Garden Critters

The temperatures are falling, but tomorrow’s forecast still calls for some sunshine. Join us on Saturday, 10:00am until noon, for garden stewardship!

Focus on… Critters

It’s not just plants that live in Waters’ garden. Here’s a small selection of insects seen over the last few months.

The “Focus On” series is written by Jeremy Atherton, the parent of a Waters 5th grader. He is a research scientist at Northwestern University Medical School. In addition to volunteering at Waters Garden, he is a steward at Riverbank Neighbors and a member of the 47th Ward Green Council.

Climate Change & Mosquitos: The Biting Truth

Meredith was fascinated by this Illinois Environmental Council webinar about mosquito abatement, which covered how climate change is affecting our mosquito population and what sustainable solutions are available.

Watch the recording on YouTube here!

Giving the Grasses a Hand + Jerusalem Artichoke

Join us on Wednesday, 5:00pm until dusk, for garden stewardship! Read on for more garden news.

Giving the Grasses a Hand

We have been doing a lot of things in the garden these past weeks: planting raspberries, picking seeds, pruning, and fixing fencing. One of the natural areas ecological tasks has been to prune back, or pull, some of the more aggressive native forbs (non-woody plants). We prefer to let them flower first: they are dazzling in abundant color, nectar for insects and birds. But, when the flowers have finished, seeds form. And for these particular plants, we want to reduce the seed load. So the seed heads are bagged and given away to be sown in other restoration projects. The stems are chopped for compost.

In large restorations, this same method is used to give a competitive advantage to grasses and sedges over forbs, and it is called mowing, done with large tractors over acres sometimes. Grasses grow from a crown of leaves just at ground level. So, when grasses are mowed they simply keep growing. When forbs are mowed, they have to go through a whole hormonal process to create a new growing point on the cut stem. This takes days, maybe even weeks, during which time the grasses gain biomass, strength, and a bigger share of sunlight.

Prairies and savannas are grass dominant. And grasses carry the fires that keep these ecosystems open and diverse. So if we are managing to create and maintain prairies and savannas, we try to give a hand to the grasses. We keep track of species diversity and pay attention to weedy growth, both native and non-native.

—Pete

Focus on… Jerusalem Artichoke

The curious thing about Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) is that it’s not an artichoke and it has nothing to do with Jerusalem (other than that the name is a perfect fit). It is actually a sunflower in the genus Helianthus, the same genus as the sawtooth sunflower. A plausible explanation for the strange name is that it is a corruption of the Italian ‘girasole articiocco’ (sunflower artichoke); the edible tuber is supposed to have a taste similar to that of artichoke.

It is another member of the Asteraceae family, so its blooms are composites made up of many tiny disc and ray florets; as with all sunflowers, the ray florets are infertile and only the disc florets produce seeds. In the close-up photo, you can see the some of the ray florets with five tiny petals and the brown anthers forming tubes through which the style grows, pushing out the pollen as it extends (a couple of the florets on the right already have Y-shaped styles protruding). At the back of the bloom, the leafy bract of the involucre is similar to those of sawtooth sunflower, but on Jerusalem artichoke their phyllaries are wider, more triangular, and hairier. The whole plant is hairier, with stiff white hairs that give the stem and underside of the leaves a rough texture. While not really noted in the plant guides that I have read, I find the three main nerves in the leaves very distinctive, helping me pick out this plant from other similar flowers.

Jerusalem artichoke blooms late in the season, making it one of the last flowers we will see in the garden this year. It is a good late season nectar and pollen source for bees, including the common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) seen in the main photo, and a variety of birds are attracted to feed on the seeds. Have a look for Jerusalem artichoke in the south swale this fall, you can’t miss their 8-foot stems with yellow flowers.

The “Focus On” series is written by Jeremy Atherton, the parent of a Waters 5th grader. He is a research scientist at Northwestern University Medical School. In addition to volunteering at Waters Garden, he is a steward at Riverbank Neighbors and a member of the 47th Ward Green Council.

Join Us Saturday + Excellence in Gardening Award

Join us this Saturday for Garden Work Day, 10am to noon.*

*Please note, this may be a smaller work day than usual, with many families attending the Little Amal Stone Soup event in Margate Park. For those interested in joining, there is a bike bus meeting at the Waters main entrance off Campbell at 9:30am and departing at 9:45am to arrive in time for the 10:30am event.

Waters Garden Receives Chicago Excellence in Gardening Award!

