The Hosta Gardener
by Tom Micheletti

ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED: 1995 Summer

Do you appreciate organically-grown food? If so, here's an idea for you: join in the "community-supported agriculture [CSA]" movement by becoming a member of Peggy's Biodynamic Gardens, owned by Carrie Driver and her family. For $500 (upfront), you will receive a weekly order of a dozen eggs and 10 lbs. of vegetables and herbs for 6 months from June-November. (Apples are also available.) Deliveries are made in Lake Forest, Oak Park, Evanston, Ravenswood, and Lincoln Park, and it's possible to buy smaller amounts (a half-share membership). By my reckoning, that's about $20/week, which sounds good for such sumptious goodies as oriental greens, raspberries, tomatoes, eggplants, celery, onions, sweet corn, endive, shallots, and on and on -- all picked within 24 hours of delivery. Can you beat it? Contact Carrie Driver at (414) 473-3865 or write for a brochure to N7639 Kettle Moraine Dr., Whitewater, WI 53190.

And that's not all available from Whitewater! (I'm beginning to wonder just what's in the water in Whitewater?!) If you love good coffee and have a good conscience, then you can join Natalie's Integrity Networks, a coffee co-op which pays Columbian farmers' to grow coffee instead of coca. For $240 annually, you will receive 4 lbs. of whole beans per month. Interested? Call 1-800-NATWORKS.

For those of you who live in southern Wisconsin or far north Illinois, try shopping at Arbor Vista Nursery, Dam Road, Delavan, WI 53115 (414) 728-6050. It was recommended by TWG subscriber Gordon Yadon, gardener extraordinaire and curator of the Delavan (WI) Arboretum.

If you live in Chicagoland's western suburbs, Shoestring Gardens is a new concept that will appeal to those of you who always dreamed of a big truck pulling up in your driveway loaded with every plant you always wanted. Shoestring is a "direct-from-the-grower" distributor of trees, shrubs, and perennials. Their prices are reasonable and include delivery, but you must order at least $100 of perennials or $200 of trees or shrubs and live somewhere in the vicinity of Western Springs, IL. Contact owner Jeanne Brown for a sample price list by writing to 4115 Grand Ave., Western Springs, IL 60558 or calling (708) 246-4258.

Another plant source in the western suburbs, but one which will mail plants to you via UPS, is Laurie's Landscape (708) 969-1270. Owner Laurie Skzrenta specializes in hosta and peonies, but her plant list also includes fine perennials, trees, and shrubs. Her "nursery" in Downer's Grove is open by appointment only.

For those of you who are rare plant connoisseurs, write or fax for the catalog of Autumn Glade Botanicals, 46857 W. Ann Arbor Trail, Plymouth, MI 48170 (313) 459-2604. Although some of owner Dr. Keith Gover's selections are hardy only to jungles, many of his unusual plants will do fine here. I love Monkshood [Aconitum], for example, as a plant for late fall color and light shade (did you know Monkshood is a cousin of the Delphinium?), and he offers one called ÔRosey' [A. napellus ÔRoseum'] that is pale pink as compared to the usual deep purple. FUN stuff!

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