Wild & Neat
Harvesting the Future
WE ARE THANKFUL FOR ALL OUR CUSTOMERS, PARTNERS, VENDORS, AND EMPLOYEES WHO CELEBRATED 50 YEARS WITH US THIS YEAR. OUR FUTURE IS GROWING!
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our
SaleS team:
P: 847-742-1790 F: 847-742-2655 MGSALES@MIDWESTGROUNDCOVERS.COM WWW.MIDWESTGROUNDCOVERS.COM GroundCoverS & vineS native PlantS PerennialS ornamental GraSSeS deCiduouS ShrubS roSeS ConiferS & broadleaf everGreenS LandscapeContractor_November working.indd 1
10/9/2019 11:49:06 AM
November 2019
CONTENTS Excellence In Landscape Awards Project
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FOCUS: Closing the Season
Wild and Neat Claudia West expresses style
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Harvesting the Future 18 Cooperative effort harvests community results
New Board Member Profile Ashley Marrin, Bret-Mar Landscape Management
iLandscape 2020 28 Educational highlights
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WNG Fall Event 32
EN ESPAĂ‘OL
iLandscape 2020 Educational Highlights 35 Estableciendo contactos
Sedum: 14 Sizzling Options Brent Horvath takes a deep dive on sedum
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Revisiting Design 44 Greg Pierceall reminds us of the fundamentals
Technology and Irrigation 50 Do you know the tech end of irrigation?
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Member Profile 56 Austin Eischeid Garden Design Revisiting Your Plant Palette 62 Gentian andrewsii On the cover... Black Creek Canyon received a Gold award for this 2018 project. The Landscape Contractor November 2019
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CONTENTS
DEPARTMENTS ILCA Calendar From Where I Stand President’s Message Classified Ads Advertisers Index Photo Credits
ILCA Awards Committee Claufia West Windy City Harvest Ashley Marrin ILandscape Rick Reuland
1, 8-9 10-16 18-24 26 28-30 32-33
Calendar 4 5 7 58 61
Brent Horvath Greg Pierseall Marcus Hogue Austin Eischeid Kathy Freeland
NOVEMBER November 7, 2019 Pruning Workshop Boomer’s Stadium Schaumburg November 14, 2019 Annual Party and Member Meeting Joe’s Live Rosemont
38-43 44--48 50-55 5+ 62
The official publication of the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association (ILCA), The Landscape Contractor is dedicated to educating, advising and informing members of this industry and furthering the goals of the Association. The Landscape Contractor carries news and features relating to landscape contracting, maintenance, design and allied interests. Publisher is not responsible for unsolicited material and reserves the right to edit any article or advertisement submitted for publication. Publication reserves right to refuse advertising not in keeping with goals of Association. WWW.ilca.net Volume 60, Number 11. The Landscape Contractor (ISSN # 0194-7257, USPS # 476-490) is published monthly for $75.00 per year by the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association, 2625 Butterfield Road, Ste. 104S, Oak Brook, IL 60523. Periodicals postage paid at Oak Brook, IL and additional mailing offices. Printed in USA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Landscape Contractor, 2625 Butterfield Road, Ste 104S, Oak Brook, IL 60523. DISPLAY ADVERTISING SALES: Association Publishing Partners, Inc., Ph. (630) 637-8632 Fax (630) 637-8629 email: rmgi@comcast.net CLASSIFIED ADS, CIRCULATION AND SUBSCRIPTION: ILCA (630) 472-2851 Fax (630) 472-3150 PUBLISHER/EDITORIAL OFFICE: Rick Reuland, rmgi@comcast.net, Naperville, IL 60540 Ph. (630) 637-8632
JANUARY
PRODUCT DISCLAIMER: The Illinois Landscape Contractors Association, its Board of Directors, the Magazine Committee, ILCA Staff, The Landscape Contractor and its staff, neither endorse any products nor attest to the validity of any statements made about products
ILCA Staff
Magazine Staff
Executive Director Scott Grams (630) 472-2851 sgrams@ilca.net
Rick Reuland Publisher/Advertising Sales (630) 637-8632 rmgi@comcast.net
Education Manager AnneMarie Drufke adrufke@ilca.net
Debbie Rauen Advertising Sales (817-501-2403) debbie.landscapecontractor@ yahoo.com
Events Manager Terre Houte thoute@ilca.net Office Manager Alycia Nagy anagy@ilca.net
February 13, 2020 Young Professionals Event Aquascape St. Charles
v Senior Writer
treethyme@aol.com Patrice Peltier
Feature Writer patpeltier@charter.net
v
Feature Writer
2625 Butterfield Road Ste. 104S Oak Brook, IL 60523
FEBRUARY
Becke Davis
Membership & Marketing Manager Marissa Stubler mstubler@ilca.net
ILCA
January 29-30-31, 2020 iLandscape Schaumburg Convention Center Schaumburg
February 27 & 28, 2020 Foremanship Training Fox Run Golf Links Elk Grove Village
Meta Levin
meta.levin@comcast.net Nina Koziol Feature Writer
n.koziol@att.net Heather Prince
Follow—
Feature Writer
princeht@sbcglobal.net @ILCAlandscape
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The Landscape Contractor November 2019
facebook.com/illinoislandscapecontractorsassociation
From Where I Stand — As long as I remember The rain’s been comin’ down Clouds of mystery pourin’ Confusion on the ground Good men through the ages Tryin’ to find the sun And I wonder, still I wonder Who’ll stop the rain Who’ll Stop the Rain, Credence Clearwater Revival
This summer,
I felt like the voiceover for one of those late night infomercials. Have you ever experienced the following symptoms: Lost production due to 2 months of biblical rains. Vanishing cash flow from stalled projects and accounts. An overwhelming urge to punch someone in the face for asking, “Some weather we are having, huh?” Then you might be a Midwestern landscape contractor. 2019 clocked in as the second wettest spring ever in Chicago at 16.36 inches of rain. Spring is defined in weather circles as March to May. We also had the wettest May ever with 8.25 inches of precipitation recorded at O’Hare International Airport. If this feels like a trend, we are not far off. 2018 had 12.67 inches of rain in the spring and 2017 had 13.72 inches. Three of the top 25 wettest springs have occurred in the last three consecutive years. Looking at total annual rainfall, 2018 was the fourth wettest year in the 147 years they have been recording data for our region. 2017 was the 16th wettest. 2019 is currently the 18th wettest and we still have 2 months to go. It is likely 2019 could land in the top ten or top five by the time the calendar rolls over. None of this is news to the landscape industry. The last three years have been especially cruel, as we have had wet years and even wetter springs. Contractors now measure lost production in weeks and months, not hours and days. Half of April and most of May was almost a complete washout. To make matters worse, 2019 had the first frigid winter complete with multiple ice events, early and late snowfalls, and a Polar Vortex so cold it felt like the surface of one of Jupiter’s moons. This stressed and killed plant material. Winter burn created a checkerboard effect on most boxwoods as they alternated between deep green and caramel brown. Arborvitae were crushed by the heavy November snows and many failed to retain their shape and vigor. And don’t get me started on Japanese Maples who some growers have begun to refer to as, “a woody annual.” The wet spring turned the season on its ear. All of a sudden, beds boomed with lush plant material. The downside is that they also boomed with weeds, pests, and diseases. Yards turned to bogs. Grass needed constant cutting and care. Mow crews couldn’t escape without carving deep ruts in the soil. Nurseries couldn’t dig to keep up with all the replacements necessary brought on by the cruel, cruel, winter. Mercifully, a snowy, icy winter put money into contractors’ pockets. This allowed them to mitigate some of the cash flow shortages brought on by the 45-day false start to the season. Even still, around May, the
calls started to come in from vendors. “Hey, what’s up with so-and-so?” My advice was the same to every sales rep or collections department, keep the faith, the work is coming. The rain will stop. 2018 was almost identical to 2019 with one major exception - 2018 was cold and miserable for most of the summer. We never got a spring warmup that flooded garden centers and sent inspired clients to the phones. Consumers just never got in the mood to spend a lot of money on our landscaping last year, my family included. It was mid-June by the time I wanted to have a beer on my patio and July 4th felt like Memorial Day Weekend. I was not surprised that the weather betrayed the roaring economy. I had high hopes for 2019. With the spring washout of 2019, my eyes turned to what I call “the bridge.” The bridge is the time between July 15 and September 15th. This is when the gold rush of the spring slows and the demand for the fall has yet to begin. It is a time when most consumers realize the summer is going faster than we thought. Youth sports are roaring. Summer vacations have to be planned and those dreaded “back to school” commercials start airing on TV. In my community, school starts at the end of August but we are now the anomaly. It is not a surprise to see schools head back the second week of August. August has become “fummer” - a combination of fall and summer - even as temperatures soar. The hope, was that consumers who sat on long backlogs because of the spring washout would be there during the bridge. Contractors would see 6-8 week backlogs trimmed by maybe a few weeks. However, the bridge would feel like a spring production month because of pent-up demand after the slow start to the season. Then, the bridge collapsed. Anecdotally, we saw no difference between the bridge season of 2019 and the bridge season of any other year. The temperate summer and bright, sunny June led me to believe that consumers were ready to roar back after the 2018 washout. The weather was wonderful once we got the 2019 spring out of the way and the summer was filled with temperatures in the 80s. We got just enough precipitation to stay lush, but not enough to rain on anyone’s parade. 2019 proved to me that the bridge is not weather-related, but rather part of the DNA of landscape consumers. For 60 days each summer, the landscape market goes dark, regardless of circumstances. The end of September hummed as consumer demand picked up dramatically. I have spoken to a number of contractors enjoying robust falls, but are still trying to catch-up from a below average to nonexistent early spring. The only challenge with the fall is the threat of impending winter as well as the exhaustion and burnout seen at most companies. I’m hard pressed to find contractors in late November or early December who don’t quietly pump their fists when mother nature finally says, “Game over.” Therefore, this presents a problem. The landscape season, for the most part, seems fixed. It has even been nipped by a few weeks with school districts, colleges, and universities starting earlier and earlier in August. It is a fool’s bet to assume the weather will remain constant from year to year, but one of the hallmarks of climate change, especially in the Midwest, is an overall increase in precipitation. Since 2010, 8 of the 10 calendar years have fallen into the top 45 wettest periods for the region. Only 2012 and 2016 are the exceptions. 2016 was the 59th wet-
Blame it on the Rain
The Landscape Contractor November 2019
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From Where I Stand —
A L L TO G E T H E R B E T T E R W W W. M A R I A N I P L A N T S .COM
866-627-4264
test year and 2012 is the only year with an extreme drought in the past 10. As with the old joke of the man falling off a skyscraper - it ain’t the fall that will kill you, it’s the landing. In landscaping, It ain’t the rain that will kill you, it’s how often it’s raining. The landscape season has effectively 175 days of heavy production - give or take. If you lose 30 days (FTE) to rain or the elements, that’s almost 20% of the work year. That’s taking Fridays off for 9 months. To make matters worse, that requires overtime to catch-up. The additional overtime compresses margins and padded margins are what allows companies to grow and thrive. Only 6 MLB stadiums have domes or roofs. I wonder how quickly the other 24 would build domes if they had to pay time-and-a-half for double-headers. It is clear that not all days of production are created equally, and the bridge season is an unreliable replacement for a lost spring. At a recent gathering of landscape owners in Michigan, those in the room said the greatest reason for labor woes was not wages or “kids today” or the difficulty of the work. Instead, it was the unpredictability and seasonality that was pushing more and more laborers into the security and consistency of light industrial and manufacturing jobs. The weather cancelling stretches at a time is not helping an already desperate labor situation. Here’s the good news. There is a new weather insurance policy that is based on the Farmer’s Almanac, sheep entrails, and the ramblings of a blind mystic in India. It will compensate businesses for every lost day of production brought on by rain, snow, sleet, fog, flood, or locust swarm. I’m just kidding. That doesn’t exist nor will it ever exist. There is, and has always been, only one solution to dealing with the weather. You need to plan for it and cost jobs as if you could lose 20% in a season because Mother Nature is a fickle mistress. The past decade has brought heavy rainfall and the past three years have been historic. Planning for lost production is easier than it sounds. This isn’t betting big on snow or pre-purchasing salt and equipment based on a whim. Job pricing for weather-related overtime and delays has mostly upside. Yes, there may be consumers who balk at higher bids and choose another guy, but that guy will be chasing his margin as it swirls around the storm drain. The weather will never cooperate or be tamed. Therefore, contractors have only three alternatives. Door #1 is change nothing and deal with 30 days of lost production, crushing overtime, employee attrition, weekend work to catch-up, and damage to plants and property. Door #2 is to shake off a wet spring and cross your fingers that the rickety bridge holds up as you step into the fall. Finally, Door #3 is to - as the old expression goes - save for a rainy day and build gloom and doom into every single contract. As Credence Clearwater Revival rhetorically asked, “Who’ll stop the rain?” The answer, at least in this case, is you.
