A long-time contributor to the Chicago Tribune's Home & Garden section, and a columnist (Gardening 101)
and feature writer for Chicagoland Gardening magazine, Nina teaches garden design and horticulture classes at the
Chicago Botanic Garden, the Morton Arboretum, and for other organizations and clubs. Her articles have appeared in Organic
Gardening, Fine Gardening, Old-House Journal, Old-House Interiors, Aquascape Lifestyles and
other publications.
| Basil and hot peppers in late summer. |
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| Scarecrow in the potager garden |
She is the 2005 recipient of the
Garden Writers Association award for newspaper writing and the co-author of "The Historic Homes and Gardens of Lockport,
IL 1838-2000" for the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Born in Paris, she made her first garden
visit – to Versailles – as an infant. She holds a degree in education and environmental science and gardens on
a “deer-infested acre” on the fringes of Chicago.
She and her husband Ron use organic practices on their exurban garden on the very outskirts
of this Midwestern metropolis, not far from a herd of cows and a bevy of draft horses. Their garden features borders and beds designed for bees, butterflies
and hummingbirds, a resident family of fox, two pairs of bluebirds in summer and a 1100-square-foot vegetable garden.
When they're not weeding, reading, fishing, hiking,
bird watching or writing, they're sure to be out back, watching the sun set and debating over the exact names and heights
of the cloud formations.
| A Place to Sit and Enjoy the Hummingbirds |
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| The Resident Fox Snoozing by the Purple Arbor |
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