Last post, I showed the start of a wildlife friendly garden design and selected a Swamp White Oak tree to anchor it. That tree was chosen due to the high value it provides to wildlife and due to its high carbon sequestration rates. Now we are going to add some additional trees and shrubs to make the planting an even more wildlife friendly garden. Picking Two Smaller Trees First, let's pick the evergreen tree. In Northern Illinois, there are very few native evergreen trees. Eastern red cedar … [Read more...]
Landscaping for your grandchildren
Your idea of landscaping for your grandchildren probably includes having a play and lawn area for running around and sports, as well as the usual goals of having a beautiful and low maintenance landscape. Those goals are no longer enough....not if you care about what your grandchildren will be inheriting. We are borrowing the land from future generations, even that yard you think is yours and yours alone, so you are indeed landscaping for your grandchildren whether you think about it or … [Read more...]
Pollinator Garden Plan with Plant Descriptions
Today lets look at a pollinator garden plan I put together. This is decent sized garden approximately 12' wide by 8' deep in the form of an oval. It is for an area with medium to drier soil moisture that gets over 6 hours of sun. We will be using Prairie plants that are especially attractive to pollinators for our planting palette. … [Read more...]
Rain Garden for a Sunny Site
It's June and its raining (again). Perhaps you have water in your basement, a washed out hillside, or just some soggy areas where your grass keeps getting killed. In any case, even if it is not flooding, rain can be a problem. Read on to find out how a rain garden might help. … [Read more...]
Backyard with a Prairie and a Pond Part 2
Last post, I started a backyard landscape design with a Prairie and a Pond. Today, we finish it by adding shrubs, perennials and accessories. … [Read more...]
Ecological Landscape Design with a Prairie and a Pond Part 1
Today, we start a backyard Ecological Landscape Design with a theme, a prairie and pond. This should be fun, as we are going to put together a design with a strong form and a lot of plants. This design would provide a ton of ecological value compared to the existing lawn that is currently at this site. Not only will the backyard have a small prairie, but we will retain a large portion of lawn as this family has kids and wants a large play area. … [Read more...]
A (mostly) Native Perennial Plug Planting Twelve Months Later
Last year, I posted about a new perennial plug planting I did in June of 2016. In that post, Planting Plugs is a Cheap and Easy Way to Plant a Landscape, I showed how a 300 sq ft perennial bed could be prepared and planted using less work and money. … [Read more...]
Trees for an Ecological Backyard
Happy New Year. Let's all have a great 2017 and say good riddance to 2016! But before I can do that, I am going to explain the trees I selected for the Ecological Backyard Design I showed in November. If you remember, I left off explaining the evergreens I used in the design. … [Read more...]
Ecological Backyard Landscape Design
In today's post, we will look at a backyard landscape designed to do two things. First and foremost, it will look great in each of the four seasons. Secondly, it will benefit the environment instead of being a burden on it that most landscape designs end up being. … [Read more...]
Naturalistic Front Yard landscape design
Let's use some of the big ideas I have talked about in other posts to make a Naturalistic Front Yard landscape design. I have done front yard designs before, including one last year for my old little neglected ranch house. While I did mix it up a bit with some more interesting plant choices than the typical landscaper might use (no spireas in that design thank goodness), I admit it is still pretty shall we say "landscapy". … [Read more...]