This year, Waters Garden received a Chicago Excellence in Gardening Award! We were among 100 gardens around the city honored with such an award—including residential gardens, community gardens, school gardens, and urban farms. Poppy, Jeremy, and Megan attended the awards ceremony and accepted a lovely new all-weather sign recognizing the achievement. You might have noticed the new sign now standing under one of our bur oaks! This award is for all of us, every person who has given their attention, love, time, joy, and labor to our amazing garden.

It was an honor to be able to attend the award ceremony this year and be among so many incredible gardeners, most of whom were already familiar with Waters Garden. We connected with old friends, made new friends, and we look forward to future trips to visit their gardens together. (Read to the end for an invitation to Oriole Park Elementary’s 10 year garden anniversary on Saturday!)

During the ceremony, comments made by this year’s Garden Angel Award Winner Julie Samuels really stood out to me. Julie reminded us that gardeners in our city are establishing and tending the green spaces that we so desperately need and will continue to need as we face climate change. I think about this a lot. How our garden is among so many gardens transforming our city and world to a place more livable for all. What wonderful work to be a part of!

Congratulations on your award, Waters Gardeners! Thank you for loving the garden and for gardening!

—Megan

Events Around Town This Weekend

Mark your calendars for the Sustainability Market, hosted by Reduce Waste Chicago and the North Center Neighbors Association. Northcenter Town Square will be filled with eco-minded vendors, artists, and organizations—as well as material collections by Reduce Waste Chicago, EcoShip, and Working Bikes!

Click here for more details.

Oriole Park Teaching Garden Is Turning 10!
Saturday, September 30 • 1:00–3:00pm
More info and register here.

Wed. Stewardship, Bur Oak, + Ravenswood Garden Event

Join us on Wednesday, 5:00pm until dusk, for garden stewardship! Read on for more garden news.

Focus on… Bur Oak

350 years ago, in September of 1673, a group of people from the Kaskaskia tribe led Louis Jolliet, Father Jacques Marquette, and their expedition to a place where they could carry their boats a short distance across the watershed from the Mississippi River system to the Chicago River and on to Lake Michigan. Around that time, a pivotal event in Chicago history occurred when a squirrel living beside the north branch of the Chicago River buried acorns it had collected for the winter. Four of those acorns did not get eaten but germinated, growing into four bur oak trees; part of the oak savannah that once spanned much of this area. They were already large trees a hundred years later when Jean Baptiste Point du Sable and his family established a farm at the mouth of the Chicago River, planting the seed of the settlement that came to be called Chicago. The trees stood undisturbed for another hundred or so years, but then the river was moved and the area cleared for housing. Somehow the trees survived and eventually the land on which they stood was absorbed into the grounds of a school. Years later, children at that school, inspired by these same four trees, removed the asphalt that surrounded them and sowed native plants, starting the garden that we know and love.

Today there are many bur oaks (Quercus macrocarpa) in the garden; the four elder oaks and their descendents. They can be recognized by their distinctive round lobed leaves, with a deep cut in the middle that almost divides each leaf into two parts, and their large acorns where the cup wraps most of the way around the nut, looking somewhat like a big woolly hat. These are the largest acorns of any North American oak, giving rise to the scientific name macrocarpa, which means ‘large fruit’.

This year the oaks in Chicago are having a mast year; a year in which they produce many more acorns than they would in a normal year. There are two great mysteries to such events. First, why they happen. This may be down to weather and availability of resources, but it is also thought that by occasionally producing acorns in excess, it is possible to satiate the squirrels, ensuring that some acorns survive to germinate without spurring an increase in the size of the squirrel population. The second mystery is how all the trees in one area synchronize mast years; again local weather may be the determining factor, but there is still a lot to be discovered.

When I see children at the school playing under the old oaks, I sometimes try to imagine the Miami or Potawotami children who may have played under these same trees and fished in the river that ran by. I’d like to think that some of the younger bur oaks in the garden now might still be here in another 350 years. Perhaps people of that future time will look at those trees and imagine our children playing under them. Next time you are close to one of the large bur oaks, try closing your eyes and listening for the echoes of their past. These four grand old trees are our living connection to the history of our city.

The “Focus On” series is written by Jeremy Atherton, the parent of a Waters 5th grader. He is a research scientist at Northwestern University Medical School. In addition to volunteering at Waters Garden, he is a steward at Riverbank Neighbors and a member of the 47th Ward Green Council.

Event: How Does Your Garden Grow?

