Yard art takes a bold turn in this Old Town garden Annie Novak: Worlds cutest urban farmer

Blooms we cant wait to wear

GARDEN
LIFE, OUTDOORS
Spring 2013

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CHILL-OUT

GARDEN
DIGEST

NAOMI BECKWITH, Marilyn and Larry Fields Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, checks into La Mosquee spa. When visiting Paris, I refuse to leave until Ive paid a visit to La Mosque, a truly traditional hammam, or Turkish bath. Its a great place to get fabulous traditional services and pretend Im a grand lady in an Ingres painting.

PAIR
LIKE PIET
Have you ever been swept away by the river of salvia in Millennium Parks Lurie Garden or watched bee balm sparkle against its swaying grasses and wished to take that home? Now you can. Some of the Luries most loved perennial combinations pairings that are tribute to the genius of famed designer Piet Oudolf go on sale at garden centers this spring. Each of the four combinations, offered by Garden Artistry, comes in a at of 10 pint pots of two kinds of plants, with a diagram suggesting how to arrange them in the garden. In Cry Me a River youll nd two of the salvias used at Lurie; Onions n Mint includes allium and frothy white calamint; Home Sweet Hummelo pairs Autumn moor grass with wood betony; and More to Bee-Hold combines a lavender-blue bee balm with native prairie dropseed grass. Each 10-plant set is expected to sell for about $55, depending on the retailer. For local retailers, see gardenartistryinspires.com. Beth Botts

MANLY

S TA R T H E R E

DOUGLAS VAN TRESS, co-owner of antiques and

rare furnishings shop The Golden Triangle, heads to Haberdash, 607 N. State St. When I have 20 minutes and want the perfect pair of jeans, I walk in, get help and nd exactly what I want. American-made, awless t, solid, stylish and in sync with the times. This is my mens store.
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz

Let the Lurie light your gardening re with its annual Spring Festival & Plant Sale, May 11. Stock up on plants, including the Garden Artistry pairings, and see your proceeds go to support garden programming. While youre shopping, check out the free tours and hands-on gardening tips.

On the cover: Photo by Laurie Rubin; styling, Diane Ewing; props, MOSS Modern Flowers, Forest Park, Il. Editors Cindy Dampier and David Syrek / Art Director David Syrek / Picture Editor Michael Zajakowski / Advertisers call Denise DiCianni at 312-222-4607
APRIL 14, 2013 | 7

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From flood f lood

to fabulous

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Can a tool be

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Contact Denise DiCianni

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FO
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8 | CHICAGO TRIBUNE MAGAZINE

D
A

GARDEN
D I G E S T

Epoch measures
Cascading vines and bloom-encrusted surfaces sound like standard-issue fare for a orist. But interior designerturned-oral impresario Mike Hines, who founded Epoch Floral in Chicagos West Town in 2000 and Mike Hines Signature in 2012, takes such creations to genre-bending heights. The lush, 60-foot-long ropes of emerald foliage and fuschia hydrangeas he suspended off the Park Hyatts eighth-story terrace last spring is a local case in point. Others have run the gamut from elds of blooms in a desert outside Dubai, complete with camels nipping at the buds, to the canopies of daisies he crafted to sheath the ceiling of the The Ritz-Carltons grand ballroom in Kapalua, Maui. Hines was out to make waves in the eld from the start. I sell concepts, not owers, he explains. I use fewer elements, but theyre graphic and bold. Less is more, he says. Today his client base includes style-setting retailers and celebrities, from Barneys New York and Bottega Veneta to Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise, Jennifer Hudson and Michael Bubl, and chic locals with global abodes. Not in that stratosphere? Heres what Hines suggests for those who arrange blooms at home. Pare it down: Whatever you choose to do, keep it simple and impactful. You need two or three kinds of owers. You just need to know when to stop, and thats really the hardest part of the whole thing, says Hines. Skip the vase: Hines has laid blooming cherry blossom branches directly on tables and stuck dozens of daisies in test tubes and pushed them in the ground to create big beds instantaneously. You have to make a statement that forces people to take note says Hines. Placing a ring of potted

cus trees anked with benches in the middle of a room,for instance, forces a pause. If someone just stops for a minute and looks at it, or better yet lingers for a while, Ive done my job, he says. Lisa Skolnik

Hines, shown with prototypes of his latest oral arrangement-asinstallation.

Planter to plate
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TOMATO TO DIE FOR?

Black-cherry-tomatoes from rareseeds.com are a great snack during a long day pruning.