Scott Grams October 17, 2019
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The Landscape Contractor November 2019
President’s Message — Success is not the goal, rather the journey…
but above all else, it’s the objective in the development of a business. To achieve success, the two essential points are: 1) define your clientele to whom you provide your services and 2) select capable suppliers. From the professional side of legal support, accounting, and financiers all the way to the producers and manufacturers of machinery, trees, and any other materials used in the industry. It is vital to associate yourself with professionals that understand your needs and your mentality, and posess a willingness to work with you for mutual benefit. When the parts are combined for the good of the whole, one obtains great achievements and they produce new relations until the creation of a new family is made within the business. This occurs in our association, ILCA, best said by former president, Tom Lupfer: “ILCA becomes where you go to advance your business”. The number of volunteer members with the level of practical and professional knowledge is invaluable and with ILCA’s 18 committees provide everything from basic education and training sessions to the most complicated of topics in Illinois politics and legislation to our unforgettable Golf Outing and the iLandscape trade show. Without a doubt there will be something that’ll interest everyone. With that, I invite members to encourage others to join our great force to continue being the best in the industry. On a different note, fall is in full force in all its splendor. I invite you all to enjoy our gift from Mother Nature by spending time admiring our beautiful landscapes and unique colors. I also hope to see you all at the Annual Membership Meeting, November 14th; this year at the new location in Rosemont, IL: Joe’s Live. Don’t miss out, you can still make your reservation!
President
Jose Garcia Natural Creations Landscaping, Inc. (815) 724-0991 info@naturalcreationslandscaping.com
Vice-President
Donna Vignocchi Zych ILT Vignocchi, Inc. (847) 487-5200 dvignocchi@iltvignocchi.com
Secretary-Treasurer
Scott McAdam, Jr. McAdam Landscaping, Inc. (708) 771-2299 Scottjr@mcadamlandscape.com
Immediate Past President Tom Lupfer Lupfer Landscaping (708) 352-2765 tom@lupferlandscaping.com
Directors
Eric Adams Russo Power Equipment (847) 233-7811 eadams@russopower.com Jennifer Fick Wilson Nurseries and Landscape Supply (847) 683-3700 jennf@wilsonnurseries.com
José M. Garcia, President of ILCA
Allan Jeziorski Hartman Landscape (708) 403-8433 allan@hartmanlandscape.net
Jeff Kramer Kramer Tree Specialists, Inc, (630) 293-5444 jwkramer@kramertree.com
Dean MacMorris Night Light, Inc. (630) 627-1111 dean@nightlightinc.net
Kevin Manning K & D Enterprise Landscape Management, Inc. (815) 725-0758 kmanning@kdlandscapeinc.com Ashley Marrin Bret-Mar Landscape Management Group, Inc. (708) 301-8160 ashley@bretmarlandscape.com Mark Utendorf Emerald Lawn Care, Inc. (847) 392-7097 marku@emeraldlawncare.com
www.ilca.net
El Éxito no es la Meta, es el Camino
Pero, sobre todo, es el objetivo en el desarrollo de un negocio. Y para lograrlo, dos factores claves son: la definición de la clientela a la cual brindar nuestros servicios, y la selección de proveedores —desde profesionales de apoyo legal, contable, financiero hasta los productores de maquinaría árboles, arbustos asi como todos los materiales usados en la industria. Es vital asociarse con profesionales que entienden tus necesidades y forma de pensar, con disposición a guiarte en beneficio mutuo. Cuando las partes se unen por un bien común, se obtienen grandes logros y se generan nuevas relaciones hasta formar una nueva familia en los negocios. Esto mismo sucede en nuestra asociación ILCA y bien lo dijo nuestro ex-presidente, Tom Lupfer. “ILCA se convierte en el lugar donde encuentras las posibilidades para avanzar tu negocio” La cantidad de miembros voluntarios con el nivel de conocimiento práctico y profesional es invaluable y con sus 18 comités que cubren desde lo más básico en educación y capacitación hasta lo más complicado a nivel legislativo sin olvidar el Torneo de Golf y el iLandscape Show, entre otros. Sin duda alguna, hay algo de interés para todos, asi que los invito a que inviten a otro amigo o compañero a que se unan a nuestro gran esfuerzo para que esta asociación continúe siendo la Mejor en Nuestra Industria. Por otro lado el otoño ya está en marcha a su máximo esplendor. Los invito a disfrutar la belleza que la naturaleza nos regala cada año con sus paisajes y colorido únicos, También espero verlos en la Reunión anual de la membresía el próximo 14 de Noviembre, este año en un nuevo lugar: Joe’s Live en Rosemont, IL . No te lo pierdas, aún puedes hacer tú reservación.!! Saludos!! José M. Garcia, Presidente de ILCA The Landscape Contractor November 2019
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In a wooded lot
Hinsdale Nurseries, Inc. • Willowbrook A Slippery Slope
in the heart of western suburbia, a grand scale brick and stone mansion is positioned right in the center of a steep, slippery slope that commands the surrounding landscape. The homeowners of this beautiful 2 acre property love to entertain frequently and have many separate areas to do so; ultimately though, they have no way to bring people all together. The grade in its raw, natural state is so isolating that the various pockets of developed land lack any functional connectivity. This project’s core focus is to do simply that. With permission to go cart-blanche and no budget constraints, the challenge behind the design shifted from merely getting a way down the hill to creating an enchanting environment that would feed off of the established woodland. Functionality aside, this project needed to create an experience for the user. This was accomplished in three key ideas: heavily layering the plants along the path with different textures and foliage colors, allowing multiple path options to digress downward, and creating places to sit and absorb the surroundings along the way.
The materials chosen in the project play a keen role in the design and construction, allowing the path to be solid and incredibly stable, while giving off a natural vibe. The limestone outcropping and cut wall stone retains the plantings at various intervals so that mulch and soil does not wash out during a heavy storm. They also provide plenty of seating along the path. The use of flagstone as steppers and as landings gives the project a cohesive look without getting too many materials involved. Because outcropping is heavy, careful planning was needed as a skid-steer machine was vital to moving the stones around. Instead of building from the ground up as is the case with most walls, a mid-point was established and the crews were able to divide the space into two working sections. Stones of smaller sizes were also staged at several intervals along the slope so crews could manage their time effectively when the machine was busy. The finished result creates a new intimate space for the homeowners to enjoy that enables the different levels of the property to come together in both functionality as well as style.
The Landscape Contractor November 2019
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Fall Events —
Wild and Neat:
Bridging the gap between great garden design and ecology Nina A. Koziol
Sustainable landscaping. Increased bio-
diversity. Pollinator-friendly gardens. You’ve heard these terms many times but what do they mean to landscape contractors and designers? Landscape designer Claudia West delved into that question at a special educational program hosted by Midwest Groundcovers in celebration of the firm’s 50th anniversary. “This anniversary is a time for us to reflect and think about things like education,” said Christa Orum-Keller, chairman and president of Midwest Groundcovers. “To seek and share knowledge—it’s part of our philosophy for our employees and the green industry.” Ninety attendees packed the room for three presentations and toured the grounds during lunch. “There’s so much to learn about plants and ecosystems,” Orum-Keller said. Midwest Groundcovers added funds to the program fees collected and is donating the $2,000 to four organizations: ILCA, the Illinois Chapter of ASLA, the Illinois Green Industry Association, and the Horticultural Research Institute. West pointed to the challenges landscapers face when customers view “wild” or “naturalistic” landscapes as “messy.” “We know that our plants have to be so much more than aesthetics,” West said. “But how do we make
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functional, beautiful plantings that appeal to the public, that appeal to our clients? The challenge is how to make ecological planting go more mainstream.”
