Save the Date — Aug. 10, 2017
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April 2017
CONTENTS
Excellence In Landscape Awards Project
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FOCUS: Turf Times Ahead Hiring and Training Lawn Care Employees 10 Special skill and training ILCA Turf Committee Profile 14 Meet the new Turf Committee What Went Wrong in 2016? 16 A tough year for managing turf
Sustainable Lawncare with Logic Lawn A different approach to turf
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2017 Foremanship Training 24 Popular class spans two days in Spanish and English New Plants from Mike Yanny 26 Mike talks about his newet selections Hursthouse Strikes Gold with Three Awards 34 Profiling a knock-out landscape Looking at the Past to Design the Future 44 The start of a new series: Landscapes & Architecture Member Profile 56 Feece Oil Company
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Sustainable Landscape Calendar 61 What does April have in store? Native Intelligence 70 Liatris pychnostachya — Prairie Blazingstar On the cover... James Martin Associates won a Gold award in Residential Landscape Construction for this project. Read more about it on page 8-9. The Landscape Contractor April 2017
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CONTENTS
DEPARTMENTS ILCA Calendar From Where I Stand President’s Message Classified Ads Advertisers Index Photo Credits ILCA Awards Program 1, 8-9 Rick Reuland 14, 24-25 Logic Lawn 20-22 Mike Yanny 44-52 Hursthouse 34-43 Scott Mehafey/Nina Koziol 44-52
Calendar
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AUGUST August 10, 2017 Summer Field Day College of DuPage Glen Ellyn, IL
Feece Oil Co. Jason Fritz/Cardno
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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 58, Number 4. 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 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 (retired) Julie Nicoll jnicoll@ilca.net
Debbie Rauen Advertising Sales (817-501-2403) debbie.landscapecontractor@ yahoo.com
Events Manager Terre Houte thoute@ilca.net Office Manager Alycia O’Connor aoconnor@ilca.net Membership & Marketing Coordinator Marissa Stubler mstubler@ilca.net
ILCA 2625 Butterfield Road Ste. 104S Oak Brook, IL 60523 (630) 472-2851 • Fax (630) 472-3150 www.ilca.net
v Becke Davis Senior Writer
treethyme@aol.com Patrice Peltier
Feature Writer patpeltier@charter.net at dotynu rseries.co m to rece ive our
meta.levin@comcast.net Nina Koziol Feature Writer
dotynurseries.com
n.koziol@att.net Heather Prince Feature Writer
princeht@sbcglobal.net Marilyn Witney Feature Writer
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The Landscape Contractor April 2017
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From Where I Stand — On March 31, 2017, ILCA Education Manager
legacy she cared about more than flower bouquets and speeches. Julie Nicoll will retire. Julie has worked for ILCA for 27.5 When I first started at ILCA, I had never hired a single years. When I shared the news with the Board, the committees person before. At previous jobs, I had been part of interviews she supported, and the staff, they all said the same thing, “We and reviewed resumes, but the decision to hire was never mine. need to send her off right!” Julie dutifully supported the ILCA When I had my first opportunity to hire, I naturally found the for almost three decades and we needed to return the favor. person who I deemed the most qualified. I looked at the neatly Unfortunately, due to timing, we didn’t have any major organized resume and fell in love with the bulleted items after member events on the horizon. I had to plead with Julie to each impressive job title. I was impressed by the college they come back for the 2017 Annual Party in November so we attended and the various software packages they had mastery could send her off in style. There, we would of. My first hire lasted 45 days. have plaques and speeches. I could sense I made a few more hires and went back to my Julie’s level of discomfort growing. She old system. I worked my way through binders of finally squeaked, “I don’t have to make a resumes with my red pen. I would circle key attrispeech, do I?” butes and scored each resume on a scale of 1-5. Thankfully, we had one more opportunity Those hires lasted a few years. It’s impossible to to send Julie off in a far more fitting manwork towards a vision when your team needs to ner. If any reader was lucky to work with her be replaced every two years. I was being humbled on an event, you knew she invested every by the shortcomings of my hiring process. ounce of her professional pride into the proI then looked across my office. I saw Julie grams she managed. We decided to launch sitting at her desk. She worked dutifully and a new program this year called Field Staff diligently. She asked for help when she needed Skills Training. It was to be her swan song. it, but never wasted my time or spent her office It would involve a brand new program, using visits telling me things I already knew. She two different committees who never worked came prepared to meetings. She showed up early together before, at a new venue, and actuand left late. She understood the frugality we ally included our first attempt at bilingual needed during an ugly, soul sucking recession sessions where Spanish and English speakers and simply adjusted rather than fight the inevispoke in the same room at the same time. No, table with comparisons to ILCA’s golden age or we were not going to send Julie off easy. boom times. We have an old saying in ILCA; never Julie taught me the value of loyalty. let it get to the other side of the registration Understanding loyalty allowed ILCA to build a desk. Plans may go awry, but we should do stronger staff. That stronger staff has supported everything possible not to let that harm the the dreams of our volunteers. Those volunteers attendee experience. Large events are always have ushered in an era of unprecedented success. an exercise in organized chaos, just like large During her tenure, there are very few ILCA landscape jobs. Julie, of course, executed a phenomenal event. programs Julie did not touch. There are a miniscule amount of Almost 225 people attended the sold out seminar. They left companies she did not know. Julie was part ILCA historian and better prepared for the upcoming landscape season. part sage. Like all who are wise, Julie speaks last, not first. In the last 10 minutes of the event, we surprised Julie with When I came to ILCA I had a lot of crazy ideas. In addia flower bouquet and some brief words in front of the gathered tion, I was addicted to transforming ILCA and threw my energy audience. Our words of sentiment did not need translation, behind every half-baked notion I came across. I’d sit at staff or everyone understood the significance of Julie’s final education committee meetings, my eyes boggled and my voice was quick. event. Keep in mind, Julie has likely planned between 400-500 I was half mad scientist and half PT Barnum. Julie would listen events while at ILCA. The entire audience loudly applauded as and smile. She would then tell me about some similar idea that Julie made her way to the stage. She was flashing her trademark happened one or three or five or 20 years prior. Yet, she never smile. I could tell she was delighted, but at the same time knew dismissed these plans. If they failed before, she would illumishe wanted to scamper back to the registration desk to collect nate, but not chastise me. She would not use past failures as a evaluations and distribute certificates. That’s Julie; duty first. reason for why we should not try again. If you knew Julie, sending her off at an event for field staff One would think a 20-year tenured employee would be meant more to her than pomp and circumstance. Julie didn’t stuck in her ways. Julie was the exact opposite. She would just support ILCA, she believed in it. Julie, more than any perexamine what new factors were in place that could make son I have ever met at ILCA, lived our mission. The Path to the old idea new again - the hallmark of a true innovator. Professionalism, the structure, the history, the members, those Innovation is more than coming up with shiny new ideas. True all mattered to Julie in a profound way. innovators are the ones who resurrect ideas once cast aside. Get Julie alone and the one thing she will miss above anyThese innovators find ways to make those ideas succeed when thing else are the members. She spoke about ILCA members it would be simpler to brush them aside saying, “We tried that with reverence and pride rarely found in the modern workonce before.” place. When those field staff workers, in their muddy boots The one day that stands out in my mind, was in February and Carhart’s applauded, it meant the world to her. She knew of 2012. Two employees had left for different jobs within six she had just participated in an event that would raise the bar. It weeks of one another. The day after they left, I walked into the would lead to a more efficient and safer industry. That was the office crestfallen, rejected, and full of doubt. It was impossible The Landscape Contractor 5 April 2017
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not to take it personally. Julie and I exchanged pleasantries and asked about each other’s weekends. We then settled down at our desks and began to work. The silence was deafening. I could hear the clock on the wall and the air ducts over my head. That silence did not improve my mood. A few minutes later, Julie appeared at my door. She never barged in. She never interrupted. Julie would gently rap on my doorframe and say “knock, knock.” I smiled and waved her in. She sat down, prepared as always. I leaned on my hand and said, “So Julie, what are we going to do?” Julie smiled that trademark smile. She considered her next words before just blurting out an answer. She knew I was not asking rhetorically, I was truly at a crossroads. “We move on,” she began. “I know you will figure it out. Besides, we’ve got a lot of work to do.” Julie had more faith in me than I had in myself at that moment. She trusted me to get this right and in the same breath, reaffirmed that she would stand by me while we did. Less than two months later, Alycia O’Connor and Terre Houte were hired on the same day. That was the birth of the team who had both the courage and insanity to launch iLandscape. A few years later, Marissa Stubler was hired and ILCA was put on a brand new course. In my darkest moment, Julie was my light. Julie will physically leave ILCA at the end of the month. Yet, her presence will be felt for years to come. I will take her thick employee file and move it to a different file drawer. Some of the performance reviews in that file are handwritten or were banged out on typewriters. That will be a difficult moment for me. I am losing a tremendous employee, colleague, and friend. One must understand that when you strip it all away, ILCA was built on its education. It has kept us relevant for almost 60 years. We constantly add and eliminate programs to make sure our offerings match what the industry needs at all levels. All those educational programs, Winter Seminars, design charrettes and tours, pruning classes, CLT tests, and so much more had to pass across Julie’s desk. Julie was entrusted with ILCA’s most sacred product for almost 30 years and she met that challenge with her discipline, calm, organization, good humor, and passion for our members. There is simply no way that can be faked. Julie Nicoll left ILCA in a far, far better place than when she found it. At the end of the day, that is the mark of a true professional. Julie has walked with ILCA on this path to professionalism. Now, she must leave us. Julie was the first to arrive and the last to leave our events for 27.5 years. She would schlep cartloads of neatly organized boxes to her car, ready for the next event. On her last day, she will walk to her car unencumbered and with a head held high. The piece of this industry she’s been carrying for all these years will be set down. I owe it to her to keep carrying this industry forward, we all do.
