Create A Home Away From Home

Ways To Make Your Yard a Place to Enjoy

The word “staycation” crept into our vocabulary over the past couple of years when people opted to stay home rather than travel for vacation. Now the word is associated with making your home a destination of comfort, a place you’ll want to spend your free time with luxuries that make you feel like you’re at your home away from home. An easy way to expand your living space and create an outdoor oasis is to renew and regenerate or expand your landscaping. We have assembled a number of possibilities that can make your yard a place for relaxing and vacationing at a variety of budgets. Whether these thoughts are incorporated as a single project or combined to create a totally new look, our ideas will make your yard feel more inviting.

An easy way to create a new look for your yard is with a new patio that’s designed to fit your lifestyle. Patios can make a dramatic change to the appearance and usefulness of your yard. They can range from simple concrete to many types and styles of brick pavers, and finally natural stone. There are many choices of material that will match your home, needs and budget. Adding a new set of outdoor patio furniture will allow you to enjoy a vacation without ever leaving home. Patio furniture has progressed in recent years from the simple lawn furniture to more elegant and comfortable pieces that make your own back yard a paradise. Choosing the right patio furniture will give your patio a homey feeling and can allow for plenty of seating for family and friends.

A complement to any patio is enhancing the landscaping around your property.  Adding the beauty of new trees, shrubs and perennials will make your yard a place to enjoy in every season. Selecting and placing the perfect plants may take some work, but it is the most budget-pleasing way to make a large impact to your yard while creating an inviting feeling of pleasure and satisfaction. A well-landscaped yard can produce privacy, aesthetic beauty and year-round color and interest.

Enhancing that outdoor living space with a fire pit, fireplace or even an outdoor kitchen would further add to the usefulness, enjoyment and attraction to your outdoor living space. A fire pit can make your setting a warm, cozy location to enjoy the evening without the chill of the night. It can be built into a new or existing brick patio or be freestanding. The varied selections of fire pits make them the perfect addition to any backyard.  

 More formal than a fire pit, fireplaces create a beautiful focal point. Like fire pits, fireplaces create an immediate gathering place for family and friends. Fireplaces and pits can make any outdoor living space more inviting by adding light, sound, smell and heat, and will extend the use of your backyard well into the spring and fall seasons. 

An outdoor kitchen is another possibility for expanding your outdoor living area.  Like fireplaces and fire pits, outdoor kitchens come in many styles and designs.  A simple grill surround distinguishes the kitchen area and allows for additional shelf space while barbequing, or perhaps the master of the house may want to create a cooking environment with all the amenities of the companion indoor kitchen, including a built-in grill, refrigerator, sink and other storage areas. The possibilities are truly endless and should be planned for with your lifestyle in mind. 

Low-voltage landscape lighting is another way to add four seasons of beauty to your yard. Low-voltage lighting is safe, inexpensive to operate and will accent your night time hours of entertaining and relaxation. Well-placed lighting will bring out the beauty and textures of your landscaping and draw attention to focal points of interest, and create an individual mood that fits your style for evening entertaining. Outdoor lighting also makes spaces like a patio or outdoor kitchen more usable at night by adding enough light in which to dine and socialize. Safety and security issues can also be addressed with lighting. A function of nighttime lighting is to illuminate potentially hazardous areas such as steps and abrupt changes in path directions or elevation. Even though you know your property well, your guest may not. Lighting also provides an element of security; it is a proven fact that a well-lit home will deter home intrusion. 

Other ways to enhance your yard are with water features. Popular water features include ponds, waterfalls, fountains, and bubbling rocks. Water features can be made to be a focal point or just an accent to any yard. Hobbyists can enjoy a year-round fish pond with waterfalls, accented with rock gardens and lighting. Water features add beauty and soothing sounds that are sure to create a relaxing calm to your yard. Simpler features such as a pondless waterfall or bubbling rock are a low maintenance way to add water, sound and points of interest to your yard.