FAVORITE
THINGS

2
3
SEED CATALOGS
Hudson Valley Seed Library and Johnnys Selected Seeds

READING
Birdseye: The Adventures of a Curious Man by Mark Kurlansky. Hes a great writer: informative, entertaining, a true storyteller.

STYLE
The elegance and sense of fun at Dolce & Gabbana right now is my favorite. I would wear [it] while farming barefoot, and feel as glamorous as Sophia Lauren.

SECRET FERTILIZER
Rabbit poop mixed with coffee chaff from Caf Grumpy in Brooklyn

4
5

FURNITURE FOR MY HOUSE

The pine trestle table by Bien Hecho. Nothing is better for a farmer than a good place to enjoy a good meal. The bigger the table the better!

<< CUT FLOWERS

Im obsessed with the hearty, short-blooming, Degas ballerina-evoking blossoms of peonies. What a luxurious, fun ower.

<<

SPICE
Chili peppers

DESSERT
Im obsessed with peanut butter cookies from Ovenly. They are coming out with a cookbook soon, so folks in Chicago can experience their treats!

<<

<< ANNIE NOVAK is a farmer with

7 9

a rake, a hoe and a staircase. The Evanston-grown Novaks calling is urban agriculture, a la Brooklyns Eagle Street Rooftop Farm, a pioneering 6,000-square-foot spread atop a warehouse. There, stalks of corn rise shoulder-high alongside 30 other crops, from arugula to watermelon all against a killer skyline view.
Barbara Mahany

<<
GARDEN CLOTHES
A good pair of shoes is a farmers best friend. I swear by my Bogs Boots.

10
APRIL 14, 2013 | 11

O
Adam Schwerner gets gardening help from son Jamin, 13. I like it, Jamin says of the family plot. Its weird.

n a quiet street of century-

old cottages in Chicagos Old Town neighborhood sits a house that stands out. It could be the trio of blue wooden

BACKYARD CANVAS
ADAM SCHWERNERS URBAN GARDEN CHALLENGES VISITORS TO SEE THE LANDSCAPE AS A LIVING WORK OF ART

BY NINA KOZIOL

PHOTOS BY BILL HOGAN

ladders rising from the miniature woodland. Or perhaps its the row of old doors painted in eye-popping hues that line the narrow gangway . Theres the terra cotta bowl lled with red glass shards that sprouts antennae made from discarded drip irrigation hoses. And theres the rustic wood-hewn arbor over the gate thats flanked by an iron fence topped with yellow-tipped bedsprings. The entire composition tends to stop people in their tracks. When it comes to landscaping, People think there are rules, and you have to follow them, says the homeowner, Adam Schwerner, director of the Chicago Park Districts Department of Natural Resources and liaison to Museums in the Parks. I reject the rules, and thats where it becomes interesting. Its about the experience, about the act of change, not a perfect instant garden. Schwerner; his wife, Stephanie, a therapist; and son, Jamin, 13, have enjoyed their ever-changing and somewhat quirky garden for the past eight years. He is the artistic brain behind the blue, orange and yellow trees spectacular art installations along Lake Shore Drive and in Lincoln Park, as well as other cutting-edge designs in city parks. Hes also the driving force that oversees the districts 8,100-plus acres. Like Chicagos public gardens, his home garden is a blend of horticulture and art. Two dozen spent uorescent light bulbs pop out of the ground like high-tech fungi. Yellow metal chains dangle from overhead branches. A mattress spring, rescued from the garbage and lled with the familys empty green water bottles, hangs from a fence. I like things that have had a life revivifying them, giving them a new life, he said. A bucket of oats, once used for commercial shing nets, overows from a pot. And a treasured group of bowling balls came from a woman down the street. Ive always wanted bowling balls. (He bowled twice a week in high school.) His nds often happen when walking Asher, the familys Australian labradoodle. He rescued a box of 30 convex mirrors from the garbage and in the winter places them on the patio, where they reect light, a boon on overcast days. Its just twinkly instead of dark and oppressive, he says. He painted the metal bands from a rotted wine barrel and created a backyard sculpture. I had them for years and nally found a purpose for them. Dont expect any made-for-the-garden tchotchkes like colored glass globes or plastic elves, however. Bad taste is bad taste. There are ugly objects, and its hard to make something attractive out of an ugly object. Not every visitor appreciated the garden when it was open

In Schwerners yard, all is sculpture, including a collection of catci; planters juxtaposed against a bright front door; a rusting patio table loaded with an assortment of round found objects that includes barbell weights, washers and gears; bedsprings on the fence and painted ladders that lead nowhere.

