Barb Schneider of Montgomery works in town at her local gardening and nursery shop, Schaefer Greenhouses, Inc., and believes people are ready to once again go outdoors and begin the planting season.
“I think there is going to be a lot of interest. We’ve already had a lot of people come in and ask about what kind of seeds to plant and what kind of plants are available right now,” Schneider said recently. “I’m highly encouraging people not to put anything in the ground as this is Chicago and we know how the weather can be – it’s not constant just yet, but – as far as the season goes – I think it’s going to be exciting.”
Veteran gardeners are waiting in anticipation of getting their favorite vegetables and flowers going as the Chicago area slowly awakens from its winter slumber.
Since the pandemic, gardening has seen a resurgence as it provided a welcome respite from being kept indoors and sheltering in place.
Data shows that interest has continued, driven by factors that range from rising prices of food, exposure to gardening on social media or just the joy of discovering a new hobby.
The website www.freedoniagroup.com notes that sales in gardening supplies are expected to climb, thanks to “retaining consumers who took up gardening during the pandemic.”
“Demand for landscaping products in the U.S. is forecast to rise 3.5% annually to $14.7 billion in 2028,” the website said. “Opportunities will arise from a tight housing market pushing owners to invest in their current homes – including their outdoor space – in lieu of moving” as well as “consumers who began gardening during the pandemic staying engaged, either via products that keep the hobby easy and fun or through more challenging garden projects.”
Schneider “absolutely” believes interest in gardening since the pandemic has continued, adding that there is another incentive “as the cost of groceries these days is kind of high and if people have some land in their back yard they’re growing their own produce or sharing it with neighbors.”
“It just makes sense and you get healthier food and the joy of gardening,” she said.
Mary Ann Kutnick, former co-owner of Schaefer Greenhouses in Montgomery who recently sold her business but is staying on in a consulting capacity throughout the spring and early summer, agrees the upcoming season looks positive.
“I think it’s really going to be an exciting year as people are interested again in getting out in their yards and probably planting more vegetables this year because of the pressure they are feeling at the grocery store,” she said. “We don’t sell chickens or eggs, but I think people want to be more involved in feeding their families. As far as supplies go this year we’re right on target and we’re planting furiously right now, thousands and thousands of plugs each week.”
Christa Bormann, a general manager for Heinz Brothers Greenhouse in St. Charles, also expresses positivity about the upcoming season, noting that the supply chain is adequate and that “business has been stable the past three years or so.”
“I think there is still a lot of interest in gardening, and people tend to want the inside and outside of their home to have some lush greens and see the value in it,” she said. “Our supplies are good, and we’ve been able to get everything we’ve had before in stock.”
Christa Bormann, general manager for Heinz Brothers Greenhouse in St. Charles, right, and customer Lori Silverberg of St. Charles said they are both ready for the upcoming gardening season. (David Sharos / For The Beacon-News)
Bormann said sales remain basically unchanged between people buying vegetable versus landscaping or decorative items, adding that “with grocery prices going up there may be more interest in all categories as people tend not to travel as much.”
Those who have been hesitant to start gardening are turning toward it, in some cases Bormann said, “as people want to know where their food source comes from or for people who want organics.”
“People also want to be able to grow what they want. If there are certain varieties of something that people can’t find in the grocery store or they want to encourage children to start gardening, vegetable gardening is a good way to start with that,” she said.
At the Spring Bluff Nursery in Sugar Grove, staff member Mackenzie Delsignore, who works as a retail assistant manager and grower, said “phones are already blowing up here with calls about gardening” and other things.
She adds that there is ample evidence of post-COVID gardening, as people are looking for cleaner food and mitigating rising food prices that continue to affect the market.
“The big theme since COVID and after has been homesteading,” she said. “People want to grow their own vegetables and fruits and see how self-sustaining they can be in their own garden. We see people also wanting to expand their gardens every year. We get a lot of retired people into this and people with kids as well as people in their 20s.”
One of the changes at Spring Bluff, Delsignore said, has been a surge in interest regarding fruit trees.
“We did a fruit tree pre-order this year and it did really well, so we’ve ordered a ton more fruit trees this year because they always sell out so quick,” she said.