Finally, pergolas and arbors are a wonderful way to enhance an area of your yard and can provide beauty, shade and a centerpiece to a backyard design. Many arbors are used as an entry to an outdoor room, a transition from one area to another or if you have a large yard with lots of trees and paths, an arbor would make a great entrance. An arbor can also be used as a destination point, built with a sitting area or a swing.  A pergola is a larger version of an arbor, defining a larger area of the yard.  It is a beautiful way to define an outdoor space and adds shade to a patio or sitting area. A pergola can be added to a large deck or patio, next to a swimming pool or even over a hot tub.

There are many ways to enjoy your home’s outdoor living space. Remember to consider your needs, desires and lifestyle when planning any changes. Take into account how the areas will be used both now and in the future, and develop a vision that you can implement and enjoy for many years to come.

A Nearby, Noteworthy Garden Gem

The Shakespeare Garden in the 1930s.

Are you aware of a hidden garden gem located on the Northwestern University campus in Evanston, or of its historical significance?

This garden, a project of The Garden Club of Evanston, was established in 1915 to celebrate the ties between England and America. It also commemorated the 300^th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.

The Shakespeare Garden was designed by Jens Jensen, the renowned Danish-American landscape architect and conservationist who had an office in Ravinia. It is one of only two formal gardens that he designed. All of the trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals and herbs in it were plants mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays. The 70- by 100-foot space contains flowers, shrubs, trees and herbs well-suited to our Midwestern climate, such as old roses, hollies, daffodils, nasturtiums and rosemary. 

The garden is maintained to this day by The Garden Club of Evanston.

The garden features plants mentioned in Shakespeare's plays.

Use this link to find out more about this urban oasis.

www.northwestern.edu/observer/issues/2004-10-07/garden.html

A Garden to Inspire You: English Garden Rooms

The garden, newly installed in November 2009.

The garden the following summer.

The English Walled Garden at the Chicago Botanic Garden features six different garden “rooms”, paying homage to the contributions of English gardens over the centuries. English gardens mix annuals with perennials and appeal to the senses, and the sound of water plays an important role. This concept of garden rooms inspired our clients, who came to us to create a similar outdoor setting to enjoy at the home in which they have lived many years.

The current backyard consisted of a three-foot high, raised timber retaining wall along one side facing the street, planted with a tall, unsightly hedge. The yard was mostly an expanse of lawn, with some shrubs and perennials. Our clients no longer wanted the old deck against the house, but wanted to keep a large shed, and needed an inconspicuous dog run for the four-legged member of their family. They also wanted a new picket fence along the side facing the street, and a tall white privacy fence for the remaining two sides of the backyard.

Nature’s Perspective removed the timber wall and the old deck, and moved the shed to a corner of the property by the gate leading to the alley. The fenced dog run was placed in the side, back corner of the house, between their house and the neighbor’s fence, away from view. We designed three different “rooms” in the garden using natural clay pavers and natural bluestone, connecting them with a clay paver walk. The Pergola Room will house a lounging area and have an outdoor chandelier. The Dining Room seats a table for six, and also has a seat wall for additional seating. The Multi-Use Room is off to the side of the Dining Room, accommodating the grill and providing room for larger gatherings.

The Pergola Room is surrounded with boxwoods, and wisteria and clematis vines will climb up and bloom over the pergola. The Dining Room is screened from the street with tall yews,  and hydrangeas will bloom here on summer dining occasions. Elsewhere, weeping crabapples, river birches, a tree lilac, shrub roses, and lilacs were installed, bringing texture and seasonal interest. Finally, a palette of 150 perennials and over 300 spring-flowering bulbs will emerge each year, eventually covering the space with delightful blooms from spring to frost.

A three-foot basalt column water feature adds the lovely sound of water. Colorful perennials planted outside the new white fence serve to delight passersby, heightening the charm of this pleasure-filled English garden.

Click on the layout above to enlarge.

A Place to Grow: Lydia Home’s Garden

On a recent Saturday, three Nature’s Perspective staffers, led by John Ciesielski, headed out to Lydia Home, a children and family services organization located in the northwest side of Chicago, to donate materials and work on their fenced 50′ x 50′ vegetable and flower garden. The group joined forces with Lydia’s garden coordinator Imelda “Mel” Gonzales and two of its young and enthusiastic residents to install a wood chip path, add compost to the beds and lay stepstones. The 32-degree weather and frozen ground did not deter the crew, who completed the work just before the first big snowfall arrived two days later. “This will give them a headstart next spring,” said John.