for display one summer. Some people get it. People who dont get it, dont stay. Its uncomfortable for them, Schwerner said. This is an art installation; its my living work of art and it changes every year. The son of artists his mother was a playwright and actress, and his dad was a poet and musician Schwerner says his maverick outlook started with his upbringing. My parents gave themselves permission to do what they wanted to do. Youre only bound by what you think. By age 12, Schwerner knew he wanted to get into public horticulture. I always got a kick out of the interface between plants and people. When I was a preteen, my parents took me to a friends house. All of the native plants had died, and she had spray-painted them. She turned what was debris into something exciting and expressive. Its a legacy Schwerner has been passing on ever since. Creating something out of nothing has always been a keystone for me, he says. You can touch someones heart.

POWER PL ANTER
6,000 daffodils. 300 varieties of hosta. 40 years of digging.
SUSAN BEARDS JAW-DROPPING GARDEN TAKES SOME SERIOUS TENDING

T
BY NINA KOZIOL

ur n into Susan Beards

drive, and youll notice right away: Spring-ower-

ing bulbs are strewn like a pastel carpet beneath spreading trees and a sea of white narcissus rises to meet the road in front of the house. The native tree species, drifts of grape hyacinths, camassia, leuco-

jum, corydalis, trillium, bloodroot, trout lilies and celandine poppies rub elbows with more than 300 varieties of hostas any of these could be signs of the obvious: an extraordinary gardener lives here.

PHOTOS BY BILL HOGAN

I
a sore thumb.

t wasnt all roses in the beginning. In four

decades of cultivation, Beards west suburban garden has been through its share of changes. Fencing was installed to keep marauding deer at bay . The English ivy she planted in the woods got out of control. And an in-ground pool was a glaring blue eyesore. I didnt want it to be a focal point, so I painted it black, Beard said. Now it doesnt draw your eye like

Beard is the kind of gardener who doesnt back down, and shes undaunted by a climate thats a far cry from California, where she grew up. Her grandfather, a physician, had a lemon tree ranch in Santa Barbara. It was just so much fun exploring as a child, she said. Her late father, a three-star general in the U.S. Air Force who had a passion for roses and other owers, was a big inuence. While visiting many years ago, he decided to tackle part of the property away from the house. He always had to have a project, Beard said, so he rented a chain saw and worked

for three hours clearing the edge of the woods. I wasnt planning to have a garden there. But now the area is lled with summer- and fall-blooming perennials, including scores of day lilies. A visit to her father in California resulted in a treasure trove of lycoris, also called surprise lilies. He had tons of them and was digging them up, so I loaded up my suitcase. Come late summer, these pass-along plants add a splash of color throughout the garden, along with anemones, asters and fall-blooming clematis. The garden is still evolving as plants come and go. A storm last year toppled century-old oak trees, leaving the variegated dogwoods and shadeloving ground covers below struggling in the full sun. She replaced a row of overgrown yews with boxwood, which she says are more easily controlled with pruning. Flagstones have taken over the mulched paths. And because there wasnt anything exciting here by the back of the house, she said, a small sh-lled pond was added, which can be enjoyed from indoors. While her father grew more than 100 roses that required spraying and fussing, Beard says, I dont do that because it kills benecial insects. Im not into the patented tea roses. I grow roses that do well without that stuff. Mystic Fairy, Knock Out and Cherry Pie are some of the newer shrub roses shes planted recently . Compost, chicken manure and worm castings are added to planting beds and containers each spring. She occasionally uses slow-release fertilizer sprinkled around her plants, lets fallen leaves remain on the ground in the woods, and composts her grass clippings. Beard, an experienced designer who once offered garden design services and gave talks at The Morton Arboretum, planned her own garden to afford views with focal points from every room in the house. A gated arbor with an 8-foot opening was installed in the side yard to create an inviting entryway . She added a 19-foot-long bridge several years ago to make the gardens ow more interesting. A low semicircle of stone surrounds the seating area. I tell people when you have rolling land, cut into it to make a wall, make it dramatic. For the beginning gardener, Beard suggests joining one of the many plant societies. Gardening books are great, but plant society people are so knowledgeable. She joined the rose society in Santa Barbara, Calif., where she has a second garden. I wanted to nd out which roses to grow there, since some that do well here dont grow there. When hundreds of visitors strolled through the property during a Garden Conservancy Open Days event, Kay Mangan of Olympia Fields, Ill., asked, Do you ever sit down? Beard responded with a laugh, saying, No, because I see everything that needs to be done. I have more than enough to take care of, and Im using more shrubs. And then there are all those shrub roses she has her eye on for this year.