Scott Grams March 20, 2017
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The Landscape Contractor April 2017
President’s Message — Spring is upon us and just like many of you who have plans for the
President
Mike Schmechtig Schmechtig Landscape Company (847) 566-1233 mschmechtig@schmechtiglandscapes.com
Vice-President
Lisa Fiore Don Fiore Company, Inc. (847) 234-0020 lfiore@donfiore.com
Secretary-Treasurer
Tom Lupfer Lupfer Landscaping (708) 352-2765 tom@lupferlandscaping.com
Immediate Past President Rusty Maulding Nature’s View (815) 592-7582 rusty@naturesview.info
Directors
Mark Breier National Seed Co. (630) 963-8787 mark.breier@natseed.com Lisa Fiore Fiore Nursery and Landscape Supply (847) 913-1414 lisa@cjfiore.com Jose Garcia Natural Creations Landscaping, Inc. (815) 724-0991 info@naturalcreationslandscaping.com Allan Jeziorski Hartman Landscape (708) 403-8433 allan@hartmanlandscape.net 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 Maureen Scheitz Acres Group (847) 526-4554 maureen.scheitz@acresgroup.com Donna Vignocchi Zych ILT Vignocchi, Inc. (847) 487-5200 dvignocchi@iltvignocchi.com
www.ilca.net
2017 season, your Board of Directors does too. The Board of Directors met in February to develop our plans for the coming year. A new 3-year strategic plan has been developed with a major emphasis on the following: to grow the membership responsibly including all segments of the industry; to fully fund our reserves and develop a 5-year events calendar to make sure we target all of our member needs; and finally to develop a comprehensive public and professional marketing plan to improve the image of the landscape industry as a service and vocation. The staff, Board of Directors and committee members of the ILCA continues to make looking forward a priority. This past year we have absorbed two organizations - the Illinois Professional Lawn Care Association and the Midwest Ecological Landscape Alliance. We have built a bridge for their members and have strengthened our committees and broadened our appeal. They saw the ILCA as their new home because of our strong history in leadership, committee management, and accomplishments in industry events. We are keeping a close eye on Illinois Senate Bill 9 Service Tax on Landscaping. Under this proposed bill, we are facing a 6.25% sales tax increase on every job we do. The surrounding states were the first to have implemented a service tax on landscaping because they had weak lobbies. Let’s not allow what happened to the companies in the surrounding states happen here in Illinois. If you haven’t done so already, reach out to your representatives. To find your Illinois representatives, go to this website: http://capwiz.com/nea/il/home/, it will provide contact information for your state Representatives. All ILCA members should be telling their elected officials to say NO to Illinois Senate Bill 9 – 6.25% Service Tax on landscaping; you are a landscape professional and your business cannot afford this; please don’t put my business at a greater competitive disadvantage by singling out and taxing landscape services. To help fund our efforts protecting ourselves from dangerous legislation, we have formed a new subcommittee – Political Action Committee (PAC). Due to what has happened in the surrounding states and current legislature presented in Springfield to be passed into law, the PAC allows us to proactively grow our influence without needing a crisis to bring us together. Monetary contributions are needed for the PAC. These contributions are not bribes. They allow us to focus on the issues and members of the General Assembly in a non-partisan manner. This is the best way for our association to lobby and make the strongest argumentd to defeat bills that will hurt our industry, but most importantly our businesses and livelihood. To date, PAC has raised about $12,500 in contributions. We have a long way to go. The Board would like to get to a point where we are raising $20,000 annually and sending $15,000 out the door in contributions. We need to do this every year in order to protect our industry. To learn more about this committee and making a contribution (every dollar counts), please contact the ILCA office or me. I hope you and your staff were able to attend one or more of our recent programs: The Chicago Flower and Garden Pre-Show Tour sponsored by the ILCA Women’s Networking Group; Hardscape Illinois; the Foremanship Seminar and the new Field Staff Skills Training on March 16th and 17th (which sold out!). Our committees work hard to provide great programing. Don’t forget to check the website - ilca.net to learn of all upcoming educational sessions and events. Lastly, after 27 years, our Julie Nicoll (ILCA Education Manager) has begun her retirement as of March 31st. There were very few programs she was not a part of and always the go-to person. Thank you Julie for your professionalism and dedication to the organization all these years. Best wishes as you begin your new adventure – retirement. Respectfully, Michael Schmechtig The Landscape Contractor April 2017
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James Martin Associates • Gifford Residence Vernon Hills
The homeowners
had a custom home that would be detailed from cottages found in Europe, and their hopes would be that the landscape would enhance the house details and also carry out some exciting ideas. One idea was to create a curved front entry from the public walk to the house. In the backyard, the house was designed with contrived basement windows to allow natural light into the lower living spaces. The architect’s initial design for the basement windows was to build terraced landscape walls. However, the homeowners wanted something more, which involved a cascading water feature. Unbeknown to the architect and the design team before breaking ground for the house, was a puzzling HOA covenant. A clause in the covenant protected all of the trees, no matter the species or condition. This was a surprise because many of the large Silver Maples were leaning drastically into the building envelope making it almost impossible to build the house let alone the hardscape. The design team assembled an onsite meeting with
the village board members, making it quite clear that the covenant was made in haste and a variance was approved to allow the project to continue. It was decided that the waterfall shouldn’t be one long stream. The reason being that there would be too much water exposed to evaporation and the stream would need a significant pump system. So, two separate systems were designed with a dry stream in between that would visually link them as one continuous streambed. The upper waterfall is raised to be seen from the rear patio and the house lanai and the lower waterfall is orientated to be seen from the basement windows and heard from the nearby bedroom windows. Details were very important in the installation of the hardscapes since many details in the house were also scrutinized. Each piece of bluestone in the front walk was cut at a radius to help enforce the overall broad curve. Flagstone, matching the exposed flagstone on the house, was mimicked in the walk which also created focal spots for the flowering containers
The Landscape Contractor April 2017
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Turf Times Ahead —
Hiring and Training Lawn Care Employees By Meta L. Levin Hiring lawn care employees to meet the demand is a neverending process, but it doesn’t necessarily mean coveting your competition’s best people. It means, say those in the business, keeping an eye out for the kind of people who have the aptitude and can be taught the skills. “I look for people who have the ability to do things,” says Jordan Orwig, assistant director of service lines for SaveATree in Northbrook. Orwig was talking about hiring new employees for SavATree/SavALawn. Two years ago, when Harold Enger of Spring Green Lawn Care celebrated 37 years in the industry by reminiscing about his early days, he admitted that when he initially applied for a job in lawn care, he knew very little about it, attributing his hiring to “fate.” Now, he keeps an eye out wherever he goes for people he thinks might be good hires. “I’m always looking for the next good person,” he says. Although both Orwig and Enger agree that their next good hire doesn’t necessarily have to come from the green industry, they both have some requirements. Orwig, for instance, needs someone who “is able to tweak his knowledge based on the conditions on that piece of property.” In other words, flexible and able to think outside of the proverbial box. One of Enger’s high priorities is reliability. For example, the clerk he sees daily at a local convenience store. “To me, he’s a good guy, because he is reliable,” he says. In practice, however, Enger gets some of his best employees as referrals from current ones. They know what the job entails and they usually recommend people with whom they’d like to work. Enger offers a no-caveats bonus. In other words, the referral does not have to stay for a certain amount of time for the employee to earn the bonus. “In the end, it’s my decision to hire,” he says. He also seeks job applicants in community colleges and churches, because often people there know who is looking for work. Nor does he limit his hires to males. “I ask if they can pick up a 50-pound bag,” he says. “That’s the same as a small child. A lot of franchisees have female employees. They tend to be reliable and trustworthy.” Both Enger and Orwig suggest looking at multiple approaches to finding employees – even putting signs on the back of their trucks when they need someone. Orwig also is looking for someone with good communication
skills, because, after all, he or she must talk with customers, answering questions and imparting information. He is wary, he says, of carefully rehearsed answers to his questions, because that often tells him little about the job candidate’s real communication skills. He’s also looking for those who can work independently. “I need people who can be on their own,” he says. His favorite question? “What motivates you,” says Orwig. “The answer I’m looking for is money, as petty as that may sound.” It tells Orwig that the job candidate is aware that this is a business, with the necessity to control expenses. “I want people to understand that what we are doing here is a business.” When starting the interview process, Enger always begins with a phone call. He never puts the address on advertisements, flyers or signs – just a telephone number. And his first two screening questions? “Are you at least 18 years old and do you have a valid state driver’s license?” These are the same first questions he remembers getting when he first called about a job. Second interviews often are held at a neutral place, such as a coffee house or restaurant and Enger makes it a point to turn off his cell phone, so that there will be no distractions. He asks open ended questions, such as asking the candidate about a time on his last job when he or she had to convince the boss to do something or what he or she would do at the last job to make the work environment better. Then he listens just as much to the answer, as to how it is answered. He wants to know what the person does in his free time and, of course, can he or she lift a 50-pound bag? Is there a problem walking on uneven ground or something that would make it difficult to communicate with a customer; can he or she understand and read a map and can he or she write legibly, whether in cursive or print. If there is a disability that requires an accommodation to do the job, what is it?
“What motivates you? The answer I’m looking for is money, as petty as that may sound. I want people to understand that what we are doing here is a business.”
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Training The first day on the job at Spring-Green, Enger asks new hires to come in after everyone else has left for assignments for the day. This gives him uninterrupted time to concentrate on the person. “When training a new person, the manager should spend a day with him or her,” he says.
The Landscape Contractor April 2017
(continued on page 12)
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Turf Times Ahead — (continued from page 10) During that time, he should make it clear what he wants out of the new hire, as well as to get the new employee into the right mindset. He then can get him or her set up, explain the rules, complete any paperwork, and go through some online training. He does send links to much of the online training to the new hires, but sometimes they do not have access to a computer. For many, they can use their smart phones, which have data plans and Internet access. He also takes advantage of what is available through ILCA and NALP (National Association of Landscape Professionals). “They have great quality and consistency,” he says. But Enger emphasizes what he considers “the simplest thing to train: The Golden Rule. Treat each lawn and landscape as if it was your own.” And “treat each customer as you want to be treated.” He also explains his 80/20 rule: Eighty percent of the customers will give you 20 percent of the problems, but 20 percent of the clients will give you 80 percent of your problems.
At SavATree/SavALawn there is a carefully structured training program for new hires. Each region of the franchise has a master trainer, who oversees the program. The new employees are expected to be properly licensed to drive a truck, as well as to get a medical card, that indicates they are medically qualified to drive a commercial vehicle. Each new hire is assigned a mentor, an experienced employee, who makes certain that he or she is operating the truck properly, learns how to operate the spray systems and is mentored through other aspects of the job. The training is a two-year process, advancing through two levels the first year and levels three and four, which involves diagnosis and analysis, during the second. Once an employee gets to level four, the master trainers administer a field exam that includes questions on diagnosing and treating various problems. Training doesn’t end there. Every Wednesday, each franchise schedules a 20-minute plant health care session with all lawn care specialists. In addition, the manager conducts regular crew safety audits. He or she randomly
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The Landscape Contractor April 2017
shows up at a job site, looking for compliance with safety rules, but also to have some one-on-one time with employees. “It tends to be a positive experience,” says Orwig. “We encourage them to do the right thing, because they will get results, not because someone is watching. We get more buy-in when they understand how the business works.” The emphasis on continuing education is corporate wide. Orwig recently attended and presented at a “Liquid University.” Held in Connecticut, the three to four-day program is aimed at liquid service specialists and the Northbrook SavALawn/SavATree regularly sends some of its people. When choosing a mentor for a new hire, Enger believes it is important to make sure he or she knows how to train. That kind of education is “well worth it,” he says. “You are investing in that person.” Training, Enger and Orwig agree, is an ongoing process, but it is well worth the time and effort
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Turf Times Ahead —
Committee Profile— ILCA Turf Committee by Meta Levin
Nearly eight years after start-
ing the Illinois Professional Lawn Care Association, it became a part of ILCA, with its own committee and a new lease on life. “With its focus on turf, ILCA seemed a perfect fit,” says ILCA Turf Committee Chair Scott Roberts. “We were particularly interested in ILCA’s regulatory and educational strengths. Our group brought in the turf knowledge.” With about 11 members, the committee first met in December 2016 and represents a broad cross section of the industry. “We wanted to make sure that we had a representation from the entire membership,” says Roberts. In looking back at lessons learned, Roberts says that the group has decided to narrow its focus with two major goals: provide the ILCA membership with information about turf care and to attract new members. In 2016, as the two groups were coming together, they partnered with the Chicago Botanic Garden on TED – Turf Education Day – attracting more than
200 attendees. “It’s been in existence for many years, but we want to sustain it and make sure that it grows,” says Roberts. Committee member Harold Enger is looking forward to imparting knowledge to other ILCA members, as well as to learning himself. “There is value in learning more about turf and the care of turf,” he says. “It’s more than just the basics and a lot of people don’t know about it.” He ticks off the necessity of keeping abreast of rules and regulations regarding chemicals regularly used as high on the list. “If you are not paying attention, it could affect us,” he says. “These can get stuck into other bills.” He cites as an example, proposed legislation requiring a sign every three feet on property when using these chemicals, which he calls “unreasonable.” Committee member Mark Utendorf, of Emerald Lawn Care, agrees. “We need to make sure the interests of the industry are protected from a legislative and regulation perspective,” he says. Utendorf also is focusing on educa-
tion. “Illinois is a tough state to keep people interested in education, because there is no requirement for continuing education for licensing,” he says. “Instead, those doing the work are tested every three years. They study for the test and forget about it for three more years.” He also points to professionalism in the industry. It is important, he says, to maintain professionalism among those doing the work. While the Turf Committee is up and running, they are, says Utendorf, always looking for new members “who want to be a part of the solution.” Current members, in addition to Roberts, Enger and Utendorf, include: Adrian Medina, Christy Webber Landscapes Brian Hissem, ProGro Solutions; Jon Lee, Poul’s Landscape and Nursery; Jordan Orwig, SavATree; Mark Opal, Bertog Landscape; Shane Griffith, Weed Man; Tom Fritz, Chicago Botanic Garden; Tony Kacinas, Chalet. Mark Breier, National Seed, serves as their Board Advisor.