Saturday, October 7th, 10am to 11:30am
All Saints at 4550 N. Hermitage

This Ravenswood Neighbors Association (RNA) event sponsored by Chicago Community Gardeners Association (CCGA) will teach area gardeners eco-friendly fall & winter garden care, including the benefits of fall leaf mulch application and zero-trim of dead flower stems. Gardeners will also learn how they can contribute bagged leaves to RNA’s Mulch Madness (Nov. 4th) and later collect leaf mulch at a community compost site.

Special Guest Lorena Lopez from Museums in the Park-Chicago Park District will instruct gardeners on effective communication with neighbors about the ecological and community benefits native gardens provide.

Enjoy the Autumnal Equinox in the Garden

Fall is upon us, but we’re still at it! Join us in the garden for stewardship and friendship on Saturday morning, 10:00am to noon.

Celebrating the Autumnal Equinox

The Autumnal Equinox is coming. Around the 23rd of September. The exact moment doesn’t much matter to me. The amazing thing is that it is a world-recognized, unifying moment for every culture back through very ancient times. Something shifting, moving from one moment to the next.

What does it matter to us? What will we notice? How will we be affected?

It matters because, in a world ridden with religious, political, class, and racial divisions, the Equinox (and the Solstices) are moments of shared awe and recognition that we share One world, One reality, and that it is beautiful.

When we started restoration of the riverbank and Waters school grounds, we sought events that we could be part of to bring our community together. The celestial Solstice and Equinox were laden with ancient ritual, with scientific revelation, with Universal appeal.

So join us to celebrate this worldwide event. The official date and time aren’t that important. But the Equinox reminds people all around the world that a shift is beginning. What will you notice??

On September 23, the length of the day and the night will equalize. 12 hours dark, 12 hours light. Worldwide. On that day, the Sun will rise due east and set due west. This means, amongst other things, that there will be some awesome and unusual spectacles on Chicago’s east-west grid streets. The Sun will pour into the streets, painting them with color and blinding drivers.

Another thing is that this day, this moment, marks the time of maximum reduction of the rate of daylight shortening. This has been going on since the Summer Solstice. Slowly, slowly at first, the days began to shorten after June 20, accelerating to maximum at the Autumn Equinox. (Did you notice? It’s 7:30 and dark?) After this day, from our perspective, the shortening of the days will slow down until the Winter Solstice.

We will also witness this if we take note of the azimuth of the noontime Sun. The Sun dips, lower and lower onto the southern horizon until, at Winter Solstice, it stops, and reverses, heralding Spring.

What a thing! Going on everyday, all around us and around the world. Celebrate! Light a fire. Sing a song. Share food. Tell a tale.

This is one way to connect with the whole world, back through ancient times, and with the celestial.

– Pete

Save the Date for Kidical Mass—October 22, 2023!

Join Kidical Mass for a slow, easy-going, and fun group ride focused on kids of all ages and families that will tour the Lincoln Square neighborhood!

Gather @ Waters Elementary 10:00am; depart @ 10:30am. Return to Waters @ 11:00ish for a Garden Celebration, including stories, hot cider, and more fun activities.

Festive dress and decorations encouraged. All kids must bring a parent/guardian with a bike.

Garden Wednesdays, Tall Thistle, + Kidical Mass

Thank you to all who joined last Saturday’s Open House. It was wonderful to see everyone, and we got so much done—repaired fences, transplanted raspberries, continued to gather important native seeds, planted community cold frames, and more!

Join us on Wednesday, 5:00pm until dusk, to keep the good work going!

Read to the end to check out some other magnificent gardening events happening in Chicago this month and next. And save the date for Kidical Mass on Sunday, Oct. 22, which will start at Waters School and end with a celebration in the garden! More info on that below.

Focus on… Tall Thistle

Thistles tend to have a bad reputation as garden weeds. Certainly the non-native Canada thistle (which has nothing to do with Canada) is one of the worst invasive species in Waters Garden, but even so, its flowers are actually quite pretty. The native tall thistle (Cirsium altissimum) is definitely a pretty plant. Like the sunflowers discussed previously, thistles are members of the Asteraceae family, meaning that their blooms are actually composites of many tiny flowers. However, thistles lack ray florets and only have disc florets, which are usually purple colored. Last time, I mentioned the involucre on the rear of the sunflowers; the involucre is a whorl of leafy bracts on the rear of composite flowers, and with thistles, it is what gives the flowers their distinctive shape. The involucre of the tall thistle is somewhat bell-shaped and is covered in tiny spikes.