Previous page: Beard began with 100 bulbs and now has thousands of daffodils, grape hyacinths and other spring bloomers. Opposite: Crabapples ornament the understory. Clockwise from top: Delicate blue owers of Siberian bugloss (Brunnera) grace Beards woodland garden in late spring. Come September, big drifts of blackeyed Susans (Rudbeckia) bloom alongside Tardiva and Annabelle hydrangeas. Hosta owers, some fragrant, attract resident hummingbirds. Beards home, nestled in the garden. Iron sculptures were recently added to inject personality. A stone path leads to a sweeping container-lled patio and the shade gardens beyond.

16 | CHICAGO TRIBUNE MAGAZINE

APRIL 14, 2013 | 17

DINING DESIGN
TX RE XXX XN XD XXX

serene and clean Extetas Zen bench is handcrafted from blocks of solid Canadian Red Cedar; $4,535 at nichebeverly.com

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APRIL 14, 2013 | 19

DINING STYLE
TX RE XXX XN XD XXX Dries van Noten Plaid makes good company for faded, crushed blooms on an embellished skirt and a lush oral print on a suit.

Dior An iridescent balloon of oral-printed satin duchesse reads girly-modern.

Mary Katrantzou Stamp print shirtdresses give owers the postal treatment.

In full bloom
Prada Bold blooms turn fashion into art and create a instantclassic print.

THE FLORALS ARE FADED AT DRIES, BLUE AT DIOR AND POP ART AT PRADA. TAKE YOUR PICK SPRING STYLE IS BURSTING OUT ALL OVER

DINING DINING
NX GXX X XS XP XR XI X

SPRING
AWAKENING
When Fat Rices owners chef Abraham Conlon and general manager Adrienne Lo bring Spring to the tables of their West Diversey restaurant, its seasoned with their family histories. Conlon traces his to Portugal, via Lowell, Mass.; Chicago-born Lo to China. Stir in their travels to Brazil, India, Macau. Taste the world in a bite of this vindaloo-spiced Spring lamb with roots in Portugal and a stop in Goa with a snapped-from-the-garden rhubarb chutney.

Fat Rice grilled vindaloo spring lamb shoulder chops with spring salad and rhubarb chutney
4 servings
20 dried red chilies 10 each: peppercorns, cloves garlic 1 tablespoon each: ground cinnamon, chopped peeled fresh ginger 1 teaspoon each: turmeric, cumin seeds, garam masala 2 teaspoons salt teaspoon mustard seed 4 cloves cup red wine vinegar 1 teaspoon sugar 3 pounds Spring lamb shoulder, in -inch chops

Combine spices, ginger, garlic and vinegar in a nonreactive bowl; soak 1 hour. Transfer to blender; add sugar. Puree to a smooth paste. Put lamb chops in a non-reactive dish. Pour puree over meat; coating well. Cover. Refrigerate. Marinate 3 hours or overnight. Serve: Heat grill. Grill chops until lightly charred and internal temperature measures medium to mediumrare (145 degrees) on a meat thermometer. Dress a serving platter with some chutney. Arrange chops on platter. Top with asparagus, pea and paneer salad. Rhubarb ginger lime chutney: Chop 3 stalks fresh rhubarb; put in a non-reactive pot. Add cup water, juice of 1 lime, 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons chopped ginger. Heat to boil; reduce heat to medium. Cook until rhubarb is tender; stir occasionally. Puree mixture smooth in a blender until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Cool to room temperature. Asparagus, pea and paneer salad: Peel stems on 1 bunch asparagus; cut in 1-inch pieces. Blanch; shock in ice water. Blanch; shock 1 cup fresh shelled greens peas. Put drained vegetables in a bowl with 1 tablespoon fresh ginger julienne, cup each: torn mint leaves, crumbled paneer (a fresh cheese), thinly sliced red spring onion and 1 cup watercress. Juice and zest 1 lemon. Toss with salad, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, season with salt and pepper.
BY JUDY HEVRDEJS
22 | CHICAGO TRIBUNE MAGAZINE

PHOTO BY JA SON WAMBSGANS

Food styling by Joan Moravek

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Taking an active role in helping Chicagos children stay active.

At Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, weve always been inspired by the children of our community. Our Healthy Kids, Healthy Families initiative shows were not sitting back when it comes to the health of our future. Thats why were proud to partner with national nonproit KaBOOM! as they continue to rally companies and communities to help build playgrounds for kids. Because great places to play make for some really great dreams.
bcbsil.com

A Division of Health Care Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company, an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.