The Garden Club

Index

  • Goals
  • Membership
  • Abbreviations
  • Native Plants Garden
  • Gardens at Carmen and Marine
  • Activity by Season

    • Goals

    The Carmen-Winona Garden Club has goals:

    • to work on public gardening projects in our neighborhood,
    • to learn from one another,
    • to boost community spirit, and
    • to add beauty.
    In the past, civic-minded residents planted and weeded these plots on their own initiative. By combining efforts as an "official" organization we can help each other and (as with the block club) gain leverage with the city through the alderman's office. [index]

    Updates

    Abbreviations:
    • C/M-E, C/M-NW, C/M-SW: the three small public plots at the intersection of Carmen and Marine. The C/M-E strip plot is on Park District land; the other two are next to traffic roundouts.
    • NG: the native plants perennial garden at the site of the former play lot in Margate Park [index]

    Spring 2008

    4/8/08: Interested in Gardening?

    After a long and tiresome winter, Spring is finally in the air. Preliminary work is underway to clear our gardens of matted leaves, dry stalks and pieces of wind-blown paper. Some of the early plants are making an appearance.

    We're interested in finding someone who would like to be the "head gardener" for the round-out plot on the NW side of the Carmen-Marine intersection ("C/M-NW"). If you've done a little gardening in the past and would like the satisfaction of planting and tending flowers in that plot, please let Ned Read know (edward.read at gmail.com). We would work together with you on this project and provide club funds for the purchase of plants.

    Maybe you would just like to lend a hand working with us in some garden or another, as your time permits. Let Ned know of your interest and you can be put on our email list. [index]

    Spring 2007

    4/24/07: Ornamental Fence for the Natives Garden Joe Trendl, president of the Margate Park Advisory Council, announced at our 4/24/07 meeting that the Alderman and the Park District have taken the first planning steps toward the installation of a new ornamental fence around the Native Plants Garden in Margate Park. Joe worked with the Alderman's office to press for this outcome, which was a long-standing goal for us.

    This is very good news and, with the newly installed benches, will make the garden a more attractive stopping place. The existing fence was put up for protection but it is not particularly attractive; early on it led a group of children to ask if we were keeping rabbits inside.

    We have many to thank, including: the Alderman and her staff (particularly Tom Samuels), the Park District, and Joe Trendl who has been a skillful community advocate. Actual installation of the fence is not likely for a month or so. [index]

    4/18/07: New Benches Installed at Natives Garden The Chicago Park District made good on a promise to the Margate Park Advisory Council to install benches at the Natives Garden. Two were placed on the east side and one on the north. This is an enhancement for the garden and we appreciate it. [index]

    Fall 2006

    9/28/06: Perennials from GreenCorps Planted at Carmen/Marine Don Brown and Ned Read planted approximately 40 perennials in the C/M-E, C/M-NW and C/M-SW plots that were provided to the Carmen-Winona Garden Club on GreenCorps' Perennial Distribution Day for community gardners. Plant types included: Coneflower, Coral Bells, Coreopsis, Phlox and Lillies. [index]

    Admiral Donates Boulders to Protect Gardens in Roundouts: The Admiral has generously donated four large boulders to be placed in the four intersection roundouts at Carmen/Marine and Winona/Marine. This was an act of good will that followed the year-long process during which the community negotiated with the Admiral over its development plans. The stones should inspire new "respect" in motorists who are tempted to take a short cut across a roundout. [index]

    Summer 2006

    Regular Maintenance: Regular weeding is being performed in C/M-E. The normal rainfall this season is very positive for the garden.

    An Agastache, planted during the summer drought of 2005 in the front center of C/M-E has grown so large that it obscures interesting plants behind it. The plant will be moved to a better location in the fall. [index]

    Plant Replacements and Additions: The Bicknells Sedges, looking somewhat like green corn shocks in the natives garden, are being replaced and only one tied-up clump remains. The substitutes are: 3 Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans), 3 Little Blue Stem (Andropogon Scoparius), and 3 Switch Grass (Panicum virgatum). Also added were: 1 Sweet Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia subtomentosa), 2 Common Ironweed (Vernonia fasciculata), 2 Sand Tickweed (Coreopsis lanceolata), 2 Wild Petunia (Ruellia humilis), and 1 Culver's Root (Veronicastrum virginicum). [index]

    Spring 2006

    Rains Get the Community Gardens Off to a Good Start: After the drought of 2005, normal rainfall is a welcome relief. All the hours of watering during the dry days of summer and fall 2005 have paid off, especially with respect to the native plants garden. Virtually all of the natives have made a green reappearance this spring. The signs on the native garden have been renewed. The signs note that this is the second year for the garden, and repeat the old saw: "The first year they peep, the second year creep and the third year leap."

    It's true that native plants are hardy and survive adverse conditions, but first they have to become established. It would have been a tragedy to lose many of the newly planted natives to the drought, so on many hot, dry days of 2005 the hoses were attached to the hydrant and dragged across Marine to water the gardens. It was hard to share the watering duties even though a number of people offered to help. Watering of the community gardens requires about 4 hours from start to finish. Four or five separate hoses are connected to stretch the reqiuired distance of about 200 feet. The weight of the hoses necessitates that they be moved on the utility wagon. Once the hoses are all stretched out it makes sense to water for two to three hours. All in all, most people don't have time to carry out one of these watering sessions. [index]

    Bicknells Sedges: Although they look green and healthy, the Bicknells Sedges (Carex Bicknelli) in the native garden have grown out with almost no vertical component in flat pancakes of 3 - 4 foot diameter. This was unexpected and undesirable. They were staked up in sheaves so that they did not lie on top of neighboring plants. [index]

    Planting Annuals: Three of us planted Allysum (white and purple), Ageratum, Celosia, and Marigolds around the borders in the C/M-E strip plot. Thanks, Don and Daniel. [index]

    Membership

    Membership is entirely voluntary. We send announcements of upcoming activity and calls to action through an email/snailmail list. The more people who contribute, the more we gain (and the more we will have to show). There is no expectation that members be gardening experts or that they commit to a rigid work schedule of some kind. Start now and learn from each other in work that improves our neighborhood. Click the "contact us" link to get on the notification list or stop by when you see someone working on a plot. [index]

    Volunteer Officers

    • Ned Read (Coordinator)

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