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Tag: Four Season Landscape
There are 12 months in a year – and your landscape design can offer something to enjoy for every single one of them. Here’s how.
Orange Tree Studio: Preparing to Host an Event
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The 5 Rules of Fabulous Landscape Design
Rule 1: Continuity is Key. Your new landscape should tie into your house seamlessly – after all, they’re both part of the same home. But tying into your house does not mean matching it exactly. “Too little continuity is called ‘chaos,’” Bob Hursthouse says, “but too much is called ‘monotony’.” To walk a line between […]
Spring at Last
Spring has taken its time arriving this year. Nature has gifted us with snow, sleet, rain and high winds, followed by mild temperatures, and then a plunging thermometer. It’s been the coldest April in the Chicago area since 1881. As Mark Twain once put it, “In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six […]
Snowballs in Summer: Meet the Hydrangeas
If there was a beauty contest for flowering shrubs, surely the hydrangea would come in first place. In recent years, many new hydrangeas have appeared in garden centers. Breeders have been busy developing and introducing new varieties, especially those of the “panicle” hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata). They are named for their upright cone-shaped flowers. Panicle hydrangeas make […]
The Late, Late Show: Plants with Great Fall Color
Spring and summer flowers provide colorful combinations, but once fall arrives there’s fabulous foliage to enjoy. Bright, sunny days and cool nights produce some of the most brilliant reds, oranges and purples. Many gardens are in their fall glory right now. They can offer something we seldom find in spring: a wealth of interesting berries […]
Hummingbirds Are Here!
The cool nights in early September remind me that summer is slowly giving way to fall. Right now, our gardens are experiencing some incredible visitors. Monarch butterflies are floating overhead and popping in for a drink. They spend time at late-season flowers like zinnias, lantana and other annuals and perennials because they need plenty of […]
It’s Not Too Early to Think Spring and Landscaping!
Deep into the throes of winter, most of us long for spring. At Hursthouse, we for sure want you thinking spring long before it’s sprung. If you’re considering having us do some landscape work for you, the time to talk is sooner than you think. Winter is a great time for the planning phase to […]