The steady green-up of the Chicago landscape has begun! Our team is gearing up to begin garden cleanups and to take care of your landscape, and Spring pruning is just around the corner. We hope you will have had a refreshing Spring break, returning eager to enjoy the garden’s rebirth. While dark winter days in the greenhouse have slowed the flowers’ progress some, the Spring crops are beginning to peak and will be ready just in time for bright, colorful display. And, as we are only a couple of weeks from planting Spring Seasonal Displays, please let us know if there’s something unique you’d like to see this year, if you have not done so already. We are looking forward to seeing you again in the coming weeks ahead!

Grass

Certainly, the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence. Though, the grass that gets full sun, adequate water, and good air circulation is reliably greener. In the urban landscape where these environmental demands often go unrealized, turf grasses struggle to thrive. An alternative to turf is a diverse realm of hearty groundcover plants. One such low-profile plant Liriope spicata (Creeping Lilyturf), bears a similar resemblance to turf while also allowing the landscape a similar expansive feel. And while it cannot withstand the foot traffic of turf grass, it requires less maintenance and provides a showy flower in late Summer. Where turf grasses are cherished but perhaps impractical, ornamental varieties abound to satisfy a number of uses and tastes.

At Last!

We won’t hold our breath, but reports promise consecutive days of full-spectrum sunshine! Let’s hope winter’s dark days are behind us for another year and that we can once again embrace the emerging Chicago landscape. While none of us would advise betting against that late April snowstorm, persistent Spring shall prevail. And, assuming a fluke storm doesn’t strike this weekend, we are eager to go and will be out in full-force next week. Please let us know what we might do to help you savor your gardens this year; and, as always, thanks for having us! Enjoy!