dig in

Tree vs. Architecture

2009-01-29T16:16:00.001-06:00

Secret Path

2009-01-29T16:11:00.002-06:00

Autumn in the Suburbs

2009-01-29T16:08:00.001-06:00

Details

2009-01-29T16:06:00.001-06:00

highrise

2009-01-29T16:04:00.002-06:00

before and after...

2008-06-24T10:02:00.002-05:00

Midwest Modern

2008-06-24T09:49:00.001-05:00

Proportion and scale...

2008-01-16T12:58:00.001-06:00

These design elements can make or break any landscape scheme. Relating house to landscape to client is a balancing act of great importance, but with a calm eye and innovative spirit, this grand goal is happily achievable. Who doesn't love a challenge, after all?

transformation

2008-01-16T12:48:00.001-06:00

Out with old......

....and in with the new!

Giving

2007-11-01T17:13:00.000-05:00

In the landscape world, we gardeners and designers seem to be a sort of professional giver...that is, giving our creativity, our passion, our energy, and our knowledge. Of course we are reimbursed for these gifts on a monetary level, but sometimes, when the designer-client relationship is a happy one, we are reimbursed with gratefulness and joy. And this is so much more about why I love what I do.

Well, I'm excited to report that I have a side project designed specifically with giving in mind...it's still in the works, but it's one that will help me--with your generosity--to donate more to my company's annual charitable contribution. With the help of a friend, I am excited to be offering Dirt organic soy candles in their Nitty Gritty Scent..."This herbal organic delight contains organic soil, ripe tomatoes, fresh Mediterranean sage and a hint of Malabar grass and celery seed, creating a unique combination down to the the nitty gritty dirt." Appropo, don't you think? I'll be selling each one for $35 with all proceeds going towards bolstering the monetary donation to the charity I choose. For those unaware, the last 3 years or so have seen my company supporting various local, grass roots, charitable organizations whose focus lies in land or natural resource preservation. Some of the recepients in the past have been Garfield Farm and Chicagoland Wilderness. This year's candidate is likely to be the Land Conservancy of Lake County.

If you're interested in getting involved with my big idea and you'd like to order a candle (the holidays are coming!!!), please send me an email and let me know how many you'd like. Shipping and postage is included in the price, and orders will go out at the beginning of December. It's an easy and effective way to get more involved! Thanks!

Framing

2007-10-25T11:53:00.000-05:00

What I do...

2007-04-08T12:03:00.000-05:00

I find inspiration every day in the natural world we live in: frost clinging to leaves in the pre-dawn haze; the bravery of tulips as they push through the cold spring soil to reach the warming sun. The natural cycle of birth-life-death as we experience our growing seasons. It takes vision and a great sensitivity to client and site to create gardens that are lasting compositions of light and shadow, color and texture. I believe that a thoughtfully designed garden can change the relationship our clients have with their home and landscape, and I strive to create living environments that are in harmony with the existing ecology of the landscape. Above all, the landscape scheme must meet the needs and expectations of the client while highlighting the beauty of the plants and the thoughtfulness of the design.

volcanic

2007-03-08T20:49:00.000-06:00

Visiting a place like Kaua'i, Hawai'i certainly puts things in perspective for those open enough to receive some world wisdom. The sheer magic of a place that exists because it bubbled and oozed up out of the ocean...at first barren and naked, then slowly receiving the components necessary for life of any kind. The first grain of soil, the first seed sprouting the first bit of green, the first insect which would ultimately feed the first bird...and so on. All the things that we take for granted everyday are amplified here, and so, more sacred. And yet surprisingly, an idea that would make the most sense anywhere--let alone on a chunk of land surrounded by thousands of miles of salty blue ocean--is new and controversial and even unknown. The idea of sustainability. If there is anywhere on the globe I've had a chance to visit which has made me cherish the earth beneath my feet, it is Hawai'i. Thankfully the people of these islands are cautiously trying to overcome their aversion to change...acting now so that future generations will see an island not overrun with landfills and polluted waters, but one where the incredible mountains, rivers and ocean wildlife will be protected and revered for what they are...ecologically and globally priceless.

Creation

2007-01-26T08:12:00.000-06:00

So much of design is about line and shape, mass and void, it can be easy to forget that the other components harmonizing with curve, angle, and tangent must also be deeply considered. Plants are beautiful and seductive by their very nature, so it is too easy to skew things the other direction as well: that is, designing around plants. So what's the answer, then, if each aspect depends so much on every other? A considerate designer gathers all their knowledge --be it of tree or stone, circle or square -- and bundles it into a kind of story. With skill, insight and imagination, we designers weave tales of beauty, transition, birth, death, and shadow in the landscape. We give those who are thoughtful enough to create a garden endless possibilities to be inspired by the magic of nature and light and growth.

sweetness

2006-12-12T21:07:00.000-06:00

present

2006-11-08T10:39:00.000-06:00

This evening I'm attending a lecture at the Chicago Botanic Garden entitled Defiant Gardens: Making Gardens in Wartime. Given the polarizing nature of politics in general, and certainly now when things are so uncertain around the world, I can't think of a topic more prescient to the landscape industry today. How lucky are we American designers and gardeners to be members of our world community? We have the divine luxury of seeing all the strife in the world and trying to weave a beautiful web from tangled strands of social consciousness. Gardens are defiant in many ways: the very essence of creating a garden means one is defying (or attempting to defy!) nature and taming the wild landscapes around us...urban or agrestic. But especially now, creating gardens means not giving in to the melancholy that can easily grip us in the midst of so much unrest, so much aggression and deceit, so much unnecessary killing and dying. I can't remember who, but someone once said, "Who plants a garden plants hope." I like very much being in a position of such selfless giving, as one who shares the love of life and the green, living things in it. To find out how you can plant hope, visit http://www.greenbeltmovement.org/index.php

harvest

2006-10-31T08:25:00.000-06:00

falling

2006-10-23T15:47:00.000-05:00

landscape II

2006-10-06T15:11:00.000-05:00

landscape I

2006-10-05T08:34:00.000-05:00

Our internal image of landscape travels with us wherever we go: the feelings evoked by places and memories we've gathered along our life's journey...these are the things that shape our view of the world. How we see beauty, where we find it: all is connected via the neuronal pathways etched early in our developing minds. For some, wild and wide open spaces equal thoughts and feelings of freedom and possibility. Others embrace the frenetic fields of city spread, the spinning energy feeding into everday goings and doings. Regardless of the source, landscape always reflects back at us, fueling our creativity, driving our momentum.

high

2006-10-03T08:15:00.000-05:00

Life has been exciting and full lately: from learning how to shimmy up a tree (41 vertical feet so far and counting!) to exploring new projects and new partnerships with friends and colleagues. I'm thrilled by it all! Perhaps part of me embracing life at the moment comes from my tendency to embrace change...perhaps even seeking it out sometimes. I make a living out of creating change in fact: as a designer, I'm transforming the land into any number of things: a destination, a refuge, a place for joy and delight. Whatever fantasy a person seeks, that's what I try to achieve with line and shape, plant and flower. We all search for that perfect balance of what we see in our mind and what we can create in our living environment. Sometimes reaching that equilibrium means taking some initial wobbly steps. Sometimes failure slows you down. Ultimately , though, growth comes in again like spring: warmly anticipated, sweet, and full of hope.

Inspiration

2006-08-04T07:44:00.000-05:00

green screen

2006-07-25T19:58:00.000-05:00

suburban prairie

2006-07-25T09:45:00.000-05:00

blue + green

2006-07-14T07:32:00.000-05:00