YOU You do in the garden this year!

First, I assured her that she really could have the garden of her dreams. I also told her that it was smart that she contacted a professional versus trying to tackle it alone. How many of you would try to fix your car yourself? Or remodel your home? Or take out your own wisdom teeth? Very few of you would DIY that, so why do you wish to DIY a garden plan? Bring in the professionals!

This is where I told her that she COULD have this garden and it would be EASY. A professional that is an expert in her field knows the right questions to ask and how to listen. She knows how to maximize budget. She knows how to pull all of those ideas and photos and color swatches together into a pleasing garden plan that will be easy to maintain and fun to have.

YOUR garden is just that – yours. Your garden knows how much time you have to work on it. Your garden knows that you like butterflies and has plants that attract them by the plenty. Your garden knows you have a drainage issue so has plants or features that can divert or use excess water. Your garden knows that you are allergic to lilies and doesn’t have any even though your landscaper wanted to plant them anyway. Note: “Landscapers” aren’t all the same –we can’t be all the things. Do your research. Is your “landscaper” your lawn maintenance company? Grass is way different than perennials or shrubs. I don’t pretend to know anything about lawns, but I do know plenty about trees and shrubs! Find the right person for YOUR job!

I’ve set a goal for this year to work on personalizing my own garden. I tend to garden in bursts when I have time or a plant catches my eye at the Garden Center. I certainly don’t plan my own garden (I know…I know…I don’t practice what I preach) but I do want to give it more thought. I also give myself permission to do what I want. I decided last fall that growing tomatoes is just too much for me. They take up too much space. They hog water. They make a mess in my little garden space. I decided that instead of tomatoes, this year it will be my “collector’s garden.” I’m planting things that I have never planted before and new varieties that are introduced. It may turn out to be a bit unplanned or unorganized – depending on the time frame in which I plant. But that’s okay. It’s MY garden and I can do what I want. And if it fails – it’s okay, I will try something else. Of course, I will probably poll my co-worker experts to see what else I should try…see? Always ask the pros!

My point is, don’t second guess yourself when it comes to gardening. You have already shown that you are willing to learn. I’m giving you permission to have fun, learn and try new things, and dream at the same time. Heck, you may even plant something yourself. (Start small… trust me!) While you are at it, please plant some tomatoes so that I can come get some…

Meagan is the at in St. Charles. She can be reached at 630-584-4424 or design@wasconursery.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!

Musings about winter weather and trips to Disney World

Staring out the window in February in northern Illinois can trigger a snowballing avalanche of thoughts, perhaps leading once more to a magical place. Or at least a place that is magical for my kids anyway.

The journey may begin in a comfortable chair on Sunday, a fire crackling in the fireplace, a book in my lap, my mind turning to reminiscing over times spent reading books to my kids on cold, dreary days similar to this, in chairs much like this. Perhaps that book may have been the famed children’s tome, “If You Give a Moose a Muffin,” by Laura Numeroff. (And before we go further: Yes, I know Numeroff wrote the “Moose” book as the sequel to “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie,” but my kids preferred moose and muffin, so this is their fault.)

And thinking about moose will make me think about Canada. And Minnesota, too, I suppose, though what really is the difference?

Pondering moose in the Great North will make me remember that winter will soon be over.

Sure, the endless 28 days of February will do their level best to lull us into believing the season of snow, sleet and polar vortices will never end. But the apps on my phone promise that one day, the temperature will once again rise above the freezing mark, and for several blessed months, the words “snow blower,” “ice melter” and “polar vortex” will become Canada’s problem once again.

And Minnesota’s too, I suppose. Then, thinking of Minnesota once more, perhaps I’ll think about lakes, because, well, state mottos and what not. And pondering Minnesota lakes will lead me to remember that moose can not only swim, but also dive down to 20 feet and eat vegetation underwater.

(Keep that in mind, should you ever find yourself in a canoe on a lake in Minnesota.) But thinking about swimming in lakes will return my thoughts to the end of winter, because swimming outside goes in summer, unless you happen to be someplace almost perpetually summery, like Florida.

And thinking about Florida and my kids, my thoughts may turn to Disney World.

Here we must pause for a bit, because if you were to ask me to use Facebook to define my relationship with Disney World, I would undoubtedly need to click “It’s Complicated.”

On one hand, as comedian Jim Gaffigan and so many others have pointed out, for most dads, there is very little personally relaxing, refreshing or redeeming about a trip to Disney World. And even less so if you are from the North and somehow find yourself in Orlando in the summer.

And, if you were to ask me to publish a list of my preferred vacation destinations, the Most Magical Place on Earth would find itself far, far down the list, somewhere between downstate Illinois and Canada in February.

But yet, in recent years, there I have been, melting on the Most Magical Pavement on Earth, not just once, but multiple times.

So why, you ask, have I continued to return to Disney World? Well, as Gaffigan adroitly puts it: Because I love my kids. And they love Disney.

Growing up, it would be wrong to call my family poor. Yes, we lived in a modest home in a lower income community. But we never went hungry, or faced homelessness, to my knowledge. And every summer, we took a vacation.

Most of the time, it was a camping trip to a Midwestern state – Wisconsin, Michigan, even South Canada, er Minnesota, with a few farther flung destinations thrown in.

But for my siblings and I, a family trip to a place like Disney World may as well have been a months-long excursion to Paris, Cairo or Marseilles – and not the towns in downstate Illinois.

Fast forward a few decades, and, as is common in the American dream, my lifestyle has in many ways eclipsed that of my parents. So, with the resources on hand, there would no reason to deny my wife and I the chance to hear our kids cheer when we tell them we’re going to Disney World, or see their faces light up upon witnessing Cinderella’s Castle at the end of Main Street USA, or to share their joy at taking photos with their favorite make-believe characters from the House of Mouse, or soak in their giggles on their favorite rides. Sure, there will be a few meltdowns along the wayincluding a few from the kids.

And we have traveled, and will travel again, to other, more real destinations, offering more culture, more nature, and costing far less to give them more rounded experiences away from home. n Jonathan Bilyk writes about the triumphs and travails of being a modern-day dad who legitimately enjoys time with his family, while tolerating a dog that seems to adore him. He also doesn’t really like the moniker “Superdad” because it makes it sound like he wants to wear his undergarments on the outside of his pants. (Also,the cape remains on back order.)

But, God willing, there will also be ample time for enjoying more sophisticated vacation fare in the years to come.

So, for now, while they are young, we will return from time to time to Disney World.

Because if you give a dad a dollar in February, he might just decide to use it to book a trip to make some memories with his kids – though not to Orlando in the summer, please.

Welcome the beginning of the chilly season with a good book!

Here are two recommendations for your February reading list, courtesy of the librarians at Geneva Public Library.