High-quality lighting fixtures are beautifully crafted, built to withstand the elements and last for years of enjoyment. Photo credit: Diana Bergren. As daylight continues to shorten this fall, you can extend the time to enjoy your home and garden with an investment in low-voltage landscape lighting. With a wide variety of fixtures and numerous lighting techniques, [...]
A mortared stone fire pit with limestone coping is integrated into a crazy quilt limestone patio. Sitting around a roaring fire while sipping cider and roasting marshmallows is a great way to enjoy the cool and crisp evenings of autumn. A metal fire pit or clay chimenea can provide heat, but it often ages [...]
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 [...]
The sound of water from an outdoor water feature adds a relaxing, soothing element in a garden. Water features range from simple ones like a small fountain or bubbling rock that is easy to maintain, to pondless waterfalls that require a bit more maintenance, to those that are far more complex, like koi ponds, requiring high maintenance. Here are [...]
Do you love your home and its location, with its good neighbors, schools, neighborhood and community, but don’t want to leave it because you have a tiny yard? Often our clients add larger detached garages or put on an addition, leaving a postage stamp-sized yard. Or maybe you live in a standard residential lot in [...]
One summer day in 2009, two grandmothers, Gay Riseborough and Mary Trujillo, were out walking with their grandsons in the Dewey-Darrow neighborhood of Evanston. Both lamented that there was not a park nearby for their very young grandchildren, as well as other neighboring families, to gather and play, and something should be done about it. [...]
After surviving one of the worst winters in Chicago history, the cold weather really took its toll on our landscapes. Winter burn and rabbit damage on many ornamental trees and shrubs are the worst we have seen in recent years. Due to the excessive amount of snow and extremely cold temperatures, many of our [...]