White

White:  Light and Purity  Means goodness and cleanliness  Represents a successful beginning  What’s most important to us is that it is the color of perfection. This phlox ‘David’ is snowy white and helps balance out the other colors in the garden.

Orange

Orange:  Combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow  Associated with joy and sunshine  Represents enthusiasm  As the weather begins to change slowly orange is the color of fall and the harvest. This daylily ‘Mauna Loa’ is absolutely stunning in a mid summer garden.

Fucshia

Fuchsia:  Named after the actual fuchsia plant  Inspires confidence  Can invoke female charm, which is why this Astilbe is called ‘Maggie Daley’ The great color pop and texture of this astilbe is fantastic in a part shade garden. Maggie Daily Astilbe

Erosion Control using plants

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 […]

Artistry runs deep here

My father Harry graduated from Drake University with a major in Psychology and dual minors in philosophy and art. Kind of interesting for a future landscape architect. But I’ve always thought it is part of what makes him and our subsequent culture a unique. One where creativity isn’t touted, it is practiced. Both on the […]

What’s the deal with Dirt

My guess is that many people don’t find dirt very interesting.  But the truth is that people study it intensely.  We actually employ someone who is a soils expert, Mike Curry! So what exactly Is pulverized topsoil?  Topsoil is the upper layer of the Earth’s crust,  usually the top 2 to 8 inches. It has […]

Tulip Trivia

On this snowy and blisteringly cold day I find myself dreaming of tulips. You see, my mother loves tulips.  Even though growing up in Riverwoods there was a fair share of deer, she would tirelessly plant them.  Not en masse, but in little charming clumps that would pop up here and there.  She would sometimes […]