The Committee’s annual Turf Education Day (TED), draws a significant attendance to event at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
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The Landscape Contractor April 2017
Turf Times Ahead —
A Quick Look in the Rear-View Mirror:
What Went Wrong in 2016? by Meta Levin
Crab grass here. Crab grass there.
Last season it seemed that there was crab grass everywhere in some areas. “It was our biggest challenge last season,” says Mark Utendorf of Emerald Lawn Care. To combat it, Utendorf increased the use of Barricade Pre-Emergent Herbicide on client’s lawns. This season, however, they have decided to try a different product. “There was plenty of crab grass,” says Grubs Shane Griffith, who owns Weedman Lawn Care of East Dundee. “We saw more than normal.” Many of the lawn care specialists try to educate their clients and “mow high” is their most common recommendation. It can, they say, solve a lot of problems before they start. For Tony Kacinas, soil and turf department manager of Chalet Nursery, there were a lot of crab grass problems, but they primarily were with new customers. He attributes that, in large part, to Chalet’s practice of using both preemergent and post-emergent herbicides. “There always will be some break throughs,” he says. Bill Bug Grubs And weather can make a big difference. But the combination of weeds, pests and other problems, Kacinas and others primarily attribute to the mild winters and springs. “There was no nice deep freeze,” he says. “The spring was wet and cool. I was still wearing a coat through May.” There were other issues that plagued the lawn care industry in the last season or two, but they primarily were pests. Utendorf ticks off a list of saw bill bugs, chinch bugs, which he saw later in the season and a stronger grub season. “Grubs overwinter,” Utendorf says. “So, I Red Thread wouldn’t be surprised if the mild winters have had an impact.”
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“We always have some insect disease,” says Harold Enger, Spring-Green’s director of education. And some of the damage is misdiagnosed. The most common is the Bill Bug Grub. Customers don’t know why their lawns are turning brown, says Enger. They think that the heat is to blame. So, they water or it rains, but the spots stay brown. Bill Bug Grubs are the larva stage of adult weevils. The female mates in early spring and lays eggs in the middle of the grass stem. When the larva hatches, it feeds its way down the grass stem. “You have to know what to look for,” says Enger, who has spent more than his share of time pawing through grass, administering the “tug test.” When Enger or a homeowner tugs on the grass, it comes up easily. “The base has been chewed away and it looks like grains of sawdust,” he says. These are known as “frass (rhymes with grass).” If you fertilize and the weather is right, the grass will fill back in. Next year he plans to put down an imidacloprid insecticide. “It has to be applied in April,” he says. The bugs mate in April and start laying their eggs, which hatch and the larva begins doing its damage. By the time the homeowners sees brown grass, it’s too late, Enger says. While we are on the subject of patch diseases, Enger has seen a lot of Red Thread, as well as Rust. Red Thread typically shows up in late spring, while Rust is an end of summer problem. Normally, when a lawn is two to five years old, a soil born fungi is aggravated into activity by stress, which can be caused by heat, drought, too much fertilizer, mowing too low (continued on page 18)
The Landscape Contractor April 2017
Turf Times Ahead — (continued from page 16) or any one of several situations. “The time to treat it is in April or May,” says Enger. For Griffith, white grubs were the biggest surprise on lawns this past fall. The grubs are the larva stage of the Japanese beetle, but Griffith did not see many of those during the summer. During September, however, he found the grubs on every other lawn. “It was probably the worst year that I can remember,” he says. The grubs eat the root structure and the dead grass discolors the lawn. Often property owners see small mammals dig up clumps of turf in an effort to get at the grubs. To prevent the grubs from developing, Griffith recommends using a preventive control product, which kills the eggs before they develop. “If you don’t use it, the odds of getting the grubs are high,” he says. Like Utendorf, Kacinas encountered Chinch Bugs. “They’re typically a southern insect,” he says. “But we experienced them for the first time up here (Chicago area) in 2012. About 200 of my clients were impacted, because there were no deep freezes to kill them.”
Kacinas, as do many of the other lawn care specialists, practices integrated pest management. He doesn’t use chemicals unless absolutely necessary, considering the environmental impact of whatever steps he takes. All the lawn care specialists have been looking at the weather, as well as the adult insects and other indicators, but the truth, says Enger, is “We don’t know what will happen next year.”
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The Landscape Contractor April 2017
Profiles in Sustainability —
Logic Lawn Care— Dedicated to Safe, Healthy Lawns By Marilyn Witney
Back in the 90s when the economy was booming, Steve Neumann headed for college and selected Finance as his major. Afterwards, for fourteen years, he held positions at some of the country’s best known financial services establishments.
The Beginning Then came 2008. Things changed for that business and Neumann and his wife Betsy took advantage of their new-found freedom, rented an RV, packed up their sons and took off to discover America. For almost a year they travelled the country, visiting more than 26 National and State Parks and generally immersing their lives in the great outdoors. Before the trip, they both already appreciated the beauty of nature. The trip, however, gave them a brand new appreciation for natural spaces and nature’s delicate balance. Logic Lawn Care Is Born When they returned the summer of 2008, they knew they wanted a business where they could work outdoors. They also appreciated the idea of a business where work-life balance is possible, with extra-hard work necessary for a full eight months of the year, but with the benefit of four complete months’ time off to travel and spend time with friends and family. So Neumann bought one electric lawn mower and a truck and they were on their way. With wife Betsy as his partner and single employee, he set out to learn all he could about natural lawn care while looking for customers who were interested in this service. “We wanted a business where we could help take care of the planet and at the same time learn something new,” Neumann says. Logic Lawn Care served its first client that fall and the company has grown steadily each year ever since. Focus on Sustainable Lawn Care Until this year, Logic Lawn Care offered both sustainable lawn maintenance and natural lawn care. Maintenance included using electric and propane powered equipment and, early on, solar panels atop his small truck which also helped power equipment. Over 20
time, Neumann’s maintenance business grew so much that he and Betsy decided to eliminate that service beginning with spring 2017, and focus on what has become their passion … caring for turf naturally. This natural lawn service includes fertilization, weed control, aeration and seeding, which is Neumann’s specialty. Neumann likes to think of his company as a “lawn care boutique,” which has found a unique niche that can help municipalities, schools, corporate facilities and homeowners, along with other contractors who add his special expertise to serving their lawn maintenance customers. Eliminating lawn maintenance from Logic’s services also eliminated competition with traditional lawn maintenance contractors and enables Neumann instead to partner with them to serve their maintenance customers who want to avoid harsh chemicals in the care of their lawn. Community Pressure and the Market The market for natural lawn care has grown exponentially since Logic Lawn Care opened. Business comes to them through facility managers at schools and municipalities, along with homeowners and other contractors who want to sub natural lawn care to Logic. Just as sustainability and “green” practices have become buzz words in mainstream conversations, so has the desire for making safer, healthier grassy areas for recreation, picnicking, hiking and biking especially for children and pets. Community groups and activists want the amount of poisonous pesticides on the public land to be decreased, if not eliminated. But they still want beautiful green spaces for their parks and public landscapes. For example, Logic Lawn Care was called in six years ago when community pressure moved the Village of Skokie to take a closer look at how they managed their lawn care. “We welcome input from the community and they were concerned about chemical application on areas where families and children would be playing,” commented Skokie’s Village Forester Elizabeth Zimmerman, who manages the Village contract with Logic Lawn Care. “Steve manages our Village Green and Village Hall landscapes, plus a 55-acre Skokie park. His company greatly reduced the amount of traditional chemicals applied to our green spaces, AND they look better than ever!” In addition to the Village of Skokie, Neumann partners with several other municipalities, park districts and schools to achieve their goals.
The Landscape Contractor April 2017
711 S Material Road, Romeoville, IL 800-762-5738 * 815-836-0086 RocksEtc@ATT.net
Commitment … Customer Education … Communications According to Neumann, “The barrier into this business is understanding the systematic approach required in order to have a healthy, beautiful, natural lawn. Natural lawn care isn’t just a switch from traditional to organic products. If that’s all you do, the end result won’t be desirable for anyone.” Neumann often works with facility managers and starts with an IPM Turf Audit which creates a benchmark of pesticide use for the project. Then he can measure the amount of pesticide needed DON’T DELAY - PLACE YOUR ORDERS NOW! to create a level of customer satisfaction for weed growth after two and then three years. If natural weed control isn’t satisfying the FROM UTILITY TO HIGH END DECORATIVE PRODUCTS: customer’s standards in the interim, Neumann uses IPM tactics with MULCH, CHIPS, ROCKS, BOULDERS, NATURAL STONE, lower risk pesticides and target application to help solve the problem. CONCRETE PRODUCTS, GRASS SEED, AND MORE “Over time,” Neumann says, “the facility manager or municipality BAG OR BULK, WE’VE GOT YOU COVERED! has hard data to show their stakeholders the reduction in chemicals versus the successful outcomes they can see with their own eyes.” CALL OR ASK YOUR REP FOR INFORMATION TODAY! Neumann uses a six-step Logic Lawn Care Natural Lawn Care Program that includes this pesticide reduction while at the same time development of vigorous turf in healthy soils using carefully timed fertilization, aeration and seeding. He also spends time providing guidance to his customers on proper mowing and watering techniques. Specifically, the six steps are: Organic Fertilization; Natural Weed Control; Core Aeration; Seeding; Integrated Pest Management; and teaching cultural practices for proper mowing and watering. “Commitment is the most important thing,” says 18715 Route 84 N * Cordova, IL Neumann. “It takes time to build strong turf and wean it off tradi800-736-1356 * 309-654-2261 tional fertilizers and chemicals. We usually allow three years. And Sales@XylemLtd.com time is also needed to educate the customer on proper cultural practices and to open up two-way communication on caring Products and Equipment Over the past eight years since launching Logic Lawn Care, Neumann has seen quite a bit of change not only in consumer attitudes, but also in the availability of effective products for use in a natural lawn care practice. “Almost all of the large manufacturers are getting into the natural product category, and new products are coming out every year,” he says. “But there still isn’t a ‘miracle’organic product that can do it all. You need an integrated approach, using the right products, in the right amounts and with the right timing.” (continued on page 22) The Landscape Contractor 21 April 2017
Turf Times Ahead — (continued from page 21) One interesting newer product is a cedar oil that helps reduce mosquitoes in home landscapes, outdoor restaurants and other outdoor spaces where mosquitoes can be a nuisance and a health danger. If applied correctly, the oil does not harm bees and butterflies. These pollinators will be repelled temporarily, and then quickly return to the landscape. “And,” says Neumann, “it has a very pleasant fragrance!” Beyond using natural products, Neumann uses electric and propane equipment for his business which is considerably less damaging to the environment, both in terms of carbon emissions and noise pollution. New products in this area have been slow to come according to Neumann. He’s hoping for some larger propane equipment in the very near future. Sharing and Networking Logic Lawn Care is the only company of its kind in Chicagoland devoted solely to natural lawn care. But Neumann is not afraid to share. Along with working hard to grow his business, Neumann spends valuable time on the speaker’s circuit, sharing
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his knowledge with community groups, facility managers and municipal leaders. He also volunteers his time to Midwest Pesticide Action Center (MPAC), a non-profit group dedicated to reducing pesticide use in Illinois, Wisconsin and beyond. Neumann lends his expertise here by providing “on the ground answers to questions from municipalities and park districts that want to change their lawn care practices,” said MPAC Executive Director
The Landscape Contractor April 2017
Ruth Kerzee. “We’re an environmental advocacy organization, not horticulturists or landscape exerts. It’s great to have companies like Logic Lawn Care on our team as valuable technical information resources.” Finally, Neumann is currently involved in an Ecological Master Plan for Canal Shores Golf Course in Evanston, where he lives and works. Surrounded by almost a dozen schools, this 40-acre public space is being naturally restored not only for golf, but also for hiking, biking, birdwatching and access to wetlands and nature walks, in addition to providing habitat for pollinators and other creatures. So far the Evanston team of experts, including Neumann, has identified 903 high-quality and valuable trees, five wetlands and a diversity of wildlife. To find out more about natural lawn care, connect with Steve Neumann through his website www.logiclawncare.com. Also find sustainable lawn care tips on the Sustainable Landscaping Maintenance Calendar at www.ilca.net. And watch for details about the IMPACT Conference this fall offering seminars and demos featuring sustainable landscaping services.
