Plant One On Me
Gosh it rained a lot this spring, didn’t it? If April showers bring May flowers, I’m expecting my backyard to turn into the Botanical Garden any day now. By the way, know what May flowers bring? Pilgrims. (Thank you, I’ll be here all week!) If you didn’t get around to planting anything yet, no worries—there are a lot of garden sales going on this weekend to help you stock up on annual and perennial flowers as well as a variety of fruits and veg that’ll give Whole Foods an inferiority complex. The Kilbourn Park Organic Greenhouse sale (pictured here) is May 16-17, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the tomato-based event promises 38 different varieties. You say to-may-to, I say to-mah-to, K-Pog says Homer Fike’s Yellow Oxheart. They’ll also have 25 picks of peppers, herbs, baked goods, and compost and straw for sale. It’s cash only, but if you wait until Wed., May 20 they’ll be dishing out leftovers at half-off from 5 to 7:30 p.m. The Garden Council of Evanston is also throwing its 60th annual annual/perennial fair on Saturday and Sunday, with a large variety of native wildflowers and grasses, many dug right out of members’ gardens (so you know they’re suited to our schizophrenic climate). And the Long Grove–Kildeer Garden Club will be competing for green-thumb greenbacks on the same days, peddling plants at (and to benefit) the Reed-Turner Woodlands Nature Center in Long Grove.
Head of the Glass
Sawbridge Studios is hosting a special showing of handmade pieces by Vermont-based master glassblower Simon Pearce this Thursday, May 14, from 2-5 p.m. at its River North location. Pearce will be there in person, signing and dating pieces for that personal touch. The Irish artisan was born and raised in County Cork, studied at the Royal Academy in London and earned his stripes at elite ateliers all over the world, from Kosta Boda and Orrefors in Sweden, to Leerdam in the Netherlands, to Venini in Italy, before moving to Quechee, Vermont in 1981 and firing up the glass action in an historic mill. The vases shown here ($195 to $495) are from the Stowe collection, inspired by local mountains, and require two glass masters working at once to create the crystal-clear layered effect.
Galleria-Da-Vida, Baby
I enjoy dingle-dangling through the bazaar-like atmosphere of Andersonville’s Galleria mall, 5247 N. Clark St., with its 90-plus shops selling everything from home décor to fashion, chocolates to jewelry, including City Scents floral and home booth, Figaro’s Parisian antiques, and Design Hut’s fabric creations (those are their pillows, pictured). Celebrate the grand re-opening of this something-for-everyone resource at a wine-and–hors d’oeuvres reception this Friday, May 15, from 6-10 p.m.
Walks of Fame
Should be nice this weekend, so how about a walk in the park, checking out some private digs on one of the diverse home tours that are busting out all over this spring? On Saturday, eight ritzy Oak Park residences designed by Frank Lloyd Wright will be open to tour-istas on the 35th annual Wright Plus walk (the stately George W. Furbeck home is pictured here), as well as three landmark Wright buildings. Tickets are $95 and reservations de rigueur. Or immerse yourself in another beloved Chicago style, the bungalow, on a bus tour of South Side neighborhoods on May 17, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., organized by the Historic Chicago Bungalow Association, $40. The group covers other neighborhoods too, so check their website for the schedule. Other Sunday sojourns of interest include the Wilmette Historical Society’s four-stop housewalk, $45 in advance, $25 for students; the Western Springs walk of seven historic and modern era homes, $30 presale; and the Chicago City Day School’s voyeuristic voyage through the landed gentry of Lincoln Park, their 21st annual City Style House Tour, $140 if you reserve a ticket before 4 p.m. on Friday, $155 at the door (that includes nibbly things at seven swanky domiciles—meet at a new Hewitt-Horn—developed residence at 2214 N. Magnolia St., one o’clock, to start the ball strolling).