The Landscape Contractor magazine JAN.24 DIGITAL EDITION

James Martin ILCA’s Person of the Year

Home Nursery ILCA’s Distinguished Supplier

JAN 31 - FEB 2, 2024

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January 2024

CONTENTS Excellence In Landscape Awards Project

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FOCUS: ILCA Awards and Honors ILCA Person of the Year — Jim Martin Long time ILCA supporter and philanthropist

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Distinguished Supplier Award 12 Home Nursery, Albers, Illinois

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Special Recognition Award 14 Debbie McGuire, Volunteer Extraordinaire 2023 ILCA Scholarship Winners

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iLandscape 2024 — Mardi Gras Preview Let the Good Times Roll

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Making Magic 24 The planters of Michigan Avenue iLandscape 2024 Education Preview 31 Preshow Conference begins Jan. 30

EN ESPAÑOL

iLandscape 2024 Vista previa de educación iLandscape 2024 Education Preview

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The Pros at Home 48 A visit with Liz Paine

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Member Profile 56 Home Pride Landscape Before You Go Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’ for a Gnarly Winter

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On the cover... Mariani Landscape won a 2023 Gold Award for this project titled Native Oasis.

The Landscape Contractor January 2024

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CONTENTS

DEPARTMENTS ILCA Calendar From Where I Stand President’s Message Classified Ads Advertisers Index Photo Credits

ILCA Awards Committee ILCA Pamela Self Liz Paine Home Pride Landscape Mark Dwyer

JANUARY 4 5 7 58 61

1, 8-9 10-16 24-28, 48-52 56-57 62

InVigorateU January 16-17, 2024 DoubleTree by Hilton Bloomington, IL

The official publication of the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association (ILCA), The Landscape Contractor is dedicated to educating, advising and informing members of this industry and furthering the goals of the Association. The Landscape Contractor carries news and features relating to landscape contracting, maintenance, design and allied interests. Publisher is not responsible for unsolicited material and reserves the right to edit any article or advertisement submitted for publication. Publication reserves right to refuse advertising not in keeping with goals of Association. www.ilca.net Volume 65, Number 1. The Landscape Contractor (ISSN # 0194-7257, USPS # 476-490) is published monthly for $75.00 per year by the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association, 2625 Butterfield Road, Ste. 104S, Oak Brook, IL 60523. Periodicals postage paid at Oak Brook, IL and additional mailing offices. Printed in USA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Landscape Contractor, 2625 Butterfield Road, Ste 104S, Oak Brook, IL 60523. DISPLAY ADVERTISING SALES: Association Publishing Partners, Inc., Ph. (630) 637-8632 Fax (630) 637-8629 email: rmgi@comcast.net CLASSIFIED ADS, CIRCULATION AND SUBSCRIPTION: ILCA (630) 472-2851 Fax (630) 472-3150 PUBLISHER/EDITORIAL OFFICE: Rick Reuland, rmgi@comcast.net, Naperville, IL 60540 Ph. (630) 637-8632 PRODUCT DISCLAIMER: The Illinois Landscape Contractors Association, its Board of Directors, the Magazine Committee, ILCA Staff, The Landscape Contractor and its staff, neither endorse any products nor attest to the validity of any statements made about products

ILCA Staff

Magazine Staff

Executive Director Scott Grams (630) 472-2851 sgrams@ilca.net

Rick Reuland Publisher/Advertising Sales (630) 637-8632 rmgi@comcast.net

Statewide Director of Development Kellie Schmidt kschmidt@ilca.net Education Manager AnneMarie Drufke adrufke@ilca.net

Debbie Rauen Advertising Sales (817-501-2403) debbie.landscapecontractor@ yahoo.com

v Meta Levin

Feature Writer

meta.levin@comcast.net

Events Manager Terre Houte thoute@ilca.net

Nina Koziol Feature Writer

n.koziol@att.net

Office Manager Alycia Nagy anagy@ilca.net

Heather Prince

Membership & Marketing Manager Marissa Stubler mstubler@ilca.net

v ILCA

2625 Butterfield Road Ste. 104S Oak Brook, IL 60523 (630) 472-2851 • Fax (630) 472-3150

Feature Writer

princeht@sbcglobal.net Patrice Peltier

Feature Writer patpeltier@charter.net

Becke Davis EditorialAssistant

www.ilca.net

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The Landscape Contractor January 2024

JAN 31 - FEB 2, 2024

From Where I Stand — A camel is a horse designed by a committee.

