Vol 2-2
The Flutter of the Butterfly
The way butterflies bounce clumsily through the air seems to defy gravity. Their whimsical flight pattern is enchanting. Butterflies bring movement, beauty, and vibrance to our garden. As they flit across our the garden plots, flower to flower, they delight observers while benefiting the garden as well.
Butterflies have long been the inspiration for creative expression. The history of amusement with butterflies is shown in literature, music, ballet, and the ever popular lower back tattoo.
Le Papillion, the ballet, was presented by the Paris Opera Ballet in late November in 1860. The ballet's first performances were attended by Napoleon himself. The story features an evil old fairy, a prince, and of course a young maiden. This fantastical ballet with golden swarms of butterflies, ends with the kind of happily ever after only a fairy tale can offer. Adaptations have mesmerized audiences for a century in productions across the globe.
We are lucky to find butterflies in our urban garden not just for their beauty. One third of all plants need to be pollinated in order to produce fruit. Butterflies can also help attract other beneficial insects like ladybugs and dragonflies.
Butterflies and flowers were made for each other. Butterflies are attracted by flowers, especially those supplying nectar. Zinnias, sage, sweet alyssum, phlox, pansy, lupine, lavender yellow coneflowers, goldenrod, and brightly-hued asters are nectar-filled favorites. Butterflies prefer native flowers, milkweed being their favorite. Caterpillars need violets, milkweed, dill, and asters to fulfill the needs of this young stage of life.
As our garden has been lucky enough to to host these winged beauties in the past, we find the Monarch among the varieties we hope to see return. The spring migration brings Monarch butterflies up from the Sierra Madre mountains in Mexico and across the Great Plains and Midwest. They make their journey north over three or four generations. Though their numbers have been dwindling, there are initiatives such as the I-35 "Monarch Highway" Initiative. This multi-state initiative is designed to create habitat for butterflies from Texas north to Minnesota. Our urban oasis is right along that route.
With our garden coming into bloom we will soon welcome the fluttering beauties back into our lives.
Gardener Spotlight
This section will be ongoing through the 2021 growing season. Each gardener has been asked to respond to our questionnaire in hopes of getting to know one another a bit better. Gardeners will be randomly selected from the pool of responses. Please submit your response to imperialtowerscommunitygarden@gmail.com if you have not yet done so.
Hope Woodworth
Plot #3
What do you enjoy most about Lake Michigan?:
How it is constantly changing. Mostly it is blue, but sometimes it looks brown after a storm and often it appears teal, like the carribean. The long waterfront and lakefront parks open to the public are a big highlight of the city to me. I feel so blessed to live so close to the waterfront. I have run every mile of the lakefront path from Hollywood down to the South Shore Cultural Club at 71st street.
What inspired you to join the community garden?:
I have done some minimal gardening on my balcony. I am excited to expand my gardening experience at IT. Travel was a big part of my life prior to the pandemic. Spending all of my time at IT for the past year, I have been looking for more ways to be active beyond my condo walls. Also, to expand beyond my urban jungle in my condo filled with houseplants.
Are you gardening for the produce or just for fun?:
I am hoping to have some produce, but to have fun also.
This is my first year at the garden plots and it is mostly an experiment.
Martha Howard
Plot #11
Tell us about your family:
Five kids between Martha and I, eight grandchildren, one grandson-in-law, one great grandson.
What is your favorite restaurant in Chicago?:
What do you enjoy most about Lake Michigan?:
View and cooler in the summer, warmer in the winter..,
Did you garden as a child?:
World War II Victory Garden with my parents!
Who gardens with you now?:
My husband, Gene, and Susan Klein
What are you most excited to grow in your plot this year?:
Local wild flowers and grasses
What do you wish you had space to grow?:
Concord grape arbor
Any plans for garden decor (seasonal or not)?:
leaving that up to mother nature and her beautiful wildflowers
Laurel Berman
Plot #1
What is your favorite restaurant in Chicago?:
Pars Cove, La Briola, and Tasty Place on Wentworth (west side of street)
What is your favorite flower?:
Lily of Valley or Irises
Who gardens with you now?:
Scott, Lloyd, and Laurel. Hopefully everything survived the "gale" force winds!
