The Pros at Home

Through Prairies Woodlands and Historical Sites —

Jerry Adelmann’s roots run deep

by Nina A. Koziol

Walking through Lockport Prairie in Will County is like entering a time machine. You’ve suddenly stepped back several centuries—before the first settlers pressed westward through Illinois. Big bluestem grasses and tall coreopsis sway like ocean waves. Migrating monarch butterflies sip at goldenrod and asters. The colorful Hine’s emerald dragonfly, (a federally endangered species) darts overhead and at your feet are rare and uncommon plants like leafy prairie clover, lakeside daisy, low calamint and slender sandwort. They are just some of the gems that managed to survive widespread development and land use.

This rare remnant of dolomite prairie sits on a floodplain along the Des Plaines River where the plants have adapted to a high water table—a feat that has only taken them a few thousand years or more to accomplish. This type of plant community has almost completely disappeared from the Midwest. If it wasn’t for Gerald “Jerry” Adelmann, the Lockport Prairie and many other very special places like Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie and Openlands Lakeshore Preserve (the former site of Fort Sheridan) would look very different today—perhaps home to sprawling subdivisions, distribution centers, strip malls or casinos.

Adelmann is President and CEO of Openlands, a nonprofit organization that works to protect natural and open spaces in northeastern Illinois and surrounding areas. “Our natural resources are critical to the resilience and sustainability of the region,” he said. “They are an integral part of our metropolitan fabric.”

He has been active in preservation, conservation and planning since the 1970s. He was initially spurred into the pres-

and Historical Sites —

Smokebush, irises, rudbeckia, coneflowers, catmint and allium take their turns in bloom in the sunny beds.

ervation arena after a builder bought two historic houses on the main street in downtown Lockport with the intention of keeping them. Or that’s what he claimed. But once the deal closed, they were soon demolished. One had been in Adelmann’s family for years.

While working on a pre-doctoral fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, Adelmann became involved in volunteer projects to save some of Lockport’s remaining historic buildings and unique natural areas. “The Forest Preserve District of Will County suggested I contact Openlands with my ideas for a regional landscape-scale approach that would include recreational trails, revitalized waterfronts and historic downtowns, and protected natural and cultural treasures through the five-county region.” Under his guidance, Openlands launched the 21st Century Open Space Plan, which called for expanded parklands, greenways, and trails. Beginnings

It’s no surprise that Adelmann has formed a deep connection to the land. His ancestors were among the first settlers in the area nearly 200 years ago. In 1832, the Potawatomi Indian Chief Shabbona warned Adelmann’s great-great-great grandfather to flee Will County and go to Fort Dearborn along Lake Michigan. “The Black Hawk war was imminent. Thanks to Chief Shabbona, I am here today.” In the late 1970s, Adelmann’s parents purchased the Robert Milne House in Lockport, Illinois. Milne, a master mason who built five of the locks on the Illinois and Michigan Canal, built the house in 1842 from locally quarried limestone. “It’s likely that Abraham Lincoln visited this house when he came to Lockport,” Adelmann says with a twinkle in his eye. (continued on page 12)

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“I can’t prove that he slept here, but he probably did.” Local lore holds that Lincoln traveled through Lockport several times.

Adelmann tells an amazing story of two giant pines that flanked the front door. They were Austrian pines, purchased by Milne from a roving tree peddler and planted in 1848 as commemorative wedding trees. The pines are also called “husband-and-wife trees.” The “wife” tree died around 1900 and was replaced with another Austrian pine. The larger “husband” tree was taken down this year after battling decades of disease and insect pests despite treatments.

“An arborist from The Morton Arboretum looked at it many years ago and thought it may have been the largest Austrian pine in the state,” he said. Wood from the venerable tree was saved for future use.

The Garden

Adelmann has gardened around the home for decades and enjoys everything from planting and watering to cutting back perennials. “Most weekends I work in the garden, but of course I have a lot of help.” He’s worked with Marcy Stewart-Pyziak, horticultural instructor at the College of DuPage on the site.

There is little foundation planting except behind the kitchen, which directs the focus to the home’s unique architecture and stonework. There’s a stone milk house surrounded by a cottage-style garden filled with annuals and perennials. Native prairie dropseed and little bluestem grasses mingle with baptisia, fragrant nicotiana, bergenia, heuchera, acanthus, Russian sage, Joe Pye weed and amsonia. “We just finished harvesting the garlic in July,” he said. The garlic includes many heirloom varieties that were originally grown by his father and saved over the years to be replanted each fall.

A fabulous borrowed view looks onto the field of the adjacent Milne Grove Elementary School. Behind the field, is a tree line that conceals a road. A Victorian church steeple appears over the treetops to give the illusion that time stopped long ago. Although a resident family of red foxes regularly trots through the borders, Adelmann laments that they take little notice of the bunnies.

It’s hard for him to pick his favorite plants, but the concolor fir with its striking blue needles is up there on his (continued on page 14)

The Austrian pine (right) planted in the 1840s was removed this summer after battling decades of disease.

(continued from page 12) list. “Gosh, it’s hard to single out a favorite,” he said. “In addition to shrubs and trees, I do love my spring ephemerals, the giant castor beans, hellebores, bear’s britches and cardoons, to name a few.” Another tree he adores is a lowbranched katsura, which smells like cotton candy when the leaves turn gold in fall.

Some treasured plants simply disappear. “I was growing Tasmanian acanthus, which is variegated and I really like it, but it didn’t make it over winter indoors and it’s very difficult to find. I’ve had it for years.” Coleus, tall heirloom canna lilies, irises, smokebush, allium, rudbeckia, echinacea and salvia create striking colors and textures in the sunny beds. Sweeps of Japanese forest grass and Max Frei geraniums hug the edge of the shady borders along with large drifts of Annabelle hydrangeas, hostas and ferns.

Water Woes

Large trees, including an ancient hop hornbeam that pre-dates the first settlers, have developed massive root systems that frequently rob the soil of water. During summer when we don’t get that recommended one inch of rain per week, he gets out the hose. Watering takes hours and there is no automatic irrigation system. (One inch of rainfall on a 10-foot by 10-foot space is the equivalent of 65 gallons of water.) Dry spells during the summer require pulling the hose around to many of the beds and borders. Amending the soil when planting and regular mulching helps retain some moisture, he explains, but the soil is quick to dry out.

Past, Present, Future

Two hitching posts and a stone carriage step flank the sidewalk by the road, hinting to the property’s past as a rural 19th-century farm. The house is on the National Register of Historic Places and is illustrated in the Will County Atlas of 1893.

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The garden boasts an eclectic mix of annual fountain grass, cacti, milkweed and sedum.

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Adelmann’s position with Openlands has taken him around the country as well as to Asia and Europe. He has been involved in conservation and historic preservation projects in China since the early 1990s. Since 2008, he has served as an international adviser on regional planning and sustainable development for the Yangon Heritage Trust in Myanmar. Lewis University bestowed him with an honorary doctorate and he is an honorary member of the American Association of Landscape Architects.

But now, he’s thinking about retirement and spending more time outdoors. “Being in the garden is so relaxing. I look forward to it each weekend.” We wish him well.