Next Frontier
Phyto Studio, West’s firm (www.phytostudio.com) has an explicit mission: “It’s about plants and people. We are inextricably linked to the natural world. Yet modern landscapes fail to connect, sustain, or nourish us. The next big challenge is inviting biodiversity into our landscapes.” That is a tall order when West points out that very few people (homeowners in particular) embrace the look of ‘natural’ gardens and the aesthetic that comes with it. She co-authored the book, “Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes,” with Thomas Rainer. The book focuses not on restoring native habitats or the sole use of native plants, but pairing natives with cultivated exotic perennials to create ecologically functional and beautiful designs. West looks to the natural landscape for inspiration—woodlands, forest edges and meadows, for example—for inspiration in her designs. “Landscapes that evoke moments in nature are powerful. Piet Oudolf is so successful because he creates fantasy landscapes that bring us into nature. They help us dream and reconnect. We deserve these moments every day. And, you can bring those moments to your clients.” (continued on page 12)
The Landscape Contractor November 2019
Fall Events — (continued from page 10)
Taming the Wild
Some landscapes are a bit too much on the wild side for clients, neighbors and municipalities. For example, a Chicago couple was fined this summer for planting native prairie plants in their front yard and along their parkway. They live on a street populated with crisply cut lawns and tightly pruned foundation plantings. They removed their lawn and replaced it with sixfoot-tall prairie plants mingled with shorter native perennials in a freestyle planting. Perhaps if the plants had been arranged in drifts and surrounded by a “frame” as West says, it may have made the front yard more palatable to neighbors and city inspectors. The city code states that plants must not be more than 10 inches tall. Frames around this type of wild planting could include narrow strips of lawn, pavers or wood edging so that the plants look like they are part of a designed space. West and Rainer note that high-functioning ecological landscapes can appear messy, particularly in urban and suburban contexts. This is a problem, they say. What is good in terms of ecological function is often disorderly, and what is neat and tidy—lawns and clipped hedges—is often not sustainable. Many traditional plantings have unfilled niches and too much open soil, allowing sunlight to directly reach the ground.
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Any bare soil is a welcome mat for seeds—just look at any empty lot where weeds fill the cracks. “Plants are the best mulch,” West said. “Filling the spaces benefits the entire planting.” Designed plant communities represent a hybrid of horticulture and ecology, West explained, and because of that she wants to distinguish the creation of designed plant communities from ecological restoration. “While designed communities may indeed provide many ecological services, they are not necessarily true ecosystems.”
What to plant versus how to plant
It is the inspiration of the wild that directs West’s designs. “We believe gardens are points of connection, grounding, and continuity,” she says. “We seek to create landscapes that offer a rich and multi-layered experience—places with an emotional depth that comes from their ability to evoke archetypal natural landscapes.” The book’s premise and West’s focus is on designing plant communities that not only link nature to our (continued on page 14)
The Landscape Contractor November 2019
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Fall Events —
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(continued from page 12) Midwestern landscapes, but meld ecological (native) planting with traditional horticulture. West and Rainer focus on the role of native plant species combined with non-native, sometimes “exotic” plants that are not aggressive, but that may provide ecological benefits to insects and other wildlife. Some of the book’s examples of designed plant communities include Russian sage and Salvia nemerosa ‘Caradonna’ rubbing elbows with many native prairie grasses and forbs. They state, “While there may indeed be ecological benefits specific to certain native species, exotics can play important roles in the formation of plant communities. It is the relationship of plant to place we want to elevate. For this precise reason, native species can and perhaps should be the starting point for developing highquality designed communities.” One way to successfully design a planting, according to West and Rainer, is to use plants that have different size root systems that take advantage of the site. For example, the roots of Liatris and big bluestem reach far greater depths in the soil than those of prairie dropseed or Allium. Thus, each root system occupies a different below-ground niche, limiting competition between species. This allows plants to access water and nutrients from different soil horizons. Attendees were inspired. “She’s really a wonderful speaker,” said landscape designer Kim Hartmann of Countryside Flower Shop, Nursery and Garden Center in Crystal Lake.
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The Landscape Contractor November 2019
Design: Jon Carloftis Fine Gardens, Lexington, Kentucky.
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Fall Events —
West’s Design Principles 4. Make it attractive and legible. The challenge rests on the designer to translate ecological function into an aesthetic form. Designed plant communities can be patterned and stylized in a way that makes it understandable, ordered and attractive. The design need not replicate nature to capture its spirit. It should be a distillation of a wild plant community, emphasizing its essential layers and patterns. And, give the design an orderly frame. One of West’s essential concepts of order is to surround disheveled planting with neat frames. For example, placing a strip of mown lawn against the edge of a meadow, surrounding a mixed planting with a clipped hedge, or containing the planting with hardscape elements like fences, paths or walls.
1. Use related plant populations, not isolated individuals. Think of plants as groups of compatible species that interact with each other and the site. Unless a designer is highly knowledgeable about a plant’s cultural requirements, the result is typically a random exhibit of plants from different habitats. 2. Accept the environmental constraints of a site. Don’t go to great effort and cost to make soil richer, eliminate shade or provide irrigation. Embrace a more limited palette of plants that will tolerate and thrive in the site’s conditions. 3. Cover the ground densely by vertically layering plants. For designers accustomed to creating designs in plan view, representing multiple layers of plants is often difficult. Drawings representing planting beds filled with circles may look full, but in reality there are often large areas of bare soil. Designing in perspective view encourages more thoughtful engagement about how plantings can be layered vertically.
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5. Management, not maintenance. Watering, mulching, spraying, pruning and leaf litter removal are generally avoided, particularly once plants are established. Instead, West explained, large-scale actions such as mowing, burning, selective removal or selective additions of plants are used to conserve the design’s structure.
The Landscape Contractor November 2019
Special Report —
Harvesting the Future: The Windy City Harvest Project by Heather Prince
It all started in 2003 with introducing teens to veg-
etable gardening and now Chicago Botanic Garden’s Windy City Harvest is thriving and growing in ways that might surprise you. Three programs, Windy City Harvest Youth Farm, Windy City Harvest Apprenticeship, and Windy City Harvest Corps dovetail to provide urban agriculture experience and training in the heart of Chicago. “We launched the youth program, Windy City Harvest Youth Farm with me, 13 teenagers and an acre of land in North Chicago,” reported Angela Mason, associate vice president of urban agriculture/ Windy City Harvest at the Garden. “The Chicago Botanic Garden had been working with schools on garden installations for many years prior to that. It’s frustrating to install a garden when teachers or volunteers would be unable to maintain it in the summer. It was a shallow way to teach children about gardening. So, we took a step back and elected to try something else. We targeted a smaller population and wanted to be more impactful. The first year, it was a complete failure and a complete success. We learned a lot and all 13 teens came back the second year.” The program has since taken wings and expanded to three additional sites that total two acres and a rooftop farm. Each year it educates and employs between 80 and 90 teens from low-income communi18
ties. “Most of our farms are in food insecure communities intentionally,” commented Mason. Students learn how to grow food responsibly, work as a team, eat in a healthy way, and more. The Youth Farm students work in all aspects of sustainable farming and food systems—from planting a farm to managing a beehive, from cooking with the food they grow to selling it at local farm stands and markets, and through sales to the Garden View Café at the Chicago Botanic Garden. This program has worked with some of the most challenged populations and neighborhoods in Chicago and provided afterschool and summer jobs for more than 900 teens. The Windy City Harvest Apprenticeship program is a hands-on
The Landscape Contractor November 2019
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Special Report — acre of farmland at the Legends Farm location. Windy City Harvest has incubated 11 businesses so far with this model including community-supported agriculture (CSA) businesses and contract growing for restaurants. The third major piece of Windy City Harvest is Windy City Harvest Corps that works with justiceinvolved individuals and veterans. Corps members are closely mentored, placed in full-time paid transitional jobs and the program supports them in finding full-time, long-term employment. They service 30 to 40 people each year and include not only agricultural training, but job search skills, resume building, and other workplace skills. “Corps is more targeted. We hold a third of the Apprentice positions for Corps members,” reported Mason. “The biggest challenge with Corps is (continued on page 22) training course in sustainable urban agriculture in partnership with the City Colleges of Chicago. It’s a certificate program that includes 14-weeks of paid on the job training at Windy City Harvest farms or partnering urban-farming operations. “We use food as a tool for teaching about horticulture in general,” observed Mason. The Apprenticeship program focuses on annual vegetable production. Students are trained in greenhouse and outdoor raised bed production, soil science, plant health care, food safety, and more. As part of the Apprenticeship program, “in 2012, we started the farmer incubator location at the urging of students who wanted to launch their own small farm businesses, but needed more support,” commented Mason. Student applicants who have completed an Apprenticeship and a Business and Entrepreneurship course are eligible to receive a two-year low-cost lease on one-eighth to one-quarter
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The Landscape Contractor November 2019
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Special Report — (continued from page 20) finding employment partners interested in hiring them. We work with employers to hone our training programs so our students can walk into a job fairly seamlessly. For example, the Farm on Ogden warehouse mirrors what jobs are available at Midwest Foods. Our folks could walk into a job at Gotham Greens and be ready to go. One reason we grow so much lettuce is because that’s a main crop for Gotham Greens.” Recently, the Garden had an opportunity to expand. “We had 13 farm sites, with offices at the Garden. There was an opportunity in Lawndale with the Lawndale Christian Health Center. We sponsored the first youth farm in North Lawndale as well as the first farmstand at their clinic. We also worked with them on a tiny vegetable patch at their offices. From there, we launched the Farm on Ogden,” remembered Mason. “In 2009 to 2010 we looked for the right space. We looked at where Corps students were getting jobs. They were getting hired by warehouses, commercial kitchens, and hydroponic farms. We needed space for
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The Landscape Contractor November 2019
160,000 pounds of produce. We needed a way to utilize imperfect produce and offer training in culinary skills. We needed a home for the Veggie Rx program. They prescribe a box of produce for 10 weeks. People get cooking demos and get real training on working with produce. We focus on meals you can make in 30 minutes or less with a healthy spin. Pureeing a butternut squash can sound intimidating, but it’s easy! We don’t have Home Economics anymore, so meal prep with vegetables can be challenging. They might not have the skills to cook at home. It’s also important to know where food comes from.” The Farm on Ogden was launched in July 2018 as a project of the Chicago Botanic Garden and Lawndale Christian Health Center. The Farm on Ogden includes a 7,300 square foot greenhouse, a fullservice aquaponics system, and outdoor farming space. The aquaponics system produces about 2,500 pounds of lettuce per week. Initially, a portion of the building started as an indoor farmstand. Recently, it has been approved to become a fully functioning grocery space. “We finally got through all the inspections and now we’re building out the indoor farmstand into a true corner store grocery space. We’re accomplishing all we wanted to and more,” reported Mason. “We want to sell local food. The neighborhood is asking for things we can’t grow like pineapples, mangos, and bananas. We’re also building a bulk dry goods space and working with a farmer for fresh eggs.” The Farm on Ogden is a place to watch. “On Veggie Rx days we sell out of produce. It’s fun to watch that and see what people request and buy. It’s really nice that people are comfortable asking for things. In order to keep prices low, we are working with Midwest Foods. We sell them produce at above market rate so we can sell at the farmstand at (continued on page 24)
The Landscape Contractor November 2019
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Special Report — (continued from page 23) subsidized prices. Chefs are buying from Midwest Foods and are willing to pay more for it, especially in winter,” commented Mason. “One of the things we’ve been trying to do is professionalize our programs. We emphasize food safety, we follow good agricultural practices, and we demonstrate why it’s important.” As the program grows, Mason commented, “We’re always looking for employment partners and donors.” The Windy City Harvest program is taking innovative and fresh approaches to urban agriculture and training challenged populations. “The way we’ve worked with the community is unique to botanic gardens. We just hosted 16 people from around the country to showcase our model,” mentioned Mason. She is passionate about the program’s impact. “Support your local farmers. We need to support these programs. We cultivate the power of plants to sustain and enrich life. Windy City Harvest points to doing just that.”