ILCA Winter Events
ILCA Hosts— 2017 Foremanship Seminar: Mastering Foremanship The two-day event
was held March 2-3, 2017 at the Fox Run Golf Links in Elk Grove Village. The class was presented by long-time ILCA member, Professor Armando A. Actis. Production and maintenance landscape foremen have unique needs as they have to wear two hats: a worker and a leader. Foremen have to walk the fine line in working side by side with the employee and having to direct, motivate and critique at the same time. Managing former peers and friends can be especially difficult, dealing with problems and obstacles can take skills that only can be developed by stepping out of the work environment for a few days, learning best practices, applying it in a learning environment through role play, and then going back and applying it on the job. In this dynamic seminar, participants learned how to more effectively handle tight deadlines, tight margins and increase customer satisfaction. Also, participants were energized when they saw the class was prepared and designed specifically to meet their unique needs and not just another cookie cutter seminar.
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Professor Armando A. Actis
Key components of the program included— • The central role of the “worker-leader” • How to properly supervise friends, peers, and former equals • How to effectively communicate with your boss and superiors • To generate 100 percent accountability from your team • How to motivate and delegate at the same time • To require accountability for all work (both bad or good) • How to implement and follow daily & weekly work schedules • How a team can produce quality work that stays within the budget and is completed on time • The effectiveness of the work team • How to deal with challenges and personal problems that occur outside the workplace that impact productivity • To manage problem behavior • How to produce client focused work using a moral compass • To understand that mannerisms and values are as important as technical abilities
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In case you missed this at iLandscape —
From Seedling to Nursery:
New Plants from Mike Yanny
by Heather Prince
The plant development process is a journey with
many twists and turns as well as the occasional fork in the road. Mike Yanny, president of J.N. Plant Selections, and former propagator at Johnson’s Nursery in Wisconsin, has been propagating and developing new plant varieties for more than 35 years. In his presentation for iLandscape 2017, Mike profiled a number of trees and shrubs that are newly on the market or coming soon to landscapes. He is a passionate plantsman. “I expect to live into my 80s because I have all these projects going. It’s fun! I love what I do.” Mike recommends these trees and shrubs because, “All the plant material that I work with is developed in the Milwaukee area. It experiences the same stresses in the trial fields as it will be exposed to in the finished landscape. As opposed to plants developed outside of our region, my selections are from the Midwest. Our environment plays a significant role in my plant selection process,” said Mike. A tough test winter, a prolonged drought, or alkaline clay soil can be leading factors in selecting a plant for hardiness. Mike also utilizes native seed sources to infuse wild genetic into his plant selections. “I have tremendous confidence in the capability of the genetics of our native flora. They’re totally underused in the industry. If we don’t destroy all our natural areas, if we preserve what we’ve got and take the time to notice, the superior genetics will show themselves. Every effort should be made to maintain the natural genetics,” commented Mike. “Hardiness is a very complicated process.” These are seven of Mike’s plants that are readily available for client landscapes. They all are tough, tolerant selections for multiseason interest.
Carpinus caroliniana ‘J.N. Upright’ or Firespire® musclewood
Musclewood is a native understory tree that thrives in moist full sun to full shade, making it a terrific plant for existing landscapes and screening. Firespire® was a byproduct of a 35 year project to develop a musclewood that demonstrates consistently excellent fall color in the Chicago region. Starting with seeds collected in the wild, Mike has grown many generations of musclewood to achieve this beautiful plant. With smooth, muscle-like bark, attractive papery nutlets and a rich orange-red fall color, Firespire® packs a big punch. It will reach 15 feet high and 8 to 10 feet wide. Mike finds that Firespire® becomes a barrel-shaped tree with an upright habit as it matures. You can visit examples planted at The Morton Arboretum near the Four Pillars sculpture on the East Side. Make sure to protect this plant over the winter as deer and rabbits will snack on it. 26 The Landscape Contractor April 2017
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In case you missed this at iLandscape — Malus sargentii ‘Select A’ PP12621 or Firebird® crabapple
“I was trying to solve the problem of hardiness in M. sargentii crabapples,” said Mike. “The story starts with the test winter of 1978.” It was -33 degrees with high winds, creating -70 wind chill. All the two-inch caliper and under Sargent crabapples at Johnson’s Nursery were either killed or damaged to the point of being unsaleable. “Me at 23 years old said I’d tackle the problem, as the owner of Johnson’s Nursery was so disappointed he wasn’t going to plant them again,” tells Mike. Those Sargent crabs were grafted to fruit apple rootstock, so Mike decided to try for seedling grown trees on their own roots for greater hardiness. Over the years of 1980 to 1982, Mike got a mixed bag of 1,300 seedlings, but only 300 came true to type, the rest were hybrids. “We saved the 1980 crop of about 300 because it looked like there were some pink flowering M. sargentii hybrids. The 1982 crop was grubbed,” reports Mike. Unfortunately, all the pink flowering Sargent crabs developed rampant apple scab. “They were really scabby dogs,” recalls Mike. However, some of the trees had pretty red crabapples that lasted through the winter. Of that batch, three trees bore a good flower show every year, and Firebird® crabapple was born. “Sometimes, you start one direction and it takes a turn to the right, a turn to the left, but a good plant comes out of it,” comments Mike. Firebird crabapple has pink buds opening to fragrant white flowers followed by brilliant small red fruit that persists until spring. It is incredibly disease resistant and tolerates heavy soils, dry soils, and is exceptionally cold tolerant. Firebird® crabapple will reach 9 feet high and 17 feet wide in 30 years.
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The Landscape Contractor April 2017
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In case you missed this at iLandscape — are among the last shrubs to color up for fall. “Site this plant where people will be able to enjoy the rich fragrance,” suggested Mike. Spice Island™ reaches four to five feet high and five to 6 feet wide over time. It does best in full sun and must have good drainage. Spiraea fritschiana ‘J.N. Select A’ or Pink-a-licious™ spirea As is often the case in plant selection and development, Pink-alicious™ spirea solves a problem. “A number of the S. bumalda and S. japonica hybrids can seed all over the place. It can be a real maintenance headache,” said Mike. “Pink-a-licious™ is sterile, rarely producing viable seed or the resulting weed seedlings.” Pinka-licious™ offers all the multi-season interest of a spirea, but offers less maintenance to contractors and homeowners. Its parentage has given it pretty pink flowers and glorious fall color. “It has the colors of a fruit salad in fall and the more sun it gets, the showier it is,” commented Mike. Expect peach, rose, gold, orange, and touches each autumn. Pink-a-licious™ is a two to three foot shrub that thrives in full sun to part shade and a wide range of soils.
Viburnum carlesii ‘J.N. Select A’ or Spice Island™ —
Koreanspice viburnum Mike developed this lovely selection of Koreanspice viburnum to solve a problem on the grower side. Viburnum carlesii ‘Compactum’ is a great plant, but tough to get consistent, good looking saleable shrubs. “You plant 100 liners and only about 50% are saleable,” said Mike. “With Spice Island™, I found an open pollinated seedling of V. carlesii ‘Compactum’ that is a much better grower. You get cookie cutter uniform plants.” There were additional benefits besides a consistent crop. The flowers on Spice Island™ bloom about a week later than other fragrant viburnums, so the plants are fully leafed out when they blossom. This creates a nice green background to the brilliant fragrant white flowers. Spice Island™ viburnums turn a rich burgundy red and
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Cornus racemosa x amomum ‘J.N. Red Stem’ Irish Setter™
gray dogwood This beautiful dogwood Mike found while trying to solve the problem of septoria leaf spot on gray dogwood. “I’ve always been interested in native plants, and in this case I was unintentionally picking seed off of a natural hybrid,” said Mike. “My mentor, Herbert Trautman, always said ‘when picking seed, look for the best plants’ so I picked from the best looking, disease-free dogwoods I could find.” When Mike germinated the seed, he realized he had something special. The Irish Setter™ dogwood has outstanding resistance to septoria leaf spot, and its clean green leaves develop a deep maroon fall color that lasts and lasts. The current season’s growth has nice red stems for winter interest, giving a halo effect against the snow. Irish Setter™ will slowly colonize in almost any soil and reaches 8 to 12 feet high and wide in part shade to full sun.
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In case you missed this at iLandscape — Juniperus x ‘J.N. Select Blue’ or Star Power™ juniper
Star Power™ is a very fast growing upright juniper perfect for screening in full sun situations. It takes its name from its star-like juvenile foliage that is quite prickly and deer resistant. Mike found this juniper from a batch of seed from “this guy who loves to trade seeds. It was in a mixed bag of juniper berries and I just couldn’t resist,” reports Mike. This is a great plant for growers and end users as it doesn’t require staking or much pruning to keep its tidy shape. Disease resistant, Star Power™ juniper maintains its sparkling juvenile foliage for 10 to 15 years before developing some mature scaled needles. Growing a foot a year, Star Power™, reaches 12 feet high and 5 feet wide in soil with good drainage.
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The Landscape Contractor April 2017
Thuja occidentalis ‘BailJohn’ PP15850
or Technito® arborvitae Discovered in 1989 in a crop of Techny arborvitae at Johnson’s Nursery that had orginated at Bailey Nursery, Mike says, “I noticed a much more compact plant in the block and thought it might have been a sport (the result of a bud mutation). So I rooted some cuttings of the plant and lost track of it. Four years later, I noticed it in a block of arborvitae and realized it truly was a compact sport worth of introduction.” Technito® is resistant to winter burn. It is two-thirds the size of Techny, maintains a dense branching pattern, and doesn’t need to be sheared to keep a tight form. “You don’t have to touch it. No need to shear it, and it keeps its nice shape,” reports Mike. Perfect for the small-scaled landscape, Technito® matures to 12 feet high and 6 feet wide in full sun to part shade. Ideal for screening, this tidy arborvitae is a good choice for clients desiring a low maintenance yard.
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Anatomy of an Award Winning Landscape —
Hursthouse Strikes Gold with Three Excellence in Landscape Awards by Nina Koziol
In its most essential form, great residential landscape design is about linking things together—path and place—to make a wondrous journey in a setting that marries the architecture of the house with the site. One of the best recent examples is a landscape makeover, called “Architectural Reflections,” by Hursthouse Landscape Architects and Contractors. The firm transformed a run-of-the-mill suburban
landscape that surrounded an elegant French-style house into a highly sophisticated, exquisite setting that the clients and the home deserved. The new landscape integrates the interior and exterior spaces so they are perceived and lived in as one space. The materials, shapes, colors, textures and details found in the house now merge into the garden. It’s a place where family and friends (continued on page 38)
The Hursthouse team worked to light the home’s exterior as well as the garden to produce an effect that, even after dark, serves as a seamless reflection of the architecture and the clients’ tastes.
