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.
Mauna Loa Daylily
It is amazing the impact a small renovation can make to your home!
Most people think of fall as the end of the growing season and the beginning glimpse of another Chicago winter. Well try to look at it as an ideal time to plant!
Fall is a perfect time for planting shrubs, trees, grass seed, and even perennials if they have a developed root system. Fall planting gives plants time to develop roots before winter’s blustery conditions. The conditions are also less stressful and there may be more reliable precipitation.
What happens during fall conditions is a plant’s leaf and flower production is usually slowing down and approaching dormancy. Therefore, a plant can focus on root production. Roots continue to grow when other parts of the plant are not. Generally speaking, root systems will keep growing as long as the soil temperature is at least 50 degrees.
Although we generally get more rain in fall, the good news is that plants use less water then. Because days are increasingly shorter and cooler in the fall, plants are going to be photosynthesizing less and using less water.
Fall is also when depleted nurseries can begin to dig plants again, so varieties that were either unavailable or just downright unsightly in July and August, may become available.
Finally, don’t forget about BULBS! Its often surprising why more people don’t take advantage of this relatively inexpensive way to welcome in Spring. To achieve a gorgeous Spring show bulbs are planted in late fall.
Spring Tulips
If you’d like to start planning a fall project, it is right around the corner, so call us now and we will be happy to assist you!
About 20 years ago we sold our facility in Prairie View, IL and relocated to two new facilities, one in Wauconda and one in Island Lake. Our facility in Island Lake is home to our production teams, mechanics and outside material storage. Our facility in Wauconda started as a corporate headquarters and evolved, thanks to our very entrepreneurial founder, into an impressive shrub, perennial and groundcover wholesale nursery…Montale Gardens.
To those in the industry, the evolution from landscape professional to nurseryman is a natural one. Most of the companies I know who have done it do so for a myriad of reasons…cutting cost, controlling quality, and revenue growth.
My father and I are very proud of our little sister nursery…she has the same culture and values as her big brother landscape company. Those of service, fun, integrity and quality.
This winter, under the new leadership of Melisa Bell, Montale got a brand facelift. When it comes to our image (we are Italian so the vanity runs quite deep) we are emotional and opinionated. So the process was argumentative yet fun, painful yet invigorating.
When all was said and done, we are all so proud of the end result. Here is a peak at the evolution, starting with my father’s original ILT logo, it’s next incarnation, Montale’s new logo, and their new look on display at the very popular industry trade show, ilandscape.
Harry Vignocchi’s original tree logo as seen to the left.
We call it the “V” tree which is our logo atop our original logo
Montale’s new logo
Melisa Bell talks to a customer at our ilandscape booth
During a meeting discussing seasonal color displays, when phones were set on vibrate and the focus of our discussions was solely about plants, I was reminded how passionate and opinionated our staff is when it comes to what they love the most.
I decided it was important to celebrate that our employees each have their favorite species and that those favorites tend to change and evolve. Hence our favorite plant series. First up might as well be me, Donna Vignocchi Zych.
Easy and carefree, ‘Blue Star’ is an outstanding long blooming selection. I look forward to several weeks of deep, glacial blue blooms on this compact, shrubby-like plant. It forms a mound of green, willow-like leaves, bearing clusters of interesting dark blue buds that open into dainty, star-shaped, medium blue flowers from late spring into early summer. The dark green, compact foliage remains attractive all summer and forms the perfect backdrop, for colorful annuals and bold perennials. In fall, the willowy foliage turns a rich shade of yellow complementing my favorite fall blooming perennials: sedum, hardy mums and purpled-leaved heuchera, to name a few.
Light: Full sun to part shade
Soil: Well-Drained
Height: 12-18”
Spread: 12-18”
Growth Habit: Dense, Mound, Shrub-like
Uses: Specimen, edging, or massed in perennial or mixed shrub borders
Problems: No serious insect or disease problems.
Companion Plants: Sedum, Allium, Blue Hosta, Purple-leaved Heucheras
Dark blue buds open to ice blue blooms
Spring blooms and neat dark green foliage
Dark green foliage turns to golden yellow in fall
Tried and Trouble-free!
Year-after-year, ‘Rozanne’ continues to be a “rock star” in my garden!
I highly recommended ‘Rozanne’ for larger flowers than others of its type along with an extended bloom period and vigorous, yet dense, habit. The lovely saucer-shaped flowers are deep violet-blue with a white throat and darker venation. Attractive, faintly marbled, deep green leaves change to a brownish red in late fall for added interest. With a semi-vining habit, ‘Rozanne’ weaves gracefully through my garden, filling in any gaps along the way, allowing for its companion plants (see below) to flow together in a stunning blend of colors and textures.The non-stop show begins in June and lasts till frost.
Light: Full Sun to Part Shade
Soil: Well-Drained
Height: 1 to 3 ft.
Spread: 1 to 3 ft.
Growth Habit: Clumps, Spreads
Uses: Perennial beds, borders, also excellent for massing or in mixed containers.
Companion Plants: Coreopsis, Asclepias, Calamintha, Salvia, to name a few. For more information about other fun geraniums, click here.
Semi-vining habit
Close up of flower
Fall color
I find it interesting how many sites have so little fall interest. It’s probably because we all kind of forget about our yards starting in September. With the change of seasons comes the change in routine…getting kids back to school, weekends spent watching football, and shorter days mean we spend less time outside.
What I do at this time of year, every year, is spend a lot of thoughtful time watching my garden so that I can plan for next year. I’ve spent all summer watching it evolve, grow and now wane. I want to make sure it is just as beautiful now as it was at its height.
I rely on some old standbys for fall color of course, Viette’s Little Suzy (a new improved version of a black eyed Susan), grasses with their beautiful plumes, fall mums, and Burning Bush and Sumac for that fantastic red color.
But there are some other interesting picks that you might not expect that can give you interest and add to the fundamentals.
Anemone ‘September Charm’
Sedum kamtschaticum
Hydrangea ‘Tardiva’
Geranium ‘Karmina’
For more information about Anemone, or the Japanese Wind Flower, read this great article by the Chicago Botanic Garden.