Nature’s Perspective’s design team donated the design last winter, and developed the Lydia garden to showcase its recently installed koi pond. The new garden will feature sitting areas, an ornamental wrought iron grape arbor, a gazing ball, pole bean teepees and ornamental trees at the corners for visual interest.

The various beds will contain vegetables, herbs, fruit, raspberries and cut flowers which Lydia residents hope to sell next year at the local farmer’s market, helping them gain valuable skills and developing their love of gardening.

Donations are welcome to help bring this garden to fruition. Keep checking our blog to view the evolution of this very special garden!

ABOUT LYDIA HOME ASSOCIATION

Founded as an orphanage in 1916, Lydia has become a successful alternative to state-run foster care and family assistance agencies. Based in Chicago, this organization serves children and families in need, providing a diverse range of programs, from residential treatment to foster care, counseling to parenting classes. Most of its services are supported entirely by private contributions, and volunteers play a vital role in keeping its ministry strong. For more information, visit www.lydiahome.org.

SWEET DREAMS

Preparing your garden for winter

As the season draws to a close there are a few basic things that we recommend be done prior to “putting your garden to bed”  for the winter. 

1. It is important to clear the leaves from your lawn.  Leaving the leaves on your lawn can smother the turf and encourage disease.
2. Cut down perennials after they have turned brown and died for the season.  Like the leaves on the lawn, leaving dead perennials standing could harbor disease. When they have been turned brown and killed by frost, cut them back and remove the debris. This gives them a fresh start in the spring.
3. Cover your perennial beds with a 2” layer of compost.  Hybrid roses and blue hydrangeas should also have a compost mound at their base.  This covering will protect them from a harsh winter.
4. Put your hoses and pots into your garage, shed or basement.  This will protect them from freezing and cracking over the winter season.
5. Make sure all your outdoor spigots are turned off ,and if possible, the water to the spigot is turned off inside the house. 
6. If you have an irrigation system, be sure to have it properly shut down and drained.
7. Water features, if not heated, should be drained, and the pump removed and stored where it won’t freeze.  If you have any outdoor landscape features that you can’t remove, cover them with a tarp.
8. Cover your outdoor grills and furniture if needed.
9. Clean your gutters.  Leaving leaves and debris in your gutters can lead to ice damming and damage to your roof.  Check that your downspouts are clear and working properly.  If you have debris filters for your downspout, be sure the are also cleared of any debris.

Late Season Drama

A well-planned landscape provides continuous, colorful inspiration as the seasons change. Autumn brings dramatic sweeps of brilliant color that last. As autumn colors fade, landscape plantings contrast starkly against winter whiteness to create a striking display of tree silhouettes, distinctive bark, colorful berries on shrubs and snow-dusted perennials rustling in the wind.

You can add late season drama to your landscape with the following perennials, shrubs, and trees that are proven performers in our area.

Perennials

Snowbank Boltonia

Some of our late-blooming favorites provide a refreshing difference to the reds and golds commonly seen in autumn. For example, the tiny white flowers of Boltonia B. asteroids ‘Snowbank’ (4’) are reminiscent of spring daisies and have cheery yellow-green centers. This plant’s tall and sturdy growth makes it ideal for the back of the perennial bed, blooming September through October.

Purple Dome Aster

Glowing pinks and vibrant purples come from various cultivars of Aster. ‘Purple Dome’ or ‘Woods Purple’ (18”) which bloom with dramatic displays of purple with yellow centers. Asters start blooming in September and are suitable in the middle ground of a flower bed, to disguise their fading lower leaves.

Shrubs

Burning Bush

The fiery red autumn leaves of Dwarf Burning Bush Euonymus alatus ‘compacta’ (5-6’) are truly dazzling on a sunny fall day. Its corky winged branches provide winter interest after the leaves have fallen.

