Garden Like a Tangari
Deb Tangari shares her gardening experience and wisdom for triumphing over tree roots, clay soil, and droughts, while alsomaking peace with squirrels and lizards
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Welcome to the winter 2024 edition of TopekaMagazine!
Gardeners will know that winter is one of the most enjoyable seasons of the year— it’s when a gardener can flip through gardening catalogues or scroll through online inventories. It’s a time when dreams and plans aren’t contained by the amount of labor, the persistency of tree roots, or the audacity of squirrels.
So, our cover story—along with a look at the innovative garden on the property of the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center—celebrates that “anything is possible” winter-gardening spirit, which you might hopefully share, or at least enjoy reading.
In this issue, we also talk with author Louise Krug about her latest collection of essays, which contains several anecdotes about life in Topeka that many will find familiar. And then we’re off to Panama, as Susan Kraus visits with two Topekans who have started a combination agricultural research station/mission work that involves crops of greens and an enormous number of chickens and rabbits.
Winter is a great season to be in Topeka and experience what the city has to offer, as you can see from our calendar of recommended events. We hope to run into you out and about the city as we all celebrate the holidays and dream big for our plans this coming spring.
—NATHAN PETTENGILL, EDITOR
Editor Nathan Pettengill
Art Director/Designer Alex Tatro
Copy Editor Leslie Clugston Andres
Advertising Representative Angie Taylor ataylor@sunflowerpub.com (785) 832-7236
Photographers Susan Kraus Nick Krug
Writers Susan Kraus Christine Steinkuehler
Please contact us at topekamagazine@sunflowerpub.com for all comments, subscription and editorial queries.
Topeka Magazine is a publication of Sunflower Publishing, a division of Ogden Publications. Director: Bob Cucciniello Publisher: Bill Uhler
Ogden Publications 1503 SW 42nd St Topeka, KS 66609
sunflowerpub.com
topekamag.com
On the Cover
Debra and Gregory Tangari stand in the front garden of their home in Topeka.
Photograph by Nick Krug.
Vivien Smith has helped create and maintain the Native Prairie Grass and Wildflower Habitat at the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center (KCDC).
2024 2024
DEPARTMENTS
08 THEIR LITTLE CORNER WITH MORINGA TREES
A Gen-X Topeka couple leaves behind familiar comforts to live out their faith on an experimental farm in Panama
12 DISCOVERING PRAIRIES AGAIN
A public garden allows visitors to experience a natural prairie and determine if the native ecosystem might work for their patch of land
16 ‘HOW IT’S GOING’
In Louise Krug’s latest book, a quiet Topeka life with extraordinary everyday events becomes a route to gentle self-acceptance
FEATURE
24 DEB TANGARI’S ALL-SEASON GUIDE TO GARDENING
You’ve met your match, silver maples! Deb Tangari is here with decades of gardening experience to help us create year-round beautiful spaces in Topeka’s rootrich, clay-soil spaces
IN EVERY ISSUE
20 WHAT'S HAPPENING Winter events
DECEMBER
13, 14 & 15
7:30pm performances Friday & Saturday 1:30pm performances Saturday & Sunday
TOPEKA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Their Little Corner with Moringa Trees
A Gen-X Topeka couple leaves behind familiar comforts to live out their faith on an experimental farm in Panama
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY Susan Kraus
Tracy Janosik spent her childhood in Topeka: Crestview Elementary, French Middle School and Topeka West. Her teen years were all about drill team, friends, football games, waitressing at the Western Sizzlin Steakhouse, working at Kmart, and stretching the cord to her family’s landline so she could bring the phone into her room, close the door and get some privacy. She dreamed of leaving the Midwest and becoming, as she recalls, a “big-city girl,” working as a flight attendant and traveling the world.
Life had other plans, and these involved Dan Daves, a young man who attended her church.
Like Janosik, Daves had gone to Crestview but then moved to Berryton and then to Clifton. He played music and, in his words, was kind of a wild guy until his life turned upsidedown. He rejected drugs and began composing and playing Christian music.
By 1988, Janosik and Daves married and began their life together. Daves attended seminary, earned degrees in ministry, spent 12 years leading a church in St. Louis, and then was a pastor in Dallas while also running leadership conferences for several years.
At that point, the couple had two kids and were leading a comfortable life. But they began to feel a calling as they learned about the looming global food crisis, expanding populations, and climate change. Soon, that calling became urgent.
