SAY ANYTHING

Words are power, often used to persuade, motivate, and inspire. And that’s exactly what longtime Lake Bluff resident Joyce Foster had in mind when she began posting quotes about native gardening on an easel-style sandwich board in her lush, wildflower-laden front yard. Gems like this Chinese proverb—“The best time to plant an oak is 20 years ago. The second best time is now!” Or that Henry Van Dyke classic—“Use what talents you have. The woods would be silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.” Foster, who moved to the village in 1966, says she first became interested in native gardening more than 25 years ago when she attended a lecture at Lake Forest College by Douglas Tallamy—a prominent American ecologist, conservationist, and entomologist. “He talked about why we don’t see as many fireflies anymore because when we rake up our leaves, we are disturbing their habitat,” says Foster. “I decided to stop getting rid of my leaves, raking them into the bushes on a compost pile instead. As a result, over the last few years, I have had more fireflies in my yard.” Another inspiration for Foster to take a more organic approach to gardening was a lecture by Charlotte Adelman of Wilmette, a native plant lobbyist and author of The Midwestern Native Garden. “She talked about these native flowers you can plant and how each one attracted a different bird, insect, or butterfly,” says Foster. “She also talked about Queen of the Prairie and how the pink flowers looked just like cotton candy, and I thought, ‘I have to have some of those!’” It didn’t take long for Foster to embrace every aspect of native gardening, transforming her front yard into a lush prairie-style landscape. As her garden grew, so did her vision to spread the word about the importance of pesticide-free practices to her fellow neighbors. “I thought about having a little sign out in front to inspire other people to plant native,” says Foster. “I have a neighbor who puts out a joke of the day. I thought, well maybe an inspirational message for native gardening would be good.” The quotes she posts are both new and old, usually from authors she admires. “I try to change it two to three times a week,” she says. “Sometimes I think, ‘why am I doing this?’ but a lot of people thank me for the board.” Not too long ago, in fact, the 86-year-old Foster was working in her garden when a man pulled up and stopped in front of her house. “There was a little kid in the back seat and the father said to me, ‘I just want to tell you that we always come by your board because my son loves your quotes. We had to go to the library to get a book about Rachel Carson after we saw your quote’,” she says, explaining that Carson’s groundbreaking1962 tome, Silent Spring, helped foster the environmental movement by spreading awareness of the dangers of pesticides. “And I thought, if I’m touching the life of a young person, then it’s all worth it.” A powerful message indeed.