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— Sir Alec Issigonis, British Car Designer

t is never good when the most famous quote about committees is how ridiculous they are. There is nothing essentially wrong with a camel. They are sturdy and fast and can go months without water. They have no known predators. They can carry over 900 pounds. They can run faster than a racehorse. If you look at the facts, camels are superior to horses in almost every way. They just happen to look insanely dopey and that is why Sir Alec’s quote cuts so deep. Unfortunately, thinkers have been dunking on committees for centuries. There are dozens of quotes that drag committees through the mud. “A committee is a group that takes minutes, but meets for hours.” …C’mon! “A committee is a group of people who can individually do nothing, but, as a group come together to decide nothing can be done.” … Uncle! Uncle! “Nobody ever built a statue to a committee.” …Stop! I’ll admit, those are pithy quotes. They made me laugh. It’s difficult to find any positive quotes about committees from entrepreneurs, authors, and humorists. Of course, these are the same entrepreneurs, authors, and humorists who succeed in those professions because they are too insufferable to play well with others. It is ironic because everyone loves teams. There are hundreds of positive quotes about teams. There are statues of teams. There are movies about teams. We fly flags and dress like our teams. Committees and teams are really just semantics - except one wins championships and the other makes camels. Committees are not going anywhere. In the past 30 years, the American workplace and educational system have grown more horizontal. Group decision-making is becoming the norm. A hierarchical management model is fading fast as most younger generations bristle at the idea of a one-way feedback model. They expect a professional environment where their thoughts will be valued. Digital technology makes meetings even easier. Offices are being decentralized and cubicle walls are falling down. The age of the camel is upon us. ILCA recently held its annual Board and Committee Chair Summit. This is one of my favorite events of the year. It is like the Noah’s Ark of ILCA. We gather the chair and associate chair for each of ILCA’s 23 standing committees (we also have three task forces!), 2-by-2, and load them into the Oak Brook Hyatt for one day. That esteemed group meets with the Board of Directors and staff for what we call “strategic planning light.” We provide a communal lunch and then dive into a 2.5 hour discussion on a rotating topic. After that, we adjourn for cocktails around a roaring fireplace and enjoy one another’s company. It is the closest thing we have to an ILCA holiday party - ugly sweaters not required. Yes, we are such nerds for committees that we actually have a committee meeting of our committees. I joke, but this is an incredible gathering of minds that shows the breadth and strength of our organization. For one afternoon, every single nook and cranny of ILCA meets in one room. Each committee chair speaks from their own corner of the landscape

industry while trying to discover synergy with the others and how they fit into the larger mosaic of the ILCA. To put it plainly and bluntly, ILCA would be a shell of itself without our committees. Every year, over 250 volunteer members serve on our committees. They do this for no pay and marginal coffee. They all have day jobs and family obligations. Within the ILCA, the Board charts the strategic vision, the staff provides the administrative support and resources, but it is the committees who do the heavy lifting for dozens of programs and initiatives. Our entire organization is built on that 3-legged stool of Board, staff, and volunteers. Committees touch every program, trade show, conference, publication, advocacy, and membership benefit we produce. The President or Executive Director may provide the voice of the organization, but we stand on the shoulders of our volunteers. When I first started at ILCA, we had 9 committees. I am ashamed to admit this, but there were meetings where I would stand in the doorway, scanning the hallways, in the hopes more than 3 people would arrive. I was like the high school kid having a lame house party hoping the cool kids would show up —­just replace the keg of beer with a pot of Folger’s Crystals. As new staff came on board, our committee management improved. Committee meetings swelled to 7 or 8 people. Staff talked less and the volunteers talked more. Budgets grew. Committees took pride in their programs and asked for vests and jackets and committee swag to self-identify. It became easier to find volunteers. Committee chairs became Board members. Subcommittees splintered and formed new committees. Our organizational chart pushed itself to every corner of the page. The Board, made up of many past committee members, encouraged ILCA to find even more ways to improve the committee experience. We tried to meet our level of investment with the level of investment of our volunteers. Then, in 2016, an entirely separate organization called the Illinois Professional Lawn Care Association knocked on our door. They said they wanted to be part of us, but, more specifically, part of the committee structure that made us strong. They wanted education and workshops and regulatory assistance. After them, two other organizations followed suit. Finally, the IGIA unified with the ILCA with many of the same requests. The primary difference between ILCA and the organizations we absorbed was the committee structure we enjoyed. Many of those organizations had amazing volunteers, but most were consolidated at the Board level. Over time, the Board was asked to do more and more and got burned out. Without a fresh pipeline, new volunteer leaders don’t emerge and it becomes harder for the Board to recruit. This is the death spiral that consumes many organizations over time. Avoiding this fate is always in the back of my mind as I cast my gaze far off into ILCA’s future. Twelve years ago, we created an award out of thin air as a way to get committees to attend the Annual Party and Membership Meeting. We named it the Committee of the Year. It was a play on awards shows where a room full of people cross their fingers hoping the envelope contains their name. What started as a throwaway gag

