She stood slender and tall, majestic and noble, clad in her sapphire gown of petals and glittering diamonds of dew.  She was, at once, royal and proud, yet demure and gracious.  Posturing amidst the wind and rain.  A beacon of loveliness and tenacity.  A sign of Summer’s emergence. This weekend we’ll be celebrating Memorial…

  With Mother’s Day just behind us, our “safe” planting date has finally arrived!  This generally marks the beginning of warming temperatures, which in turn means my outside exposure gradually begins to decrease as temperatures and humidity rise.  When I do find myself outside, I tend to seek out the…

With May’s prudence and seeming benevolence, we will finally be able to exhale as warming temperatures mean we can soon begin to plant.  May, after all, means Mother’s Day, and Mother’s Day means flowers, so what better way to honor Mom than with native plants and flowers that are as…

The sun dappled and danced upon the lawn as it beamed through the lush, albeit nascent canopy.  Although temperatures have been mostly mild, the sun is still a major factor in our yards and gardens, even if we don’t always feel her warmth.  In fact, it is the most essential…

  April has brought tumultuous weather –  from the sweet taste of Summer to the tannins of a lingering Winter.  All of this drama is part of the beauty of an awakening landscape.  It’s Spring in the Midwest, folks, and there’s lots to celebrate. It’s no coincidence that we celebrated…

The water was utterly still, glass-like, and the deepening sky reflected off its surface as the fog rose slowly and tumbled towards the shore. The water made not a sound as the wind fizzled to a whisper, and the lake and the sky and the shore seemed as one, devoid…

Late March’s landscape was celebratory with sweet, blooming treats, from the tufts of cotton candy blooms and spun sugar strands of the Pear and Red Bud to the swaths of candy dots of the blue Vinca and Squill.  Easter is upon is.  A sure and positive sign we were on…

  The weather teetered between lovely and tumultuous as if someone, unknowingly, kept leaning against the light switch.  In a moment, a lovely Spring day became a stormy Winter day, and back and forth it went.  Nature’s apparent confusion would not sully the efforts of a landscape ready to burst…

The sweeping sky reflected in a small Spring puddle collected in a hole in the asphalt.  For a moment, it held the heavens, and the ordinary became extraordinary.  Enchanting nature was again beckoning us outdoors into her captivating and therapeutic realm. Spending time in green spaces has been proven to…

  The once lethargic and hushed landscape became frenetic and boisterous with the jubilant sound of chirping and twittering birds who seemed to have a season’s worth of gossip to share. The squirrels too descended in mass from the trees to forage and romp. The landscape had come alive and…

  Spring ephemerals burst forth from the thawing ground as swelling buds adorned the trees. Whether March comes in like a lion or a lamb seems insignificant now, as Spring is well on her way. Along with Spring Clean Ups and Lawn Renovations, we must turn our attention to one…

Like a receding glacier, Winter began to wither and melt, leaving behind a scarred and battered landscape.  Its tenuous grasp was loosening, and its legacy becoming more apparent, but March would surely deliver us unto Spring. Spring officially arrives March 19th, and Winter will be nothing more than a distant,…