinators

My name is Enrique Zuniga. My husband, Christian Altman, our three dogs, and I live in Forest Park, Illinois (Zone 5b), which is located just west of downtown Chicago. Both Christian and I have had a love of gardening since we were children, but we fully tapped into our inner gardener when we were presented with the opportunity to work with a yard full of turf grass when we moved to our current house in 2017. The vast majority of the yard gets full sun, so we decided to remove large patches of turf grass and plant sun-loving perennials that are mostly native to Illinois.

Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.

It’s well known that the housing market is so competitive right now, but prospective home buyers aren’t the only ones hurting—renters are, too. According to personal finance website WalletHub, inflation has impacted rental prices, and 2022 saw the second-highest price growth in decades with a 6.2% year-over-year increase. 

Waterperry is a small village eight miles east of Oxford. It lies on the River Thame (not to be confused with River Thames), though the Thame does end up feeding into the Thames. The extensive gardens and river-side setting offer a combination of formal gardens, flowing herbaceous borders and wildlife meadows by the river. Helenium

London Holland Park’s water feature in Kyoto Garden.

Britain has some of the best gardens in the world. The choice of which to visit is far larger than this selective list but at least it gives you somewhere to start planning this years outings.

Credits Avocadoes Camknows CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 “avocadoes by Elsa4Sound CC BY-NC 2.0

On the new craze of gardening for cut flowers, where America starts will we follow or is it really voice versa?

Holland Park has some Zen like features but fails my Zen test. The classic elements of a successful Zen are stone, sand or gravel, water, plants and space. Then there is a question of balance between yin and yang. Cramped or cluttered gardens inhibit the flow of spirit so space is potentially the key ingredient of a Zen garden.

Fall bird migration is in full swing in South Carolina. As our temperatures cool and the days get shorter, many birds start preparing to move south. Many warblers pass through the South Carolina Botanical Garden (SCBG) on their way to subtropical and tropical areas. If you visit the SCBG with your binoculars, you may see some warblers in the migratory flight path located below and behind the Bob Campbell Geology Museum.

Late summer and early fall are great times to plant perennials, making it an excellent opportunity to add more pollinator plants to your landscape.

Part of the Clemson Horticulture Team recently visited the Landsford Canal State Park in Chester County.  It was established in 1970 when Duke Power donated 194 acres. The park has now grown to 448 acres and contains the original 2 miles of the Landsford Canal. The canal was built between 1820 and 1825 to bypass the Catawba River rapids. The rocky shoals of the Catawba River contain one of the largest populations of the Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies.