Maintenance
A garden includes everything in it.
It has been said that a garden is only as good as it is maintained. Every garden, no matter how formal or informal requires some degree of maintenance. Whether once per year or once per month, whether clipped hedges or a loose meadow, whatever the style or framework, a garden is a created, living environment. It grows and shifts and is subject to elements and variables that we must work with in concert in order to keep the original vision in balance. Sometimes even the slightest bit of effort or ‘editing’— defining an edge, cutting back spent blooms, cleaning a path… can leave an entire garden feeling renewed.
‘Reading’ a site while performing maintenance allows us to make informed choices and choose best practices to support diversity and keep everything in the garden healthy.
Several of the gardens we maintain and many featured here, were designed and built by Ron Peters and Deb Orris. During their 30 year career they built, by hand, dozens of stunning gardens in Cook County. I am honored to have the opportunity to work on them thereby preserving these beautiful works of art.