Suburban maestros share at flower and garden show

Jim Kleinwachter understands if you are afraid that “native” plants will translate to “messy and weedy” in your yard, but he wants you to come to the Chicago Flower and Garden Show and change your mind.

The Sustainable Yard is just one of the many gardens that suburban gardeners are working on for the flower and garden show, which runs from March 5-13 at Navy Pier in Chicago.

As usual, you'll see such wonders as spectacular streams and ponds and a larger-than-life croquet lawn with balls, wickets and mallets made from orchids (yes, live orchids).

And the gardeners hope you will learn a few things.

Native

Conservation at Home: The Sustainable Yard

Native plants are just part of the plan when Conservation@Home helps homeowners make their yards more eco-friendly, says Kleinwachter, manager of the project.

This program of the Naperville-based Conservation Foundation is also about rain barrels, permeable paving, butterfly gardens and fighting invasives.

He admits one goal is to convince you to reduce the turf around your home because it requires mowing, fertilizer, raking and herbicides. Besides that, it is not friendly to wildlife and does not protect local streams.

Kleinwachter is speaking at 2:30 on Monday, March 7.

To learn about the foundation's farm in Naperville, visit theconservationfoundation.org. A major partner in this garden is localgreenconnect.com.

Among the lessons from this garden:

ŸOf course you can't grow grass under an oak tree. Try plants that grow in the woods: Trillium, bloodroot, May apples, wild ginger, Jack-in-the pulpit.

ŸAnd out in the sun, try coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, liatris, columbine.

ŸWet spots will grow carex, which looks like grass, and for those dry areas there are even native, hardy cactuses.

ŸNot that you could miss them, but be sure to check out the urban chickens.

Orchids

A Curious Croquet Ground

Yes, we're talking Alice in Wonderland here. Most of the orchids in the display will be phalaenopsis, says Loren Pollack, president of the Illinois Orchid Society.

They come in white, pink, green, spotted, striped, yellow and purple. Some are 4 inches across.

But of course, he wants you to know that there are many other varieties of orchids available. Visit IOSOC.com.

The word about these gorgeous flowers:

ŸMost importantly, Pollack wants to convince you that orchids are easy to grow. Yes, easy. Some grow naturally in the shade, and don't need a lot of light. There are even some that grow outdoors in northern Illinois.

ŸThe society also wants you to join the bandwagon to save rain forests around the word because most of these orchids really do grow on trees. So if the trees are gone, so are the orchids.

ŸOrchids grow in bark mixtures, not dirt. And not all like humidity — some perch on top of cactuses.

ŸIf you see an orchid growing — say in a forest preserve — do not pick it. But you can buy some to grow in your yard, and of course folks in the society will give you lots of tips if you come to their meetings or their annual show March 26 and 27 at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

The Great Outdoors

Orion Land Water Snow

Orion is a Gilberts-based company that will promote the joys of hiking with a pond, stream and even a small mountain.

The extreme view of how to enjoy the outdoors reflects Orion's evolution over the years into landscape design, installation, and maintenance that includes snow removal, said owner Miguel Sotelo. Visit orionlandscape.net.

Ideas for plant materials for your home abound:

ŸVisitors will see spruce, pine and Canadian hemlock, said Eric Hartwig, vice president of operations. And if you are considering shrubs, you will be able to check out juniper, mugo pine and boxwood.

ŸFlowering trees might only bloom for a short time, but to many homeowners they are worth it. You can decide for yourself when you see blossoms on forced trees: serviceberry, dogwoods and crabapples.

ŸBlooming shrubs you might consider for your yard are a low-growing forsythia named Bronx that could even be used as a ground cover; quince and Korean Spice viburnum.

ŸOrnamental shrubs that earn their living with beauty besides flowers are red-twig dogwood, whose name describes its charms, and cotoneaster, which provides red berries in fall and winter.

Wild Whitewater Wonderland

Reflections Water Light Stone, Inc.

Larry Carnes of West Dundee is determined to make your water feature look natural.

To that end he often travels to the St. Louis area to get weathered limestone, complete with moss and veins.

For the show he will build his scene inspired by the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee with black stones deposited by glaciers in what is now a tree farm. Visit reflectionswaterlightstone.com

Carnes has many tips for homeowners with pond lust:

ŸIf you are serious about your fish, your pond should be at least 2 feet deep, but consider going down 5 feet. And don't make those shelves any wider than they have to be to hold plants because they can turn into spots for herons and raccoons to stand while they fish. Be sure to provide places for the golden beauties to hide — caves and “logs.”

ŸGo see the actual work done by the company you are considering — don't rely on photos.

ŸPlants around a pond can feature lots of natives including iris, indigo, sedges, sweet flag and rushes. And of course you might want a showstopping lotus. The water lilies should be hybrids, not natives, which might take over the pond.

ŸA rainwater reservoir can be built underground and engineered to keep your pond full.

hicago Flower & Garden Show

<b>Where</b>: Navy Pier, Chicago

<b>When</b>: March 5-13

<b>Hours</b>: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

<b>Tickets</b>: Weekdays, $15, $13 4-8 p.m.; weekends, $17; children ages 4-12 are always $5.

<b>Parking</b>: Discounted parking is available for $14 with special tickets from information booths inside the show.

<b>Etc.</b>: Besides the 25 gardens, there are educational seminars, culinary exhibitions, competitions, a marketplace and a kids playground.

Information: Chicagoflower.com