The Pros at Home

ILCA Visits with Craig Bergmann at Home

by Nina Koziol

When Craig Bergmann was five years

old, his father gave him a 20’ x 20’ plot of ground at their Glen Ellyn home. “My dad was an avid gardener. Evenings and weekends he was out in the garden and when I was old enough to follow him he’d give me tasks. I was mad that he lifted up the old brick patio to put in concrete and I asked him if I could have the bricks. So we edged the beds with bricks and whenever my dad went shopping for plants I’d go with him with my allowance money. I’d ask neighbors for starts of things, and my aunts and uncles would share — you know real gardeners share.”

The rest, as they say, is history. For the past four decades his firm Craig Bergmann Landscape Design in Lake Forest, has received critical acclaim for projects not only in Illinois but in at least a dozen states from coast-tocoast. He also operates a 25-acre nursery in Wadsworth. “It’s certainly not anything I thought I’d do as a kid.”

Beginnings

Bergmann’s childhood home was near woods and water. “There were acres of ponds and wildlife to explore with other kids. During the summer, our moms would pack lunch and say be back by five.” That personal interaction with nature throughout his youth ignited his interest in flora and fauna.

While attending DePaul in 1977, he worked at a flower shop across the street from the university. “A very elegant woman came in and asked who arranged the flowers.” It was his work and she was so impressed she hired him to do a garden for her husband’s birthday. “A four-acre garden in Kenilworth! It was my first North Shore client. We worked with them for some 20 years.” He graduated with a BS in biology in 1981 and founded Craig Bergmann Landscape Design, Inc. in 1982.

Inspiration

The Kenilworth couple championed his work with friends and neighbors. “It was good karma,” he said. His first Lake Forest project was for Posy Krehbiel, whose expansive estate, Camp Rosemary, was designed by (continued on page 24)

ILCA Visits with Craig Bergmann at Home

(continued from page 22) Rose Standish Nichols in the 1920s. “Posy introduced me to anybody who was of garden significance. I was able to meet all these incredible design professionals and craftsmen.”

Bergmann’s mentors ranged far and wide. “On any vacation I would go to improve my connectivity to plants and design.” In England, he met with Christopher Lloyd of Great Dixter fame, Rosemary Verey, and John Brookes, who designed the Chicago Botanic Garden’s English Walled Garden.

“I visited them all at their homes and stayed with them — they were all friends.” He made a point of visiting England’s Chelsea Flower Show and gardens in Italy as well as in New England. He went to the famed Heronswood Garden in the Pacific northwest where he met plantsman Dan Hinkley. “Oehme van Sweden were one of the first nationally recognized firms and I went to meet and talk with them. I’d focus my attention and go see these places.” Whenever possible, he talked to the head gardeners responsible for maintaining the estates.

Details, Details

It’s the attention to the small things that makes Bergmann’s work stand out, whether it’s for a client’s landscape or at home. “I think we are very detail oriented. Once the spaces are created, we create vignettes or palettes as you walk through the garden. We accessorize a bit, we furnish it and create focal points.”

He often hears someone say they could tell a Bergmann garden when they pulled into a driveway. “Other landscapers have a signature style or a signature way of representing the house. We want our landscapes to reflect the owner. We’re not afraid to put gardens in the front or to do something different from the norm. I feel like our work is often very related to the specific style of the architecture. It brings it back to the original intent of the structure as well as personalizing it.”

Work, Home, Play

Bergmann’s artistry is evident at his home and business — The Gardens at 900 in Lake Forest. He and his partner, interior designer Paul Klug, bought the property on Waukegan Road 12 years ago. It became the perfect place to combine their professional and personal lives in a complex that has a fascinating history. In 1915, meat industry mogul A. Watson Armour set about creating a gentleman’s estate called Elawa Farm. Renowned architect David Adler designed two gatehouses and a motor house. But the First World War and a post-war depression put the brakes on the construction of the main house.

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In 1920, landscape architect Ralph Root laid out the original garden plans, but little remained of the garden’s structure when the couple purchased the property. Bergmann looked to vintage photos for reference. He’s melded his own design aesthetic with the original and the result is a sensational series of garden rooms. He’s added an entry garden, double borders, a shade garden, a swimming pool garden, an orchard, vegetable gardens and a flock of chickens.

“We have a little over two acres, a fraction of the original 200 and the pastoral view is no longer pastoral so we had to create screening. I felt the need to keep the plant collection appropriate to the period of the architecture. The buildings have a diminutive size and I didn’t want the gardens to overwhelm them.”

A formal courtyard and an old iron gate, enhanced by two carved stone figures, lead directly into the garden. The two vinecovered gatehouses serve as their residence and as an office for Klug’s business. The original motor house serves as Bergmann’s headquarters. The unique property is designated as a State of Illinois historic landmark.

The British Influence

Bergmann’s original vision for the site was an English country style garden. Two splendid formal borders contain an eyepopping collection of perennials. Foxgloves, penstemon, allium, phlox, bee balm, tall lilies, daylilies and irises extend the color from spring to late summer. Antique statuary and containers that overflow with annuals provide interesting vignettes throughout the property.

“I’m moving away from the “Great Dixter” look in our own garden. As our gardens mature, the things that allowed for full sun are in part shade so I have to change it up all the time. I’m having a hell of a time growing dahlias. The best ones grow with the tomatoes.”

Roses, boxwood-edged parterres and ornamental trees define some of the garden rooms. Japanese forest grass, variegated Solomon’s seal and astilbes hug a path in one of the shady spots. Bergmann has been simplifying the gardens, taking some things out and using fewer annuals.

“We’re rethinking and simplifying the gardens, not complicating them. We’ve gone completely organic. We have rabbits, scale, chipmunks, blackspot. There are ways to keep them under control without nuking the whole environment. This is an environment that we can control and we can take a stance.” The property generates enough organic compost to provide for organic produce as well as food for the chickens. (continued on page 28)

(continued from page 26) Personal Paradise

As a registered landscape architect, garden designer, plantsman and lecturer, one might think Bergmann has little time to commune with his own garden, especially since he lives steps away from the office. One would be wrong.

The garden, which encompasses the entire property, gives him a chance to renew and recharge when he’s not tending to business. And while all irrigation is included in his work for clients, Bergmann prefers to hand water at home, calling it relaxing and a chance to keep tabs on the plants.

“To not own a garden would be a disservice to my clients. Honestly, if all you’re doing is working for other people, your passion for plants, which got you into business in the first place, must be waning. What’s better than sitting in your own garden in the evening with your dog and your mate? I truly believe I’ll live longer because we moved here.”

The best thing about his career? “I think it’s the people that I’ve known and worked with — it’s a real testament of having a successful life when you have a lot of wonderful relationships with clients, staff and friends.”

See more of his work at www.craigbergmann.com

ILCA Conducts Field Staff Skills Training

The ILCA Field Staff Skills Training workshop was held March 22-23, 2022 at the Northern Illinois University Conference Center in Naperville. This popular event returned after a one-year hiatus due to the pandemic.

Field Staff Skills Training is a 2-day seminar for English and Spanish-speaking field staff, foremen, supervisors, and grounds managers. The seminar covers skills that everyone needs to know. This program was developed to help make sure your employees are prepared for the busy landscape season. Field Staff Skills Training is put on with the joint cooperation of the Technical Skills Committee and Latino Relations Committee.

ILCA Conducts Field Staff Skills Training