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The Landscape Contractor April 2017
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Anatomy of an Award Winning Landscape —
A drone’s-eye-view shows a seamless transition from one patio space to the next. Extensive regrading and engineering allowed for five spaces at slight varying elevations. Retaining walls of concrete, steel, masonry block and face brick frame the fire feature, courtyard and the spool, which are tied together along a central axis. The materials reflect those used on the the home.
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Anatomy of an Award Winning Landscape — (continued from page 34) gather comfortably and where the landscape is in harmony with the home’s architectural features. The firm’s work received not one but three awards at the iLandscape show in February—the Excellence in Landscape Gold Award for Residential Construction, the Judges’ Award and the Professionals’ Choice Award. As one judge observed, “Stunning! What more can be said? Ten perfect 10’s!” “Loved the home,” said landscape architect Bob Hursthouse upon seeing it for the first time. “But, the landscape just didn’t fit the house. It needed a much more formal design.” The homeowners had the property landscaped three times in four years before Hursthouse was called in. Viewed from the street, “The asphalt-to-lawn was jarring,” he said. “With so many projects like this one, we need to create a foreground to set the stage for the house.”
First Impressions
The home sits on a prominent point in a cul-de-sac. “It’s terrific because it highlights the architecture,” said Jeff True, vice president of operations at Hursthouse. The project, completed in three phases, began with the front landscape, which was redesigned to take advantage of the home’s soaring entryway. The curving front walk was removed and a wide formal bluestone path installed. “This creates a completely different, welcoming approach to the house that allows the grandeur of the front entry to be more fully appreciated,” Hursthouse said. Bluestone was chosen to play off the home’s slate roof. The primary walk is flanked at the front sidewalk with masonry walls and cast limestone planters and then crosses the parkway and forms a carriage walk. A secondary bluestone walk runs parallel to the house down to the new clay paver driveway. Both walkways allow for an
elegant approach to the entryway. “We aligned the planting beds to frame the front lawn and centered a fountain on the front dining room window,” Hursthouse said. “It’s a grand embellishment that projects a fabulous focal point from any angle.” The fountain’s submersed lighting creates a special effect after dark. The choice of bluestone for the walk and limestone for the fountain plays off the cut limestone on the house and adds to the overall formality of the setting. “All of this creates the frame and it’s an important first impression of the home,” Hursthouse said. Key concepts were integral to the landscape plan—the use of geometrical lines and construction materials to replicate or complement the home’s architecture, and the inclusion of five water features. Brass and copper LED lighting fixtures were installed to enhance the strong formal landscape lines at night.
The elegant entryway is highlighted by a formal bluestone path that runs to the street and is flanked with masonry walls and cast limestone planters.
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Challenges and Opportunities
Cul-de-sac properties are never square or rectangular. This lot is a trapezoid—nearly five times wider across the back lot line than the front. To make matters more interesting, the backyard dropped off 8 feet, making it practically unusable. From the terrace, the homeowners looked onto a cookie-cutter wooden fence and an informal curving border that collected water. The home’s monumental size lacked any relationship to the landscape. The patio furniture was perched precariously at the top of the lawn in the back of the house. “It was a great place if you wanted to sled,” Hursthouse said. “If you leaned back in your chair on the patio, you’d end up at the bottom of the hill.” The owners wanted an outdoor space for their four children, four dogs and for entertaining. They also wanted ornamental water features and a fire feature.
And, they wanted it to be immaculate and sophisticated like the interior of their home. “The site had significant opportunities and demands,” True said. Designing and installing formal gardens in small spaces on sloping lawns were just a few of the challenges. During the project, the subdivision was incorporated, which required more permit work. To make the space usable, the new landscape needed extensive regrading and retaining walls. The back lot also slopes significantly from left to right. Civil and structural engineers were brought in to look at the plans for the walls and drainage. The firm maximized the build-able footprint with a series of retaining walls engineered with concrete, steel, masonry block and face brick. The new brick wall is 8’ tall facing the house but 12’ tall on the outside and sits on massive concrete footings. To collect excess rainwater, an under-
ground infiltration vault system was installed in a back corner of the property. “The whole conversation used to be about stormwater management,” Hursthouse said. “You’d have big houses on teardown lots and we’d think about how to capture the water, put it in a pipe and send it off the property. It’s a whole different mindset now. The vernacular has changed from stormwater management to rainwater harvesting. The idea is to hold as much water on the site and let it naturally perk down.”
Attention to Detail
“We put a material vocabulary together. It starts with looking at little things inside and outside,” Hursthouse said. Limestone and ironwork on the vertical sides of the house were repeated in the new patio area and in the fencing. “The house had this fabulous brick and a slate roof that translates to the bluestone (continued on page 40)
All vertical masonry is clad in custom brick to match the house. Hursthouse crews fabricated the bullnose bluestone for the copings and treads throughout the garden. and treads throughout the garden.
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Anatomy of an Award Winning Landscape — (continued from page 39) paving—the materials are married together. The bluestone looks so great playing off the color of the brick and it can be used for paving or coping.” The back landscape now features five separate spaces with slight changes in elevation. Rather than create a massive staircase leading off the back of the property, the site was designed so that the spaces relate and flow into one another. The patio is 6 inches below the first floor height, while the fire pit is 12 inches
below that space. The gradual drop off to the dogs’ play area allows for a casual stroll instead of climbing a flight of stairs. A spacious terrace used for entertaining opens onto a lawn and an exquisite fountain that is framed by a brick wall. Two classical-style fountains adorned with dolphins and seashells anchor the wall and are centered on the kitchen and family room windows. Raised formal boxwood planters echo the symmetry. A gas burner lights the raised fire feature, a splendid place for entertaining
Submersed lighting accents the “spool” (spa-pool) to give it new life after dark.
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or just relaxing on cool evenings. Pair the sounds of crackling fire with trickling water in this now secluded setting and it’s like being on vacation. One of the most stunning features in the back garden is the “spool”—a spa-pool combo. Water spills from cast brass scuppers into the spool where therapeutic jets and warm water creates a spa. A mix of gunite concrete and plaster finish was used for the spool. “You get a great reflection of the vertical elements around it and a deep blue color,” True said. From the patio, a laminar flow hole sends an arc of dancing water into the spool, which ranges in depth from 3 1/2 feet to 5 feet and contains bench seating and an auto-cover. The clients can adjust the water temperature and the spool can be enjoyed all year. Special attention was given to the family’s four-legged pets. They needed their own place where they wouldn’t create a mess in the formal terraced spaces.
The spool operates at pool or spa temperature as the client desires. All of the water features have
The dog lawn is secluded behind the spool and is accessed from the house by a decorative custom rolling iron gate. The tiniest dog visits an outdoor fenced-in space next to the house. Calipers were used to measure the dog’s head so that the new fence posts were spaced properly to prevent her from getting loose. A hidden service ramp negotiates an eight-foot grade change from the driveway to the back of the property. A row of columnar maple trees provides a backdrop where a service path divides the new brick retaining wall with the now-hidden wooden fence that sits on the property line. Hursthouse crews spent 10 months laying 29,340 bricks, 225 cubic yards of concrete and 3,600 square feet of mortarset bluestone. They repaved the existing terrace and the bricks used in the walls and risers were selected to match the house. The crew fabricated nearly 500 linear feet of bull-nosed thermal blue-
hydrazzo plaster finishes and share a remote equipment pad behind masonry walls.
stone for the copings and treads used throughout the site. Custom iron panels on the rear wall were inspired by the decorative iron feature over the existing outdoor fireplace. “We fabricated all the copings to match,” True said. “Our crews know how to fabricate materials like nobody’s business.” Irrigation and drainage lines were brought through the terrace so that when the planters are watered, there is no water spilling down the steps to make a mess. The planters are on timers and irri-
gation zones that are separate from those used for the lawn. “The back of the house used to soar overhead, but now the balance with the architectural wall and the terraces—it brings down the height,” True said. One of the last phases of the project was replacing the poured concrete driveway. A clay paver that is slightly darker than the home’s brickwork was installed and a low curb replaced a 3-foot-tall concrete block retaining wall. (continued on page 42)
A grand main terrace opens onto a lawn with a central fountain in the back garden.
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Anatomy of an Award Winning Landscape — (continued from page 41) “Our team worked to light the home’s exterior as well as the garden spaces with the same level of detail,” Hursthouse said. “The finished product is a garden that, even after dusk, serves as a seamless reflection of the clients’ taste.”
Marriage of Equals
When the clients built their monumental home, they chose impressive building materials. It’s now reflected in their new landscape. “Everything we did was the longest-lasting solution possible,” Hursthouse said. “Anywhere that’s visual or that you could put your hands on called for something durable and substantial,” True added. “There’s a lot to like about this project,” Hursthouse said. “When the client sent me drone pictures of his family enjoying the backyard in the evening— that’s the most gratifying for me.” The time and attention to detail provided a finished product that met the high standard set by the style and elegance of the home and reflects the clients’ vision for their property. A winning combination all around. See videos and more photos of this awardwinning project at: http://hursthouse.com
A raised fire feature with gas burner provides an intimate space for evening entertaining.
Hursthouse aligned the planting beds to frame the front lawn and placed a grand fountain that is centered on the dining room window.
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The Landscape Contractor April 2017
Limestone fountains adorned with dolphins and shells are centered off the kitchen and family room windows. The features are balanced by raised formal boxwood planters. Columnar maple trees screen a service walk beyond the wall.
Before you can achieve Architectural Reflections, you might begin with this.
The existing landscape was not in harmony with the home’s monumental French-style architecture or its grand formal entrance. A significant grade change, an undersized patio, and a landscape out-of-sync with the home’s architecture were just a few of the many challenges in this project.