One way to tell tall thistle from other native thistles—especially the similar-looking pasture thistle—is the shape of the leaves. The leaves of tall thistle are either not lobed at all or are only shallowly lobed, whereas most of the other native thistles have deeply lobed leaves. Note though that there is quite a lot of variation, and the tall thistle plants currently growing in Waters Garden actually have quite prominently lobed leaves. In addition, the leaf undersides (known as the abaxial surface), but not the upper sides (known as the adaxial surface), are whitened by a dense mat of hairs. Botanists use the term tomentose to describe hairs this dense and matted; there are over 30 terms for the varying levels of hairiness of plants in the glossary that I have, which may seem excessive but it allows for precise descriptions of plants.

Tall thistle is largely biennial (living for only two years), though it can survive a few years longer than two. A variety of bees, butterflies, and moths visit tall thistle flowers for nectar. Then, when it goes to seed, it provides food for goldfinch, sparrow, siskin, and junco. So while short-lived, this under-appreciated plant is definitely a strong contributor to the garden ecosystem. Tall thistle grows under the southeast bur oak in Waters Garden; check them out while they are still in bloom.

The “Focus On” series is written by Jeremy Atherton, the parent of a Waters 5th grader. He is a research scientist at Northwestern University Medical School. In addition to volunteering at Waters Garden, he is a steward at Riverbank Neighbors and a member of the 47th Ward Green Council.

Save the Date for Kidical Mass—October 22, 2023!

Join Kidical Mass for a slow, easy-going, and fun group ride focused on kids of all ages and families that will tour the Lincoln Square neighborhood!

Gather @ Waters Elementary 10:00am; depart @ 10:30am. Return to Waters @ 11:00ish for a Garden Celebration, including stories, hot cider, and more fun activities.

Festive dress and decorations encouraged. All kids must bring a parent/guardian with a bike.

More Garden Events Around Town

Check out upcoming gatherings in the Chicago Community Gardeners Association free fall event series!

Garfield Park Community Gardens Tour
Saturday, September 23 • 9:30am–2:00pm
More info and register here.

Oriole Park Teaching Garden Is Turning 10!
Saturday, September 30 • 1:00–3:00pm
More info and register here.

Garden Open House on Saturday + Sawtooth Sunflowers

Haven’t stopped by the garden in a while? Come see us at the Open House on Saturday, 10am–noon

This weekend, we’re holding an Open House, extending a special invitation for Waters families and community members to come out and see what our wonderful garden is all about.

It takes a village to care for the beautiful ecosystem that our neighborhood school holds. Indeed, we humans are a critical part of this ecosystem, showing up in ways that provide shelter for treasured plants and animals and tending to our own selves and community in the process.

In this time of so many environmental crises, it is refreshing to show up to our local school garden knowing our human hands are doing this good work.

We’ll have a diverse array of tasks, including ones that are great for children and new gardeners. And if you’re not up for “work,” just come by to relax in this beautiful space.

We’ll run periodic tours and explore the ecological bounty around us.

– Kristin and Megan

Focus on… sawtooth sunflower

Sawtooth sunflower (Helianthus grosseserratus) is one of two species of native sunflower that grow in Waters Garden. Like the New England aster discussed previously, it is a member of the Asteraceae family, meaning that its blooms are composite flowers each made up of many tiny disc and ray florets. Like all sunflowers, the ray florets of sawtooth sunflowers are infertile and only the disc florets produce seeds.

At this time of year, a lot of the native plants blooming in the garden have similar-looking yellow flowers, and learning to tell them apart can be difficult. But if you spend time in the garden and observe the plants closely, you will gradually start to recognize the differences between them. One area to look for differences that can help with identification is the rear of the bloom. Composite flowers have a whorl of leafy bracts at the rear called an involucre; the individual bracts of the involucre are called phyllaries. As can be seen the first photo below, the phyllaries of the sawtooth sunflower are loose and spreading; this can help differentiate these blooms from those of other species with composite yellow flowers, such as the Heliopsis, Silphium, and Rudbeckia species that grow in the garden.

The common name ‘sawtooth’ refers to the serrated edge of the slender, lance-shaped leaves, but the amount of serration is very variable and some leaves are barely serrated at all. The leaves are often opposite (branching in pairs) lower down the stem and alternate (branching singly) closer to the flowers. A characteristic of the leaves that some observers note is a tendency to fold up along the central vein into a V shape, and to droop along their length, forming an arch. If you take time to enjoy the sunflowers in the garden, take a closer look at the involucres at the rear of the blooms, I think that they are often as interesting to look at as the front.