Hump Day

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From Where I Stand —

A L L TO G E T H E R B E T T E R W W W. M A R I A N I P L A N T S .COM

866-627-4264

has become our most coveted and competitive annual award. The process is that ILCA nominates three committees annually for the Committee of the Year who exceed their committee mission. This is not about who outperformed their budget or had the biggest event. It looks at each committee through a lens of what they were formed to do and if they exceeded that expectation. In essence, did they see a 1-humped camel and go the extra mile to make it a 2-humped one. The winning committee finds out the night of the Annual Party in front of a room full of 450 people. It is met with raucous applause and the committee is ushered on stage to say a few words. We hand them a glass plaque that lists their name and the other two nominees. As soon as the photo is taken, we take that plaque right back. We then hang it in perpetuity in the ILCA Conference Room. Every committee member walks past those plaques - a constant reminder of being part of the winning team...or what could have been. Not a week goes by where the Committee of the Year award does not get brought up. It is all in good fun, but committees actively lobby for a nomination. Some are proud to have won. Some wonder why they narrowly just lost. Some use it as motivation. Others wonder who to bribe and for how much. This award has become valuable - not because of what it is, but what it represents. Staff did not create the value placed on this award. The Board did not create the value, either. Even the room full of 450 clapping members did not create that value. The committees themselves understand how that award reflects the hard work, sacrifice, and creativity that go into their programs and activities. To be recognized and validated matters. 2024 is upon us. I encourage every member to determine if this is the year to consider an ILCA committee. It may come as a surprise that six of our committees have a wait list. That guy standing in the doorway 14 years ago would have never believed me if he heard me utter the phrase “committee wait list.” There are so many volunteer opportunities that match all levels of experience, expertise, time commitments, geography, and passion. ILCA houses a brief Committee Interest Form on our website that captures basic information before we get started with the match process. There is always a place for lone wolves and decisive, unilateral leadership. Those top down models work best in institutions with crystal clear objectives and an uncompromising vision. They are less effective when the rules are not written. An entire industry cannot be distilled down to one person with one viewpoint. That myopic thinking just leads to our own version of a death spiral where the members feel alienated from the decision-makers. Long before my time, ILCA adopted a bottom-up model, probably because there was too much work for too few people. Also, because some of those early ILCA meetings ended in fistfights and if you can’t beat ‘em (or beat them up join ‘em. All we have done is try to expand and improve upon that model. Yes, we proudly create camels. Lots of them; 1-humped and 2-humped; small, medium, and large. So as ILCA moves forward, its final destination unknown, we do so on the backs of these camels. If you have never served, our committees invite you to join us this year. We need camel prodders whether to push, pull, whip, entice, or bark words of encouragement. If this is not the year, at least enjoy the ride and the view. Just remember those volunteers on the ground — they busting their humps out there. Sincerely,

Scott Grams, Executive Director December 18, 2023

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The Landscape Contractor January 2024

President’s Message —

President

Ashley Marrin Bret-Mar Landscape Management Group, Inc. (708) 301-2225 ashley@bretmarlandscape.com

Vice-President

Jim Cirrincione Hinsdale Nurseries, Inc. (630) 323-1411 jcirrincione@hinsdalenurseries .com