Fothergilla

Another fall favorite, the Dwarf Fothergilla Fothergilla gardenia (3’) radiates a warm fall glow as each and every leaf becomes a collage of yellow, red and orange. It tolerates shade nicely and, in spring, fragrant bottlebrush shaped white flowers appear.

Blackhaw Viburnum

The Viburnum is a widely adaptable, shade tolerant shrub which offers spring flowers, full summer foliage and terrific fall color. ‘Blackhaw’ (12-15’) is a native viburnum that blooms with white flower clusters in spring. Leaves turn bronze to brilliant burgundy in autumn. Its showy, bluish-black berries offer birds food in winter. ‘Koreanspice’ Viburnum (5’) has spicy, sweet fragrant flowers blooming from late April through early May, with red to burgundy colored leaves in the fall. ‘Autumn Jazz’ Viburnum (8-10’) has shiny green leaves with creamy white flowers in late spring. Blue-black fruit follows in late summer. Fall foliage colors range from yellow to orange.

Ornamental Trees

A tree bares its soul in winter, as falling leaves expose its silhouette. Some tree species are especially dramatic, as their trunk bark exfoliates in curls and shreds that reveal subtle colors and textures. The following trees are outstanding exfoliating specimens in the landscape.

Heritage River Birch

The bark of Heritage River Birch Betula nigra ‘Heritage’ (35-40’), peels off in delicate curls, revealing a colorful inner bark that is almost a peach color. Resistant to the birch borer, which can attack other birches, it thrives in damp areas. Pretty yellow foliages appear in the fall and its delicate dark cinnamon-colored branches taper out to accentuate its vase shape.

Paperbark Maple

As its name implies, the exfoliating reddish-brown bark of Paperbark Maple Acer griseum (15’) is an attractive feature. The bark begins peeling on two or three year-old branches. Upright and spreading, with a rounded crown, the leaves turn scarlet in autumn.

Why Do Leaves Changes Color in the Fall?

We all enjoy the colors of autumn leaves, delighting in their ephemeral beauty, knowing that all too soon their leaves will drop and winter will be here. Have you ever wondered why leaves change color?

Plant leaves contain pigments that give them their color. The three primary pigments in a plant leaf are chlorophyll (which gives leaves their green color), carotenoids (which provide yellows, oranges and browns) and anthocyanins (responsible for purples and reds). During the growing season, the dominant pigment in most plant leaves is chlorophyll. Plants use chlorophyll in the photosynthesis process. In this amazing process, plants take carbon dioxide from the air, water from their roots, and combine them with sunlight taken in through their leaves to produce glucose (sugar). This is what they do to make their own food.

As summer ends, and sunlight lessens as days begin to get shorter, chlorophyll production slows and eventually stops as plants prepare for winter. When the chlorophyll breaks down, the other colors that have been there all along become visible, and we start to see the change of color. The amount of the various pigments in a leaf are specific to each species of plants, and will also vary from plant to plant within a species. That’s why plants have different colored leaves, and some plants, even of the same kind, are more colorful than others.

Fall color is also influenced by the weather. Temperature and soil moisture are the two main factors. Warm sunny days, followed by cool but not freezing nights, bring out the best color. Too wet or too dry conditions will often result in less dramatic fall color.

Every autumn is different, every autumn is to be appreciated. It has been said that if a person lives 80 years old, they have only had 80 Octobers to appreciate the beauty of the autumn leaves. Take the time to appreciate this special phenomenon.

Just a few of our favorites with spectacular fall color are Triflorum Maple, Paperbark Maple, Serviceberry, Burning Bush, Fothergilla, Itea and Oakleaf Hydrangea.

It’s time to Plant Spring-Flowering Bulbs

Celebrate this coming spring with a fall installation of flowering bulbs.

Nature’s Perspective offers a distinctive assortment of quality Tulips, Daffodils, Alliums and minor bulbs, professionally installed for natural appearance and visual impact. You may choose from our updated 2009 Bulb Selection Form, viewable online at www.naturesperspective.com. Or, your salesperson can also recommend a bulb arrangement that would compliment your existing plantings and home’s architecture.

Substitutions are made based on availability, so place your order before October 1 for the best selection.