In 2014, they moved to Panama, where crops grow quickly and winter does not interfere with growing seasons. Here, they established a farm and learned about subsistence agriculture and innovative techniques, from planting to marketing their food. Before this, neither of them had farmed. They didn’t grow up planting and harvesting, let alone figuring out how to fertilize crops without using petroleum-based fertilizers.
Topeka natives Dan Daves and Tracy Janosik have lived in Panama since 2014. Working with local residents, they raise crops and dehydrate them into powdered nutrients.
But they learned. With guidance and hard work, they transformed rabbit pellet poop into a fertilizer known as cool nitrogen. This technique alone allowed them to spend only $200 a month to feed the rabbits instead of the $1,500 they would have spent on traditional manufactured fertilizers. As they learned how to fertilize, harvest, and dehydrate their crops, they shared their experience with others.
Now, their farm in Chiriqui Province, in west Panama near the Costa Rica border, sits outside Potrerillos Arriba, a town of about 1,100 people, with a school, a few small shops, a church and a playground. There are no sidewalks, no amenities. The farm is on a rutted, dead-end dirt road barely wide enough for a car yet somehow able to accommodate trucks with produce.
The couple’s two kids, now grown, live in Texas. Ariel, 28, is an audio engineer, and Danny, 26, works with a tree-trimming company. But they helped create and shape the farm before they launched their own lives. Now, Tracy and Dan tend to their goats, rabbits, and more than 400 chickens. Surrounded by greenhouses, they teach in an outdoor classroom, prepare group meals for children and families in an outside kitchen, and run a dehydration center that transforms greens into powdered nutrients.
“We’re up every day at about 5 a.m. and are usually in bed by 8:30 p.m.,” Tracy says. “We try to start each
To Learn More
You can read about Global Food Providers on their website, globalfoodproviders.com. Daniel Daves details more of their work and approach to agriculture in his booklets, Global Food Revolution and Food Is Power (both available through online retailers).
Chickens are valuable for eggs, insect-control, and their natural fertilizer. Daves had worked for many years as a pastor in the United States before taking on this new mission work in Panama.
day together with quiet time and coffee, and then we work. It’s different every day and dramatically different from family life in the United States. Much simpler, family-focused.”
Every Tuesday, the couple travels to a farmers market in the largest nearby town, Boquete.
“That’s when we connect with other ex-pats and local farmers, and it helps us pay our employees at the farm,” Dan says. “Anything not sold gets dehydrated and turned into a powder that enriches the rice for the malnourished. Every Saturday, we host children at the farm and feed everyone, then train and teach adults. We nurture both bodies and souls.”
To sustain its operations, the farm operates as Global Food Providers, a subsidiary of Children’s Feeding Network, a U.S. 501(c)3 nonprofit. They have a board, internship and volunteer programs, and an extensive support network.
Dan says it is impossible to separate their work as Global Food Providers from their faith.
“If you want to call it agricultural evangelism, then okay,” Dan says. “But we cannot talk to people about God’s mercy without showing mercy. Words are empty without action. People need mechanic skills, farming techniques, tools to be able to preserve and distribute, trucks and more. Practical help and practical skills that can improve their lives. Only then can they be receptive to words.”
Walking through the farm’s greenhouses, Tracy and Dan point out the different crops.
“This is a moringa tree,” Tracy explains, holding out a branch to inspect. “If you’re stuck on a desert island and have two moringa trees, you’ll survive.”
Surviving in Panama for more than a decade has required adaptability and patience.
“We knew we had to show we’re in this for the long haul, and we did that by giving away food, sharing what we’ve learned and are still learning,” Dan says. “But it feels that for everything we give, we get more in return: a well that gushes water, electricity to better run the farm, volunteers who want to help, advice in navigating the system. We have goals that most people would say are totally unrealistic, but we’re moving toward them, one day at a time.”
The couple says their children and their extended family understand why they have remained in Panama, but some of their old friends in the States have different views.
“They see us as brave or adventurous, but I expect that some think we’re a little bit crazy,” Tracy says. “Others have no idea. They just know we’re far away.”
“It’s hard for people to understand having a ‘mission.’ Like this is what we need to be doing. And this little corner of the world is where we’re doing it,” Dan adds. “Will it make a difference in the big picture? We have no control over that. But can we make a difference to this little corner? Yes. We just need to keep doing the work.”
Daves and Janosik sell some of their produce at the local farmers market but dehydrate much of the greens into powder that can be sprinkled into food such as rice to add nutrients.
Discovering Prairies Again
A public garden allows visitors to experience a natural prairie and determine if the native ecosystem might work for their patch of land
STORY BY Christine Steinkuehler PHOTOGRAPY BY Nick Krug
The Native Prairie Grass and Wildflower Habitat sits just outside the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center (KCDC) and is open to the public.
