Two out of my three favorite British magazines seem to have discovered the Midwest. Selvedge, the gorgeous little bible devoted to the fiber of our lives, has a story on "Amish Quilts from Illinois" in the current issue, No. 27. And the cover story on Issue No. 145 of Gardens Illustrated is all about Illinois prairies. I'm just waiting for World of Interiors to thrill me!
The cover photo of Gardens Illustrated is a luscious shot of pink Monarda with a pink sky, rising mist, and trees fading into mauve silhouettes at Wolf Road Prairie in Westchester, Ill. Gorgeous — but more ethereal (even a bit sci-fi) looking than anything I've actually seen on our Wisconsin prairies. Still, maybe that's how they look in Flatland.
I notice the covers of Gardens Illustrated no longer carry a date on the U.S. issues; just the number. That's so I won't realize, when I go into Borders in March and pick up the most recent copy, that it's actually the JANUARY issue! WOI has the date on the front but seems to only be showing up sporadically at the location where I stop most often.
Since Selvedge only publishes six times a year, I can usually find it at my local "stockist," as they like to say. It comes in late, of course, but then it sits around since it has a long shelf life. Still, I'm considering splurging on a subscription, which is cheaper than buying it off the shelf — especially since you can't use any discount coupons when buying it at Borders. It may be classified as a magazine but at $25 it costs more than many books!
If you read Gardens Illustrated closely, you'll notice that they are sponsoring an "Exclusive Reader Trip" to "Visit American Prairies and Midwest Gardens." They'll be hitting the high spots including Piet Oudolf's Lurie Garden (above and below) in Chicago's Millenium Park, as well as the Chicago Botanic Garden, the Morton Arboretum, Oak Park (home to numerous Frank Lloyd Wright masterpieces), and the Missouri Botanic. There will also be some stops at unnamed private gardens.
It's a ten day trip (Sept. 20-30, 2009) and costs $3,826.52 — not including international air fare. That price includes hotels, all dinners and some lunches, and transportation while on the tour. It's organized by Distant Horizons which offers some pretty fantastic sounding tours; thus putting the American Midwest in some rather elite company, culturally speaking. Other tours include the Khmer Empire, the ancient Silk Road, Persian gardens and artworks of St. Petersburg to name a few.
Those of us who are going to the Garden Bloggers' Spring Fling in Chicago will be hitting a number of those same high spots as well — at a fraction of the cost; even if you do have to travel from one of the coasts. Clearly, if you haven't signed up, you should. And perhaps our blogging friends in the UK should think about Chicago in May instead of September.
At the very least, maybe some of us Midwesterners should figure out how to hook up with the UK contingent during one of their Chicago stops in the fall. We can talk about it when we meet in May!
TOP IMAGE: Though not the current issue of Selvedge magazine, I thought it had the most Midwestern feel with that haystack.
CENTER: Rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium) in front of Russian sage (Perovski atriplicifolia) at the Lurie Garden in late July, 2007.
BOTTOM: This gives you the true sense of the Lurie Garden; it feels like the prairie but there is a crane lurking on the skyline. I am not positive about the name of this grass. I believe it is Calamagrostis acutiflora 'Karl Foerster.' If I'm wrong, maybe one of you can correct me.
The thing I find amazing about your blog is not that it's beautiful (which it is) or literate (which it is), but that it's so darn smart. Your blog is packed with facts, not just opinions. What a refreshing change.
Posted by: howard cosgrove | Friday, March 13, 2009 at 04:46 PM
Howard! Thanks for the compliments. Of course, part of the credit does have to go to Mark for pictures and lots of the ideas and even some of the text. You know, I think about trying to be more casual, more blog-like, but it's just not me. Too many years of writing to change my style now!
Posted by: LINDA from EACH LITTLE WORLD | Friday, March 13, 2009 at 10:19 PM
Yes, I agree with Howard. There's something different about your blog and I like it! Nicola
Posted by: Nicola | Saturday, March 14, 2009 at 05:15 PM
Nicola: It finally feels like Spring here and your sweet comment makes it a perfect day!
Posted by: LINDA from EACH LITTLE WORLD | Saturday, March 14, 2009 at 05:57 PM
Hi Linda, I get that magazine (GI) and notice they are excited about that prairie look. The trip to Chicago for the blogger's fling is so exciting. Our plane tickets are bought and paid for, the rooms reserved and we are now choosing what to pack. Too exciting!
Frances
Posted by: Frances | Sunday, March 15, 2009 at 08:57 AM
Frances, it will be so much fun to be able to put faces with all these wonderful blog "voices!"
Posted by: LINDA from EACH LITTLE WORLD | Sunday, March 15, 2009 at 09:15 AM
Linda,
Who came up with that fabulous fling logo?
Those UK maggies you mention: never seen nor heard of them.
What about equivalent US ones? Or is foreign better than homegrown :-)
I was soooo hoping that prairie look had finally died down. They have been obsessed with that over here for more than a decade now. All right in its place, in genuine prairies, but then, so are meadows and woodlands.
Posted by: jo | Monday, March 16, 2009 at 10:19 PM
The logo is by one of the Chicago gardeners: Mr. Brown Thumb. There are plenty of equivalent US magazines, but I am always curious to see how we look to others and what interests them.
I can see where prairie gardens would seem a bit odd in your country — as opposed to woodland or meadows, as you say. Where I live (upper Midwest and about 3 hours west of Chicago) we are all on land where there were once prairies, so it is our indigenous landscape. And it looks natural here because it is! I have lots of friends who have spent years creating or restoring prairies and we have the oldest restored prairie in the world at the University of Wisconsin Arboretum here — but it 's only about 75 years old, which is nothing in Britain!
Posted by: LINDA from EACH LITTLE WORLD | Monday, March 16, 2009 at 10:42 PM
How nice to think that folks from the UK would pay good money to come see our midwestern gardens, when I spend so much time fantasizing about theirs!
Posted by: Gwendolyn | Tuesday, March 17, 2009 at 02:55 PM
Joco (see comments above) lives in the UK and clearly thinks the Brits are obsessed with prairies. I agree with you that it is nice to see their interest, as Americans always seem to fantasize about UK gardens — even if they live in Wisconsin like us!
Posted by: LINDA from EACH LITTLE WORLD | Tuesday, March 17, 2009 at 04:28 PM