Garden links, information,and resources for people who garden!

Well just as I was thinking the new year would start out a bit slow I had to hurry up and review a landscape plan yesterday afternoon before a big meeting. The project is the new Radiation Accelerator Building but that is not what the landscape plan was. The building will be built at the North West Corner of the South Parking Lot. Apparently the only thing that was holding up permitting of the project is our non compliance of the Landscape Ordinance Specifically the South Parking Lot.

Chicago has a very strict landscape ordinance when it comes to commercial properties. In order to screen commercial parking lots wrought iron fences shrubs and trees are required to help keep the heat down by shading the asphalt also to help reduce pollution and contribute to a pleasing environment.This has really made for a very nice setting for people to live, work , and visit the City Of Chicago while making us a leader in the green movement.

Currently Chicago is one of the finalist to host the 2016 Olympic Games and our campus is just two blocks from the proposed Olympic Village. I think a part of what drew the Olympic committee to chooses us as a finalist is the city has been a leader in green city and environmental issues for many years.

So to make a long story short the deadline has come for us to meet the requirements and this is the only lot that has not been upgraded. So we have submitted a plan that if approved by the City Forestry Department will bring us into compliance. Once we receive the approval the building permit will be issued contingent upon us completing the Parking Lot Upgrade before the building will be issued a certificate of occupancy.

Some people think it is overkill or a waste of money to spend this kind of revenue on aesthetics but in reality it is not. We need to protect the environment from all the damage we have inflicted on it. If we can reduce the temperature in the city a few degrees and have more oxygen producing trees and shrubs . A more serene place for people to relax and work than we have contributed to the over all good.

The next step will to be to put together a bid package for the landscape work and get our bids so that we can get started as early as the weather permits.

Well that is it for this year wishing you and yours a very happy prosperous and peaceful new year.

It is the end of 2008 and the New Year will start in just 3 days it is at this time of the year that I like to sit down and spend a couple of hours reviewing the past year and evaluating successes and failures. Also like to see if there were things that could have been done differently that would have given the same results. It is something that I have done in my personal life as long as I can remember and something that I have adapted to the urban garden.

I have found that not only is it amazing the amount of work that has gotten accomplished but looking over the growth of the trees and plantings it is sometimes hard to believe how fast things grow. This is also the time I start thinking about replacing or moving those things that did not perform to expectations. I also like to plan a head a little for upcoming projects which I know will be happening this year.

I anticipate the long awaited addition will start this spring after the weather breaks. That will mean more dust and dirt as well as landscape renovation once it is complete. I also have been told that it is possible that we will be rebuilding a parking lot in the front of the hospital. If this comes about it will be a very major project including new asphalt, planting islands, irrigation ,lighting, and of course wrought iron fencing. This could easily be a $400,000.00 project. Having recently done 3 lots this one should be a relatively easy one to oversee.

Overall the year has been a success and there were a few glitches which were worked out. I am pretty well pleased with everything and feel that going into 2009 we are poised to turn the Urban Garden into even a more beautiful urban oasis.

Well here we are at Christmas week already at the urban garden. It has been very busy here the last two weeks with snow and ice storms. A bit early for so much winter weather and certainly not welcomed by me. We have a good snow cover on the ground right now which tends to make it even colder than it already is. It was -7 degrees yesterday morning certainly not what I as a Florida boy likes to wake up to. We have put in a lot of hours on snow and ice abatement and it will certainly wear you down as you just finish up with one winter weather event and here comes the next one.

With Christmas week here I look forward to having two days off in the middle of the week and a chance to recuperate from those long shifts. I have a feeling though that as with past years Christmas Eve may be spent taking care of yet another snow storm. Even though officially winter has just began there is some hope. After today every day we will receive just a little bit more daylight and with this smidgen of extra daylight our days once again grow longer leading us to warmer and much more enjoyable weather and time to get out in the garden again. Oh I know just day dreaming there is still a long cold winter ahead.

I would like to take this moment to wish all my visitors and readers a very Joyous and Happy Holiday season and to wish for you peace and prosperity in the upcoming new year!

With winter fast approaching it is important to remember that while we enjoy our gardens a good part of the year that that is not the only things that gardens do. Our gardens are also homes for many creatures big and small and not only do they live in our gardens they also depend on them for their very survival. As the ground cools and freezes and the snow cover takes over a great deal of these creatures burrow down and go into hibernation for the long winter months . Not all the creature in your garden do that. The birds are still around and they do get very hungry especially when the snow is covering the ground. How do I know just take a look at the picture below do these little guys look hungry to you?

These Guys Are Hungry And Enjoy A Free Meal

As you can see every one is fighting to get a little food and as one gets a little bite another one comes flying in to nudge their way in for some. Providing a bird feeder in you garden in the winter months or for that matter year round is a great way to help our feathered friends. Aside from helping these guys out it is also a great source of entertainment. As you can see from the photo above they will put on a great show when they come to feed. After a while you will notice that they same birds come every day and if you pay attention you will notice that each and every one of them have their own traits and personality.

It is a great winter past time helping to take care of our little feathered friends and there is nothing that will put a smile on your face better on a cold dull winters day than to look out your window and see a load of birds wiggling and acrobatics in this way and that to get at some of that bird food. And at the same time knowing your little effort helps make their lives easier. Yes providing a winter bird feeder is good stewardship of your garden.

Well it is not really that bad but it does feel like the dead of winter this morning . There is a new covering of snow from a small storm yesterday and the temperature right now is 11 degrees as I write this. Winter in reality does not start for another two weeks. It sure has felt like it here for the last week or so.

The good news is that aside from some bales of hay and a little lighting work all the Christmas decorating is done. I should hope we will be done on Monday with that as long as we do not get too much snow tonight. A small two or three inch snow can sometimes be as devastating as a foot of snow here at the urban garden. With a lot of people on walkers or in wheel chairs a little bit of slippery pavement can be very dangerous. So every winter weather event requires prompt attention for our patients ,visitors , and employees safety. That is probably the most challenging things about the urban garden keeping up with the winter weather and keeping the grounds safe. Most everything else we do is aesthetics but when it comes to keeping the parking lots, roads, and sidewalks safe that is a crucial part of keeping the hospital open.

Aside from the holiday decorations and keeping up with the winter weather we are also busy with ordinary grounds duties. This coming week we will be putting together some sidewalk mount signs and some ground mount signs reserving parking for the physicians as a third of their parking lot will be going away during a construction project slated to start the week after next. This seems like a simple task but believe me when I say this could quickly turn into a major problem if the physicians come to the hospital and have to drive around looking for parking. Most of them are in a hurry to make rounds and get back to the office and some may be coming in to perform surgery. Any way you look at it we need to have parking available for the Doctors. It is really a simple equation No Doctors = No Patients No Patients = No Need For The Hospital . So it is best to keep the doctors coming to the hospital and bringing their patients here. 

At any rate we still can find plenty to do in the winter. There are pieces of equipment to be cleaned repaired and painted. There is always plenty of organizing and cleaning the shop available as well as trimming the trees and working on the beds as weather permits. Not to mention washing and waxing the vehicles. Yes never a want for work at the urban garden.