When many of us think of prairies, even though we live among them, we often recall something akin to the idyllic opening scenes from A Little House on the Prairie, a young girl running through tall grass and sweeping hills dotted with wildflowers.
While that image isn’t entirely wrong, it is also not entirely authentic.
Fortunately, children growing up in Topeka can explore a natural prairie environment through the Native Prairie Grass and Wildflower Habitat at the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center (KCDC). Nestled in the heart of Topeka, on the southwest corner of Gage Park, this three-acre garden offers a changing tapestry of native grasses, colorful flowers and diverse wildlife.
Established in 2011, the garden is one of nine Certified Nature Explore Classrooms in Kansas, designed and designated by the nonprofit Nature Explore program. To earn this certification, sites must provide interactive elements, such as natural musical instruments, engaging pathways, and creative, natural spaces; it also requires a demonstrated commitment to ongoing educational opportunities.
In 2014, Vivien Smith accepted an offer from Laura Burton, director of KCDC, to help shape and maintain the prairie garden. Armed with her old truck and a determined teen volunteer, Smith tackled the invasive prickly lettuce, ragweed, and sunflowers that had overrun the area. “Slowly, over the years, we’ve turned it into something pretty spectacular,” she says.
An environmental specialist for the state of Kansas and a dedicated native gardener, Smith began her journey by working at Jackson’s greenhouse, where she discovered her love for planting seedlings. A K-State horticulture class trip to Dyck Arboretum ignited her interest in public horticulture, inspiring her to envision spaces where people could immerse themselves and learn about Kansas prairies.
Volunteer Vivien Smith says the prairie space has evolved naturally and slowly over the years with the appearance of wild flowers such as purple aster, above.
Finding It
The Native Prairie Grass and Wildflower Habitat can be found between 10th Street and the entrance to the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center, 4400 SW 10th St. It is open year-round and free of charge.
Smith says her favorite prairie garden plants vary depending on the time of year. In the fall, the Maximilian sunflowers and the asters command attention. When nothing else is blooming in the spring, the rue stands out among the landscape like bursts of white fireworks.
Even more humble plants play important roles, Smith notes. From spring through fall, for example, visitors can see bees feeding on thistles. Though many gardeners consider thistle a noxious weed, several thistle varieties not on the USDA’s noxious weed list benefit gardens while providing a food source for pollinators and birds.
Even when there is little noticeable growth, a prairie is undergoing important events in its life cycle. Native prairie grass habitats require at least three years to become fully established, so the prairie grass portion of the garden was considered viable in 2014. That was also the first year that regular prairie burns began on the site to keep the land healthy.
Burns play a critical role in the health of a prairie ecosystem. They control woody plant growth, manage invasive plants, and stimulate the growth of native plants. Therefore, the KCDC garden does a controlled burn every three years in conjunction with the Topeka Fire Department, Shawnee County Parks and Recreation, and residential neighbors.
KCDC prefers to conduct the burns in February, when most invertebrates are dormant and underground.
After the burn, changes happen quickly. One day, the prairie is black with soot; the next, thousands of tiny green shoots emerge among new wildlife tracks.
The prairie is constantly changing.
Your Own Prairie Garden
If you are inspired to create your own prairie gardens, Vivien Smith suggests first visiting local sites like the KCDC garden or Bethany Gardens. Engaging with volunteers and taking notes about plant options can help you decide which plants to include and provide an idea of how much and what type of maintenance your selections might require.
Smith frequently receives queries about replacing traditional grasses with native options, particularly buffalo grass. She advises visiting the buffalo grass plot at the KCDC to observe
its seasonal changes before deciding if it’s a good choice of cover for your lawn or garden. No matter what type of prairie garden you choose, be prepared to be flexible and expect surprises. Smith cautions that plants may behave differently depending on site conditions such as soil, light, and water. Prairies are dynamic, evolving landscapes where plants compete for resources and shift over time. Common milkweed, for instance, known for its unpredictable nature, often migrates from its original spot.
There are nine certified Nature Explore Classrooms throughout Kansas, but some are on private land. Only three others were designed by the Nature Explore program.
1. Christots Montessori, Shawnee
2. East Heights UMC Preschool, Wichita
3. Gigi’s Child Care Home, Wichita
4. Mill Creek Activity Center Natureplay Preschool, Shawnee
5. Special Blessing’s Child Care, Emporia
6. Wichita Collegiate School Early Childhood Center, Wichita
7. Finney County Public Library, Garden City
8. Kansas Children’s Discovery Center, Topeka
9. Meadowbrook Park Natureplay Preschool, Prairie Village
(listinginboldindicatethegardenwasdesignedbythe NatureExploreprogram)
Author Louise Krug writes about daily life with her family in Topeka.
