shining bright in near isolation?

Anna Stathaki

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.

Need to take that plain wooden side table up a notch? Make it Moroccan! In this tutorial I’ll show you how to create a stylish Moroccan side table that will quickly become a conversation piece. This technique can be used to create a variety of designs, so you can apply it to any project you want! Ready to make a side table worth of resting your morning coffee on? Follow my step-by-step tutorial below to get started today!

You may have already noticed that rice prices are higher than normal, which is largely due to the impacts of the war in Ukraine and erratic weather for the leading global suppliers of the grain. Now, India, the world’s largest exporter of rice, just banned nearly half of its overall shipments in order to reduce its domestic prices following heavy rains, which impacted the rice harvest. You might be asking, “What does this mean for me?”—we’ve got you covered. The good news is, if you’re worried about how the ongoing global rice shortage could impact your plate, you’re not alone, but you don’t need to panic. 

The UK is experiencing a significant drought following a very wet spring. Trees were encouraged to put on extra foliage and they are now regretting the extra moisture they need to transpire. This is leading to more cracks in the surface soil and could lead to permanent damage.

Are these gloomy winter days getting you down? One way to brighten up your home is the addition of tropical houseplants. Some of my favorite flowering ones are moth orchids (Phalaenopsis species), amaryllis (Hippeastrum species), cyclamens (Cyclamen persicum), kalanchoes (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana), and African violets (Saintpaulia ionantha). I also like adding interesting foliage plants such as bird’s nest (Asplenium nidus) and rabbit foot ferns (Davallia fejeensis), pothos (Epipremnum aureum), heartleaf philodendrons (Philodendron hederaceum), and snake plants (Dracaena trifasciata). An indoor garden, especially during the winter, helps satisfy my need to be surrounded by plants. My husband claims he’s living in an indoor jungle but secretly enjoys being surrounded by plants.

ANOTHER POST IS NEAR THE CENTURY MARK, our second in 7 months here on A Way to Garden. The first was Garden No-No’s; now here comes ‘Why Do You Garden?’ to challenge its lead.

IAM NOT SURE ALL MY PLANTS GOT THE ORDER in time, because some of the opposing forces seem to have found their targets and chewed, felled or otherwise savaged more than a few things around here.

OUR SPRING HERE HAS BEEN SO SLOW TO GET COOKING that I let the tender bulbs I’d stashed in the basement, like cannas and dahlias, all sleep a little longer this year. But now I’m sounding reveille, and saying “be up, be doing” like my Grandma used to say to me.

Fourth annual Moth Night, part of National Moth Week, in Taconic State Park, led by expert entomologists (co-hosted with Friends of Taconic State Park), 7 PM onward; ticket info.Saturday August 19: Open Day and Native Plant Talks10-4 Garden Conservancy Open Day at my garden, plus plant sale with Broken Arrow Nursery11 AM native plant lecture by Claudia West of

My new acquaintance (top photo) was Hypoprepia fucosa, the painted lichen moth, one of a group of mostly bright-colored insects listed in the guide as lichen moths.First I refreshed my memory a bit on lichen, of which there are three kinds: those that grow on trees or shrubs (epiphytic types); others that grow on the ground (terrestrial); and ones like those on my terrace—rock-dwelling, or saxicolous lichens. The painted lichen moth doesn’t have a relationship with that lichen on my patio stones, but rather with the epiphytic types, I quickly learned, but I wanted to know more, and dashed off a series of questions to Seabrooke (who with the Northeast moth guide collaborator David Beadle is currently working on a Southeast volume):Q. What is this group of moths’ relationship to lichens, anyhow?A: One of the fascinating things about moths as a group is that if it in any way resembles a plan

SAVE THE DATES! I’m putting the finishing touches on my 2018 workshop and tour calendar in Copake Falls, NY. Note: No tickets or reservations are required for May 5 and Aug. 18 garden Open Days, but for all the other events and also for “extras” like talks and workshops on those Open Days, reservations are required.