Secretary-Treasurer

Kim Hartmann Rosborough Partners 847-404-7669 hartmannkim@comcast.net

Immediate Past President

Jeff Kramer Kramer Tree Specialists, Inc, (630) 293-5444 jwkramer@kramertree.com

Directors Adam Bellas Bellas Landscaping (309) 827-5263 adam@bellaslandscaping.com Ryan Heitman The Fisher Burton Company (847) 566-9200 ryanheitman@fisherburton.com Tom Klitzkie Nature’s Perspective Landscaping (847) 475-7917 tklitzkie@naturesperspective.com Michael Massat The Growing Place Nursery & Flower Farm, Inc. (630) 355-4000 michaelm@thegrowingplace.com Nikki Melin Midwest Groundcovers (847) 742-1790 nmelin@midwestgroundcovers.com Kevin McGowen Kaknes/SiteOne (630) 416-999 kevin@kaknes.com Becky Thomas Spring Grove Nursery, Inc. (815) 448-2097 bthomas@springrovenursery.com Mark Utendorf Emerald Lawn Care, Inc. (847) 392-7097 marku@emeraldlawncare.com

www.ilca.net

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s we gear up for iLandscape at the Schaumburg Convention Center (Jan. 30 - Feb 1), I want to acknowledge our strong, nationally recognized education programs. ILCA offers several education and training opportunities throughout the year. Working with ILCA staff, many dedicated committee members collect information that helps identify relevant topics and the best presenters, assist with finding the right venue, ensure the event runs smoothly, and then evaluate the feedback so that future programs can be improved. I encourage everyone to take part in the sessions offered at iLandscape. It’s the ILCA’s largest education event of the year, drawing thousands of people from Illinois and the surrounding states. The education committee puts together a powerful slate of sessions. Three pre-conference workshops kick off on Tuesday, followed by dozens of concurrent 75-minute sessions from Wednesday through Friday. Committee members will tell you that coordinating and monitoring all of the programs can be complicated and very involved, but the education sessions run like a well-oiled machine. (On a side note, if you have the opportunity to assist the Education Ashley Marrin Committee when a call for volunteers is made, they will truly appreciate the help. A free education pass is even provided for your services!) Acquaintances outside of the landscape industry often ask, “what do you do in winter?” as if we all sit around watching Netflix on a cozy couch. Besides snow plowing for many of you, we take time to work on the business, sharpen our skills, and most important, make sure we feel refreshed and ready for the next season. Since there is so much to see at iLandscape, many of the education sessions will be recorded and uploaded to ILCA’s new content channel, Bloom. This is a subscription-based benefit for ILCA members featuring a comprehensive video library that has something for everyone on your team. New relevant content is continuously added. I look forward to seeing you all at iLandscape! Sincererly, Ashley Marrin

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medida que nos preparamos para iLandscape en el Centro de Convenciones de Schaumburg (del 30 de enero al 1 de febrero), deseo reconocer nuestros sólidos programas educativos reconocidos a nivel nacional. ILCA ofrece varias oportunidades de educación y capacitación durante todo el año. Trabajando con el personal de ILCA, muchos miembros del comité recolectan información que ayuda a identificar temas relevantes y a los mejores presentadores, ayuda a encontrar el lugar correcto, asegura que el evento se desarrolle fluidamente y luego evaluar los comentarios y sugerencias para mejorar los futuros programas. Animo a todos a que participen en las sesiones ofrecidas en iLandscape. Es el evento educativo de ILCA más importante del año, que atrae a miles de personas de Illinois y los estados circundantes. El comité de educación configura una impresionante lista de sesiones. El martes habrá tres talleres anteriores a la conferencia, seguidos de docenas de sesiones concurrentes de 75 minutos de miércoles a viernes. Los miembros del comité le dirán que coordinar y monitorear todos los programas puede ser complicado y muy extenuante, pero las sesiones educativas se desarrollan como una máquina bien aceitada. (En una nota adicional, si tiene la oportunidad de ayudar al Comité de Educación cuando se convoca a voluntarios, verdaderamente apreciará su ayuda. ¡Incluso le dará un pase para educación por sus servicios!) Conocidos ajenos a la industria paisajista preguntan con frecuencia, “¿Qué hacen en el invierno?” como si todos permaneciéramos sentados mirando Netflix en un sofá acogedor. Además de palear nieve para muchos de ustedes, dedicamos tiempo a mejorar el negocio, agudizar nuestras habilidades y, más importante, asegurarnos de que nos sintamos refrescados y listos para la próxima temporada. Debido a que hay tanto que ver en iLandscape, muchas de las sesiones educativas serán grabadas y cargadas al nuevo canal de contenido de ILCA, Bloom. Este es un beneficio a base de suscripciones para los miembros de ILCA que incluye una videoteca comprensiva que tiene algo para todos los miembros de su equipo. Continuamente se añade contenido relevante. ¡Espero con entusiasmos verlos en iLandscape! Atentamente, Ashley Marrin