‘How It’s Going’
In Louise Krug’s latest book, a quiet Topeka life with extraordinary everyday events becomes a route to gentle self-acceptance
STORY BY Nathan Pettengill PHOTOGRAPY BY Nick Krug
Louise Krug describes herself as someone interested in “different ways of looking at normal things.”
For Krug, these everyday things involve life as a Topeka author, Washburn University professor, mother, wife, self-professed bake-sale slacker, and survivor of a cavernous angioma, a rare and potentially fatal tangling of her brain’s blood vessels.
Krug chronicled this life-changing condition in her 2012 book, Louise, Amended, a raw and reflective narration of how the necessary brain surgeries to save her life stole a promising career in California and left her with double vision, a transformed facial expression, partial paralysis of one side of her face and a rogue eye with a mind of its own.
Her latest book, How to Explain (Finishing Line Press, 2024), begins with interrogations about these events—children asking blunt questions of “Why is your eye like that?”
What was a bitter misfortune for a 22-year-old to summarize is a fact of life in middle age, and How to Explain answers this question through essays that explore living with the disability that has shaped Krug’s life. And while her earlier work was about the impositions of illness, this book is more about folding that illness into her identity.
“It is kind of a disability book,” Krug says. “It is hard to say that it isn’t. My experience and how I move through the world because of the illness affects everything: working out, driving, interacting with the neighborhood kids. But there is also a lot about selfimage, relationships, and family. And I think it is most about self-acceptance, a journey to that.”
In Krug’s first book, that journey began haltingly—a beautiful young woman who lost control of her body and whose face was transformed by paralysis. Appearances, she acknowledged, are only
skin-deep, but we all have our vanities and tie parts of our self-worth to our attractiveness.
Of course, Krug, like many people, is perhaps her harshest critic when it comes to self-image. Even in this book of acceptance, she subjects herself to her own gaze with frankness, detachment, and a light cruelty that many will find familiar in their own self-assessments.
But there is also a shift in tone from her previous books.
"There is a sort of freedom that comes with getting older and gaining some self-compassion," Krug says. "When I was young, I had a very specific idea of what my life was supposed to be like. I thought there was a way that life is supposed to go. But you don’t realize that life can go many different ways and still be good."
In this book, self-criticism gives way to a variety of essays, many humorous, on finding a personal trainer, dancing, learning how to praise a spouse, being both disapproving and admiring of a fellow mother’s choice to hire a nanny to take her child to Girl Scout meetings, seeing marriage as something akin to a running tally of bank deposits and withdrawals, learning how to (and how not to) volunteer for your children’s group events, and instinctively—as a polite Midwesterner—not raising a fuss, even in situations where you really should.
In one essay, part spread sheet and part connubial rom-com, Krug audits her marriage as a banking balance sheet, itemizing the deposits and withdraws that she and her husband, Nick, make from day to day.
Daylight Donuts, Topeka KS: -$33.96
A friend mentions she brought donuts to the facultyatherkid’sschool,andthatsoundedlike something I want to do. I call the night before,
place my order, and then we all swing by the shop before school in the morning. I have the warm boxes on my lap and go to open the top one, wanting to enjoy the delicious satisfaction of a good deed, but Nick places his hand on top.“Areyoucrazy?Peopledon’twantyoubreathingall overtheirdonuts,Louise.Getagrip!” I stew.
Nick’sTrampolinePark#88:Despitethecold,mostdays the kids are willing to play with Nick on the trampoline for about 25 minutes while I play with my phone/get dinnerready.Hehasinventedagamecalled“SmashBall,” which involves him tagging the kids with a halfway-aired beach ball. Today, I sit inside and drink tea while looking at a Lands End catalogue. It is heavenly.
Louise’s Shutting Service #581: Before I take the kids to school (if it is my day) I walk around the house turning off light switches even if someone is in the room (a pre-emptive measure, since I know they won’t shut it off when they leave). I do this sweep before dinner, too, and other random times. I also close the kitchen cabinets and drawers, which, after any meal or coffee refill, Nick leaves wide open, like someone ransacked our kitchen. If I’m annoyed (a pretty good chance) I will slam and sigh.
