ABOUT US
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Art and Linda first met in 1986 when Art was standing on a garbage can trying to rescue a robin entangled in kite string. A few months later, Linda introduced Art to the special spiritual beauty of one of her favorite places - Wolf Road Prairie. Art loved the prairie as much as Linda and soon they were growing native plants and grasses in their own yards. A few years later, they began selling these native wildflowers at farmers' markets in the Chicago area. They have found that native Illinois plants do very well in the area's hard clay soils and there are a great variety that grow in shade as well as sun. Another plus to native plants is that they attract butterflies and provide both summer and winter food for birds. After planting milkweed, Linda soon found Monarch caterpillars happily munching away on the leaves and both Art and Linda report hummingbirds in their yards, though they live right outside Chicago. As for the robin, he flew away to join his mate as soon as he was freed. E-mail
Us at: art@artandlindaswildflowers.com |
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Ann Mason
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Ann Mason is a Certified Professional Soil Scientist, Certified Professional Soil Classifier, Indiana Registered Professional Soil Scientist, and Wetland Scientist. Ann has been in the environmental field for over 20 years and owns Strata Environmental Ann's responsibilities within the environmental field involve conducting soil chemical analysis, soil classifications and percolation tests (PERC) for septic determinations, wetland determinations, wetland delineations, phase I environmental site assessments, phase II environmental site assessments, soil and groundwater quality assessments and underground storage tank removal projects. |
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Karen Green In August 2007, I not only lost a wonderful “web mistress”, I lost a good friend when Karen Green passed away very suddenly. Karen had been working with me since 1997 on the creation of Art and Linda’s lovely and useful website. She was a source of support and inspiration on countless occasions. Thanks to her, our business was able to reach a larger audience and respond to the many questions from all over regarding the use of native plants in home gardening |
In 1997, I knew, (and still know), nothing about computers, but did know that I had to have a website with e-mail contact for my business. Karen was just getting started in website creation. She was an artist with a good eye for design as well as being a writer by instinct and training and willing to help. I bought her a fax machine and she did the rest - taking off from there by daily increasing her computer skills in programs that were very complex. Her husband, Allen, told me that Karen also worked with “WITI” - Women in Technology International, (this is an organization that helps women advance by providing access and support from other professional women working in technology). This too, gave her a boost and very soon she had expanded her business purely by word of mouth. By the time she passed away, she had 30-40 clients and in each of these she took a personal interest. This made working with her very comfortable and easy. A self-starter, and extremely conscientious, she was always on top of every assignment. Her commitment to work and family was only part of her sense of dedication. She was also involved in issues beyond the cares of everyday life. Karen also had a love of nature.Volunteering at Thatcher Woods and Wolf Road Prairie Nature Preserve in Westchester, was one of her hobbies as well as being involved with the Oak Park Garden Club. In addition, Karen had a strong sense of justice and was committed to civil rights and working with The League of Women Voters. Karen is survived by her husband, Allen Green and her two children, Nathan,16 and Ilana, 21, who graciously provided me with the lovely photograph of Karen at the beginning of this article and details about Karen’s life which exemplify the worthwhile and interesting person she was. In her memory, Allen Green is helping to purchase books at the Dole Library - (a branch of the Oak Park Library). Subjects for these books will include: gardening, civil rights, and information on The League of Women Voters.
The update of ArtandLindasWildflowers.com is now being maintained by Jim Arbuthnot.
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Mary Busch and Marian Thill Environmental Education Consutants
www.naturalworldnetwork.com |
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Linnzi
Hodel During the summer of 2002, linnzie worked as a restoration ecology technician for The Nature Conservancy. As a member of the "north crew," the task was to aid in the restoration of the Cook County Forest Preserves just north and west of Chicago. In order to successfully carry out the requested work the crew had to attain certain skills. |
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Lana Gits After volunteering at Wolf Road Prairie Nature Preserve in the early 90’s, Lana Gits, owner of The Prairie Arts, learned what was really meant by the word, “prairie”. True prairie is not just “any open field” nor are Oak savannas just any old wooded area”. In fact, these were places like no other - original and ancient, and definitely part of our own Midwestern heritage. This knowledge created a lasting impression and she admits that she easily gave in to “prairie fever”. Lana has since devoted much of her work to creating and using images of the native landscape. A card and stationery line was the result which you can see at her website. The Morton Arboretum Store in Lisle and Vaughan’s Nursery in Western Springs also carry her line. (One of her Holiday cards is among the free samples in our newsletter.) In addition to the retail line, Lana also applies her Fine Art training to corporate imagery. In fact, she has just redesigned our logo, business fcard, brochure and newsletter as well as our own greeting card. |
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The Morton Arboretum Store Lana says, “I enjoy helping companies create designs that resonate strongly with their own values - and of which they can be proud.” See her design and card line at her website or contact her directly for corporate imagery, newsletters, or for other design services at: The Prairie Arts:
www.theprairiearts.com
e-mail: theprairiearts@gmail.com
Phone (630) 887-8375
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Alexandra Ragland Alex joined Art and Linda's in 2007 as our new wildflower garden designer. She is a native of Woodstock and has many years of experience in horticulture and gardening. She credits The Natural Garden in St. Charles with a strong appreciation for native wildflowers and her involvement with Art and Linda's is based upon a resonance with our approach to design and commitment to "capturing the spirit of the natural world. |
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Jim Arbuthnot The look of our website has essentially remained the same, while updates and revisions are being added by Jim Arbuthnot of Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Jim graciously stepped in to help maintain the site this August after Karen Green’s sudden passing. We give him credit for lending a hand at a difficult time and managing to take on secretarial, as well as the many website responsibilities. His valuable services allow us to add new and pertinent information to our on - line presence and to help keep the flow running smoothly. If you have a need for similar services, contact Jim at: 708-715-3710 or: j.arbuthnot@sbcglobal.net . |
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Katy Darr We are proud to introduce you to our new Ecologist, Katy Darr. Katy has a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from Northeastern Illinois University and a newly discovered passion for restoring native prairie. She actually found us earlier this year after seeing a garden we had created for one of our Glenview, Illinois, clients. She was so impressed with it that she immediately wrote to Art praising his work and sharing her enthusiasm about the native ecosystem. In an excerpt from her letter below, she describes the experience of working at the Air Station Prairie in the Glenview Park District in 2007: “I had learned a little bit about the prairie in previous classes, and seen a few in the late Fall on field trips, but that year I watched the prairie start flowering as a spark in the Spring and end up as a roaring fire that Fall. I fell in love instantly. I began identifying flowers and grasses, learning hundreds of species of plants, both native and non-native, woodland, wetland, and prairie.” |
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Katy went on to write that since the beginning of her “affair” with the prairie, she felt a need to promote the use of native plants in landscapes. While working at the Air Station Prairie she explained that she was able to share her enthusiasm with visitors and began to see that others, like her, “…only needed to see it to find beauty in it.” After working at the Air Station Prairie, Katy went on to work in several other natural areas in the village of Glenview and met other well known prairie enthusiasts. Over the summer of 2009 Katy worked as an intern for the Village of Glenview. Here she helped manage the many natural areas of the village. After receiving her letter, Art contacted her and asked if she would like to meet him at a client's home in Glenview. This “client” happened to be Evylyn Pease Tyner, the very person after which the Air Station Prairie Nature Center in Glenview was named. The meeting was exciting for all and Mrs. Tyner thoroughly enjoyed sharing her Art and Linda’s Wildflower garden with our new ecologist, Katy! We hope that you too have a chance to meet Katy in the upcoming months. |
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