 Call us at 847-475-7917 and we can send you an order form or print one directly form our website by clicking here. 

Plant Minor Bulbs for Spring Color, Deer/Rabbit Resistance

The most commonly used spring flowering bulbs are the ‘major bulbs’ such as daffodils, tulips and hyacinths. However, there is a whole group of ‘minor bulbs’ that provide such reliable color that most gardens would benefit from including them when planning for early spring color. The bulbs are tiny and the plants are small, rarely more than six inches in height, so a large number of bulbs are needed in order to make a visual impact.

The term ‘bulb’ includes a variety of plants with a large storage root (or stem) from which the plant grows every year. These little wonders of nature require only moisture and rising temperatures to end their dormancy and begin to grow. This means that bulbs are generally an easy and fool-proof garden plant. Minor bulbs also tend to be very resistant to deer and rabbit damage.

Minor bulbs should be planted during the fall, in drifts or masses, about 3”-4” deep. They can be planted in flower beds or shrub beds where they’ll emerge and bloom before the perennials get started and before deciduous plants leaf out.

Some of the prettiest minor bulbs, listed in order of the appearance in a garden, are:

Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) Snowdrops do well in our area and emerge very early. The small three-segmented, drooping white flowers are 5” tall and stand out dramatically above their silver-green foliage. (March)

Winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) is another early bloomer. The solitary, yellow buttercup-shaped flowers grow 6” tall and are surrounded by bright green bracts that look like a collar around the blossom. (March)

Glory of the Snow (Chionodoxas) are low growing plants, reaching 4-6” high with grass-like leaves that appear the same time as the flowers. The blue star shaped flowers face upwards and has a central white eye, lasting two weeks or more. (March/April)

Crocus (Crocus) naturalize exceptionally well, creating an expanding carpet of bright colors as the years go by. Their purples, lavenders, whites and yellows are a clear signal that spring in on its way. These are the only minor bulbs that we’ve listed that the rabbits eat. (March/April)

Scilla (Scilla siberica), also called ‘Squill’, this vivid blue flower is about 5” tall. You can see some strikingly beautiful and very large drifts in many North Shore gardens where they have been naturalizing for many years. Some varieties are available in pink and white, but the blues are spring time knock-outs. (April)

Windflower (Anemone) is a charming border plant with daisy-like flowers that comes in a variety of blues, pinks, violets and white. The foliage resembles parsley and the plant stands about 6” tall. (April)

Grape Hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum) is the largest of the minor bulbs with tiny deep blue flowers densely clustered like miniature grapes on a firm stalk. The flower cluster is about 5” long and the plant grows to 7” or 8”. They are long lasting and produce a striking effect when planted in drifts. (April-May)

Autumn is Great for Landscaping

Along with the milder temperatures and beauty of fall comes an excellent opportunity for landscaping for your yard. The cooler weather is a signal for plants to stop growing new shoots and leaves above ground, but not below. Trees and shubs continue to extend their root systems, making fall an ideal time to plant. The cool weather reduces the risk of ‘transplant shock’, or dieback, giving newly installed plants the time to acclimate themselves to their new home and set out new feeder roots before winter arrives. As the soil temperature cools and seasonal rain adds moisture, plants continue to establish themselves. This means that new plantings are less reliant on you (or your irrigation system) for their watering needs when next summer rolls around.

Trees, shrubs, and perennials planted in fall have plenty of time to develop before the wintry weather sets in. When the long, cold winter ends, you will have a new look in your garden and your plants will be ready to embark on a new season of growth.

The fall season is also great for landscaping with spring flowering plants. Because they set their buds the season prior to the flower, fall-planted trees and shrubs will display their glory in the spring season in your garden. A few of our spring-flowering favorites are Crabapples, Redbuds, Serviceberry, Azalea and Viburnum. Or, add to your garden’s fall display by choosing Maples, Cherries, Burning Bush or Sweetspire.

Autumn is also a terrific time to install the new patio or walkway you’ve been thinking about. With the addition of a new patio or sitting area, you can expand your outdoor living space and enjoy the wonderful fall season the Midwest has to offer, as well as having the use of your new space when spring arrives.