Westlake Hardware, Topeka, KS: -$21.82
Lawnbags.NickandIrakeleaves.It’ssatisfying,watching ourstuffedlawnbagsstackupinthealley.Ifyou wouldhavetoldmeI’dwillinglydoyard workasanadult,Iwouldhavelaughed uncontrollably.
In another essay, Krug details joining and leaving a back-tobasics fitness club in Little Russia. Here, the trainer she calls Gil had her pumping iron and going through Rockyinspired resistance training to an overpowering heavy metal soundtrack.
I started going to the weight-lifting class three mornings a week at 5:30 with a mixture of happiness and dread. Happiness because it was nice to do the lifts: the squat, the bench press, deadlift, bent-over-row, and push press. I was feeling good because I was getting exercise but not wasting my life on the elliptical machine, watching old home-remodeling shows on my phone. When I arrived, I had to give Gil a notebook and he would write my workout down. In addition to the weight-lifting moves I knew, there were new things: the rowing machine, kettleball swings, and the Simply Horrible. For this, I had to run down a gravel road dragging a tire that was tied around my waist. It was the kind of thing where old men in pickup trucks would slow down and yell, “Tired?” out the window.
After a few months, Krug quits the gym, realizing that her body wasn’t responding well to the regime or the humiliation and that it wasn’t helping to improve her poor balance, one of the less visible but significant lingering effects of her illness.
And there it is again—the illness. Not demanding centerstage as it had in her earlier works, but still taking its due.
“The older I get, the less it is in the forefront of my mind,” Krug says. “Lots of time can go by without me thinking about any of these things, about my struggles or the things I deal with. I’m just trying to explain my world, my experience.”
Krug’s world experience happens to involve a specific town, a neighborhood, a home, a husband, kids, cats, leaf-raking, cross fit, jazzercise, and a thousand things more in daily life. It also involves, for better or worse, the ripples of a life-altering illness, but that’s only part of it all.
“We write about what we feel we need to write about,” Krug says. “And part of my thing is to write about why I’m here, and how it’s going. I don’t think I have a choice.”
December
FEATURED EVENT
Santa Paws
December 7
The Helping Hands Humane Society invites your pet to sit for holiday photos with the North Pole’s biggest fan of all pets. Special times are reserved for holiday photos of pets who might be frightened by men or costumes. Photo session donations are $15 and should be reserved in advance. hhhstopeka.org/santapaws | 785.233.7325
The Game’s Afoot or Holmes for the Holidays Ongoing–December 22 (various dates)
The Topeka Civic Theatre presents Ken Ludwig’s 2011 mystery-murder comedy. A troupe of actors gathers for fun and frivolity on Christmas Eve, only to find a theatrical murder has turned real. topekacivictheatre.com | 785.357.5211.
TARC’s Winter Wonderland
Ongoing–December 31
A Topeka tradition—two miles of holiday lights strung across the Lake Shawnee campgrounds for families and friends to enjoy. Ticket proceeds benefit the mission of TARC, the city’s nonprofit dedicated to assisting individuals with intellectual, developmental and related disabilities. Suggested donations are $10 per car, and the display is open 6–9 p.m. on Sunday–Thursday and 6–10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. winterwonderlandtopeka.com | 785.232.0597
Zoo Lights
Ongoing–December 28
Enjoy the garden landscape of the Topeka Zoo bathed in holiday lights and displays. The evening show calendar for December includes special theme nights, the opportunity to rent private party igloos and more. Children and senior tickets are $9; adult tickets are $12–$14 depending the date. topekazoo.org/zoolights | 785.783.4264
Sons of Brasil
December 1
Topeka Jazz presents an evening of Brazilian-jazz inspired music. topekaperformingarts.org | topekajazz.com
Medicare Advice
December 2 and 9
Volunteer experts with the nonprofit Jayhawk Area Agency on Aging provide guidance and suggestions for those signing up for Medicare for the first time (December 4 and 11), and for a special focus on Medicare Part D (December 18). The free event is held at the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library and requires registration. tscpl.org | 785.580.4400
Pickin’ on the Prairie
December 3, 10 and 17
Americana roots music concerts at the Potwin Drug Store in Old Prairie Town, sponsored by Grandpa Barry’s Guitars and Shawnee County Parks & Recreation.
“Old Prairie Town at Ward-Meade” on Facebook
Pets can take photographs with Santa, or on their own, against the backdrop of a holiday scene this December through the Helping Hands Humane Society. Photo courtesy Helping Hands Humane Society.