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The Landscape Contractor November 2019
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Special Report —
New Board Member Profile — Ashley Marrin by Meta Levin
Ashley Marrin is intent
on bringing the same enthusiasm she brought to the ILCA membership committee to her new ILCA Board position. The business manager for Bret-Mar Landscape, her family’s business, Marrin is pleased with the opportunity to represent small, family businesses on the board. “I’m looking forward to it,” she says. As board liaison to the ILCA Membership Committee, which she formerly chaired, Marrin plans to remain active in the effort to not only encourage young professionals to join ILCA, but also to mentor them in efforts to become active in the association. As it did for her, she believes that becoming involved in ILCA will benefit their careers. “It has helped me to grow professionally and meet others in the industry,” she says. She is looking forward to working with ILCA’s new consumer marketing campaign, as well as to use her marketing knowledge in other areas of the association. Marrin originally became involved in ILCA after watching the association honor Bret-Mar for its 25 years of membership. At the time she talked with Scott Grams, ILCA Executive Director, about becoming active. He initially sent her a list of committees looking for new members, highlighting the membership committee, telling her he thought her background in marketing and business would be of value. She jumped right in, joining the Membership Committee in 2013, rising to its chair three years later and eventually also becoming a member of the iLandscape Experience Committee. A native of Palos Heights, IL, she grew up in the business, go-carting
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around the five-acre nursery with her brothers, catching frogs and creating designs with her mother’s landscape
Ashley Marrin
architecture stamps. She also worked for a golf course during high school. By the time she graduated, she knew she wanted to be in the green industry. Her brother, Adam, serves as BretMar Landscape’s operations manager. The youngest brother, however, is still in school and not headed for a green industry career. She has, however, some other interests, primarily riding. She is an accomplished horseback rider, competing in the hunter-jumper category. When she applied to colleges, South Dakota State University recruited her as an equestrian to compete in the NCAA, Division 1. She accepted. Initially, she wanted to become a horse trainer, but her parents counseled keeping the horse interest as a hobby. She took their advice. Still, she wanted to stick with it and looked for a school that could accommodate her equestrian interests.
The Landscape Contractor November 2019
It was, she says, difficult to find a school with the academics she wanted, as well as an equestrian program. While in school, she traveled extensively to compete. Now, however, she stays closer to home, competing primarily on the Illinois Class A Circuit. This summer an injury forced her to take a break from competition. She now is training to get back on the circuit. A graduate of South Dakota State University, Marrin holds a BS in agriculture, with a specialization in landscape architecture and minors in business management and equine science. Her other interests range from hiking to fishing to her two dachshund dogs. “I enjoy spending time with them,” she says. She shares a love of the outdoors with her husband, Tim, an electrical engineer.
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iLandscape Preview — Education
iLandscape
TM
the illinois + wisconsin Landscape Show
making connections by Meta Levin
If you want to rub elbows with some of
the best and brightest names in the green industry, the 2020 iLandscape Show is the place to be. Presented by the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association and the Wisconsin Nursery and Landscape Association, the 2020 iLandscape Show, themed, “Making Connections,” is scheduled for January 29-31, 2020 at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center, Schaumburg, IL. The line-up of more than 50 educational sessions (five per time slot) is rife with some of the best-known names in the industry, many not only nationally, but internationally known: John Greenlee, William Moss and Kelly Norris, to name a few. “Kelly was the number one most requested speaker for this year’s iLandscape,” says Kim Hartmann, Countryside Flower Shop, Nursery and Garden Center, and the 2020 iLandscape Education Committee Chair. It is, she says, an example of how the committee pays attention to attendee feedback. Norris, the Director of Horticulture Kelly Norris and Education for the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden in Des Moines, IA, is an awardwinning writer, photographer and plantsman. He is the author of several well-known horticulture books, including the popular Plants with Style and his work has appeared in gardening magazines, trade publications and other places.
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“We like to have people come from public gardens, because they focus on education,” says Hartmann. To address the overwhelming demand for information on growing cannabis (marijuana, grass, weed) the education committee has called on Chicagoan William Moss, founder of Get Out & Grow. An educator at heart, he will focus on the hottest of the hot new trends: growing cannabis to meet the expected demand, once recreational use is legal in Illinois. In this case, the content is as much a William Moss draw as the person. “He’s been busy consulting with hemp and cannabis farmers,” says Hartmann. “We had many requests for this topic.” By the time Moss speaks, recreational marijuana will have been legal in Illinois for a month. A garden coach, providing landscape design, training and coaching to clients in their own gardens, Moss also is a Master Gardener, speaker and educator, spreading his message of the wonders and beauty of nature. He hosted a landscaping series filmed for the Discovery channel, TLC and HGTV, is an author, greening expert, who has appeared on national news programs and has produced videos for news outlets and corporations. Hartmann jokes that grass is a hot topic “in many different contexts and ways,” including, of course, ornamental, turf – controversial herbicides, and, now, cannabis. (continued on page 30)
The Landscape Contractor November 2019
iLandscape Preview — Education
making connections (continued from page 28) In fact, California based John Greenlee, is known as “The Grass Man,” for his work breeding and designing with ornamental grasses. He is considered an expert in grass ecology and a supporter of sustainable design. His clients include some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley, the Apple campus and wealthy clients throughout the country, as well as internationally. “He has a lot of ties to the Midwest,” says Hartmann. Including working with some Prairie ornamental grasses. He is recognized for using a diversified plant pallet to solve particular problems, including the kinds of extreme weather conditions we now are seeing. The Tree Book by Michael Dirr and Keith Warren often is considered the Bible of the tree and landscape industries, says Hartmann. Those who refer to it often and even those who do not, will have a chance to hear from Warren at iLandscape. “There will be some new perspectives that you haven’t heard before,” says Hartmann. She points to information on diversifying, where and how to best use trees and how many are reacting to the amount of moisture we have had lately. Besides being the co-author of The Tree Book, Warren is a tree breeder and nurseryman, and was Director of Product Development for J. Frank Schmidt and Son Co. During his 40-year career he has partnered with scientists, breeders and nursery growers to guide 87 new tree cultivars into commercial production, including 37 trademarked or patented trees from his own breeding and selection work. He will, says Hartmann, focus on what works well in the Midwest. He’ll talk about a lot of new varieties, including some that came out of the Morton Arboretum. All is not horticulture, though. The 13-member education committee tried to strike a balance between horticulture, hardscapes and business. “People attend the business sessions,” says Hartmann. “We have a lot of business, management and sales sessions – a good mix of them.”
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To that end, the committee identified and is bringing in some speakers who are not only experts in various aspects of the business world, but who have first-hand experience in the green industry, as well. Kristin Scroggin, managing partner and lead trainer for GenWHY Communication Strategies, will focus in on communicating between generations, navigating a multigenerational workforce and how to build and sustain relationships among the young people coming into the industry and those who’ve been here a while. “There are a lot of transitions in our industry,” says Hartmann. Kristin Scroggin Steve Cesare, from the Harvest Group, will concentrate in on his specialty, human resources, during his two iLandscape presentations. Attendees seem to like the Harvester Group presentations, because all the speakers come from the landscape and horticulture world, says Hartmann. With a PhD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, he has more than 25 years of human resources experience, gained, in part, while serving as HR Director of Bemus Landscape in Southern California. He also has worked in other industries. Hartmann is sure that there is something at iLandscape for just about everyone. Her committee includes Pat Beuscher, Frank Balestri, Mike Steve Cesare Blackwell, Andrew Guelter, Alison Hoffman, Andrew Keppel, Becky Kielstrup, Sydney Koonce, Mandy Leifheit, Kevin McGowen, George Murphy, Steve Raczak and Lydia Scott. Dean MacMorris serves as the committee’s board advisor.
The Landscape Contractor November 2019
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Fall Events —
Fall Event October 3, 2019 You Are How You Communicate, So Communicate Who You Are!
by Rick Reuland The ILCA Women’s Networking Group held its annual Fall Event Thursday, October 3, 2019 at Chandler’s Chophouse, at the Schaumburg Golf Club, in Schaumburg. More than 125 women and men attended this popular event. Brenda Ward, Director of Business Operations at Beary Landscaping based in Lockport, was the speaker for the event. Ward has been a part of the Green Industry for 15 years and is fortunate enough to have spent time in many positions within the industry and working with and learning from many talented people. Her passion and drive comes from leadership and helping others, particularly women, recognize their potential and find opportunities to lead them to success. The theme of her presentation was: You are how you communicate, so communicate who you are. SmithAmundsen was the 2019 Women’s Networking Group fall event premier sponsor. Other sponsors included:
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Brenda Ward was the featured speaker.
The Landscape Contractor November 2019
The Landscape Contractor November 2019
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iLandscape
TM
the illinois + wisconsin Landscape Show
January 29 - 31, 2020 34
The Landscape Contractor November 2019
Enfoque: Sección en Español
iLandscape
TM
the illinois + wisconsin Landscape Show
estableciendo contactos
Por Meta Levin
Si desea codearse con algunos de los nombres
más destacados y brillantes en la industria verde, la Feria y Conferencia iLandscape 2020 es el lugar indicado para hacerlo. Patrocinada por la Illinois Landscape Contractors Association y la Wisconsin Landscape Contractors Association, la Feria iLandscape 2020, con el tema de “Estableciendo contactos”, está programada para realizarse del 29 al 31 de enero de 2020 en el Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center, Schaumburg, IL. La serie de más de 50 eventos educativos (cinco por cada segmento temporal) está repleta de algunos de los nombre más conocidos en la industria, muchos no solo en el ámbito nacional, sino también internacionalmente: John Greenlee, William Moss y Kelly Norris, por nombrar solo algunos. “Kelly fue el conferencista más solicitado para la iLandscape de este año”, afirma Kim Hartmann, Countryside Flower Shop, Nursery and Garden Center, y Presidenta del Comité de Educación de iLandscape 2020. Es, afirma, un ejemplo de cómo el comité presta atención a las sugerencias de los asistentes. Norris, Director de Horticultura y Educación del Jardín Botánico de Greater Des Moines en Des Moines, IA, Kelly Norris es un escritor, fotógrafo y cultivador galardonado. Es autor de varios libros muy conocidos sobre horticultura, incluyendo el popular Plantas con Estilo y sus trabajos han aparecido en revistas de jardinería, publicaciones especializadas en temas paisajísticos y otros lugares.