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Series Introduction: Architecture & Landscape —
Looking to the Past to Design for the Future by Heather Prince
iLandscape netted another gem of a topic
as Scott Mehaffey and Nina Koziol presented an informationpacked discussion about how the homes of the past can inform today and tomorrow’s landscaping styles. By associating architecture with landscape styles, and considering the changing ways people have gardened over time, Nina and Scott aim to give you more tools for your landscaping toolbox. Working with a broad array of older homes can challenge and inspire you. Plus, with a good grounding in historic homes and
landscapes, you can better impress potential clients with your knowledge and attention to detail. In 2016, both construction spending and home remodeling increased significantly in the Chicago area. Chicago and the inner-ring suburbs have a substantial stock of existing homes dating from 1969 and earlier. The near-west suburbs saw large increases in home sales in 2015 and 2016. Towns like Park Ridge, River Grove, Forest Park and Oak Park all experienced some of the greatest increases in sales activity. These suburbs have a large amount of housing stock built in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. 44
As more Millennials are beginning to purchase homes, GenX is upscaling or renovating and Baby Boomers are downsizing. Older homes are a growth market for Millennials looking to make their first purchase. They are flocking to the suburbs to raise their families. Their spending power also should rise in the next 10 to 20 years as they head into middle age and maturing careers. How do you appeal to Millennials? Consider them the HGTV generation. They respond to storytelling, history, and are very visual. They are looking for authenticity and love nostalgia which is why they are interested in historic preservation. Millennials consider homes from the early part of the 20th century to be historic and they are snapping them up. “Times change and so does what we consider to be historic,” commented Scott. “Now, Craftsman and Tudor style homes are considered worth preserving. There’s a significant interest in Sears Catalog and Aladdin homes that are built from kits.” The architectural style provides a starting point for a landscape that can look to the past, but still be relevant today. There are many resources available to assess home styles and eras. One home style that is gaining popularity is the farmhouse. You may see new homes built in this traditional style with clapboard siding, gables and porches. Greek Revival, with columns and pediments is also a common home style. This architecture dates from the early 1800s when the country was more rural and farming a common occupation. A farmhouse would have a dooryard garden
The Landscape Contractor April 2017
where people grew vegetables and herbs for the table and the market. These gardens were enclosed by a fence to keep the livestock out. On a recent contemporary farmhouse project, the designer included a dwarf orchard planting to reference its rural vernacular as well as the edible gardening trend. Nina and Scott also showed examples of landscapes preserving the picket fence of the dooryard and anchoring the home to the landscape. The Italianate style arose in the 1840s and added more geometry and formality to home styles. Lawns and beds were laid out in linear, formal styles and you might find a sunken lawn with perennial borders. From there, Colonial Revival
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Series Introduction: Architecture & Landscape — became all the rage with the 100 year anniversary of the United States. This kept the landscape formal, with clipped hedges and broad lawns. Classical Revival from 1895 to 1955 gave us columns and straight site lines. Then with Tudor Revival from 1890 to 1940, romantic, storybook homes with winding paths and cottage gardens became popular. This was a softer, comfortable home style, but cottage gardens require a lot of maintenance. Arts and Crafts and Craftsman styles also took the stage during this time period with an emphasis on garden rooms. Next, French Eclectic took the stage with mansard roofs and flat facades that demanded a simplified, elegant landscape approach. With the 1950s, Midcentury Modern and ranch homes sprang up in the postwar years. You can find many examples and inspiration in old editions of shelter magazines such as Better Homes and Gardens, and Sunset
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The Landscape Contractor April 2017
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Series Introduction: Architecture & Landscape — Magazine. As you are looking through pattern books or home magazines, also take note of the landscaping in the illustrations. This can inform and inspire you as you design for the era of your client’s home. As you survey our older suburbs, you may find many examples of midcentury landscaping tacked onto Victorian and older homes. The fringe of yews covering the porch rails of a Greek Revival farmhouse are not historically appropriate and offer limited curb appeal. Some houses seem to be hiding behind mature spruce trees or overgrown evergreens. As a landscape designer, you can salvage these landscapes and give your clients something modern, but historically informed. How did people from these different architectural eras landscape? Early county atlases can have detailed illustrations of farmhouses from the area. From 1830 to 1870, there were little or no foundation plantings. A vine may have been trained up a wall and shrubs
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were found at the corners of the house. Lawns were rough cut with a scythe or not at all. Fences kept animals out and protected dooryard gardens holding medicinal plants and herbs. There may be large trees planted in pairs as wedding or commemorative trees. “On some historic properties, you’ll find a pair of huge ancient trees like pines or sycamores, that were planted to commemorate a wedding,” mentioned Nina. From 1870 to 1900, Victorian-styled homes with porches, towers, and elaborate fretwork were in style and gardening was increasingly popular as a leisure activity. Fragrant shrubs were planted against the now taller foundations. Weeping plants were sought after as specimens. Carpet bedding of annuals in patterns like a Persian rug were packed with color and fragrance. Mail order seed catalogs are a terrific resource for ideas of what plants were offered to Victorians and landscape ideas. The color illustrations enticed customers and informed
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Series Introduction: Architecture & Landscape —
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The Landscape Contractor April 2017
Series Introduction: Architecture & Landscape — them on the latest garden trends. At some homes, a tiered fountain would be featured. Themed gardens were also popular like moon gardens or cottage gardens. Evergreens were planted for winter interest in the Midwest. Side yards became a place for recreation and relaxation as well as a site for a themed garden. From 1900 to 1950, women garden writers published many books on gardening. As ladies had more leisure time, they often turned to gardening and English gardening trends were popular. Their gardening books often include landscape plans with detailed lists of plants as well as ornamental features like arbors or fountains. In the postwar years, landscapes became more understated as they responded to the prevalence of ranch-style homes. A classic text for Midcentury gardens is Thomas Church’s Gardens Are for People, first published in
1955. He emphasizes a minimalist approach and the garden as a logical extension of the house. There are many resources available to delve into past garden styles appropriate to your client’s home. Beyond those listed in the sidebar, also take a look at county records, magazines from the era, old garden show pamphlets, home catalogs like Sears and Aladdin, and seed catalogs. You can find many of these resources in the libraries of The Morton Arboretum and Chicago Botanic Garden. Also, look for more articles in The Landscape Contractor as Scott and Nina present in-depth articles on the different architectural styles found in the Chicago area with appropriate landscape suggestions.
(For Resources: see page 54)
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The Landscape Contractor April 2017
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Landscape —
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New Members CONTRACTOR MEMBERS ACA Lawn Care James Locke 2S839 Red Oak Dr Elburn, IL 60119 Phone: 630-319-2673 Email: jim@aircoreaeration.com Website: aircoreaeration.com Fertilizing. Aeration. Mosquito Spraying. B&L Landscape Contractors Matt Fattes 25 S 3th Ave St. Charles, IL 60174 Phone: 630-377-2700 Email: matt@bandllandscaping.com Website: www.bandllandscaping.com Full Service Landscape and Lawn Maintenance Company B & S Landscaping, Inc. Obed Benitez 228 Charlotte Ln Bolingbrook, IL 60440 Phone: 630-973-3916 Fax: 630-410-2049 Email: bandslandscaping@gmail. com Website: bandslandscaping.com Hawthorne Landscaping Jose Rodriguez Chavez 931 Brian Dr. Crest Hill, IL 60403 Phone: 815-774-9336 Fax: 815-774-9334 Email: hlg@hawthornelandscapinginc.com Landscaping Maintenance, design, construction, hardscapes, & snow removal. Hillside Landscape, Inc. Gary Moderhock 618 Hillside Road Glenview, IL 60025 Phone: 847-724-5688 Fax: 847-724-5318 Email: gary@hillsidels.com Website: www.HillsideLS.com Hillside Landscape, Inc. is a family owned and operated full service landscape contractor offering a wide variety of landscape services and maintenance packages to meet your specific needs. We specialize in integrated Landscape Designs and Installations. 56
Integrated Lakes Management Keith Gray 110 LeBaron Street Waukegan, IL 60085 Phone: 847-244-6662 Fax: 847-244-0261 Email: kgray@ilmenvironments.com Website: www.ilmenvironments.com Environmental services - lake and pond management, natural areas restoration. Local Lawn Care & Landscaping Joseph Colonero 2091 Dunhill Lane Aurora, IL 60503 Phone: 630-659-6920 Email: joe@llclandscaping.net Website: www.llclandscaping.net Local Lawn Care & Landscaping was founded in 2011 by Joseph and Jess Colonero. Joseph “Joe” is an active part of every aspect of the business, including pushing a mower himself. Joe began by cutting grass for neighbors and other members of his local community. After seeing the potential in the lawn services industry Joe began passing out flyers & pushing his mower down the street to each customer’s house. While Joe works with members of his crew on properties, Jess works closely with clients to help manage accounts, organize paperwork and contracts, provide customer service & other important office duties. R & S Landscaping Services Paula Barr 2836 W. Rt 126 Plainfield, IL 60544 Phone: 815-254-2057 Email: rslandscapingmanager@gmail.com Website: rslandscapingservices.com
Reeser Lawncare & Landscaping Inc. Jeff Reeser 132 Wright Lane East Peoria, IL 61611 Phone: 309-264-7187 Email: reeserlandscape@gmail.com Website: reeserlandscaping.com Reeser Lawncare and Landscaping Inc. was founded in 1998 as a full service lawncare and landscaping company specializing in hardscapes. We service the Central Illinois market staying within a 20 mile radius of Peoria. We have continued to show steady growth for 18 consecutive years. We service over 150 maintenance accounts and average over 100 landscape installs per season ranging from $1,500 to $100,000. We are nationally certified in retaining wall installation and outdoor lighting as well as being a Unilock authorized contractor. We pride ourselves on exceptional customer service and going above and beyond our customers’ expectations. Reliable Property Services Dorie Roth 4950 Memco Lane Racine, WI 53404 Phone: 262-639-9029 Email: dorier@rpswi.com Website: rpswi.com Over 35 years of providing snow removal and landscape maintenance services. We serve the commercial, industrial and multi-family markets. Reliable Property Services works with business owners, property managers and real estate developers to deliver what our clients need beyond their expectations. Willow Glen Lawn & Landscape Inc 8959 Hanslik Ct Naperville, IL 60564 Phone: 630-742-8460 Email: tcbehr@gmail.com Website: willowglenlandscape.com
(continued on page 60) The Landscape Contractor April 2017
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Feece Oil Company 517 Twin Rail Drive Minooka, IL 60447 (888) 879-1911 www.feeceoil.com
by Meta Levin
The year was 1934. Leroy H. Feece was 27 years
old and a business agent for Deep Rock Oil when he and his wife, Edith, began a company providing home heating oil to farms and homes in Batavia, IL. The couple always was intent on growth through good service and by 1938 they had a service station, in addition to their lubricant and home heating fuel deliveries. Feece Oil continued to grow and to diversify until now it serves such varied industries as golf courses, municipalities, construction sites, farming, marine, landscapers and mining. The number of employees has gradually increased. Currently there are about 50 and the company is run by the third generation of the Feece family. Leroy and Edith also were growing a family. Their first child, Dale, was born in 1937, later followed by a daughter. Dale Feece began working in the business at the age of 14 with his father. Later his three children, Mike, Jill and Troy, took over. They’re still there, six days a week. There is a fourth generation, but those children are not yet old enough to work for the company. Mike, Jill and Troy Feece are using the same standards and practices that their grandfather passed down, says Craig Olsby, Feece Oil’s director of sales and marketing. “The company has always grown slowly and sustainably,” he says. “There is nothing we won’t do for our clients.” In 1980 Feece Oil outgrew its downtown Batavia location and built a new, 10,000 square foot facility in Batavia that housed offices, a warehouse and a new bulk tank plant. This, says Olsby, gave the company the resources necessary for growth during the 1980s and 1990s. By 1999 the company decided to expand some more and moved its corporate
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headquarters to Minooka, IL and in 2004 Feece Oil opened a satellite location in Ottawa, IL. With its corporate offices in Minooka, Feece Oil also has locations in Ottawa, Batavia and, in 2015, opened one in Plano, IL. The three children are proud of the standards, set by their elders, that they have continued. “They believe in buying the best equipment that they can afford, which they make sure is properly maintained and kept clean,” says Olsby. “They wash their trucks frequently and all of their employees wear clean and pressed uniforms. We also answer the phone on the first ring.” It’s these kinds of practices that have not only allowed them to grow, but also to retain long time customers. They also listen to their customers and respond to their needs. Case in point is the demand for more environmental friendly fuels. “We are able to partner with our clients in offering them a vegetable/soy bio blended diesel fuel blended to our customers’ specifications,” says Olsby. “We are able to store larger bulk amounts of bio fuel and we keep the inside of our tanks clean, which helps burn clean burning fuel.” Feece Oil has a large capacity of bulk storage at each of its facilities. This allows them to respond to customers’ requests quickly. Last year, after participating in trade shows, such as iLandscape and Summer Field Day for the last six years, Feece Oil joined ILCA. “We wanted to be closer and to have a tighter partnership with the association,” says Olsby. “It is the right fit for us. We want to support the organization that supports our clients.”