The “Focus On” series is written by Jeremy Atherton, the parent of a Waters 5th grader. He is a research scientist at Northwestern University Medical School. In addition to volunteering at Waters Garden, he is a steward at Riverbank Neighbors and a member of the 47th Ward Green Council.

Mark your calendars for the Sustainability Market, hosted by Reduce Waste Chicago and the North Center Neighbors Association. Northcenter Town Square will be filled with eco-minded vendors, artists, and organizations—as well as material collections by Reduce Waste Chicago, EcoShip, and Working Bikes!

Click here for more details.

Join us Wednesday in the garden

Join us for a beautiful fall evening in the garden! Wednesday evening, 5pm to sunset.

Finally, a break in the weather… which means new plants!

Ecologically and individually, extreme heat and drought can make life miserable. For me, it is very hard to go out into the heat and intense light to provide the care that plants, especially newly planted ones, need. So, what a relief to feel the air, the breeze, the mist and coolness.

This spring, we ordered small plants to enrich species diversity at Waters Garden and the Riverbank Neighbors Natural Area. I hesitated to “plug them in” because I feared that they would not survive the possible heat, drought, intense sun, and competition from much stronger, aggressive, and more established plants. So we decided to re-pot them with bigger containers and care for them at school and at our homes–with constant attention, watering, fertilizing, bug control, etc. We put some into the ground as a control, to see how they would do. We tried to water and weed these young ones too, but without the persistence and closeness of garden care.

The difference was obvious and huge. Today, we have some big, beautiful plants (some 10 or 15 times bigger) that are ready to be re-introduced to our existing plant community.

The method we use is interesting. We choose a place in the natural area over-dominated by aggressive natives: rosin weed, saw-toothed sunflower, heliopsis, etc. And we remove them in a restricted area, deep down to the roots, and loosen the soil and add amendments (weed-free compost, peat moss, sand) to increase soil water retention and absorption. Then we plant, and protect the plants with fencing and flagging, so that we can keep track, and add water or bug protection if needed.

This is a higher level of commitment, to go through this process and then watch, watch, watch, and care. So that’s one of the more complicated, careful, dedicated tasks on the list for riverbank and Waters Garden. Are you game?? Let us know.

– Pete

Mark your calendars for the Sustainability Market, hosted by Reduce Waste Chicago and the North Center Neighbors Association. Northcenter Town Square will be filled with eco-minded vendors, artists, and organizations—as well as material collections by Reduce Waste Chicago, EcoShip, and Working Bikes!

Click here for more details.

A Beautiful Garden Morning + New England Aster

Its a very beautiful morning to join with
friends, family, and community
to work together in the beauty of nature.
10-12. This in an open community invitation.
If you’ve wondered about the famous
Waters Garden, come on by,
every week Wed 5-sunset, Sat 10-12,
last Saturdays 12-1 music circle,
often with a shared meal,
a potluck -avoiding common allergens, helping to clean up,
bringing your own utensils, and food to share.
Have a beautiful day.

Focus on… New England aster

New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) is possibly the easiest of the North American asters to identify. There are six species of aster that grow in Waters Garden, all flowering in the late summer and early fall. This one has the largest and darkest purple blooms, along with hairy stems and dark green leaves that clasp around the stem at their base.

Like all members of the Asteraceae family, each bloom is not a single flower, but is actually a compound flower made up of many tiny flowers. The flowers that make up the central circle are called disc florets and the flowers that produce the ‘petals’ are called ray florets. Each bloom on a New England aster has 50 to 100 disc florets that start out golden yellow and later turn purple, and 50 to 75 purple rays. The ray florets are female and produce no pollen, whereas the disc florets are androgynous, having both male and female reproductive parts. They are mostly pollinated by long-tongued bees such as bumblebees and honeybees.

See if you can find some New England aster in the garden and take a closer look at the disc and ray florets.

The “Focus On” series is written by Jeremy Atherton, the parent of a Waters 5th grader. He is a research scientist at Northwestern University Medical School. In addition to volunteering at Waters Garden, he is a steward at Riverbank Neighbors and a member of the 47th Ward Green Council.

Garden Night Tonite with Special Guest

Dear Garden Friends, 

Join us tonite for stewardship, fire and food and a special visit from Lauren Umek,   Project Manager in the Department of Cultural and Natural Resources  of the Chicago Park District. We will be able to have an informal chat about volunteer stewardship opportunities and strategies for protecting these areas and increasing biodiversity. This conversation will begin at about 7:00 by the fire circle. Bring a friend and join us.

Garden Stewards

Physotegia virginiana
Verbena stricta