“Nos gusta tener personas provenientes de jardines públicos porque se enfocan en la educación”, afirma Hartmann. Para atender la demanda abrumadora de información sobre el cultivo del cannabis (marihuana, hierba) el Comité de Educación ha llamado al chicagüense William Moss, fundador de Get Out & Grow. Educador de corazón, se enfocará en la tendencia más candente entre las nuevas tendencias: cultivar el cannabis para satisfacer la demanda que se espera, cuando su uso recreativo sea legal en Illinois. En este caso, el contenido es tan atractivo como la persona. “Ha estado ocupado William Moss consultando con cultivadores de cáñamo y cannabis”, dice Hartmann. “Tuvimos muchas solicitudes para este tema”. Cuando Moss hable, la marihuana recreativa habrá sido legalizada en Illinois, durante un mes. Coach de jardinería, que provee diseños, capacitación y coaching paisajísticos a clientes en sus propios jardines, Moss es también Maestro Jardinero, conferencista y educador, propagando su mensaje sobre la belleza y las maravillas de la naturaleza. Presentó una serie sobre paisajismo filmada para el Discovery Channel, TLC y HGTV, es autor, experto en ecologización que ha aparecido en programas de noticias nacionales y producido vídeos para canales y empresas de noticias. Hartmann bromea que la hierba es un tema candente “en muchos contextos y de maneras diferentes”, incluyendo, por supuesto, hierbas ornamentales, herbicidas controversiales para céspedes y, ahora, cannabis. (continúa en la página 36)
The Landscape Contractor November 2019
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Enfoque: Sección en Español de Productos para J. Frank Schmidt and Son Co. Durante su carrera de 40 años se ha asociado con científicos, obtentores y vivericultores para guiar 87 nuevos cultivares hacia la producción comercial, incluyendo 37 árboles con marcas registradas o patentados de su propio trabajo de crianza y selección. Según Hartmann, Warren se concentrará en lo que da mejores resultados en el Medio Oeste. Hablará sobre muchas variedades nuevas, incluyendo algunas que proceden del Arboreto Morton. No obstante, no todo es horticultura. El Comité de Educación de 13 miembros trató de lograr un equilibrio entre horticultura, elementos sólidos y negocios. “Las personas asisten a las sesiones de negocio”, asegura Hartmann. “Hemos tenido muchas sesiones de negocio, administración y ventas – una buena mezcla de ellas”. Para ese fin, el comité identificó y está invitando a algunos conferencistas que además de ser expertos en varios aspectos del mundo de los negocios, tienen experiencia de primera mano en la industria verde. Kristin Scroggin, socia administrativa y capacitadora principal de GenWHY Communication Strategies, se concentrará en la comunicación entre generaciones, cómo dirigir una fuerza laboral multigeneracional y cómo desarrollar y mantener relaciones entre los jóvenes Kristin Scroggin que ingresan en la industria y los que han estado en ella mucho tiempo. “Hay muchas transiciones en nuestra industria”, afirma Hartmann. Durante sus dos presentaciones en iLandscape, Steve Cesare, de Harvest Group, se concentrará en su especialidad, recursos humanos. A los asistentes parece gustarles las presentaciones de Harvester Group, porque todos Steve Cesare los conferencistas provienen del mundo del paisajismo y la horticultura, asegura Hartmann. Con un PhD en Psicología Industrial/ Organizacional, Cesare cuenta con más de 25 años de experiencia en recursos humanos, obtenida, en parte, trabajando como Director Mariani Plants se enorgullese en su attencion al cliente. de Recursos Humanos de Bemus Landscape Tenemos expertos ajentes de ventas de habla hispana en en el Sur de California. También ha trabajado nuestras dos localidades, Kenosha Wisconsin y Garden Prairie en otras industrias. Illinois. Mariani Plants esta aquí para proveerle mejores Hartmann está segura de que en plantas, mejor servicio y mejor selección. iLandscape hay algo para casi todo el mundo. Su comité incluye a Pat Beuscher, Frank Llámenos a Mariani Plants: Balestri, Mike Blackwell, Andrew Guelter, Alison Hoffman, Andrew Keppel, Becky 866-627-4264 / marianiplants.com Kielstrup, Sydney Koonce, Mandy Leifheit, Kevin McGowen, George Murphy, Steve TODOS JUNTOS MEJOR. Raczak y Lydia Scott. Dean MacMorris sirve como asesor de la junta del comité.
(Viene de la página 28) De hecho, John Greenlee, con base de operaciones en California, es conocido como “el Hombre Hierba”, por su trabajo en cultivos y diseño de hierbas ornamentales. Es considerado experto en ecología de vegetación herbácea y partidario del diseño sustentable. Sus clientes incluyen algunos de los nombres más importantes en Silicon Valley, el Apple campus y clientes adinerados en todo el país e internacionalmente. “Tiene muchos lazos con el Medio Oeste”, afirma Hartmann. Incluyendo trabajar con algunas hierbas ornamentales de pradera. Es reconocido por usar una paleta de plantas diversificada para resolver problemas específicos, incluyendo los tipos de condiciones climáticas extremas que estamos viendo. El Libro del Árbol de Michael Dirr y Keith Warren es considerado con frecuencia la Biblia de las industrias de la arboricultura y el paisajismo, afirma Hartmann. Los que lo consultan con frecuencia e incluso aquellos que no lo hacen, tendrán la oportunidad de escuchar a Warren en iLandscape. “Habrá algunas perspectivas nuevas de las que usted no ha oído hablar antes”, asegura Hartmann. Ella señala información sobre diversificación, dónde y cómo utilizar mejor los árboles y cómo muchos están reaccionando a la cantidad de humedad que hemos tenido últimamente. Además de ser coautor de El Libro del Árbol, Warren es arboricultor y vivericultor y fue Director de Desarrollo
Mejores Plantas, Mejor Servicio Y Mejor Selección.
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The Landscape Contractor November 2019
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Special Feature —
Sedum: 14 Sizzling Options for Groundcovers, Mounding or Featured Specimens by Heather Prince
Be seduced by sedum.
Love it for its tough, low-maintenance, long-lived easy-going character, but fall head over heels for new varieties that feature elegant sturdy forms, bright flowers, and subtle sophistication throughout the seasons. We talked with Brent Horvath, owner/grower of Intrinsic Perennial Gardens, Inc., and author of The Plant Lover’s Guide to Sedum to select some of his favorite high-performing varieties. Sedums are a passion project for Horvath and he has introduced several cultivars with more capturing his attention every year. We chose seven groundcover varieties and seven mounding or upright cultivars to give you a bevy of lovely plants to add to your palette. We often think of sedum as a late summer to autumn plant, as that’s when its clusters of starry flowers in white, pink, yellow, red, and purples start to shine. “Asters are a natural combination as their bloom season beautifully knits together,” observed Horvath. “They definitely work with short grasses like Seslaria autumnalis, Schizachyrium ‘Jazz’ or Sporobolus ‘Tara’.” The succulent foliage and chunky coarse textures of sedum ground the airiness of grasses and the delicate sprays of aster flowers. Punch up your August and September perennial designs with these easy-care additions and delight your clients with a throng of butterflies stopping by to fuel up for winter. For the groundcover varieties, Horvath likes to play with their soil-hugging nature and pairs them with “geraniums like ‘Biokovo’ and ‘Karmina’ that offer May and June flowers plus a larger foliage with similar habit. I also love perennial dianthus 38
with sedum for a contrasting texture and bloom cycle,” commented Horvath. For all their beauty, sedums are a go-to plant for their toughness. “The base of the word ‘sedum’ is Latin for ‘to sit’, which tells you about the habit of the plant,” mentioned Horvath. “Sedum cuttings can root easily. They’re great plants! In the right location with lean or dry, well-drained soils, full sun to light shade, they are problem-free and longlived.” The groundcover varieties will fill in and spread, often forming a mat of evergreen foliage. This makes them ideal for bed edges along driveways or between stepping-stones where they are unbothered by light foot traffic or a bit of salt in winter. Sedums also make a terrific addition to succulent containers, hypertufa troughs, or designs featuring drought-tolerant plants. With so many colors and textures, they can easily form a fascinating mosaic on green roofs or planter boxes.
Seven Sexy Sedums for Groundcover
Sedum kamtschaticum var. floriferum ‘Weihenstephaner Gold’ or ‘Bailey’s Gold’ Height: 3 to 4 inches Width: 8 to 12 inches and spreading Flower: golden yellow flowers with a pink to orange tinge in June to August develop attractive reddish seedheads Foliage: mid-green tiny spoon-shaped semi-evergreen leaves with red stems that acquire tinges of red in late autumn Notes: This is Horvath’s favorite groundcover sedum cultivar. “It’s evergreen. It has great winter color and good hybrid vigor so it mats enough to keep weeds The Landscape Contractor November 2019
out. If you’re choosing a plant to be a groundcover, you want it to be vigorous. This does the job,” recommended Horvath. An excellent choice for the front of the border, it also politely spills over raised beds or can be tucked in stone walls. The species name refers to the Kamchatka Peninsula on the Pacific coast of Siberia where the straight species is native. Sedum spurium ‘John Creech’ Height: up to 2 inches Width: 8 to 12 inches and spreading Flower: rose-pink flowers Aug. to Sept. Foliage: tiny, round, scalloped green evergreen leaves with some becoming burgundy as weather cools Notes: John Creech sedum is named after the former director of the U. S. National Arboretum that discovered it at the Central Siberian Botanic Garden in 1971. Another vigorous groundcover that will smother weeds and add a lovely textural element to the front of the border. “The foliage is evergreen, even in winter,” commented Horvath. Sedum spurium ‘Leningrad White’ Height: up to 4 inches Width: 8 to 12 inches and spreading Flower: white flowers in Aug. to Sept. Foliage: tiny, spoon-shaped notched green semi-evergreen leaves Notes: With its tight habit and vigorous growth, Leningrad White sedum easily winds between stepping stones, forms a rich textural edge, and can handle light foot traffic. “A nice, white-flowering selection that’s durable and low-maintenance,” observed Horvath. Try it with short-statured grasses and sedges to play off its succulent nature.
