JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008

Here's the one time in the year when it's perfectly fine to be two-faced. It's January, the month of what we call "new beginnings" (as if there were such a thing as "old beginnings," but never mind). Resolutions float through the atmosphere as numerous as snowflakes and last just about as long.

So what's the deal about two-faced? It turns out that January was named for the Roman god Janus, a fellow with one face looking forward and another looking back. A fitting symbol for a time when we mortals do the same, one part of us soberly reviewing the year's mistakes while the other gazes cheerfully towards the future. In this context, being "two-faced" seems perfectly reasonable and downright wholesome.

At Chicagoland Gardening, we're being two-faced as well. We've reflected on 2007 and concluded it was a pretty good year. Now we're happily turning our attention towards 2008 and the changes it promises. There are several.

In the magazine, for example, we're adding two new departments. One is a Gardening 101 series that will be written by Nina Koziol. In this issue Nina tackles watering, the bane of every gardener, and explains how oh-so-often we kill with kindness, especially in winter when we're tending our houseplants. (See page16.)

We are also introducing Regional Reports, in which five different garden experts will highlight the interesting happenings in their communities--southern Wisconsin, Rockford, the far western suburbs, Kankakee and northern Indiana. Meet our writers Ed Lyon, Doreen Howard, Betty Earl, Debra Terrill and Jean Starr who will offer intriguing peeks at what's going on in these particular areas.

In addition, we plan to make a point of highlighting those stories and news items that are particularly relevant to environmental concerns with our new "Think Green" logo. In the current issue, for example, Mike Nowak discusses the pros and cons of using cypress mulch. You didn't know there was a controversy? Read all about it in Garden Classroom, page 35.

Then Rachel Logterman and Mary McClelland of Glacier Oaks Nursery in Harvard pull out all the stops and provide a wealth of information about just which trees and shrubs are beneficial to wildlife, especially birds. As bird populations decline nationwide, providing food and habitat in our backyards is one way that individual homeowners can do something to help. See Natives, page 28.

Finally, if it's 2008, it must be time to think about the Chicagoland Flower & Garden Show, which will return to the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, March 8 to 16. Mark your calendars.

And now the time of being two-faced has passed. We've put on our 2008 face and it only points one way--straight ahead.