As a hobby, Kutnick said “getting your hands in the dirt is the best therapy, for sure” and a way to slow down “from the fast-paced lives we live these days.”
“The media is going crazy and it’s just so beautiful to go out there and work with what Mother Nature has given us,” she said. “There is a whole new generation coming up that is loving plants and being green.”
Lori Silverberg of St. Charles was shopping for supplies recently at the Heinz Brothers Greenhouse and said she “dabbles, both with indoor plants and redoing landscaping.”
“I see more people doing gardening, growing their own food. It’s relaxing – especially with social media and things – it’s a little more back-to-our-roots,” she said.
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
A 17-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man were both seriously wounded overnight at a residence in the Englewood neighborhood, Chicago police said.
Shortly after midnight Saturday, both victims were in a residence in the 7200 block of South Green Street when the teenage boy suffered a wound to the neck. The man was shot to the back, police said.
The boy was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in serious condition. The man was taken in serious condition to UChicago Medicine.
A preliminary investigation revealed a gunman opened fire from a moving vehicle traveling through an alley nearby.
The amount of manufactured goods exported from Africa to the United States is minuscule. But for Lesotho, the impact of a stunning 50 percent tariff is enormous.
The screams of intense pain from two women echoed through the Indiana Dunes forest.
From hundreds of yards away, a group of 11 followed the sound as they walked briskly to help those in need.
The women, who were friends, had camped in the woods and had been surprised by a storm.
A tree fell on Lily, whose legs were pinned underneath a trunk.
No blood was visible, but internal bleeding was likely because she suffered a crushed pelvis. She was showing evidence of volume shock, a life-threatening condition that occurs when there is a significant loss of blood.
Just a few yards away, her friend, Sierra, while running to help, got her foot snagged and fell. She suffered a broken tibia as the bone protruded with blood gushing.
Cassie Araujo, of Gary, comforts pretend victim Lily Olander while recording her vital signs after a tree fell on her during Wilderness First Responder training at the Dunes Learning Center in Porter, Indiana, Thursday, April 2, 2025. (Andy Lavalley/for the Post-Tribune)
Meanwhile, nearby, a woman had an apparent traumatic brain injury, and another woman doubled over in pain, which was diagnosed as kidney stones.
Fortunately, it was all a drill. Eli LaMouria of Wilderness Medical Associates presided over the simulation exercise, watching to see how her students would react to the dire situations presented.
During the past week, LaMouria taught a five-day workshop at the Dunes Learning Center to 15 students seeking certification as wilderness first responders. Those certified would be able to administer advanced first aid in the field. Most of those taking the course are on the Dunes Learning Center staff.
LaMouria, 41, is from Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she works as an emergency room technician in a children’s hospital. Wilderness emergency response is her passion, something she has been doing since she was 19.
Once a month, she travels for Wilderness Medical Associates to teach the one-week course. She has trained a number of people involved in whitewater rafting and rock climbing, but she believes anyone would benefit from the course.
Mellisa Mills, right, suggests the best way to remove Lily Olander from the tree that fell on her during a mock drill for Wilderness First Responder training at the Dunes Learning Center in Porter, Indiana, Thursday, April 2, 2025. Fellow trainees Cassie Araujo, Alex Butina and Lauren Hardback wait for instructions on how to help. (Andy Lavalley/for the Post-Tribune)
“I like the light bulb moments,” LaMouria said.
The real gratification comes when LaMouria receives a call from a former student who tells her, “Hey Eli, I just saved someone’s life today.”
It’s why LaMouria, when she puts her students through the simulation exercise, tries to make it as realistic as possible.
The two screaming women, Lily Olander and Sierra Conley, who were students, had instructions on what symptoms to show. Conley’s leg was liberally sprinkled with fake blood.
Their feigned pain was so convincing, LaMouria decided to present for both of them to share a plastic replica of an Academy Award Oscar for the best performance during a simulation exercise.
The students coolly reacted to what was in front of them and LaMouria liked what she was seeing.
Those attending to Sierra quickly wrapped her bleeding leg with an ace bandage. They tried to soothe her with calming talk.