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Special Feature — Sedum hybridum ‘Immergrünchen’ Height: 6 to 8 inches Width: 15 to 20 inches and spreading Flower: clusters of golden yellow flowers in June to July Foliage: broader notched and scalloped to spoon-shaped deep green semi-evergreen foliage that turns cinnamon to bronze with lime to yellow tones in winter Notes: “This is an improved kamtschaticum-type with bigger, beefier foliage for a coarser look,” commented Horvath. “It’s fall and winter color really make it stand out.” The cultivar name means ‘little evergreen’ in German. A vigorous groundcover, pair it with taller early-blooming perennials like geranium for contrast. It will also tolerate a bit of shade, so could easily be used as an under layer beneath ornamental trees or shrubs. Sedum album Height: up to 4 inches Width: 8 to 10 inches and spreading Flower: bright white flowers in June to August Foliage: small, rounded to flattened oval green semi-evergreen foliage turns orange to russet in winter Notes: The foliage almost resembles miniature jelly beans on this tough, hardy plant. “I love this species. It’s super long-lived and its winter color adds much to the garden,” mentioned Horvath. “It’s a white cloud of flowers in bloom. There are many cultivars to choose from too.” Sedum ellacombianum ‘Cutting Edge’ Height: 4 to 6 inches Width: 10 to 12 inches Flower: infrequent yellow flowers July to Aug. Foliage: long spoon-shaped scalloped foliage with a wide butter yellow edge spring to fall held in rosettes Notes: One of Horvath’s introductions, Cutting Edge sedum’s showy chartreuse character blend beautifully with purple and dark green perennials. “It ideally does best in a leaner soil. The richer the soil, the more likely it is to open up, although it will eventually fill in that hole,” recommended Horvath.
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The Landscape Contractor November 2019
Sedum SunSparkler ‘Angelina’s Teacup’ Height: 4 to 6 inches Width: 12 to 16 inches Flower: no significant flowers Foliage: delicate finger-like slender succulent lime yellow semi-evergreen leaves that become rich orange in fall Notes: This newer introduction features the bright texture of ‘Angelina’ sedum, but with a tight, dense habit. It’s meant to be that spotlight of color and can punch up combinations of annual mums, cabbage, and late-season bloomers like asters. “It doesn’t really flower,” observed Horvath. “It has that bright gold to lime foliage of ‘Angelina’, with nice orange tips in fall to winter.” Try it in fall container designs as a companion with cabbage and kale.
Seven Sinfully Simple Upright Sedums Sedum sieboldii ‘October Daphne’ Height: 6 to 10 inches Width: 12 to 18 inches Flower: clusters of pink flowers October Foliage: rounded ruffled blue-green foliage with a purple edge turning shades of pink, red, yellow, and orange in fall Notes: If you’re looking for a tidy, low clumping sedum, ‘October Daphne’ is a charmer. “It takes some shade, it loves to be super dry, and I love the varied interesting fall color,” enthused Horvath. “The beautiful blue-green leaves have a delicate reddish-purple edge that lends itself to nice combinations with purples. There is also a variegated form.” With its ever-changing foliage, make sure to feature it with flowers and foliage that highlight its elegant colors in every season. Sedum ‘Beka’ or Autumn Delight™ Height: 18 to 24 inches Width: 24 to 28 inches Flower: huge flattened clusters of green buds with pink age to brick red flowers August into September, reminiscent of ‘Autumn Joy’ Foliage: variegated chartreuse-yellow leaves with a thin blue-green edge Notes: This bright, bold sedum is a great choice for the mid-border and pairs beautifully with tall grasses for a dazzling autumnal show. Let the seedheads dry for winter interest as they hold snow
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Special Feature — and frost beautifully. “Watch for green sport foliage on this and prune out,” advised Horvath. “In the spring, it’s bright rosettes of limey foliage really light up the landscape.” Sedum ‘Lime Joy’ Height: 12 to 15 inches Width: 16 to 18 inches Flower: massive domes of bi-color pink to magenta flowers in September Foliage: large rounded ruffled greygreen foliage on sturdy stems Notes: A new introduction from Horvath, this lovely plant has dynamite flower power. “These extremely vigorous plants form large domes of hydrangea-like flower buds in June. Once they open in September, the flower heads grow together to form cloud-like billows of pink and magenta blossoms,” commented Horvath. The pleasing greygreen leaves emerge as tight rosettes in spring and pair nicely with early blooming perennials. Sedum ‘Pillow Talk’ Height: 18 to 24 inches Width: 18 to 24 inches Flower: large 5 to 6-inch clusters of deep pink to magenta flowers in September Foliage: large rounded ruffled greygreen foliage with a purple-red edge on rose-colored stems Notes: This is a large, neat plant with a great show of flowers in September for passing pollinators from Horvath’s breeding program. “Pillow Talk doesn’t tend to open up or flop and it shows good resistance to fungal problems,” observed Horvath. “It rewards you with a nice, upright look with lots of flowers.” Highlight its purple stems with pink or purple asters in fall. Sedum ‘Pure Joy’ Height: 10 to 12 inches Width: 12 to 15 inches Flower: massive domes of bubblegum pink flowers in September Foliage: large rounded ruffled blue-green foliage form tight clumps Notes: One of the most blue-green of the clumping types of sedum, this introduction is a tidy, easy-going plant for rock gardens or the mid-border. “I love 42
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the color and the habit of this plant,” recommended Horvath. “It’s sturdy, the leaves are a cool blue-green, and when in bloom, it’s a beautiful huge dome of bubblegum pink.” It pairs well with fountain grasses for a lively colorful and textural autumnal show.
Sedum ‘Thundercloud’ Height: 10 to 12 inches Width: 10 to 12 inches Flower: clouds of white flowers in August through September Foliage: small, very dissected almost tooth-like grey-green succulent foliage Notes: This might be a sedum you grow just for the foliage. One of Horvath’s introductions, its finely cut serrated leaves provide a very unique texture for a succulent plant. The pretty blue-green color blends easily and the clean white flowers lend themselves to evening gardens. “I love it for the pointed leaves,” commented Horvath.
Sedum spectibile ‘Neon’ Height: 15 to 18 inches Width: 12 to 15 inches Flower: large flat clusters of bright rosymagenta flowers in August to October Foliage: large rounded grey-green foliage on sturdy stems that turns an attractive gold fall color Notes: It might just be truly neon pink in flower. “With carmine-pink flowers and a shorter, sturdy stature, this sedum is long-lived and trouble-free,” enthused Horvath. “Try a richer soil to avoid chlorosis, but make sure to enjoy the long flower show.”
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Design Principles —
Revisiting Landscape Design by Heather Prince
What is good landscape design? We
seem to know when we see ‘bad’ design. Gregory Pierceall gave a lively presentation at iLandscape 2019 reviewing the elements that make a landscape design functional and attractive. A professor emeritus of Purdue University with more than 50 years in the green industry, Pierceall is a dedicated educator. “I’ve always tried to be a gardener, not a crop duster,” he commented. “During my career, I’ve looked at over 90,000 designs.” He shared some of his thoughts on the craft of landscape design. “A good design should be the bookshelves and then the client puts the books on the shelves. If you get the shelves right, everything else will fall into place. Books are personal choices. They can come and go,” believed Pierceall.
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Over the decades, Pierceall has developed and refined his thinking about landscape design into a series of terms: • Space • Place • Case • Taste • Time • Individual-Personal “Over my career, these are the consistent things that I’ve found. Each of these terms can be the driver of the design,”
The Landscape Contractor November 2019
observed Pierceall. We’ll explore each of these ideas and consider how they relate to each other.
Space
When approaching a property, Pierceall advocates a site inventory. What is there? How are the pieces currently arranged? He recommends asking many questions and taking the time to observe. Is it new construction? Are there mature trees? Is it editing an existing garden space or starting from scratch? “Landscapes are three dimensional. What is the shape, the dimensions? The shape of the space helps determine the stage and no space is ever truly flat. When you walk into the space, what is the context? All design is contextual. Light – the mix of sun and shade are part of the space,” shared Pierceall. Designers often are shown numerous photos of a yard, usually on the owner’s cell phone, but until you stand in the area, you don’t have a full understanding of the dimensionality of the space and how it interacts with spaces around it. How many times has a client told you their yard is sunny and once you step out of the car, realize they have mature trees shading the entire backyard? “Form and function are primary in any design. Compositions are spatial and relative to space is shape. Every space has a carrying capacity for plants and people,” commented Pierceall. (continued on page 46) The Landscape Contractor November 2019
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Design Principles — (continued from page 45) “Circulation, open space, and bed mass are the three key elements. I’d suggest starting with the open space. Circulation means how do you move through the space. Bed mass is the edges.” How will you mix the main design elements of line, form, texture and color using design principles? What types of space combinations will solve the problems laid out by the client? “I try to spend 20% of my time on the problem, and 80% on the solutions,” suggested Pierceall. Who is using the site? Is it a young family or a retired couple that’s downsizing? All of these elements will inform your design.
Taste
Here’s where the personal preferences of the client come into play. It is also where your tastes as a designer combine with the client to create the desired outcome. Consider closely observing their home, vehicle, office, etc. How do they keep their interior spaces? Is the home décor eccentric or traditional? Is there clutter in the corners or is everything kept tidy? What colors do you see? As designers, we meet all types of client personalities and tastes. “What accessories, art, and decorations can you observe to help you set the outdoor scene? This helps determine materials and forms from exotic to native; formal to naturalized,” recommended Pierceall. “Each of these pieces affects the outcome of the design.” As a knowledgeable designer, you
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can bring an individual personal aesthetic and composition to the table as well. If you have a naturalistic aesthetic, you may not approach clients who desire modern concrete forms with hard lines and edges.
Time
Sometimes time is the trickiest factor. We live in a time of instant gratification, but plants work on their own clocks. “No landscape is maintenance-free. Immediacy isn’t always the best solution. Help clients phase a landscape in. The budget should dictate phasing, not the design. Set a master plan and have a five-year plan. Designers should have that in their repertoire. The water the sod needs to establish will kill other types of plants,” observed Pierceall. How plants grow, flower, and fruit also varies throughout the year, allowing us to craft combinations that take advantage of the ever-changing nature of plants. If the site and the client allow it, layering plants for evolving seasonality gives depth and richness to the landscape. How will your materials choices age? How long will the plants perform? Each site has a factor of time. Are the clients planning on living there for decades or is the house going on the market in a year or two? Does a young family need spaces for play now that will evolve as the children grow older? How many times have you edited or removed overgrown trees and shrubs? How do we communicate plant growth to clients? A boxwood will
The Landscape Contractor November 2019
keep growing if allowed. You will likely limb up a tree as it gets older. “Working with a client over time, education happens. Especially with clients who are overwhelmed by the massiveness of a landscape project,” commented Pierceall. “In a garden, not everything needs the same attention.” Pierceall also felt “You need to produce in a timely manner. You can be talented, but you need to get it done, too. Quit torturing yourself and work through the process.”
