So you have a steep hill, what to do?
Plantings help prevent erosion
Plantings add color
Plantings add interest
Plantings become a show piece
Sure, we added 100 tons, or more, of stone, but to enhance the look you need plantings. Lots and lots of beautiful and wonderful plantings of shrubs and perennials to make the look, literally, come alive.
Fire Pit
A custom sculpture by our owner Harry J Vignocchi
OK, raise your hand if you are one of us that feels like it is never going to stop snowing this winter. Mother Nature started us off with a bang in November with some light accumulations leading up to the big Thanksgiving blast that left seven to eleven inches on the ground in the northwest suburbs. Then she seemed to take a nap in December but woke up crabby and ready to wage weather war again in January; and she has been relentless ever since.
Snow accumulation totals for this winter are already more than a foot over our average for an entire winter, and we still have a month left before we can even start talking about spring. Along with all of this snow we have had more than our share of all of the other nasty weather elements Mother Nature keeps in her bag of tricks. Historic ice storms, a polar vortex that crushed century old temperature records, rain, sleet, freezing rain, hail, and yes, even graupel. In case you were wondering what graupel is, read on…
Ice storms don’t hit the Chicago area often because they require just the right combination of cold upper air, warm air above ground level and cold air right near the ground. But when they do happen, ice storms that leave less than an inch of ice on the ground can be much more disruptive than sleet, freezing rain, or snowstorms that leave similar amounts of precipitation.
But what exactly is the difference between rain, freezing rain, sleet, ice, etc. and why do we need so many terms for this winter precipitation. Whether or not precipitation remains snow or transitions to rain, freezing rain, sleet, hail, or graupel by the time it reaches the ground hinges on the temperature fluctuations the snowflakes may encounter as they travel through the layers of the atmosphere.
When the temperature between the ground and the clouds remains at or below the freezing mark (32F), precipitation will fall in the form of snow. It is possible for snow to fall when temperatures are above 32, as long as the layer of above-freezing air near the surface is rather shallow, not allowing the snowflakes to melt.
Sleet and freezing rain occur by a similar process but are different forms of precipitation. Sleet occurs when snowflakes melt into a raindrop in a wedge of warm air well above the ground and then refreeze in a layer of freezing air just above the surface. This results in frozen raindrops, or small ice pellets. Freezing rain occurs when the wedge of warm air aloft is much thicker, allowing the raindrop to survive until it comes in contact with the cold ground. A coating of ice then forms on whatever the raindrops contact. Freezing rain is by far the most dangerous because it forms a solid sheet of ice, as opposed to sleet that just has small ice pellets that quickly bounce off of the surface. Interestingy, sleet can even provide a little bit of traction for drivers, as opposed to the obvious dangers of a solid sheet of ice that forms from freezing rain.
And I have not forgotten, in case you were wondering what graupel is, graupel (snow pellets) forms when snowflakes are coated with a layer of ice. Graupel is typically white and opaque. Unlike hail or sleet, graupel is soft and can fall apart easily in your hand. Graupel is also usually smaller than hail, with a diameter of around 0.08-0.2 of an inch.
The demand for ice melt applications to remedy this onslaught of frequent, diverse precipitation has been high, exacerbated by the intermittent freeze/thaw cycles we have also seen that create melted runoff that refreezes overnight. The need for more salt/chemical applications has resulted in some difficulty on the part of the suppliers keeping up with the demand of contractors. Typically, suppliers are required to supply municipalities and transportation authorities first to ensure that the road ways are kept safe, leaving a high demand from contractors to take care of private properties. Higher demand can also mean higher prices, which you may see in the future.
If your budget has been blown up by the cost of clearing snow and keeping up with these applications, you are not alone. Commercial building managers, retail mall owners, and HOAs alike share in the budget pain that this winter is creating.
However, the safety of employees, residents, visitors, etc. and the ability of vehicles to effectively navigate around your property should always be paramount when balancing the cost considerations that must be confronted in the midst of a winter like this one.
Hang on though, two weeks ago, Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his burrow around 7:30 a.m. ET and did not see his shadow, predicting an early spring for us all. A member of Phil’s Inner Circle read from the groundhog’s prediction scroll to the cheers and applause from the crowd;
“Faithful followers, there is no shadow of me and a beautiful spring it shall be.”
As the legend goes, if Phil sees his shadow, he considers it an “omen” of six more weeks of bad weather and heads back into his hole. If it’s cloudy and he doesn’t, you can put away that winter coat sooner than expected. But of course, his predictions aren’t always correct. Statistically, you’re better off trying to decide what the rest of February and March will look like by flipping a coinsince Phil’s accuracy record is only 40%. At least with a coin you will be right half of the time.
Kevin T. Block
Turning 50 is such a milestone for any business. Dips in the economy, increasing regulations, labor issues and shortages. There are so many ways a company can get off track. As I contemplate where we have been, of course I think of our unwavering reputation for integrity, artistry and quality. You consider the massive golf courses, Chicago Botanic Garden installations, as well as corporate and municipal work. I regard those residential projects that not only won awards but gave our employees such satisfaction and our customers heartfelt joy.
But to me it is more than that.
I don’t know if I have a memory when ILT didn’t exist. You see, as ILT turns 50, I will be turning 47. The memories of our company are like fabric woven into my life.
When I watch the countless trucks and trailers roll out of the yard at sunrise each and every morning I indulge the nostalgia of our company’s youth.