Songs of the Seasons
December 3–18 (various dates)
A range of musical groups—including school groups, woodwind quartets, flute ensembles and more perform seasonal songs in the rotunda of the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library. All concerts are free. tscpl.org | 785.580.4400
GeriFit
December 4, 11 and 18
The Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library helps seniors get a jump on New Year’s fitness goals with this class focusing on rebuilding lost muscle strength. Free with pre-registration. tscpl.org | 785.580.4400
Crystal Gayle
December 5
Country legend performs at the Prairie Band Casino & Resort. prairieband.com
First Friday Artwalk
December 6
Art galleries, artist studios, businesses, and more open for an evening of shows and performances. artstopeka.org
Chocolate Nutcracker
December 6
It Takes a Village presents an urban twist on the classic ballet with a variety of ethnic dances, including hip hop, jazz, African contemporary, lyrical, praise dance and ballet.
topekaperformingarts.org
Zoomers
December 6, 13, 20, and 27
The Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library offers this follow-up course to build on what was learned in completing the GeriFit muscle-building course. tscpl.org | 785.580.4400
Barbara’s Conservatory
Christmas Liturgical
December 7
A free performance of worship through dance. topekaperformingarts.org
Miracle on Kansas Avenue Parade
December 7
Topeka’s annual holiday parade through the heart of downtown. The parade, which includes floats and holiday lights, kicks off from 5th and Kansas Avenue at 6 p.m.
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Holiday Craft Fair
December 7
The Great Overland Station hosts artists offering holiday gifts such as jewelry, candles, baked goods and more from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Paw Patrol Live!
December 7–8
Musical stage performance of popular children’s show. stormontvaileventscenter.com
Ballet Midwest Presents The Nutcracker
December 13–15
Topeka-based Ballet Midwest’s performs the family holiday dance classic. Special 4-pack family discounts are available through advance purchase from Barbara’s Conservatory of Dance or from a cast member.
topekaperformingarts.org | balletmidwest.net
Red Stocking Breakfast
December 14
The Kansas Children’s Service League holds a fundraiser breakfast at The Pennant to benefit child abuse prevention programs in the county. kcsl.org
In the Mood
December 14
The Topeka Symphony Orchestra joins with the Shawnee Choral Society to present a lineup of holiday favorites. topekasymphony.org | 785.232.2032
Old Prairie Town Christmas
December 16
Old Prairie Town at Ward-Meade Historic Site opens for a day filled with nostalgic, family-friendly holiday activities. Make an ornament, visit Santa, help an elf on the railroad hand-cart and more.
“Old Prairie Town at Ward-Meade” on Facebook
Celebrate the Season
December 16
Topeka Festival Singers host an evening of holiday choral music at the White Concert Hall of Washburn University. topekafestivalsingers.org | 785.274.9009
Birds & Beer Dinner
December 18
Topeka Audubon Society hosts bird-themed conversations and dinner at Blind Tiger Brewery. Please register by sending an email before December 16. topekaaudubonsociety.org
Free Night at Kansas Children’s Discovery Center
December 19
Free admission 5–8 p.m. at Kansas Children’s Discovery Center. kansasdiscovery.org
Kansas Ballet: The Nutcracker
December 21–22
Topeka-based ballet troupe pairs with the Topeka Symphony Orchestra and professional ballet dancers to stage the holiday fairy tale. topekaperformingarts.org | kansasballet.com
Snowfest
December 23, 26, 27, and 50
Kansas Children’s Discovery Center holds special winter break activities, such as building snowball catapults and creating snowplow robots. Admission is $9 for children or adults. kansasdiscovery.org
Xtreme Bulls
December 31
Celebrate New Year’s by watching the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) sanctioned contest. stormontvaileventscenter.com
January
First Friday Artwalk
January 3
Art galleries, artist studios, businesses, and more open for an evening of shows and performances. artstopeka.org
Kansas Reflector at League of Women Voters Tuesday Topics
January 7
Journalists from the independent nonprofit Kansas Reflector discuss their take on the new presidential administration and the upcoming year of Kansas politics. tscpl.org
Night Light Ride
January 7 (and every Tuesday night) Kaw Valley Bike Club gathers for a weekly evening ride of 15–17 miles. All levels welcome, but bikes must have front and rear lights. Gather at Pizagel’s Pizza and Bakery, 2830 S.W. Fairlawn at 7 p.m. kvbc.org
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Bird Walk
January 11
Topeka Audubon Society presents a guided exploration of area birds. Meet in the McDonald Field parking lot at 8 a.m. topekaaudubonsociety.org
Historic Preservation: Living on the National Registrar
January 13