IndividualPersonal Here is where garden art, furniture, sculpture, and structures can come into play. There are many flourishes we can add to a landscape that captures the client’s individual personality. “The designer brings the concept and composition, listens to the client, and helps facilitate (continued on page 48)
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Design Principles — (continued from page 47) combinations providing structure and scale. You assist client on deciding details. Designs should be functional,” instructed Pierceall. “You have to be interpretive to that client. As professionals, you put design into context. You can find the answers by listening. A teacher is only as good as the person who walks in the door. Some clients you work with, and some you have to move on from.” Pierceall has observed and taught landscape design for decades, giving him a unique perspective. “There’s been evolution of the perception of design. It’s changed a lot. From the 70s to 2000 there was a set process, a precedent-based design process. You didn’t scroll, select, and plug into a design. Just because it works in one place, doesn’t mean you can template it for everywhere. Aspiration or inspiration may not be application. It seems to be more of a time of copying, than creating. In the old days, people wanted to fit their property. Now they impose on the property. They see value in repetition. Scroll, select, and deliver. What window do we look through? The world is moving faster. We’ve gone broader, but not with more depth. There is value in a landscape. Landscapes are a lot more than isolated status symbols.”
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Irrigation Update —
Technology and Irrigation By Meta L. Levin
Irrigation contractors,
your toolkit is going high tech. Already computerized controllers, complete with phone and tablet apps, can track functions and alert users of problems. Wires can feed data back into the system and connect the controllers to weather reports and moisture sensors. Imagine if you didn’t have to call JULIE, Inc. (Joint Utility Locating Information for Excavators) two days before digging and wait while someone came out to mark the utility lines for you. Imagine, if all you had to do was don a pair of VR (virtual reality) goggles and look for yourself. It’s in your future or so says Markus Hogue, Program Coordinator, Irrigation and Water Conservation Coordinator, University of Texas at Austin. “Irrigation contractors will have to adapt,” he says. “If they don’t, their competition will.” Technology already has had a big effect on irrigation systems. “It will continue to evolve and change,” says Warren Gorowitz, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility for Hunter Industries, Inc. He points to use of wireless technology, artificial intelligence and drones. Yes, drones. More on that later. 50
“Irrigation contractors will have to adapt, if they don’t, their competition will.” “The biggest impact is having the irrigation system networked,” says Dan Conger, Baseline Irrigation Solutions National Training Manager for In Person and Online Training. “It can adapt more frequently and manage better.”
Conventional vs. Two-Wire
Irrigation system technology, as contractors know, falls into two categories: conventional and two wire. Bear with
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me, here. The conventional system has a common wire and a station wire per zone. Depending on the size of the property and other factors, there can be many zones. A two-wire system has only two wires for the entire system. The two wires carry electricity and data. Conger compares it to cable television that has an inner and an outer wire, but could have 100 or more channels. “In a twowire system, if you are going to grow the system, just extend the wires,” says Conger. “We can run data in both directions.” That exchange of data is one of its big benefits, he says. The two-wire system “allows us to water smarter,” Conger says. Two-wire systems can be more expensive to install. Conger estimates the return on investment tipping point at about 30 to 40 zones. Customers must also look at the maintenance costs. Most important, says Gorowitz, is evaluating the efficiency of the system. “Irrigation technology is great and important,” he says. “Controllers don’t replace evaluating the system.”
Communication
Modern systems can communicate via apps on cell phones and computers or tablets. In fact, operators or, even in some cases, the property owners or managers can manage the system, adjusting timing and other issues. It also allows for connection to weather information and soil sensors. “The weather information can influence how the irrigation system runs,” says Conger. For instance, the system can be programmed so that in cool weather, when the soil doesn’t dry out as fast, it will water less. Conger’s employer, Baseline Irrigation Solutions, subscribes to Weather Underground for its products. Soil moisture sensors, says Conger, “take away the variables when you rely on weather information.” These include such things as soil type, percent of slope and application rate of the sprinkler. “If you get it wrong, you are going to water differently.” Gorowitz points to the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program, which identifies products that help conserve water. Many local governments offer rebates to those who use them. Irrigation controllers and spray sprinkler bodies are among seven categories of products that have been
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property owner is using water sensors. In Orlando, FL, for instance, if the irrigation system uses water sensors, the owner is allowed to water any day of the week. If not, there are more restrictions on when watering can occur. These systems also allow for managing and monitoring the water flow, alerting the contractor or owner when there is excess flow, or the water pressure drops. Technology, says Gorowitz, “allows irrigation and landscape professionals to better use their time, manage water on site and remotely.” Gorowitz also pointed to weather information and soil moisture sensors as plusses technology brings to the modern, high tech irrigation systems. More than that, however, he notes the ability to measure the amount of water used in real time. “You can’t manage tested (by a third party) and are included what you can’t measure,” he says. This in the program. helps reduce water use, because if someSome local governments have based thing is not operating or functioning watering restrictions on whether the (continued on page 52) The Landscape Contractor 51 November 2019
“Take away
the variables
when you rely on weather
information.”
Irrigation Update — thermal and NDVI (a measurement of plant health based on how the plant reflects sunlight) imaging cameras to help manage water usage on campus, particularly irrigation. It’s innovative and, says Hogue, has much promise, but “the cost does not match up with the return on investment right now.” Still, it is moving in the right direction. For instance, four and a half years ago, when the project began, a single drone cost about $4,000. The specially equipped cameras could run between
$8,000 to $12,000 each. Now the drone itself, might run you about $1,200 and one already equipped with a thermal imaging camera comes in around $2,200. “There are so many capabilities with a drone,” says Hogue. Combine it with virtual reality technology and there are even more possibilities. Hogue talks about flying over a construction site, mapping all the infrastructure before it is covered with soil. “We have accurate ‘as builts,’” he says. The drone gives GPS coordinates for
(continued from page 51) properly, the newest systems will alert you. Some will automatically shut down.
Drones and Virtual Reality
There is a YouTube video showing a young man, a college junior, as a matter of fact, guiding a drone over property near the LBJ Library & Museum on the University of Texas – Austin campus. He is looking for areas that need watering. Increasingly the University of Texas at Austin is using drones, equipped with
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everything. It’s also fast, says Hogue, who reports he mapped an area with a drone, averaging about two minutes per zone. “You don’t have to walk the property,” he says. This information is digital. It can be loaded onto a computer and into the software that operates virtual reality goggles. Wearing them, Hogue can create an “anchor point” on the landscape. “Once I’m linked up, I can ‘see’ that there is a pipe here,” he says. A backhoe operator, equipped with the goggles, could “see” all the piping in the ground. In an emergency, there would be no lost time finding the other infrastructure, so that the backhoe would not hit, for instance, a buried cable line. “If there is an emergency with, say, water shooting in the air, the quicker we can respond, the more we save, the less water we lose and the less damage to
property there is,” he says. In a state like Texas, where the National Drought Monitor (https:// droughtmonitor.unl.edu) shows more than half the state with conditions that range from abnormally dry to extreme drought, conserving water is crucial. It is, however, important everywhere. That same National Drought Monitor, shows southern Illinois with moderate drought conditions. Thermal imaging can pinpoint where the lawn may not be getting enough water or perhaps too much. NDVI imaging can reveal the health of plants, bushes and trees, telling researchers, contractors or property managers whether the area needs more or less water or is getting enough. Occasionally, irrigation systems can give a false alert, says Hogue. In those cases, a drone can fly the property looking for issues in much less time than it would (continued on page 54)
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Irrigation Update — (continued from page 53) take a person to walk it. “It saves labor and time,” says Hogue. More than that, if a drone already has “mapped” the area, those digital files are easily available on a tablet or even a cell phone, eliminating the need to return to the office for the paper versions showing where everything is buried. When Hogue began the project, Google glasses were the only game in town. Now there are other brands available. If you want to see Hogue’s research and results, there is an online dashboard, available to the public, as well as other researchers at the University of Texas – Austin at https://facilitiesservices.utexas. edu/divisions/support/irrigation-waterconservation. He has, he claims, reduced water usage for irrigation by more than 70
percent and costs by more than $1million. Admittedly, that also means setting some priorities. So, for instance, more attention is paid to watering highly
visited areas, such as around the Tower and the stadium. Less is paid to areas where no one goes. There is one caveat about using a drone for commercial purposes: you
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must get a drone operator’s certification from the FAA. This is not required of hobbyist drone operators, only if you are using it for business purposes. The certification exam is called the FAA Part 107 sUAS Test. Digitalizing information about water usage in irrigation can fit into AMI or Advanced Metering Infrastructure, electric meters that measure more than consumption now being adopted by many communities. These are networked to communicate measurements and other information.
but if you don’t use it, you have nothing,” he says. “So many times, people spend the money on equipment and don’t know how to use it. You have to train your people to use it.” People, he says, will adapt to technology. The technology advances in the irrigation industry continue to move
forward. Hogue predicts that within five years all irrigation professionals will be using the computerized systems, drones and thermal and NDVI imaging cameras, as well as virtual reality goggles. “Irrigation contractors are becoming more sophisticated,” says Gorowitz.