The Landscape Contractor April 2017
New Members — (continued from page 56)
INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS
SUPPLIER MEMBERS
Alexia Paul, RLA, LEEDAP 3228 W. Warner Ave Chicago, IL 60618 Phone: 312-933-5399 Email: alexialandarch@gmail.com
Granby’s Greenhouse Inc. Greg Granby 5850 W Waupecan Rd. Verona, IL 60479 Phone: 815-287-2236 Fax: 815-287-2380 Email: greg@granbysgreenhouse.com Website: www.granbysgreenhouse.com Full line supplier of Greenhouse and Field grown Plants. Johnson’s Nursery, Inc. Vanessa Mueller W180 N6275 March Rd. Menomonee Falls, WI 53051 Phone: 262-252-4980 Fax: 262-252-4495 Email: info@johnsonsnursery.com Website: www.johnsonsnursery.com Johnson’s Nursery is a third generation, family-owned business. We passionately pursue our goal of providing hardy nursery stock to clients in the upper Midwest. Since 1959, our clients have come to trust the quality of our nursery stock and personal customer service. YARDMAX Shad Shafer 1850 W. Winchester Rd. Libertyville, IL 60048 Phone: 847-327-0566 Email: shad.shafer@yardmax.com Website: www.yardmax.com YARDMAX is an innovative, new brand founded as a joint venture partnership with a proven, global industry leader in outdoor power equipment (OPE) manufacturing. Offering a robust line of high-quality, durable OPE products at affordable pricing, YARDMAX is poised to advance the industry, set new standards and outperform others in its class. Providing design enhancements as standard, it delivers an optimal user experience and maximum value to its savvy customer base. Customer-centric in everything it does, YARDMAX seeks to provide consumers with the right equipment to get the job done, at the right price, time and again – all backed by world-class customer support. 60
D.T. DESIGN Deirdre 17337 W. Kelly Road Old Mill Creek, IL 60083 Phone: 847-338-2963 Email: detoner@live.com Website: www.dt-landscapedesign.com Good-Natured Landscapes, LLC Denise Sandoval 30W145 Allister Ln Naperville, IL 60563 Phone: 630-953-5545 Fax: 630-583-8865 Email: denise@goodnaturedlandscapes.com Website: goodnaturedlandscapes.com Beautiful, functional, ind to the Earth landscapes. Blending local ecology, sustainable practices, creative solutions and garden artistry. Featuring native plants. Pat Bernard Design Pat Bernard 2115 Kenney St. Evanston, IL 60202 Phone: 773-443-3118 Email: pat@patbernard.com Website: www.patbernard.com Thoughtful, sustainable landscape solutions. Design. Perennial Ideas Marilyn Witney Chicago, IL 60656 Phone: 312-203-8877 Email: madwitney@comcast.net Communications specialist in horticulture, garden center and sustainable landscape practice. Writer/author. Perfectly Natural By Design Patti White Hansen PO Box 4024 Naperville, IL 60540 Phone: 630-300-4025 Email: perfectlynaturalbydesign@gmail.com Landscape design. The Landscape Contractor
April 2017
June 1, 2016
Illinois Landscape Contractors Association (ILCA) Sustainable Landscape Maintenance Annual Calendar
Sustainable Maintenance Guide and Calendar For the next 15 months, ILCA will be releasing a monthly excerpt from the most current version (v3.0) of its Sustainable Maintenance Guide and Calendar in The Landscape Contractor magazine. The entire 12 month calendar is available to download at no cost to ILCA members, non-profits, public agencies, and units of government. Please email information@ilca.net to request a download of the entire guide and calendar. This guide is not available to private landscape companies who are not members of the ILCA. This guide is intended to equip Illinois Landscape Contractors Association members with all the tools necessary to implement a sustainable maintenance program. It takes into account the constraints of a landscape company in regards to costs, time, equipment, personnel, and horticultural knowledge. The guide is written so any landscape company can apply these maintenance principles to almost any commercial or residential landscape and improve the positive impact on the environment without sacrificing aesthetic quality.
SUSTAINABLE MAINTENANCE CALENDAR June 1, 2016
Illinois Landscape Contractors Association (ILCA) Sustainable Landscape Maintenance Annual Calendar
SUSTAINABLE MAINTENANCE CALENDAR
© ILLINOIS LANDSCAPE CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION
Contree specializes in building units to your specific application. We take pride in designing units that meet your needs and space requirements. Contree is dedicated to having the best pricing and availability of pumps, parts and accessories for all your sprayer needs. (Below are examples of custom units we have designed.)
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-24 gal ATV tank, -Boom available
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© ILLINOIS LANDSCAPE CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION
The Landscape Contractor April 2017
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The Landscape Contractor April 2017
Classified Ads HELP WANTED
HELP WANTED
HELP WANTED
Yard Drainage Designer
Account Manager
Operations/Production Manager - Commercial Account Manager/New Business Irrigation Technician
Dig Right In specializes in a variety of yard drainage solutions primarily for residential customers. We are seeking a landscape designer with little to no experience who is eager to learn from the best in the business. You have a basic understanding of water dynamics in the landscape and the challenges associated with small lots, clayey soil and climate change. You tend to geek-out to hydrogeology and you know a thing or two about rain gardens, infiltration systems, piping, stormwater management, green infrastructure, and sustainable landscaping techniques. You must demonstrate proficiency in sales; customer service; contract writing, estimating, and negotiating; landscape design; project management; and a willingness to learn. Designers must demonstrate applicable experience or education such as an accredited landscape design program, certificate or equivalent. Computer (Excel & Word) and confident sales skills a plus. Compensation based upon prior experience and skill level as demonstrated by portfolio, plus incentives. Please send resume to: krista@digrightin.com CONSTRUCTION/
MAINTENANCE SUPERVISOR We are seeking an experienced supervisor to help manage our construction/ maintenance crews. Must be a good communicator with laborers, HOA’s, and clients. Should be knowledgeable in plants, Bilingual and CDL is a big plus. Offering a full-time, great salary and benefits. Send resumes to: bconlin@cbconlin.com
Cut Above Landscaping, Westmont, IL, is search-
ing for an Account Manager to service our recurring book of business and achieve gross profit objectives through leadership and management of staff while
meeting contractual commitments to customers in a timely, high quality manner.
Experience in the landscape/green industry is not a
requirement, but you must have the desire and aptitude to gain an understanding of this dynamic industry.
This career opportunity offers a competitive salary,
a performance-based bonus program, reimbursed business expenses and other company benefits.
To apply for this position, and learn more about
job requirements and responsibilities, please forward a resume and cover letter to:
Christopher Schlueter, General Manager (chris.schlueter@cutaboveland.com)with
“Cut Above Account Manager” as your email subject. Irrigation Technicians ILT Vignocchi seeks irrigation technicians: 5-10 years of experience, strong technical knowledge, hard work ethic, Spanish speaking a plus. We are looking for someone who wants an opportunity, who enjoys what they do and likes working with others. We have been in business for over 45 years, and are known for quality, integrity and great work atmosphere.
Wingren landscape is looking to fill the following positons for the upcoming season. Come join one of the industry leaders who are going into their 60th year of business. • Operations/Production Manager – 5-10 years of experience, knowledge of landscape maintenance and snow operations/equipment, lawn care management, hardworking, dedicated, able to take direction, execute, and implement maintenance tasks, training of maintenance crews, quality control, great computer knowledge, organized, with great communication skills. • Commercial Account Manager/New Business5+ years of experience, proven track record with sales of maintenance and snow contracts, follow up on sales leads, estimate, upsell of enhancements, manage a book of business, • Irrigation Technician - 5+ years of experience with all types of residential and commercial irrigations systems/controllers, Valid driver’s license, Bilingual a plus. If you are interested in joining our team please contact Brian Dolwick at briand@wingrenlandscape.com
Interested? Email ilt@iltvignocchi.com. No resume needed.
questions email/call at 630-293-1040.
HELP WANTED CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING also available on ILCA’s WEB SITE www.ilca.net Call for information (630) 472-2851
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES JAMES MARTIN ASSOCIATES, INC. Vernon Hills, IL & Boulder, CO
James Martin Associates, Inc. is a leader in the Landscape and Snow Management industry. We have been providing services to our customers for over 39 years. We are seeking candidates for the following positions:
Summer Interns
Landscape Operations Associates
Irrigation Technicians
To be considered for any of these opportunities, please forward your resume and salary history to b.mcelroy@jamesmartinassociates.com or call Beth at 847-876-8052.
Landscape Architecture • Construction • Maintenance • Snow Management
www.jamesmartinassociates.com
The Landscape Contractor April 2017
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Classified Ads HELP WANTED
HELP WANTED
HELP WANTED
Landscape Management Supervisor/Estimator Must have 3 - 5 years in the Landscape Industry
NATURE’S PERSPECTIVE LANDSCAPING -DESIGN ASSISTANT-
Landscape Designer - Landscape Design Assistant Landscape Foreman
We are a full service landscape company that is seeking an experienced individual in the landscape field who are highly motivated, self-starters, organized, and who possess excellent written and verbal communication skills. We are seeking someone who is: Loyal, Seeking long term employment, Committed to excellence, Excellent communication skills, Organized, Strong attention to detail, Ability to problem solve, Must be proficient in landscape maintenance methods/ equipment, Fluency in Spanish a plus, Good computer skills (window, word, excel), Mechanically inclined is helpful but not required. This is a year round position, including the following benefits: Competitive Salary, Health Benefits, Company Cell Phone, Commissions, and Paid Vacation Duties include but not limited to: • Generate new sales leads and perform landscape maintenance/snow plowing estimates • Schedule and manage multiple landscape maintenance crews/equipment • Perform quality control checks and track crew efficiency • Perform customer service duties such as handle complaints, speak with clients, client follow-up, and upsell on additional services. • Ordering of fertilizer/chemical & apply fertilizer to client’s lawn (if necessary) • Order irrigation parts & perform irrigation service and repair to client’s systems (if necessary) • Manage/Assist in snow plowing and de-icing operations with 24/7 availability. • Schedule and manage multiple landscape maintenance crews/equipment • Provide crew support (minor equipment repairs on-site if necessary to keep crews moving) Please call 708.301.8396 or email resume to jurban@straightlinelandscaping.net with cover sheet, salary history/requirements, and phone number to reach you to schedule interview Irrigation Foreman Premier is looking to add a seasoned Irrigation Foreman to our team. Applicants must have 10 or more years’ experience, and understanding of all systems, IA certified, proficient in residential and commercial installations and maintenance. Applicants must speak English and have a valid IL Driver’s License. Pay rate will range from $22 to $30 per hour based on experience. Benefits include health, dental, 401(k), vacation & sick days.
Join our well-established design, build and
maintenance company. For over 35 years, Nature’s
Perspective has been providing landscape services to
Chicago’s northern suburbs and Chicago’s north side. We offer a competitive salary and benefits package.
