BY NATASHA WASINSKI | Contributor
June 24, 2013 7:44PM
Linda Suwalski of Franklin Park sprinkles pebbles into a miniature fairy garden at the River Grove Library June 22. | Natasha Wasinski~For Sun-Times Media
Article Extras
Updated: June 24, 2013 7:49PM
RIVER GROVE
Linda Dwyer’s collection of bonsai trees thrives during the warmer months of the year.
But she couldn’t put her finger on why the plants withered inside her Norridge home during winter.
After all, Dwyer said, she continues to sprinkle them with Miracle-Gro.
Dwyer’s choice of fertilizer caught master gardener Kathleen Obirek’s attention.
“Oh!” she exclaimed. “I hear that all the time, and I get goose bumps.”
Obirek explained: “If your plants are doing so-so, it’s not you.”
“It’s just that you don’t know about these finer products.”
A floral and landscape designer and educator for the past two decades, Obirek knows a thing or two about what makes a garden grow.
She shared some of her tricks of the trade at River Grove Library June 22 during a free gardening craft class. In addition to teaching the ground rules to being a green thumb – like how to never use water that is treated with salt or comes from a well – Obirek helped the participants in properly planting a miniature fairy garden, complete with a ceramic figurine, glitter and gems.
The gardeners potted two-year-old syngoniums, a tropical climbing vine and common houseplant often referred to as “fairy wings.”
Obirek selected the leafy, lime-green plants for the project because they’re easy to grow. Yet that’s not to say the plant doesn’t require some special care.
As with other indoor plants, paying attention to lighting conditions is key, Obirek noted.
If an area is too bright or hot, the plants’ leaves may develop yellowish-brown spots.
That’s not disease, Obirek said; it’s sunburn.
Living and breathing plants share some other traits with their human caretakers. For starters, water cannot be their only sustenance.
“If we just had a diet of water, where would we be?” Obirek said.
Fertilizer and supplements rich in nutrients and hormones provide fuel, and variety is the spice of life when it comes to feeding.
Obirek advised changing a plant’s diet every other month, and to fertilize year-round.
“They are never dormant,” she said. “We need nourishment during the winter months and so do your plants.”
Obirek said while she doesn’t get paid to push products, she does have strong opinions on what to feed flora.
She personally tends to stay away from powdery substances due to her asthma, and has found successes with an organic liquid fertilizer.
The result has been no powdery mildew and no bugs.
“I cannot tell you, when I switched products, the difference in my plants was just amazing,” Obirek attested.
The most experienced gardeners in the River Grove library that Saturday afternoon walked away with new tidbits for taking better care of their plants.
Not relying on Miracle-Gro for miracles was Linda Suwalski’s biggest takeaway, in addition to a new tropical houseplant.
“I lived by that stuff,” she said of the fertilizer.
A retiree, Suwalski said tending to her Franklin Park home’s gardens daily is her “enjoyment.” She also aspires to take the hobby a step further.
“I still want to get my master gardener (certification),” she said. “I’m going to. One day.”
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