Herban Sprawl

22 April 2008

Here in the Star City of the South, we are celebrating Earth Day with rain. Given the drought, this is indeed a gift from the heavens. About twelve or thirteen years ago, I planted a climbing hydrangea in the corner, next to the gas meter. It was supposed to bloom and be a really neat climbing plant. It took it in the neighborhood of about ten years to finally produce some pretty unremarkable blooms that were hidden by an overgrown pieris japonica. This year, however, it is lush with buds and with any luck, our 50ish nights will continue so it can do its thing in the next day or so.

The thing about gardens is that you dig a hole, stick a plant in it, tend it (in my lazy case, nominally) and with any luck, the thing takes off. Gardening involves patience and the ability to ignore bad behavior by some plants as they go through their awkward stage. And then comes the part about having to get brave and take the clippers to them when they get out of line.

It’s a lot like being a parent or a teacher. Raising kids is the same deal.

It’s also a lot like keeping a watchful eye on City Council.

When they break bad, you have to get out the clippers and remove the bad stuff. And you also have to keep an eye on who they run with. Doggone if that crape myrtle didn’t take up with that grapevine, and that honeysuckle from next door just sneaked in and wreaked havoc on my vinca minor. It’s going to take some severe discipline, but if you give them an inch, they take a mile. Let them give you wishy-washy half-truths for answers, and the little devils will cost you in the end, whether it’s the necessity of using Round-Up, or paying lawyer fees or higher taxes.

What Shanna Flowers neglected to mention in her wonderful piece this morning about the restaurant at the top of Mount Washington in Pittsburgh is that it is in the midst of an urban neighborhood, not a public park and woodland. Yes, the view is important, but cutting down trees to create it is like planting annuals as opposed to perennials, or spending $500 on a prom dress.  It’s nice in the short term, but the excitement doesn’t last. And don’t go talking about cutting down trees for a questionable piece of development on Earth Day, of all things!

You want to eat in a restaurant with a view from up high? Go somewhere besides the beach for your vacation. Try cocktails on the 95^th floor of the John Hancock in Chicago. Look to the north and you will see beautiful Lincoln Park, stretched out along the lakefront, complete with zoo and butterfly house. Look to the south and see fabulous Grant Park, also along the lakefront with views of the harbor, and Navy Pier to the southeast.

How about a fabulous restaurant on the top of the Tower of Power, overlooking the new art museum, with a view of Mill Mountain and the rest of the Star City?

Seems to me we’re just looking in the wrong direction when it comes to views. And the current City Council seems to be particularly shortsighted. Like teenagers. They need pruning to perform better – like crape myrtles and climbing hydrangeas.