Planting a better seed

Dixie golden giant, Cherokee purple and costoluto fiorentino heirloom tomato plants. Seeds for a dark-purple-skinned potato.

All ready for the garden.

"I came to discover new gardening ideas," said Darina Langston of Campton Hills.

People strolled through downtown Geneva last weekend for the inaugural "Gardenology: Ideas, Advice and Garden Dreams," a daylong event where dozens of shop owners on Third and State streets offered a wealth of gardening information, as well as vegetables, annuals and perennials for sale.

Langston said her family finds heirloom plants better tasting, but sometimes they can be more finicky to grow.

"The heirloom tomatoes are wonderful for their strong and unique taste. You can eat them straight off the plate with a little salt," she said.

Tim Fuller of Elburn was selling heirloom tomatoes, herbs and potato seeds from his farm west of Geneva.

The former manufacturing consultant and University of Chicago business professor-turned grower said the fiorentino heirloom variety is from the Tuscany region of Italy and produces bright-red tomatoes with terrific flavor for homemade sauce.

"Heirloom varieties have been around for at least 50 years," Fuller said.

He said the purple-skinned potatoes were once a novelty but are now a sought-after specialty.

People came to Gardenology with their notebooks to ask master gardeners about the right cultures for certain plants or to help solve some problem in the garden.

Gardening coach Debbie Notaro of St. Charles said gardening is a universal language, whether people dig their hands into the soil or not.

"People appreciate gardens," Notaro said.


Gardeners came out in droves to the Gardenology Expo in downtown Geneva. At left, Anita Werderich of Bartlett checks over a bed of flowers. Above, Tim Fuller of Elburn gives tips on how to care for the heirloom tomatos he develops and sells at his farm.