I remember Sorney Leahy who let me sit inside his desk drawer when I was very small and let me play with his phone. Or going to a job site with my dad on a Saturday. He’d hoist me up on his shoulders and then put me down so I could hug my Nono who was working with our men. A favorite is my mother who would spend hours picking up sticks before the maintenance crew came to our house so they would not have to bother.
50 years ago there were no computers. Dad used to spend countless nights drawing plans, scrunching up vellum with discarded ideas and yes, taking calls from his customers on his home phone.
I think life is different when you are in a family business. Of course it is hard and there are arguments, lots. But there is a short cut with family that makes it easier, because you know in the end, you will always love one another.
As landscape architects and arborists we often find that plant material on our new residential, commercial and HOA sites have been left to get overgrown and mismanaged. The key to getting the plant material looking healthy, vibrant and growing properly again is of course dormant pruning.
Dormant pruning takes place during the winter months and this is valuable for many reasons. With the leaves absent precision pruning is much easier. Cutting the plant in the right spot helps the plant heal better and faster in the growing season. It also allows us to see the shape of the plant better and see limbs and stems that are either damaged, diseased or crossing. The colder months also mean less airborne diseases that could affect the fresh wounds of plants.
A sure sign that dormant pruning needs to be done is the evidence of witches broom which is a dense mass of shoots growing from a single point. This happens when the plant is perpetually pruned or sheared on the top and never in the middle or base of the plant. This type of pruning leads to a plant that is top heavy with leaves, but looks bare and leggy on the stems and base.
Dormant pruning removes the witches broom, allows us to remove overgrown stems at the base of the plant and makes it easier to remove unwanted growth. These fixes allow sunlight and air to get to the entire plant and not only to the top sections. Heights of plants are also much more easily controlled during dormant pruning allowing the plant to take on a natural shape during the growing season without blocking windows or doors.
-Aaron Zych
As I sit on this blisteringly cold January day my mind drifts to our lovely friend, the tulip.
You see my mother loves tulips. Even though we lived in Riverwoods and had to contend with deer feasting on them she would plant them. Not en masse but in charming little bundles that would cheerfully pop up in spring. She would sometimes even pair them with Allium, in order to deter our beautiful yet hungry friends.
Her love affair continues today, although now she must battle chipmunks and squirrels who enjoy digging them up and moving them around. This year I finally convinced her to even try my favorite tulip blend created by a most trusted vendor. It’s called French Blend. Wow, wait until she sees her spring display!
The French Tulip Blend
It’s difficult to think of spring on such a snow covered day, but it will come. My contemplating of the tulip has led me to some poking around. I’ve found some interesting tidbits that I thought I’d share…
And that my friends, is just some of the fun facts around out delightful spring friend.
Donna Vignocchi Zych
If your property does not have an automated irrigation system and you have not watered your turf regularly this summer, you may have noticed it is turning brown, indicating it is reacting to the impact of the summer drought we are in the midst of here in the northern Chicagoland area. Your grass has a natural drought defense system which shuts down the expendable parts of the plant in an effort to keep its roots alive, hence the brown coloration at the surface. The good news is, turf grasses are resilient plants and can survive a long time without water. The bad news is, not only does the brown grass not look good, the dormant grass will become more susceptible to invasive weeds and crabgrass which tend to find room to root and grow in the stressed turf. Generally, though, once moisture returns, most grasses will recover without leaving permanent damage. The weeds and crabgrass can be treated, and your once beautiful lawn should be restored.
The simplest and best practice that we have found for helping the turf survive and recover from the effects of a drought, if regular watering is not an option, is to make some simple adjustments to our mowing operations. We raise our mower blades slightly, to 3″ – 3.5″, to minimize the heat/sun exposure of the root systems of the turf that results from mowing too low in these hot, dry conditions. Additionally, you will find that we will forgo mowing whenever warranted, on a given visit, if the grass has gone dormant and has not grown sufficiently to necessitate a mowing. This will prevent the potential damage that could be done to the dry, brittle grass blades as the heavy mower wheels roll over them. The added benefit of not mowing is the extra time we can spend on your property detailing and performing more labor-intensive gardening operations.
Furthermore, the longer grass blades will shade the ground underneath, keeping it cooler and inhibiting water evaporation. The granular fertilizer we apply during your lawn care visits will stimulate new growth once rain returns or the lawn is watered. If you are going to water your lawn, you must be consistent. If you cannot deeply water your lawn one inch or more per week, it is better to let your lawn go into a state of dormancy. Light, infrequent watering can do more harm than good as it encourages shallow root growth which then makes the turf even more susceptible to disease and insect infestations during periods of stress. So, it is best to commit to keep up with the watering or let it go and wait out the drought.
When temperatures start to cool down and rainfall increases, your lawn should come out of dormancy and begin to recover. The turf plants will start growing new roots and new plants will germinate to replace those that were damaged or even killed during the summer. Core aeration and over seeding in the fall are two great ways to help your lawn recover from a tough drought season, like the one we are currently experiencing. Strengthening the roots is critical to maintaining healthy turf, and the core aeration process will open the lawn to provide more air, water and nutrients into the turf root zone. Following up the coring operation immediately with over seeding will help to generate new seedlings to fill in sparse areas. Grass seed needs to come in contact with soil and receive adequate moisture to remain viable once the germination process begins. A good portion of the seed will end up in the core holes, which ends up being a great place for the seed to germinate. The soil in the core holes will remain moist and cool, and the seed will have a much better chance of germinating.
Kevin T Block
On a sprawling 3 acres in Itasca, Illinois this property includes several relaxing vignettes, a putting green and tennis court. Perfect for entertaining it also boasts a custom fireplace and spa.