In Fran Sorin’s March 4, 2009 post ‘Favorite Seed and Plant Mail Order Sources: From our GGW Contributors’ Steve Silk and I both mentioned Cottage Garden in southwestern Illinois as a ‘favorite’ mail order resource for their vast range of unique plants. Fortunately, I live about 45 minutes from Cottage Garden. My visits there are always [...]
As I have addressed in previous posts, much of the attention my corporate design work (e.g. Gardens at the Bank of Springfield) receives can be attributed to my use of tropicals in the mixed border. It is unexpected to see lush tropical foliage flourishing in central Illinois. This season I have installed a truly subtropical [...]
This winter I finalized a 10,000 square foot design for clients who reside in a rural setting in central Illinois. Their recently renovated Prairie Style home has lovely views of nearby timber and a vast meadow. The site and home lend themselves to a more naturalistic garden. Coneflowers (Echinacea spp.) are in abundance in the [...]
[Note from Adam: Susan Mahr, Outreach Specialist and Master Gardener with the University of Wisconsin-Madison wrote a piece on The Gardens at Ball, filled with wonderful photos and detailed information. Certain content in this post has been paraphrased.] For the past several years, one of the highlights of my summer has been visiting the grounds of [...]