While your garden is waking up from winter, or while it is in transition throughout the year, the quickest way to adorn your property with a boost of color is with seasonal annuals! Fill your empty beds with rivers of colorful begonias, and dazzle your entryway with urns spilling over with petunias and vines. Whether [...]
Tulips are available in a wide variety of colors. This past spring, if you noticed some areas in your garden that could have used some color and cheerfulness, now is the time to do something about it. Fall is the best time to plan and plant for spring-flowering bulbs. Our convenient bulb service delivers, arranges [...]
Here's a late bloomer that is well worth the wait. Spring and summer fly by, and this seemingly plain shrub looks like it wants to hide in the garden unnoticed. But when summer ends, watch out. Early Amethyst Beautyberry (Callicarpa dichotoma 'Early Amethyst') is about to take center stage. Why do we love this plant? For one, it's low [...]
There is no time like the present to visit local garden gems. Large and small, these gardens offer beautiful backdrops for portrait taking, personal enjoyment and respite from life’s hustle and bustle. Please enjoy this list of our favorite local gardens to visit, all within a day’s drive of Chicagoland. We highlight gardens that are [...]
This time of year, big box nurseries often offer a lot of what’s most popular: lilacs, forsythias, azaleas. Why not "think outside the box" and use Deutzia, a small, carefree shrub that bears pretty spring flowers on arching stems, settles to a neat, rounded appearance in summer and ends the season with lovely burgundy [...]
As we head into fall, and bulb planting season nears, here are some helpful tips for a picture-perfect floral display when spring arrives. We've made them easier to remember by giving them movie titles! ONE HIT WONDER Tulips are available in an astounding variety of shapes, sizes and colors, but need replenishing every year or two [...]
Ornamental grasses have gained popularity in recent years due to their low maintenance and potential for year-round interest in the garden. These plants also respond beautifully to the wind and create sound with their rustling leaves. True grasses are in the Grass family (Poaceae) but horticulturists consider Sedges (Carex spp.) within the group of ornamental [...]
Late August-early September is a challenging time in the garden between the Hydrangeas of summer and the Asters of fall. For some areas of the country, it can mark the beginning of the transition into the dormant season. There are, however, certain plants that do peak during this time in the Chicago area. Many of these [...]
Sometimes we are really tested as landscape designers and horticulturists. One common challenge that we encounter is getting plants to grow in parkways, especially in urban neighborhoods. Large, mature street trees, often with shallow roots and a dense canopy such as Norway Maples, rob a site of sun, moisture and nutrients. Even with these less [...]
We are all relieved to witness the demise of winter, but saddened to discover the toll it's taken on our gardens. If you have lost a plant or two, now is a great time to think about replacing it. To continue an earlier post, here are more plants we recommend that will bring you years [...]