Whos That Master Gardener?
Having your own in-house builder is something most gardeners would put on their “want” list. The Idea Garden is lucky in that several of our members have brought their structure building skills to the garden this year. One of them is Jim Simon. You would expect Jim to have some ability along this line as he graduated from the U of I with a bachelor’s degree in architecture and a M.S. in architectural engineering. Jim was born in Champaign and spent his early years here before moving to Carbondale. He returned to Champaign to attend college and worked in Chicago for a few years after graduation. He came back to the UI to teach in 1966 and remained there until his retirement in 1998. Jim proved that an interest in gardening might be in his future when he and his wife, Becky, spent part of their honeymoon touring Shaw’s Garden and the climatron in St. Louis. Actually, Jim has probably absorbed some of his garden knowledge through his wife’s side of the family. Becky’s mother was a certifi