Candidate will assist in preparing landscape draw-
ings and proposals for client presentations as well as coordinate multiple landscape projects. Candidate
must be able to handle a wide range of responsibilities, have a good knowledge of plant and hardscape materials, demonstrate excellent computer skills including
Dynascape, Google SketchUp and Google Picasa, be detail oriented, organized, self-motivated with good
social skills. Please mail, or e-mail your resume to: NATURE’S PERSPECTIVE LANDSCAPING Attn: Paul Klitzkie 2000 Greenleaf St. Evanston, IL 60202 (847) 475-7917 E-mail: pklitzkie@naturesperspective.com Visit us at: www.naturesperspective.com JMR Landscaping -
Landscape Maintenance Supervisor Location: Libertyville, IL
Contact Chris Russo at (224) 423-9522 JMR is a full-service landscape company. Seeking an individual with 3-5 years of landscape maintenance and installation experience. Candidate should be highly motivated, organized and have excellent communication skills. This is a year-round position, and includes a competitive salary and company cell phone. Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to: • Scheduling/Managing the day-to-day activity of several maintenance crews • Monitoring of customer sites • Performing quality control checks and tracking crew efficiency • Identifying additional customer needs and selling when appropriate • Interacting with clients • Training maintenance workers • Managing/Assisting in snow plowing and salting
Please email resume to hr@premierservice.com
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The Landscape Contractor April 2017
Anne Roberts Gardens is synonymous with ornamental horticulture, sustainable innovative solutions and urban landscape design, build and maintain. We have the following open positions: Landscape Designer - Design, estimate and sell upscale urban landscapes and seasonal rotations for commercial/restaurant clients. Must be highly motivated sales person with creative landscape design experience. Landscape Design Assistant - Assist Senior Designer with making appointments, creating designs, estimating, preparing client presentations, checking plant available and various administrative tasks. Must be organized, detailed and enjoy multitasking. Great opportunity to learn urban design/horticulture from a creative seasoned designer. Landscape Foreman - Supervise crew members while working alongside them on construction projects, maintenance/ seasonal rotations. Ideal candidate will have the ability to motivate crew to work smart, maintain quality and ensure jobs stay on budget. Must have previous landscape supervisory experience. Email resume and salary requirements to: donna@annerobertsgardens.com Please indicate which position you are applying for. Brick Mason – Concrete Finisher A-1 Contractors, Inc. is looking for brick masons and concrete finishers. Must be able to read prints and build/finish jobs with minimal to no supervision. Must work well with a team. Looking for motivated, hard working individuals seeking advancement in the company. Foreman and laborer positions available. Must have valid drivers license. Spanish speaking is a plus. Full time positions available. Pay based on experience and skills. We have been in business for 28 years and our philosophy is customer satisfaction through the best built hardscape projects. Contact Dan Egan at degan824@gmail.com HELP WANTED CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING also available on ILCA’s WEB SITE www.ilca.net Call for information (630) 472-2851
HELP WANTED
HELP WANTED
Landscape Designer
Landscape Salesperson/Designer
Van Zelst, Inc. is recognized in the Chicagoland area as well as nationwide as a leader in a full range of landscape services. We perform all aspects of landscape development and management through a high level of quality experience and service. Our clients include high end private residences, commercial properties, foundations and multi-family developments. All require the uppermost level of customer service and project quality.
Van Zelst, Inc. is recognized in the Chicagoland area as well as nationwide as a leader in a full range of landscape services. We perform all aspects of landscape development and management through a high level of quality experience and service. Our clients range from high end private residences, commercial properties, foundations and multi-family developments that require the uppermost level of customer service and project quality.
Position Responsibilities A landscape Designer at Van Zelst, Inc. is a position encompassing several major components within a modestly sized office environment: Design and Site Analysis, Internal Project Management and General Company/Office Activities. These responsibilities and tasks are vital to promote the success of Van Zelst, Inc. and assist the Design Studio Operations Director, Lead Landscape Designer and our Client Representatives.
Position Responsibilities We have a full time position available for a Sales Representative who will be responsible for managing a collection of new client accounts. This position requires a strong work ethic, enjoy interacting with existing and prospect clients and oversee high quality projects. Other responsibilities include: • Developing relationships with homeowners, property managers, agents, etc. to promote property landscape improvements • Analyzing of client’s needs and interests and adapting and solving their challenges • Working with fellow employees to build and support a team organization • Ensuring that clients are completely satisfied through effective communication, relationship building and regular site visits • Promoting and securing enhancement projects and services in order to improve site conditions • Prepare landscape concept designs with other team members • Ensure that receivables are current and collections are performed effectively. • Maximize opportunities to drive sales and revenue • Communicate and develop sound professional relations with all internal staff and our subcontractors
Position Requirements • Bachelors degree in Landscape Architecture preferred. • Four years or more of on the job experience. • A solid understanding of landscape practices and the green industry with local knowledge and solid graphic skills. • Highly motivated with a strong work ethic and integrity. • Proficient with a wide range of computer software including AutoCad, Photoshop, Google Sketch-up, etc. • Skillful ability to prioritize job duties and multi-task in a fast paced environment. Van Zelst, Inc. personnel enjoy paid vacation, health benefits, a 401(k) plan and year around employment. We are dedicated to appointing and retaining the most proficient individuals in the landscape development and management industry. For more information about our company please visit www.vanzelst.com. Please send your resume and multiple project examples to Van Zelst, Inc. at info@vanzelst. com to be considered for this opportunity.
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•
Forester Downers Grove Park District has a Forester position open. Under general direction, is in charge of the District’s program of effective management of tree care, maintenance and conservation. The Forester directly supervises seasonal and part-time maintenance staff. For further details and to apply go to www.dgparks.org
• • •
Position Requirements Prefer Bachelors degree in Landscape Architecture, Horticulture, Landscape Development or Management, Plant Science, Environmental Design, business management or landscape related sales. A solid understanding of landscape practices and the green industry with local knowledge and contacts required. Highly motivated with a strong work ethic and integrity. Proficient with email correspondences and other basic computer software programs with Autocad proficiency a plus Skillful ability to prioritize job duties and multi-task in a fast paced environment.
The Landscape Contractor April 2017
HELP WANTED •
A keen ability to identify and resolve client issues and concerns.
Van Zelst, Inc. personnel enjoy paid vacation, health benefits, a 401(k) plan and year around employment. We are dedicated to appointing and retaining the most skilled and talented individuals in the landscape development and management industry. For more information about our company please visit www.vanzelst.com.
Please send your resume to Van Zelst, Inc at info@vanzelst.com to be considered for this opportunity Landscape Supervisor
Planter’s Palette Landscaping is seeking a full-time Landscape Supervisor. A successful candidate will direct through Project Management and supervision of installation/maintenance teams in collaboration with Design Supervisor. They will ensure that all team members work together for the success of the company by training and leading a team of professionals. An ideal candidate will meet the following requirements: • Experience and education managing a wide range of landscape installation & maintenance projects (advanced experience of hardscape a plus) • Excellent Customer Service and Management Skills • Ability to read landscape plans and good general knowledge of plants • Knowledge of estimation processes • General Computer Skills (Email, Microsoft Word & Excel) • Valid Driver’s License (w/ CDL preferred) Please send a cover letter and resume to Jay Holinger at jholinger@planterspalette.com or call 630-293-1040 CLASSIFIED ADS CLOSING DATES & RATES May 2017 issue ads: April 15, 2017 June 2017 issue ads: May 15, 2017 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 O’Connor (630) 472-2851
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Classified Ads Acres Group, one of the top 20 professional landscape contractors in the nation, is seeking qualified candidates for their open positions throughout the Chicagoland area: ACCOUNT MANAGERS (junior & senior levels) Opportunities in Roselle & Plainfield -Manage a portfolio of accounts in lawn and snow providing high levels of customer service; make horticultural recommendations & sell property enhancements in lawn and ice melt in snow; sell new contracted lawn & snow accounts. Entry level positions manage a small portfolio of accounts in addition to assisting and shadowing senior level account managers. * FOREMAN to lead our Turf/Plant Healthcare Crew out of our Plainfield, IL location. As one of the largest independent landscape contractors in Northern Illinois, We are now seeking an individual to lead a group of five employees in our Turf and Plant Healthcare Division. Come join our team! Join our industry leading team! To view full job descriptions and apply online, visit us at www. acresgroup.com or contact Maria@ 847-487-5071.
Landscape Architect/Designer Salesperson: Thornapple Landscapes, Inc. is seeking a highly motivated experienced Landscape professional to design, estimate & sell landscape installations. Design and sales experience, computer skills & strong plant/ hardscape knowledge is a must. This position has the potential to be full time based on work performance. Bi-lingual+ Send confidential resumes to: Office@ThornappleLandscapes.com
DESIGN SERVICE Need design work for your clients but not ready to add a design professional to your staff? D.T. Design provides experienced quality design and style versatility for your client needs. Offering knowledgeable expertise for: Hardscapes, highly ornamental or native /sustainable planting plans and perennial gardens. Documentation services such as bid sheets, material take – offs and plant sourcing available. Dynascape rendered plans on bond /mylar. Please contact Deirdre at 847-338-2963 or email: detoner@live.com Website: www.dt-landscapedesign.com
CLASSIFIED ADS CLOSING DATES & RATES May 2017 issue ads: April 15, 2017 June 2017 issue ads: May 15, 2017 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 O’Connor (630) 472-2851
Successful suppliers know— industry leaders read this magazine.
• Sales and marketing statistics show that the single best way to reach buyers is through highlytargeted specialty magazines.
• This award-winning magazine is frequently hailed as the best magazine of its kind. Put your ad message in this very flattering environment.
• The Landscape Contractor has an affordable advertising program for every budget.
For immediate attention CALL Debbie at 817-501-2403 or email — debbie.landscapecontractor@yahoo.com 68
The Landscape Contractor April 2017
Advertisers 1st Choice Equipment ............................................46 A. Block Marketing .................................................17 Bartlett Tree Experts .............................................49 Beaver Creek Nursery ..........................................45 Cardno ...................................................................55 Carlin Sales...............................................................6 Cassidy Tire ............................................................51 Central Sod Farms ...................................................18 Chicagoland Gardening .........................................69 Clesen Wholesale ...................................................49 Compost Supply ....................................................31 Contree Sprayer & Equipment ................................61 Dayton Bag & Burlap ............................................33 Doty Nurseries LLC ................................................4 Fairview Evergreen Nurseries ................................52 Fiore Nursery and Landscape Supply .......................53 Goodmark Nurseries ...............................................27 Green Glen Nursery ...............................................71 GROHort ...............................................................47 B. Haney & Sons, Inc. ............................................52 Hinsdale Nurseries, Inc. ......................................54 Homer Industries ....................................................59 James Martin Associates .........................................65 JKS Ventures ..........................................................55
Attention Landscape Contractors:
Kramer Tree Specialists ..........................................30 Lafarge Fox River Stone ........................................57 Longshadow Planters .............................................13 McGinty Bros. ........................................................60
Remember to Support ILCA Supporters!
Midwest Groundcovers ...........................................12
These include:
Midwest Trading ......................................................2 ProAp ....................................................................23 ProGreen Plus ..........................................................6 Rainbow Farms ......................................................50 Rentalmax ..............................................................47 Rocks Etc. .............................................................21 Russo Power Equipment .........................................15 RWC Insurance ......................................................33 Snowfighters Institute ............................................48 Spring Meadow Nursery ........................................29 Stockyards Brick Co. ..............................................11 The Care of Trees .................................................... 6 The Mulch Center ...................................................54 Unilock, Inc. ...........................................................72
• Members & Advertisers who supply goods and services • Members who sponsor ILCA programs and events
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
Wilson Nurseries, Inc. ............................................32 Xylem, Inc..............................................................21
The Landscape Contractor April 2017
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Knowing Native Plants
Native Intelligence A Guide through the Labyrinth of Native Plants and Cultivars
by Nina Koziol
Liatris pychnostachya — Prairie Blazingstar
In the Midwest,
where winter temperatures can dip to -20 F and summers can produce endless heat and periods of drought, plants must be well-adapted to survive let alone thrive. Native plants — the flowers, grasses, shrubs and trees that grew in geographical regions prior to European settlement — do just that. Many are found growing in forest preserves, open spaces, the dunes and prairies. Evolving over tens of thousands of years, Midwestern native plants have adapted to the harshest winters, they tolerate droughts, and typically prosper in local soils. Once they’re established, natives typically need less supplemental water than other garden plants. Jason Fritz of Cardno will anchor the Native Intelligence series for the next five months.
Liatris pychnostachya — Prairie Blazingstar
“It’s a big attractor for butterflies and bees with its long showy spikes. Most people are familiar with Liatris ‘Kobold,’ but the 4’ spike on this one has individual buttons of purple flowers. It needs a bit of support so plant it adjacent to grasses.” Several bees, moths and butterflies--monarchs, fritillaries, painted ladies, swallowtails, skippers and sulphurs--visit the flowers for nectar.
Cultivate: • • •
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Plant in: Full sun and dry to medium soils Height: 2-4’ Partners: Swamp milkweed, coneflowers, butterfly milkweed, grasses.
The Landscape Contractor April 2017
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