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In the 2006 movie The Lake House, a tree whose seasonally changing leaves mirror the feelings of the protagonists grows through the center of a home. We know that Keanu Reeves is with the wrong woman because she doesn’t wear winter boots. And that Sandra Bullock is with the wrong man because he wears a tie while working from home. Keanu and Sandra, on the other hand, know how to accessorize for a Chicago February, he with a most excellent array of turtleneck sweaters, she with an abundant collection of fashion scarves. They are meant for each other. The Lake House is not subtle, and it is not good. But it captures winter in Chicago better than any other film.

A brief summary: Keanu’s Alex lives in 2004. Sandra’s Kate lives in 2006. Yet they own the same dog, and thanks to a paranormal mailbox, they write letters to each other through space and time. They fall in love, but the obstacle keeping them apart seems insurmountable, even as star-crossed romances go. Spoiler alert, for anyone who doesn’t want a 15-year-old movie spoiled: Alex is dead, sort of?

Moving on. While The Lake House does not have a good grasp of physics or emotional restraint, it does get one thing right. Most of the movie takes place outside, on L platforms and at construction sites, meandering from the Loop to the titular lake house, which was built for the movie (and later torn down) in Willow Springs. The ground is wet, the snow always half melted — the Chicago of The Lake House is not the winter fantasyland of Home Alone. This is nuisance snow that slops at the hem of our pants and makes us curse when we step off the curb. There is also the optimism of those few cracklingly clear winter days when the sky is blue, the air is lighter, and you can see just enough ground to remember that the dirt is still there and it won’t always be mud.

At one point, Kate tries, unsuccessfully, to save Alex from catching a cold by warning him of an April snowstorm, a Chicago ritual. “Everyone got sick,” she writes. Meanwhile, Alex cooks soup, and you can see the flurries start to swirl through the window over his shoulder. He sneezes.

Eventually, of course, the snow stops. The sun comes out. Alex is well. His reward for making it through that freakish episode is spring.

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Beds full of desiccated plants suddenly become striking when you realize, as the Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf has said, “Brown is also a color.” He famously creates his compositions, including Lurie Garden, with all four seasons in mind. “He thinks ahead to what plants will look like in the future when he selects them,” says the garden’s director, Laura Ekasetya, who now shepherds Oudolf’s vision. That means she allows the flora to swish and sway until March, when she finally cuts back the previous year’s growth to make way for spring. Here, she walks us through five things to look (and listen) for.

Landscape Art

Before you enter, observe the grounds from across Monroe Street. “The garden is meant to be a tapestry of different textures,” Ekasetya says. “It’s meant to be this painting in plants when viewed from the Art Institute.”

Rustle and Flow

Because snow absorbs ambient noise, you can better hear the sounds the plants make in the wind. A highlight: the slender,papery blades of Dallas Blues, a type of switchgrass, which can reach a height of five feet.

Put a Bird on It

Goldfinches flock to the dark, spiky seedheads of echinacea plants (also known as coneflowers). In winter, the birds turn a dusty brown, with just the slightest buttery tinge to their face and neck. Tell your kids to look for seedheads the finches have plucked into tiny Mohawks.

Snow Bouquet

The small sprays of flowers atop the thin stems of wild quinine dry into a sturdy, flat platform that holds up to even heavy, wet snow. “It looks delicate, but if you touch it, it’s really tough,” Ekasetya says. “It’s a good landing pad for sparrows, and then they eat the seeds.”

Spring Awakening

Several insect species overwinter in the garden, including two varieties of butterflies that hunker down in the arborvitae. They typically emerge in March — but sometimes, if it’s mild, you can spot them in February drinking sap from the trunks of maple trees that border the western edge.

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1 Collect a few dozen half-gallon plastic containers — milk jugs with their top halves cut off work just fine. “The more you can get,” says Alvestad, “the faster your igloo will rise.”

2 Wait for a good strong cold spell that’s forecast to last at least a week. “It’s a bit of a gamble. You are totally dependent on the weather.”

3 Fill up the containers with water and leave them outside overnight to freeze.

4 Once they’re frozen, pop the ice bricks out of their containers (you may have to take them inside for a few minutes first to allow them to melt enough to come loose). Create a circle of ice bricks, cementing one brick to another using wet snow as mortar. “Don’t forget to leave a gap for an entry tunnel.”

5 Start building upward by adding a second layer of bricks, then a third, and so on, tilting the bricks inward a bit as you go higher (this may require you to hold the bricks in place for a minute or two to let the mortar freeze). Over a period of days — how long depends on how many bricks you can freeze each night — continue building upward and inward until you’ve closed the igloo’s roof.