The Shawnee County Historical Society and the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library review the nuts and bolts of requirements for a home to be listed on the National Registrar of Historic Places. tscpl.org
Book and Media Sale
January 17–19
Topeka Friends of the Library holds sale of high-quality donated books, CDs, and other media. Members-only preview sale on January 17. tscpl.org | 785.580.4400
Unnecessary Farce
January 17–February 8 (various dates)
The Topeka Civic Theatre presents this 2014 hit about a motel and a comedy of mixed rooms. topekacivictheatre.com | 785.357.5211
House of Idols
January 18–May 17
Artist Priya Kambli presents a photographic exploration of the significance of the devhara, a home altar in Hinduism. mulvaneartmuseum.org
Birds & Beer Dinner
January 22
Topeka Audubon Society hosts bird-themed conversations and dinner at Blind Tiger Brewery. Please register by sending an email before January 20. topekaaudubonsociety.org
Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder
January 23
Bluegrass and country star performs at the Prairie Band Casino & Resort. prairieband.com
Kansas Day
January 29
Celebrate the state’s birthday by seldom saying discouraging words and listening to five Kansas bands—including Topeka’s own Maria the Mexican—give their take on the state’s official song, "Home on the Range." travelks.com/kansas-day
February
First Friday Artwalk
February 7
Art galleries, artist studios, businesses, and more open for an evening of shows and performances. artstopeka.org
Bird Walk
February 8
Topeka Audubon Society presents a guided exploration of area birds. Meet in the McDonald Field parking lot at 8 a.m. topekaaudubonsociety.org
Stormy Weather
February 15
The Topeka Symphony Orchestra features Serbian-American composer Aleksandra Vrebalov’s "This Kiss for the Whole World," a recent piece inspired by the text of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. topekasymphony.org | 785.232.2032
Birds & Beer Dinner
February 19
Topeka Audubon Society hosts bird-themed conversations and dinner at Blind Tiger Brewery. Please register by sending an email before February 17. topekaaudubonsociety.org
Dragons and Mythical Beasts
February 25
Topeka Performing Arts Center hosts a family-friendly stage performance of lifelike puppets portraying mythical beasts from cultures across the world. topekaperformingarts.org | 785.234.2787
Waitress
February 28–March 29 (various dates)
Topeka Civic Theatre presents a musical about an expert pie maker and waitress who summons the courage to bake the pie that will change her life. topekacivicthreatre.com | 785.357.5213
The Mulvane Art Museum hosts an exhibition of work by photographer Priya Kambli, such as this cyanotype, "Objects of Worship." Photograph courtesy Priya Kambli and Mulvane Art Museum.
Deb Tangari’s All-Season Guide to Gardening
STORY BY Christine Steinkuehler PHOTOGRAPHY BY Nick Krug
You’ve met your match, silver maples! Deb Tangari is here with decades of gardening experience to help us create year-round beautiful spaces in Topeka’s root-rich, clay-soil spaces
It begins in winter.
That’s when Deb Tangari begins dreaming up new ideas to try out at her home garden in Topeka’s Kenwood neighborhood.
“Spring never comes too soon for me. I start longing to get my hands in the dirt by midFebruary,” Tangari says. “I have a lot of fun visiting my favorite greenhouses at this time of year, and I am always adding new ones to my list of must-sees.”
When summer arrives, Tangari spends hours in her garden beds—pruning, weeding and simply enjoying the growth and changes before the fall chill arrives.
But that season, too, brings welcome changes in the garden.
“I love when the cool days of fall arrive,” Tangari notes. “Most plants respond well to the cooler temps and increased rainfall. They are so vibrant and happy. Then winter rolls back around, and it is time for rest in the garden and more time for me to dream up new ideas for next year. Gardening for me is an all-season activity.”
A psychiatric nurse by profession, Tangari says she has always found gardening to be a stress-buster. No matter the time of year, she is immediately at peace working in her beds.
“I love being outside and being busy,” she explains. “Over the years, gardening has become one of my favorite ways to do both.”
She began working on her Kenwood garden 31 years ago but has been gardening for at least 45 years—learning by practice and by watching and responding to her plants.
“I learned to garden by reading all kinds of gardening books and by trial and error,” she explains. “I have always strived to garden organically, shying away from pesticides, using companion planting strategies, and growing plants that are heat- and droughttolerant. I have had many failures, for sure. I am also one who will move plants throughout the growing season if I see they are not thriving. I try to do this before a rain, which has always seemed to work well for
Topekans Debra and Gregory Tangari create a home garden that lasts late into the year.
me. I have always felt that learning is a process of what not to do. Sooner or later, if you keep trying, you finally figure out what to do.”
