Is your landscape design environmentally friendly? That’s a complicated question, and environmentally conscious landscape planning is an ever-evolving study. But there are a few choices you can make right now that will have a positive impact. As a landscape architect, it’s a given that I love and celebrate the natural world and want to do […]
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Who doesn’t love an outdoor party during summer? A well-designed garden can be the perfect space to host a celebration, whether it’s a wedding, a family reunion or a casual get-together with friends and neighbors. A garden should feel comfortable and be safe to use not only during the day, but at night since many […]
Summer is just around the corner and it’s time to get the garden ready for dining alfresco and entertaining outdoors. Patios, decks and other outdoor spaces often function like a living room, dining room or a kitchen. There’s seating, lighting, accessories, music and maybe a flat-screen TV. Outdoor kitchens have become sought-after additions to patios. […]
Trends come and go. And like the ever-changing styles of cars and clothes, ideas about what makes for great garden design and good plants have drastically changed over the past few decades. What was fashionable 25 to 30 years ago often looks dated and in need of renovation. Plant breeders have created better trees and […]
Spring is upon us. Flower buds have formed on the maple trees and their leaves will soon unfold. Spring wildflowers—trillium, mayapples and spring beauties—will blanket the ground in our local woodlands. And thousands of beautiful songbirds are migrating throughout the Midwest right now. It’s a magical time of year. It’s also a good time to […]
Most home landscapes in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs are on relatively flat surfaces. In this part of the Midwest, we typically don’t see steep rolling hills, but occasionally we come across projects that have slopes. It could be a drainage ditch with sloping sides. A house may be built on a lot that pitches […]
Now that holiday parties and get-togethers are finished, our team likes to brainstorm various ways to create outdoor spaces that make entertaining comfortable and fun. Perhaps you attended an event where you’re bumping elbows and edging around guests while you try to get to the appetizers or the dining table. In other situations, you may have […]
Your landscape needs to last. Which means, when you’re working with your landscape architect to plan your new yard, “trends” may or may not serve you well. You want a landscape design you will still love in a few years (remember mullets?), and you also want an idea or feature whose downsides or flaws have […]
There are two landscape architects and two landscape designers on the Hursthouse design team, each with our own personal style and unique landscape training. And yet – there’s a certain approach that seems to define every Hursthouse project, no matter whose desk it’s on. What are elements that set Hursthouse design apart? When we’re starting a […]
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If you’ve been planning and dreaming about a new landscape for a long time, there are few things more exciting than actually signing off on your Final Landscape Design and moving into the construction process. You’re literally about to watch your vision become reality. So what’s landscape construction like? The process is often both more difficult […]