Last Frost Dates for Belvidere and Rockford

I have had many new gardeners ask "When is the last frost date for the Belvidere/Rockford area?" I usually plant with the date of May 15 as being safe. Belvidere and Rockford are in an area that gets different temps than Chicago. I consider us a zone 4 although many sites and charts list us as zone 5. I plant as if we are zone 4. After doing a lot of research on the internet, going to official government sites, the Farmers Almanac and extension sites, I will say that most of them had April 28th as the last frost date. The Farmers Almanac had at a 50% probability date; around May 15. I am planning on putting some lettuce seeds in the ground right around April 30 just to see what happens. Otherwise I'll wait till May 15th. Better safe than sorry.

A Time To Sow.

This week Pat and I have been transplanting and sowing. We transplanted leek seedlings, broccoli and brussel sprouts. We have been planting seeds, lots of them, for vegetables, herbs and flowers. There were some teeny tiny seeds you almost have to hold your breath while planting, for fear they will blow away. Especially the German Chamomile.
I am always amazed that you sow these small objects and in a few months you have plants, in a few more months, food.
As I left the green house today I felt a great sense of accomplishment when I looked down the rows of flats. Rows of hope. Rows of wonder.

Recycling for the garden

I have always been one to reuse items in the garden. At our old house I had taken old pitchforks and stuck them in the garden. I attached bird houses on the top of the handle. That made them movable when I was weeding (as long as no one was living in them of course. I had an old iron bed that was a "bed of lettuce". I built a raised bed, attached the frame and plated my lettuce. I made a quilt of the different colored lettuces. When the lettuce was done I planted annuals then in the fall I transplanted the annuals for fall color to other parts of the garden and replanted lettuce in the bed. I have made old workboots into planters, taken an old iron heat grate and used the grate part of it to cover my cistern hole and the frame part was hung as wall art.
When we moved into our new home, a 50's ranch, there was a big brick planter that was attached to the front of the house.
I tried planting flowers in it the first year but the soil was dead and nothing would grow so I needed to come up with another solution. Since I love water in the garden I decided to make it into a goldfish pond. I dug out the soil to the depth I wanted and tamped the remaining soil to harden it.
I then added a heavy pond liner.
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I used a heavy duty contruction adhesive that bonded to cement. I added wood to hold it in place till the adhesive dried.

When it was dry my husband bordered the top of the liner with cedar, I added water and a filter and let it sit for a week before I added my fish. I added plants and was happy with it but it still needed more.

I wanted a fountain. I took an old fluorescent light fixture we had removed from our kitchen, removed the guts and painted the frame copper.

I added tiles I got from the Habitat for Humanity Reuse store and attched them to a cement board backing. I drilled a hole in the top tile and added a box for the water to fill up and I had a fountain. We hung it on the wall above the pond and it pathetically poured into the pond. I had wanted a wall of water.

So I decided to add fountains in the pond. What to use? I have always like stone and spheres and symmetry so I chose bowling balls! I went to the local resale shop and bought three bowling balls for 1.99 each. I had my husband bring home a masonry drill from work and he drilled the holes for me.
You can also go to a bowling alley that has a pro shop and have them drill the holes for you. I sprayed on a primer. Then a spray on product that looks like stone, then a top coat of sealer.

I used pvc pipe, recycled from a work site dumpster, to hold them up to the right hieght in the water.


And this is the finished project. I love it! It will be even better when it warms up enough for me to add my fish and plants!

A Winter Gardening Fix

As a gardener living in Northern Illinois, winter can seem like forever. Perusing garden catalogs fills the void in January, making garden plans helps in February, but by March I am just itching for the smell of soil and plants. So the only solution is to head out to the Chicago Garden Show.
Pat and I went on a cold and rainy day into Chicago, which is a 2 hour drive (in Chicago traffic) from Belvidere. As soon as we walked in the smell of flowers hit us. It was wonderful. We were instantly drawn to the displays and oohed and aahed over all the plants. My particular obsession is with water gardens. Anything with water draws me in. Below are just a few of the many pictures I took of the water features.

This was a small waterfall that went into a rock depression instead of a pond.

This picture shows a downspout filter that saves water to be used in water features. A pump and hose can be attached sends the water to a pond, fountain, stream.

This fountain is made up of rock formations that have been drilled and put together to form a grouping. Pricey for the poorer gardener!

This is a fantastic alternative to the above fountain. Concrete forms were used to make the 3 pillars in this version. I love this idea!

Mood lighting, water and fog, what more could you add?

This guy is just plain funny!

Simple and calming.

This was a Mexican fountain. The water came out of the structure and poured out over the stone slab.

This is a picture of my house, an old 50's ranch. See the brick planter attached to the front of the house? Next post I will show you how I turned it into a fish pond and show you my recycled fountains.
I know this has nothing to do with Heirloom plants but I can't resist sharing!