The Landscape Contractor January 2024

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Stone Worthy • Mundelein House On a Hill

he story behind House on a Hill will continue to progress for many years to come. The timeless construction of it will be enjoyed not just in this lifetime but the next, and so forth. It has many different living spaces that will be enjoyed year round. If it’s cold you can enjoy the warmth inside the pavilion that has screens come down. If it’s a beautiful day there is nothing like playing with your loved ones on artificial turf. We definitely

utilized the home being on a hill and we turned that into its biggest strength. We used modern colors and materials to compliment the home. Since the home has natural stone and stucco, we figured more of a monotone color and smooth textures will make it one of a kind. It was imperative that we used the same craftsmanship and dedication while incorporating todays hardscape build standards.

The Landscape Contractor January 2024

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ILCA Awards & Honors —

ILCA’s 2023-24 Person of the Year James Martin by Nina Koziol

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A Salute to Jim Martin’s Career and Service to the Industry

hen it comes to growing a business, Jim Martin, president of James Martin Associates, has a saying: “There are four S’s: Survival, Survival with Meaning, Success, and Significance.” He has embodied each of those principles since starting his company in 1977, especially in his contributions to the green industry. His impact has been far-reaching, providing scholarships, teaching and mentoring countless people — from students and crew members to senior staff and peers. So it’s quite fitting that he is this year’s recipient of ILCA’s Person of the Year award. “I’m humbled and I’m honored,” Martin said of the award. “It’s the people and the relationships. People in this industry have been so helpful. It’s about gratitude for the company you keep.” “I’d be hard-pressed to find many people at this time who have done more for the industry,” says Martin’s long-time friend Frank Russo. “The industry is artistic and you have to be good at what you do. What Jim brings to it, which many can’t do, is the business side. He runs a very good business.” Heidi Sibert, senior landscape architect and senior vice president, joined Martin’s firm in 1983. “Jim has been far more than an employer. He’s been a mentor, a coach and a trainer. He has always set the bar very high and made sure that he gave the team the ability to achieve those goals.” “Through the years, I’ve seen Jim’s consideration for others in the industry — whether through the longevity with his employees or kind words to his colleagues — be it a supplier or competitor, or supporting our field.” said landscape architect Barb Rosborough. “He’s a very bright man with a very astute business sense. He’s progressive in his thinking and good at looking at the broad picture and planning for the future.” Growing the Business Martin grew up in Winnetka, Illinois. “We’d climb the fence when the Chicago Botanic Garden was being built to investigate the mounds of earth they were moving. As a young guy, I enjoyed the outdoors and started mowing lawns like so many others. I was about 15 years old and had the 10

opportunity to become the ‘strong back’ for Gus, a lifetime gardener in Winnetka.” The gardener’s landscape plan was done by Ralph Synnestvedt, Jr. When Martin was home from college, Gus Babize pulled out his landscape plan and asked him if he’d ever thought of going into landscape architecture. He arranged for Martin to meet Synnestvedt in November, 1968. “I’d already started at Southern and came up and met with Ralph for four hours. I’m a curious guy and ask tons of questions. That’s how I’m wired.” After that meeting, he transferred to the University of Illinois to pursue his landscape architecture degree. “Ralph was my North Star for the next 10 years.” During the past 46 years, Martin has grown his business by focusing on analytics and crunching the numbers. “Another huge influence was Frank Ross who did an estimating manual for the whole industry. We became very good at managing numbers.” He grew the business despite a few serious setbacks, including almost losing the company when he was 30, an experience that he called ‘character building’. “I’ve made more mistakes than anybody,” he admits. “You survive and go on and keep moving.” Since 1977, the company has grown to a multi-specialty firm providing services to residential and commercial clients throughout the Chicago area. In 2013, Martin acquired L.I.D. Landscapes, a landscape management company based in Longmont, Colorado. And, in 2017, Schwake Stone of Mundelein was brought into the fold. Industry Influencer Martin admits he was not shy about suggesting opportunities to ILCA staff over the past few decades. “Volunteering takes a fair amount of work, but you help advance and move the industry forward,” he said. “ILCA has a unique culture of volunteerism that is second to none.” Martin has served on many industry committees, from ILCA to the National Association of Landscape Professionals and as president of PLANET. “Throughout Jim’s career he has unselfishly contributed a tremendous amount of time and effort with ASLA, ILCA and the national organizations to