6 Use another batch of bricks to build an entry tunnel wide and tall enough to crawl through.

7 When your igloo is complete, spray it with water to give it a good icy outer shell.

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City dwellers lucky enough to have a patch of Chicago to call their own: Now is the time to increase your usable square footage. “Channel the warming aesthetics of a ski chalet for your cold weather retreat by surrounding yourself with layers of cozy and natural materials,” encourages Celeste Robbins, founder and principal of Winnetka-based Robbins Architecture. From fire pits to fuzzy blankets, here are some tricks to turn that neglected deck into a magical escape.

Twinkle, Twinkle

“Add layers of lights to balance harsh contrasts,” Robbins suggests. “A soft uplight along with dappled candle flames brightens a dark winter night.” Stake some LEDs to shine toward branches: Disk pathway lights ($20 for a pack of four; Gordon’s Ace Hardware, 725 S. State St., South Loop) don’t struggle in cold or wet weather. Meanwhile, drape trees or bushes with Edison bulb string lights ($50; Lakeview Ace Hardware, 3911 N. Lincoln Ave., North Center), and sprinkle some wood lanterns (from $70; Crate & Barrel, Old Orchard Center, Skokie) in the corners. Need more bling? Ignite a few Juniper Berry & Fir three-wick candles ($30; Bright Endeavors, 4015 W. Carroll Ave., West Garfield Park).

Dine Out

The retro ceramic Big Green Egg cooker (from $399; Armitage Hardware, 925 W. Armitage Ave., Lincoln Park) combines a grill, oven, and smoker in one ridiculously cute package. Or relive your scouting days with a minimalist Breeo smokeless fire pit (from $339; Backyard Barbecue Store, 535 Green Bay Rd., Wilmette), over which you can char your dogs. “The warmth and movement of the flames inherently bring a sense of intimacy and shared connection,” says Robbins.

Stay a While

“In addition to large seating pieces, add ottomans, end tables, and blankets to provide comfort and scale,” says Robbins. Wicker doesn’t feel right in winter, which is why we love the teak love seat designed by Fred Segal ($1,600; cb2.com). Drape it in durable Pendleton wool blankets (from $269; Alcala’s Western Wear, 1733 W. Chicago Ave., West Town).

Keep the Heat

Many of the usual stores are sold out of those tall, slender heating units you see at restaurants. But an unlikely source is well stocked: Castle Party Rentals is selling new-in-the-box heaters like the ones it rents for events ($399 to buy, from $99 to rent; 602 Sidwell Ct., St. Charles). If you’re ready to invest as much in winterizing your patio as you would in an indoor room reno, treat yo’ self to a Tuuci canopy (from $14,800; Design Within Reach, 755 W. North Ave., Near North Side). With built-in infrared heaters, it keeps all that toastiness from escaping into the night.

Photography: (disc lights and Edison bulbs) Courtesy of Ace Hardware; (lanterns and love seat ) Courtesy of Crate & Barrel; (candles) Courtesy of Mattea linae; (Big Green Egg) Courtesy of Big Green Egg; (blanket) Courtesy of Pendleton; (heater) Courtesy of Castle Party Rentals; (canopy) Courtesy of Design Within Reach 

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Cole Kmet saw the flag Sunday, and thought the Bears were going to set up for first-and-goal. The penalty, he assumed, was against the Saints.

Cole Kmet saw the flag Sunday, and thought the Bears were going to set up for first-and-goal. The penalty, he assumed, was against the Saints.

The rookie tight end, then, was stunned when he was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct. Rather than having third-and-5 at the Saints’ 8 in the second quarter, the Bears faced third-and-20 at the 23. They eventually kicked a field goal.

The incident started after safety Malcolm Jenkins tackled the Notre Dame alum following a catch. Kmet said the two were “kinda laughing about the play” when he tossed the ball to the official.

Out came the flag. It was Kmet’s first-ever unsportsmanlike conduct flag at any level.

“They told me that I was throwing the ball, I was egregiously at [Jenkins],” he said Monday. “But, I mean, that just wasn’t the case. Later in the game, [Jenkins] even said that they got away with one there. …

“They said I was aggressively, like, tossing the ball. First they said it was at [the official]. Then they said it was at [Jenkins]. So. I don’t know. It was unfortunate. Because that was a critical moment in the game, I think. Early in the game and we have an opportunity to go down after a turnover and put some points on the board. And now we’re in a spot now where we have to fight for field position to kick a field goal. So that was really unfortunate for that to happen in that situation in the game.”

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