Gardening
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A kaleidoscope of oddball tomatoes to try as seed-starting season nears
Feb 17, 2026 4:55 pm - Seed-starting time is right around the corner, and that means it’s time to think about tomatoes. There’s a whole kaleidoscope of tomatoes you can grow in your garden.
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Tips on composting to improve garden soil and starting seeds for annualsFeb 17, 2026 2:21 pm - Chicago Botanic Garden director Tim Johnson shares tips on composting to improve garden soil and starting seeds for slow-growing annuals.
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How to choose and care for cut flowersFeb 10, 2026 4:07 pm - Valentine’s Day is coming, and cut flowers make a great gift for your special person.
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‘Everyone’s tired of winter’: Chicago Botanic Garden’s annual orchid show offers a colorful escape
Feb 10, 2026 3:52 pm - Outside it’s cold, but it’s warm — and colorful — inside at the Chicago Botanic Garden’s 12th annual orchid show. This year’s theme is “Feelin’ Groovy.”
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Home & garden calendar, Feb. 15-22Feb 10, 2026 3:03 pm - Upcoming gardening club meetings and events in the Chicago suburbs, covering topics like houseplants, nature journaling, and more.
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The first bloom of the year is here, even if it’s buried in snow
Feb 10, 2026 1:23 pm - The first wildflower of the year is already blooming — even if it is still covered in snow. The spiky shoots of the eastern skunk cabbage poke through the mud in mid-January, months before other plants begin to wake up.
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Backyard vegetable gardens are healthy for people and the planet. Here's how to start yours
Feb 10, 2026 12:22 pm - It doesn't get more local, organic and in-season than a backyard vegetable garden.
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The case for keeping your garden dark at night
Feb 10, 2026 12:16 pm - Artificial outdoor lighting negatively affects insects, birds, bats and other small mammals, and it can even make the plants in your garden less productive.
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Snow protects your garden beds. Trees might need some help
Feb 10, 2026 11:51 am - Shoveling in single-digit temperatures after a colossal winter storm, I dumped mounds of snow onto my garden beds, knowing it would protect my trees, shrubs and dormant perennials.
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Record cold has fireplaces working overtime. Should those ashes be put to use in the garden?
Feb 10, 2026 11:44 am - With record cold gripping much of North America this winter, many who find themselves with an abundance of fireplace ashes are wondering whether they can use them in the garden.