Education
With more technology comes the need for more education. “You can put more control in the hands of the technician,” says Hogue. If, however, that technician is not trained to use the equipment, then it is all for naught. “You can have the greatest technology,
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New Member Profile Snapshot
Austin Eischeid Garden Design
1215 W. Gunnison St. #312 Chicago, IL 60640 (712) 210-5780 www.austineischeid.com
by Meta Levin
Austin Eischeid, owner and founder of Austin
Eischeid Garden Design in Chicago, owes his career and his business to his parents, who nursed his early love of the plant world. “The local nursery was my happy place,” said the Iowa native, recounting how his parents would take him there and allow him to choose plants with which to experiment. They also helped him establish a vegetable garden. In high school, he learned that he could get a college degree in horticulture, which he did, matriculating at Iowa State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in horticulture with an emphasis in landscape design, installation and management. For Eischeid, this was heaven. After college, a Des Moines based design/build firm hired him. He quickly learned that, the more traditional landscape contracting firm was not a good fit for someone interested in sustainability and native plants. So, he took off for Europe, where he had heard that there were more companies doing what he wanted to do, soon finding an internship in Hermannshof Garden, near Heidelberg, Germany. Eischeid had kept in touch with Roy Diblik, of Northwinds Perennial Farm, who he considers his mentor. Diblik suggested that he meet and talk with Piet Oudolf, the Dutch landscape designer. Eischeid took the advice to heart, contacting Oudolf, who helped guide and steer him in the right direction. He also spent some time working with a British company, and, after returning to the United States, he did a stint with Chanticleer Garden in Philadelphia. By then he was itching to start his own firm, so he headed back to the Midwest and settled in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. With help from Diblik and Oudolf, who, as Eischeid puts it, “have connections,” he began working on the kinds of projects that fed his interest in native plantings, hardy, long lived plants, ecology and sustainability, frequently mixing natives and non-natives together. He had earned Oudolf’s trust by his willingness to get his hands dirty and do the detail and hard work of placing plants, as well as working alongside laborers to help get them in the ground. “I proved I was passionate about the work,” he says. 56
“I placed every plant with Piet standing behind me.” Since then, he has been laying out Oudolf’s installations in the United States. In 2017 he began Austin Eischeid Garden Design and has worked on Millennium Park’s landscape master plan and a display garden for Midwest Groundcovers’ St. Charles, IL facility, to name a few. Contact with his clients has shown him that people are interested in using native plants. “They are intrigued and interested by naturalistic designs, but some are nervous, because they have seen landscapes done by people the wrong way and it looks a mess,” says Eischeid. Clients also love the low maintenance aspect to using native plants. Eischeid stresses that it is not no maintenance, but low maintenance. His customers also are interested in the placement of plants. “They’re beginning to understand that we have to make sure that plants are in the right place, that there are plant communities that grow in similar cultures,” he says. He also is seeing an uptick in the knowledge of and concern about pollinators, such as bees and butterflies. Even his mother, still in west central Iowa and tending the garden he left behind, has noticed more species of birds and insects in the yard. “She calls them her entertainment,” he says. Eischeid credits Christa Orum-Keller, chairman and president of Midwest Groundcovers, with encouraging him to join ILCA. He has known about the organization since he was a student, when he would drive six to seven hours just to hear a particular speaker at iLandscape. “Through ILCA, I am getting to know people in the industry, who are willing to share,” he says. “It’s great to go to these events and meet these people.” Eischeid also loves to travel and explore new cultures, cities, countries and food. He plays tennis, hikes and has become fond of Lake Michigan’s beaches, Chicago’s festivals and the City itself. His family still supports his interests. In fact, he recently designed gardens for some of his aunts and uncles. “My family is full of crazy garden people, like I am,” he says.
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Bruss Landscaping of Wheaton is looking to add another talented landscape professional to our team. We are an award winning firm that has been providing high quality design/ build services to DuPage and eastern Kane counties since 1952. If you are skilled in residential design and sales, have a proven sales record, are self-motivated and focused on exceptional customer service and quality we would like to meet you.
POSITION TITLE: GENERAL MANAGER DEPARTMENT: LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE DIVISION REPORTS TO: PRESIDENT
Development Director Balanced Environments, Inc. is looking for a Director of Business Development to expand and grow our client base by attracting new customers. Maintain and expand corporate image of excellence through sales of quality products and services, servicing the customers’ needs and providing open lines of communication to potential and existing clients. Provide input and collaborate with all sales team members and mentoring of new members as required. Minimum five years’ experience in sales. Qualifications: 2 yrs’ experience in field landscape maintenance procedures/sales or equivalent. 2 yrs’ experience in field construction procedures/sales or equivalent. Degree in horticulture related field or extensive horticulture training. Benefits include health/dental/disability insurance and 401k plan. Please send your inquiry and resume today to: gkruckenberg@balancedenvironmentsinc. com or call Gayle at 847-395-7120.
Requirements: - A 4-year degree in Landscape Design and/ or Architecture - A minimum of 3 years professional work experience with proven sales history - Strong plant and construction knowledge - Driver’s license and good driving record - Professional appearance and demeanor - Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite - Proficiency in Dynascape Ideal candidates will be detail orientated, logical thinking, conscientious, professional and most importantly, maintain a high level of honesty and integrity. Bruss is a relaxed work environment, although seasonally hectic, with competitive salary and commission plus a strong benefit package including vehicle, insurance, 401k, generous vacation allowance and reduced winter hours. Contact: Eric Bruss, ebruss@brusslandscaping.com, (630) 665-1600.
SUMMARY: Western DuPage Landscape is a high end, full-service landscaping company that provides its clientele with both exceptional design, construction and maintenance service. We are currently looking for an individual with a minimum of 5 years’ experience to manage all aspects of our maintenance division. ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: • Oversee account managers, maintenance supervisors, enhancement supervisors • Create and propose contracts to both existing and new clients • Review and approve all accounts payable invoices • Manage sales reports • Responsible for team productivity • Train, motivate and nurture team members • Manage team goals • Run effective and efficient enhancement schedules • Maintain customer relationships • Identify opportunities to improve work environment and daily tasks • Train new hires • Maintain quality service by establishing and enforcing organizational standards • Collaborate with President to develop strategic plans for business growth based on both short term and long-term goals REQUIREMENTS/QUALIFICATIONS:
PLEASE NOTE: “HELP WANTED” AD SALES ARE LIMITED TO ILCA MEMBER COMPANIES Submit your ads online at ilca.net or call Alycia Nagy (630) 472-2851
• Minimum 5 years’ experience required in landscape industry/lawn maintenance • Strong leadership skills • Understanding of financial statements, a plus • Advanced computer skills preferred • Communication skills • Performance management • Process Improvement Please send resume to: resumes@wdlinc.com
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The Landscape Contractor November 2019
HELP WANTED Operations Manager – Landscape Installation Sales Western suburbs landscape and snow company looking to fill the following positons. Operations Manager: ·
In charge of running several crews.
·
Communicating with clients
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Bi-lingual
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Routing skills
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People skills
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Top pay and full benefits
HELP WANTED
HELP WANTED
CLASSIFIED ADS CLOSING DATES & RATES December 2019 issue ads: November 15, 2019 January 2020 issue ads: December 15, 2019 PLEASE NOTE: “HELP WANTED” AD SALES ARE LIMITED TO ILCA MEMBER COMPANIES Magazine Cost is $5 per line Minimum charge $50 Website Cost is $12 per line Minimum charge $120 (About 6 words/line) Submit your ads online at ilca.net or call Alycia Nagy (630) 472-2851
Landscape Install Sales ·
In charge of cultivating relationships
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Up-sales on commercial HOA clients
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Strong people and computer skills
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Top pay and full benefits Send resumes to: dan@alanhorticultural.com
FOR SALE Care Tree 32” truncated tree spade. Excellent condition. 75 Sugar Maple 3” caliper. Priced to sell. You dig. Fall 2019 or Spring 2020 Prairie Nursery Grant Park, IL 678-756-8791 ask for David
The Landscape Contractor November 2019
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Advertisers
Attention Advertisers:
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offers some extraordinary MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES.
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Iron Rental .............................................................27 Island Lake Body Shop ............................................55 Lafarge Fox River Stone ...........................................48 Longshadow Planters ............................................15
Attention Landscape Contractors:
Mariani Plants ..........................................................6 Mariani Plants .........................................................36
Remember to Support ILCA Supporters!
These include:
Martin Implement ..................................................14 McGinty Bros. ......................................................49
• Members & Advertisers who supply goods and services • Members who sponsor ILCA programs and events
Midwest Groundcovers ..........................................2 Midwest Trading ....................................................31 Spring Meadow Nursery .......................................13 The Care of Trees ..................................................14 The Mulch Center .................................................19 Turtle Creek Nursery ..............................................51
Where will you find them? • ILCA Membership Directory & Buyer’s Guide • The Landscape Contractor magazine advertising • The Landscape Contractor magazine reports of events with sponsor acknowledgments • www.ilca.net member lists – Finding a Landscape Contractor & Suppliers to the Trade
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The Landscape Contractor November 2019
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Revisiting Your Plant Palette —
Gentians
By Patrice Peltier
Gardeners and landscape designers alike
are always on the lookout for blue-flowering plants. For them, Kathy Freeland recommended Gentians. “The magnificent blues of the flowers make Gentians favorite garden plants,” she wrote. The genus Gentian is a large one that includes annuals, biennials and perennials, most of them native to high mountain areas, Freeland notes. Generally, North American summers are too hot and humid for Gentians, with a few notable exceptions, according to Freeland. She recommended three. “G. andrewsii is named for H.C. Andrews, a North American plant explorer,” she wrote. “This closed or bottle gentian grows two feet high with purple-blue flowers. These flowers are completely closed and do not open at all. G. acaulis, also known as the stemless Gentian, “Is the most popular species in cultivation,” Freeland notes, adding, “When properly grown, it will form sheets of blue flowers.” A native of central and southern Europe, the species needs good drainage and mulch in winter as well as during the growing season. “G. puberulenta is one of the Gentians that are native to the prairies and grasslands from Canada, south to Illinois, Kansas, Arkansas and Kentucky,” Freeland wrote. This gentian has fully opening blue flowers on vase-shaped plants. Seeing our native gentians, whether in the wild or cultivated in a garden always stop me in my tracks” say Trish Beckjord, Native Plant Consultant with Midwest Groundcovers. First the blue of G. andrewsii and G. puberulenta is just so striking! And in a prairie or garden its color really stands out. The Schulenberg Prairie at The Morton Arboretum is a good place to see them. Cream Gentian (Gentiana alba) looks somewhat similar though a creamy white in color. They would look wonderful together drifting through a garden of Prairie Dropseed.” Adds Beckjord, “Bottle Gentian has been used very effectively in a native planting at the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center. I love the contrast with the hints of coming gold in the dropseed and the changing reds of the chokeberry!”
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Gentiana andrewsii
Common name: Bottle gentian Height: 18-24” Spread: 12-18” Bloom time: August-September Bloom Color: Deep blue tubular flowers remain closed, appearing to be buds
Gentiana acaulis
Common name: Stemless gentian Height: 3-6” Spread: 3-9” Bloom time: May-June Bloom Color: Deep blue, upward-facing trumpet-like
Gentiana puberulenta
Common name: Prairie gentian Height: 9-15” Bloom time: September-October Bloom color: Blue-violet, 2” long borne in clusters of 1-8 flowers near top of plant
Editor’s Note: Honorary Lifetime ILCA Member Kathy Freeland, a certifiable plant geek, was a regular contributor to The Landscape Contractor starting in the late 1990s. She introduced readers to strange and sometimes exotic plants, frequently offering suggestions on how they might be employed in the landscape. In a world of euonymous and impatiens, she offered a path less travelled. Twenty years later, we offer a look back at how some of her recommendations have stood the test of time.
The Landscape Contractor November 2019
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