Instructor Eli LaMouria, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, watches as rescuers work to save a pretend victim during Wilderness First Responder training at the Dunes Learning Center in Porter, Indiana, Thursday, April 2, 2025. (Andy Lavalley/for the Post-Tribune)
“I never tell a lie to anybody. But sometimes I don’t tell them (the victim) everything,” LaMouria later told the students. In this case, the students shouldn’t give the whole story about Lily’s dangerous condition.
Both teams checked the vitals and got their victims to drink water.
The situation with Lily was more dire. Her leg was trapped underneath the tree.
Should they try to pull her out?
Others on the team, who had helped the women suffering from a traumatic head injury and kidney stones, came over to help with Lily, who was fading.
LaMouria acted like she was the emergency dispatcher and had the students use their cellphones to text her instructions for the helicopter emergency squad.
Alertly, the students asked that the rescuers bring blood.
“That’s good. They won’t bring blood unless you ask for it,” LaMouria said.
Lily stopped talking and was lapsing into unconsciousness. They couldn’t detect a pulse.
Lisa Nalliah, left, and Ixchel Barraza consult a Wilderness Medical Associates handbook during Wilderness First Responder training at the Dunes Learning Center in Porter, Indiana, Thursday, April 2, 2025. (Andy Lavalley/for the Post-Tribune)
The helicopter was reported to be only 10 minutes away.
A team member started to simulate doing CPR and then an oxygen mask. But it was to no avail as Lily had died.
LaMouria then called that it was time, the exercise was over.
Lily Olander, who got muddy from being under the tree, leaped up from the ground. There was laughter as the tension from the hour-long exercise was broken.
LaMouria said she chooses at times to include a patient’s death in the exercise. It allows her to address the mental health issues related to emergencies.
“I want to open the door to discuss these issues,” LaMouria said.
The students return to the Dunes Learning Center lodge to give their observations about what they experienced.
Alex Burdsall, who is on the Dunes Learning staff, was on the team that worked on Sierra.
“I think we made a few missteps, but I think we did the best we could,” Burdsall said. “It’s intense, but I feel like I have learned a lot. I hope I never have to use it.”
Cassie Araujo comforts fellow trainee Lily Olander while trying to figure out a way to help during a mock drill after a tree fell on her during Wilderness First Responder training at the Dunes Learning Center in Porter, Indiana, Thursday, April 2, 2025. (Andy Lavalley/for the Post-Tribune)
Hannah Hazewinkel traveled from Battle Creek, Michigan, for the certification class. She doesn’t work in the emergency health field, but is a teacher and can see some similarities.
“I know a lot of people have a lot of anxiety for things like this, but I am used to working in chaotic environments,” Hazewinkel said. She acted as a “floater” who worked with teams helping the injured parties.
Melissa Mills, an educator on the Dunes Learning Center team, was working on Lily for the exercise and at times she found the situation to be “very stressful.” She believes the training will be valuable for any setting.
“The wilderness is anywhere where you have delayed care,” Mills said.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
WREXHAM, Gales (AP) — Wrexham está cada vez más cerca de su tercer ascenso en temporadas consecutivas a la Championship, la segunda división del fútbol inglés.
Wrexham, propiedad de los actores Hollywood Ryan Reynolds y Rob McElhenney, venció 3-0 el sábado a Burton Albion gracias a tres goles en un lapso de 16 minutos en el complemento.
Igual de importante para Wrexham, que ocupa el segundo lugar de la League 1, fue la derrota 1-0 de Wycombe, que está en tercer lugar, ante Reading en un partido que se disputó a la misma hora.
Esto dejó a Wrexham con seis puntos de ventaja sobre Wycombe, que tiene un partido pendiente. Solo dos equipos ascienden automáticamente y uno de ellos casi seguro será Birmingham, el líder de la tercera división y que tiene ocho puntos de ventaja sobre Wrexham.
A Wrexham le quedan cinco partidos para completar su más reciente campaña de ascenso. Hace solo dos años, el equipo jugaba en la quinta división, la National League, pero ha avanzado rápidamente en la pirámide del fútbol inglés gracias a la inyección de dinero de sus famosos propietarios.
Paul Mullin, quien ha sido la estrella en las recientes campañas de ascenso, fue omitido nuevamente del equipo por el entrenador de Wrexham, Phil Parkinson.
