The Pros at Home

Nina A. Koziol

When I first met Bob and RobbiHursthousein their Naperville garden 15 years ago, I was struck by the landscape behind their split-level house. I felt like I was in the Northwoods. Evergreens, a pond, a small outdoor kitchen, the tree house their son Scott used when he was little…it was the most peaceful, simple garden I’d ever stood in and it didn’t feel like the suburbs at all.

I told Bob I had expected to see great big beds of perennials and that’s when he laughed and said, “The last thing I want to do when I get home from work is deadhead daylilies.” I’d taken design classes with Bob at The Morton Arboretum and then it clicked. Bob designed his garden the same way he does for his clients — based on how his family intended to use the space. Being avid outdoor lovers (Bob and Robbi have travelled to the Apostle Islands for decades, camping and kayaking) that garden was their staycation — one where they could relax and enjoy their privacy.

But when they were moving eight years ago to Newark, Illinois, their neighbors asked, “What will you do out there?” When not working long hours, there’s no shortage of things to do on the 1.2acre property, which is near the Fox River and the Kendall County Forest Preserve.

“We didn’t do a typical downsize — we went the other way,” says Bob, past president of ILCA and a landscape architect who co-founded the landscape firm Hursthouse with Robbi in 1990. His office is in Bolingbrook and he has clients throughout the greater Chicago metropolitan area. (continued on page 20)

(continued from page 18)

“We’re in a subdivision, but it’s in a rural area and very pastoral. We’ve tried to create a gracious space with places to go.” And he hit a home run.

Venerable hackberries, hickories and 22 giant oaks grace the property. One of the oaks with a 48-inch diameter trunk is estimated to be about 300 years old. “It was originally prairie, then farmed over the years,” Bob says.

Since moving into their Craftsman-style home, they’ve added an 8,000-square-foot prairie, installed bluebird nesting boxes, and replaced a skinny front walk with an elegant bluestone path and a water feature that aligns with the front door.

Invasive plants were removed and they’ve added several native trees including witch hazel, serviceberry, Chinquapin oak, black tupelo and sassafras. “The whole garden is an oasis— I love it,” says Robbi, a retired Garden Play Specialist in the horticultural therapy program at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. She is Vice President of Culture at Hursthouse.

The couple’s favorite spot is the patio and fenced back yard, where their dogs can run. A giant orange tree, which Bob has nurtured since high school, spends the summer there. “We look into the woods from the patio,” Bob says. But his other favorite spot is his office upstairs. “It’s my man attic with a 15- by 6-foot (continued on page 22)

Miss Kim Lilac Spirea Tor

Annabelle Hydrangea PJM Elite Rhododendron

Green Gem Boxwood

FairviewEvergreen.com 7463 West Ridge Rd. P.O. Box 189 Fairview, PA 16415 800.458.2234 e-mail: info@FairviewEvergreen.com

The sugar kettle fountain speaks to Robbi’s birth place, Baton Rouge, LA, and the couple’s many trips to New Orleans.

(continued from page 20) balcony with teak steamer chairs. It’s up away from mosquitoes and looks onto a canopy of a big hackberry tree and oaks. It’s a wonderful spot every day of the year.”

Marrying the House and Garden

“Architecture is really important,” Bob says. “The landscape should be respectful of the home’s architecture.” His award-winning firm has built distinctive gardens for more than 30 years. Many of his projects are formal, exquisite and very sophisticated, but his personal style is more laid back. “Robbi and I like things that are soft, natural and free flowing.”

“The first thing we did here was organize the space,” Bob says. They (continued on page 24)

We specialize in working with LCO’s to maximize your profitability while helping provide your clientele with excellent turf conditions ///

Work with our team of experts to develop treatment options for healthy trees ///

Your one stop shop for the most diverse selection of landscape and lawn care specific products ///

Rock Salt & Ice Melter where and when you need it. You can count on us from the first snowfall to the last of the season ///

635 Margate Drive Lincolnshire, IL 60069 (847) 537-2177

13125 Washington Drive Germantown, WI 53022 (262) 703-0032

South Chicago 9710 W. 194th St Mokena, IL 60448 (708) 444-2177

(continued from page 22) clad the porch in bluestone and opened up the walkway to make it more spacious. “We put paths in the woods for destinations and a fire ring to watch the stars.”

