January/February 2000

The gazing ball on our cover conveys the message that so many media are considering: how the new millennium will affect our lives. In our case, how will it affect our gardens? What plants will we grow? How will landscaping change as we continue efforts to be better stewards of the environment?

Those were the challenges we threw at Associate Editor Cathy J. Maloney to assemble for this issue. And while her research brought out many opinions, no one can be sure as to the effect that Y2K will truly have.

Are gardeners concerned about Y2K? In a word, yes. In a recent meeting with Mayo Underwood and Maren Oslac, the mother-daughter team that runs Underwood Seeds from Bensenville, they spoke of hearing concerns from customers about possible disruptions in mail service. Because of that, they printed their GrandmaÔø‡s Garden seed catalogue two months earlier than normal and saw a corresponding early influx of vegetable seed orders from gardeners concerned that normal food sources could be interrupted.

Underwood Gardens is a fine example of the niches within the gardening industry. The company specializes in rare and heirloom varieties of seeds, a tiny sliver of the overall horticultural world. Yet collectors and discerning gardeners are finding them, and their business is growing exponentially. Their customers speak increasingly about the influence of the multinational companies and efforts to genetically engineer the seeds that become food on our tables. Underwood Gardens is a company based on a desire to make sure the food we grow comes from varieties that have been proven in the marketplace for many years. This interesting debate will continue as we move through the new century.

If Y2K is too heavy a topic for you, we also present in this issue a fine interview with Barbara Woodbury, whose topiaries are staples at the Chicago Flower & Garden Show. Speaking of a small, local company, BarbaraÔø‡s office is her garage, and she is the one and only employee. Shirley Remes gives a fine overview of how these creatures are created and why their popularity is growing, beginning on page 8.

Also in this issue is the visit with local gardeners who entered our annual garden contest. We enjoy the visits, the gardens and the tales that you have to tell us, so once again in 2000, we will ask you for entries to showcase the best gardens in Chicagoland. Our topic this year will be vegetable gardens. Keep watching upcoming issues to see how to enter and a list of the prizes you can win. It all part of our commitment to be a local source of gardening information.