A lot of figuring went into Tangari’s current garden when she and her husband, Greg, began it.
“We started by removing an overgrown line of shrubs growing along the sidewalk. We removed tons of concrete that was buried in the yard,” she recalls. “We added a vegetable garden first.”
As Deb and Greg’s family grew, their yard reflected their needs.
“A couple of years later, we began transforming the area on the south side of the house by the porch. This took several years to complete,” Tangari says. “We decided to hardscape part of the backyard about 15 years later once the boys had grown out of the tree fort and trampoline. A swimming pool eventually took over the vegetable garden space. Several years ago, we removed the pool, and Greg and I built the patio that you see now.”
But while a gardener can make plans, the yard often makes the rules. Tangari says she discovered this during the last seven years as she and Greg have worked to transform the front yard and discovered their “total failure at growing grass.”
Roots from the big silver maples that line the street have been her nemesis.
“I have never loved growing grass and feel like it is labor-intensive,” Tangari says. “I don't like to
Tangari favors planters as a way for gardens to thrive in yards with clay soil or where tree roots grow thick.
The Helpers
Deb Tangari says her husband, Greg, is the biggest helper in the garden.
“Without my husband, there would be no garden,” she notes. “He plays a key role in helping with the heavier work of moving big pots, laying gravel, unloading truckloads of compost and dirt. He is truly a good sport and willing to do almost anything to help the process.”
When the couple’s children lived at home, they loved picking strawberries and vegetables. Now, with them living on their own, Deb and Greg have turned the garden mostly to flowers.
Deb Tangari’s Advice on Becoming a Gardener
• Love It
“First and foremost, you must love to garden, or it will be nothing but hard work for you.”
• Know Your Yard and Your Investment
“Having a basic understanding of what plants will grow best in your environment and deciding upfront how much time and money you are willing to put out are crucial.”
• Risk It
“You just must be willing to try new things, accept that not everything you try will work, and be able to chalk it up to the learning process and move on. Your compost pile will take your dead plants and turn them into a beautiful addition to your soil for the next go around.”
Living with Garden Critters
Deb Tangari says she loves having squirrels around but doesn’t want to forfeit everything to them. In the fall, for example, she takes special measures to protect her decorative pumpkins.
“Covering your pumpkins with Vaseline and then spraying them with hot pepper spray is a great deterrent—although a bit messy!” she says, noting that she did provide the squirrels with some unprotected pie pumpkins to enjoy.
As for the lizards, which are becoming more prevalent in Topeka gardens, Tangari says she enjoys seeing them.
“We need to figure out how to coexist with these neighborhood creatures,” she says. “So far, so good!”
use herbicides, and we often struggled with fertilizing correctly. Our front yard was the biggest challenge. We never were able to maintain a healthy lawn, no matter how much we watered and fertilized. Come to find out, the yard is overrun with tree roots, which wreaked total havoc.”
In response, Tangari is also slowly working to incorporate more heat- and droughtresistant plants and adding more aboveground planters.
Tangari has been amazed to watch which plants have managed to grow in the rootinfested ground. She calls them her “fighter plants.” One big surprise was that mint, usually aggressive to the point of almost being a weed, did not fare well, but the lamb’s ear and pineapple mint held their own.
Tangari says planters should be more than functional--they should add to the aesthetic appeal of the garden.
Deb Tangari’s Favorite Gardening Tools
Topeka’s heavy clay soil has also been challenging, so the Tangaris responded by removing large amounts of clay and improving or adding new elements.
“Over the years, we have worked to improve this by adding organic material,” Tangari says. “We leave the leaves on the ground during the winter and turn them in to the beds in the spring. We add lots of compost, cotton seed hulls, gypsum, coffee grounds, peat moss, well-rotted manure, and enhanced topsoil mix.”
Looking back on her three decades of gardening and improving the yard in one location, Tangari says the wonderful memories are worth the hard work.
“Picking fruits and veggies with the boys, building the patio with Greg on the south side of the house—I really have fond memories of all the yard projects we have done together. I remember how exhausted we were but also so happy with the outcome.”
• Pruning shears
“I love a good pruning shear because I love pruning. A dull pruner is hard on your plants. I try to keep several different sizes and take them to the couple who sharpen knives at the farmers market.”
• Shovel
“I love a good, sharp-edged shovel. It just makes digging easier. Greg puts a sharp edge on them for me.”
• Gardening overalls “With lots of pockets.”
• Gardening gloves
• Lightweight hose
• Headlamp
Sometimes, Tangari likes to do weeding in the late evening, so she wears a headlamp to see the beds better.
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