Ditch the Lawn, Plant a Prairie

“With the right planning, we can make a site work to an advantage,” Bob says. A drainage ditch by their mailbox is an example of turning lemons into lemonade. From the high point on the front lawn, there’s a nine-foot drop to the ditch and then a four-foot rise up to the street. “The first time I mowed, it was fun,” Bob says. “The second time was exercise, and the third time was just plain work.” Erosion, standing water, and different types of soil layers throughout made for an interesting project.

The ditch was transformed into a butterfly buffet with a colorful array of native plants and grasses that return each year with minimal maintenance. Coneflowers, blazing stars, black-eyed Susans, butterfly weed, swamp milkweed, penstemon, compass plant, tall sunflowers, mountain mint and many others were chosen for their ability to withstand the formidable conditions. The drifts of flowers attract many pollinators. “I really like the wildlife in that garden now—we have monarch butterflies galore,” Robbi says.

“Robbi and I have been concerned about the dramatic decline in monarch butterfly populations for some time,” Bob said. “That’s why we created our prairie garden—to provide them with the plants they need to survive. These beautiful creatures visit our garden from late May through autumn when they begin their incredible migration. Our prairie garden is certified as a Monarch Waystation--a garden that provides specific plants, such as milkweed. Monarchs rely solely on milkweed to reproduce. A Monarch Waystation sign faces our road so people can read about the habitat we’ve created.”

Some of Robbi’s favorite plants are butterfly weed with its bright orange (continued on page 26) A butterfly buffet of native perennials.

(continued from page 24) flowers and the black-eyed Susans. Both plants attract scores of butterflies such as swallowtails, monarchs, skippers and others. Leadplant, prairie coreopsis, bee balm and purple prairie clover add drifts of color with their purple, violet, pink and yellow flowers.

Plants are left standing until spring when they are mowed. The dried seed heads and stalks are eye-catching in winter and feed many birds. “We put lawn chairs by the driveway in summer just to watch the butterflies floating over our heads back and forth,” Robbi says. “It’s better than watching t.v.”

See some of Hursthouse’s elegant design projects at www. hursthouse.com

Here are a few of Bob’s Design Philosophies

Earth. Fire. Wind. Water. Our ancestors were fascinated by those elements and they continue to captivate us in gardens today. Water is often an overlooked feature for residential gardens, but the sound of trickling or cascading water can be very relaxing. It can also mask some of the street noise in urban areas. “It can be a challenge to do a pond that looks like it really belongs on your property. A well-designed pond should look like it was always there, not like it was an afterthought.”

Marry It

“For every decision the client or designer makes about hardscape, there’s a pro and con,” Bob says. One thing that is often overlooked is the home’s architectural style. “I think about building material for the front and I always want to use the nicest material that the client chooses to afford. When you look at all the ILCA gold award winners, they’ve all figured that out.”

Light It Up

Vertical garden elements benefit from lighting at night. Fountains or trees lit from below cast fascinating shadows (continued on page 28)

(continued from page 26) throughout the year. “Some of the most dramatic lighting comes from these vertical elements. We’ll place light at the ground so it grazes the face of the element whether it’s a wall, a fence or tree. You’ve got darks and lights and texture of the feature itself at night. It makes for a fascinating landscape.”

Complement the Architecture

For most projects, the Hursthouse design team creates custom features with specific details to complement the architecture. The design team may create a wall as the vertical element. Hursthouse designers will look at the house to determine the material palette. If stone is used on the house, the construction team may build a stone wall. The same goes for brick. In some instances, they may choose a metal fence that allows a view between the posts rather than a solid wall.

It’s All About the View

“When we design a landscape, we consider all the scenery that can be highlighted so the homeowner can enjoy it while in the garden as well as from inside the home. It could be a view to a fountain, an ornamental tree or flowering shrubs.”

All work and no play? Not here. When Bob and Robbi started the business, they chose a five-day work week for their team. “We try to make sure everyone has time to recharge, and we look for ways to help each other grow. When you focus on people’s unique abilities, you really see them flourish.”