What has been your most successful foray in gardening?:
Okra
What is your favorite thing to cook or cocktail to mix?:
All vegan/veggie meals.
Lloyd DeGrane
Plot #1
How long have you lived at IT?:
Since the start of the year.
Do you prefer the smell of rain, fresh cut grass, or fall leaves?:
Rain
What is your favorite flower?:
Sunflowers or Gladiolas
What do you wish you had space to grow?:
Zucchini and cucumbers
What are you most excited to grow in your plot this year?: Herbs
What is your favorite thing to cook or cocktail to mix?: Meatloaf.
Deepa Varghese
Plot #15
What is your favorite restaurant in Chicago?: Aba - Mediterranean cuisine. Highly recommend this restaurant for a special occasion. It has the best combination of delicious food and beautiful city views. What are you most excited to grow in your plot this year?: enjoy cooking and coming up with new recipes. I hope to garden a good number of herbs to add to my dish creations. What is your favorite thing to cook or cocktail to mix? Green/Red Curry or Ground Meat Tacos Are you gardening for the produce or just for fun?: Both. Since it is my first year, I don't have high hopes that everything will be successful. At minimum I hope to learn from this experience and from others in the community for years to come.
Upcoming Events
Our award winning garden is vying for further awards this growing season. The Chicago Gardening Awards are hosting a competition for video submissions this year. Your Garden Commission intends to compile a montage of short clips submitted to us by the garden community at large to create the required one minute video. These clips are not due for over a month, but we want to give you a heads up and some time to capture your ideas on video. Please send it imperialtowerscommunitygarden@gmail.com with your garden in bloom highlight. Even a video just a few seconds long is appreciated. --
Do you have a talent that you'd like to share with the Garden Community? Email imperialtowerscommunitygarden@gmail.com with an idea for a class or event you’d like to lead and your availability.
Fresh from the Garden Recipes -
Butterfly Tea Lemonade
Ingredients: 2 cups boiling hot water
6 tsp butterfly pea flower tea
1/4c fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1 tsp honey or sugar (to taste)
ice
Optional:
1 oz Elderflower Liqueur
1.5 oz Botanical Gin
Instructions:
Boil water and add to tea. Allow to seep until the water turns a deep shade of blue, about 5 minutes.
Strain tea, stir in honey or sugar, and allow to cool until lukewarm.
Stir in lemon juice and serve over ice.
-or-
Pour tea, elderflower liquer, and gin over ice in a shaker.
Shake until thoroughly chilled.
Pour into martini glass, garnish with butterfly pea tea flowers
pour in the lemon juice and watch the color change
Good News
We have, through donations and committee funds, new flower pots and a bench! The bench was a gift, generously donated by Meg Katz in memory of her sister Terry. The big stone pots are now ours, thanks to Allen and Brian of the Landscape Commission. The garden will be more beautiful thanks to the suggestion to repurpose and share our building resources. Lastly, our commission purchased some beautiful plants which Vicky filled with some flowering delights. We can be proud that we are fulfilling our mission statement. Especially this phrase, "enhance the natural beauty of our concrete urban setting.... for all residents to enjoy through active gardening or peaceful observation."
A supportive community loves to share joys and successes.
Please submit the Good News in your life to be highlighted in our newsletter to: imperialtowerscommunitygarden@gmail.com
Ask Rose
Dear Rose,
I'm wondering how often my garden needs water. It has been raining so much lately, I don't know if I also need to keep watering every day. Is it okay to not water my plot and wait and see if it is going to rain? Or skip a day or two?
Thanks again,
Rainy Day Waterer
Dear Rainy Day Waterer,
My answer depends on how mature your spring garden is. When you've just sown seeds, your medium needs to stay slightly moist to encourage germination. Make sure your seeds and sprouts stay moist until they've matured to a few inches tall. Once you have established plants, or if you started with seedlings, you will be able to skip a day. With happy healthy plants, the roots should stretch out to find water deep in your garden plot. This allows for the medium on top to dry out while keeping your plants happy, thus less watering. Remember, the wind and heat can dry things out very quickly. It is best you gauge your watering schedule to be more frequent in hotter or windier weather, it is unlikely you'll manage to overwater your plot.
Cheers to successful growing,
Rose
Find more helpful hints for opening your garden on our Resources page.
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