The Landscape Contractor January 2024

better our industry,” said Tony Lobello, design director at Mariani. “Jim is a person who truly cares about the betterment and professionalism of the entire industry. He’s well deserving of the Person of the Year Award.” When Martin taught a class at the University of Illinois on professional practice, Lobello and Dave Frigo, landscape architect at Hitchcock Design Group, were among the senior-year students. “I was very impressed that Jim would take the time to drive down from Vernon Hills to Champaign to teach us kids professional practice,” Lobello said. “As a student it was great to hear from someone who was living what he was teaching and that was invaluable.” Frigo echoed those words adding, “I worked for Jim for two years — it was my start and I worked on some amazing projects. I learned a lot working for him and he has a wicked sense of humor.” “I first met Jim in the spring of 1985 when I interviewed with him and his team during my senior year at U of I,” said Phil Rosborough, chief steward officer of Rosborough Partners. Rosborough worked for Martin from 1985 to1990. “Besides an incredible body of awardwinning landscape creations and landscape maintenance sites, Jim has always been an industry “disrupter”—looking at new ways to do things and willing to try new things. He has also been very generous in the giving of his time and finances to both industry causes as well as the University of Illinois, paving the way for young landscape architects and horticultural professionals new to the field to have an enriched learning experience. I’m glad that he is getting the recognition he deserves.” Giving Back James Martin Associates has been a stellar corporate citizen, supporting the charitable interests of its associates and also its clients, raising more than $260,000. Martin is

also known for giving back to the industry, the community and his employees through scholarships. The company has been providing scholarships to employees’ children for more than 15 years. “When you can help a student go to school and make it easier, it’s very rewarding and really fun,” Martin said. The company also sponsored potting parties for 15 years, donating 120 of the events to local charities and organizations. The potting parties raised funds for several non-profit organizations. Martin is also looking at estate planning that will benefit the green industry. “It’s much better to do the gifting while you’re alive,” he said. Jim-isms “I especially remember Jim’s grace 33 years ago when I told him that I wanted to start my own business and was essentially going to compete against him,” Phil Rosborough said. “There are a number of “Jim-isms” that I and others who have worked for him recall, but one that particularly stands out is, ‘the responsibility for the response is yours’. As a young professional it would infuriate me, but as a seasoned practitioner, I appreciate the wisdom and accountability in it.” Martin has adopted a 3 by 30 rule. “I work three days a week, 30 weeks a year.” That allows him and his wife Linda to travel the world and for Jim to enjoy white water rivers with his group of rafting buddies. “We’ve done 15 river trips including India, China, Peru, Chile, Siberia and best of all, the Grand Canyon.” I have a very full life in addition to landscaping and I’m active in politics. I was so fortunate that I found a career I could grow in and be challenged.” Sibert notes that Martin has been far more than an employer. “He’s been supportive and has been there for me and many other people. A friend for life.” And an award well deserved.

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ILCA Awards & Honors —

ILCA Selects—

Home Nursery for the Distinguished Supplier Award by Nina A. Koziol

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t’s a rare instance when a family-owned business stays in the family for four generations — and continues to not only thrive, but to strategically expand. The proof is Ann Tosovsky, current president of Home Nursery in Albers, Illinois, for whom running the family business has been a lifelong dream, although it didn’t start out that way. “I had worked for a travel agent and I wanted to be a ski instructor in Colorado.” That changed after graduating college when she worked for a computer company. When layoffs loomed during a downturn and her friends asked why she wasn’t working for the family business, she decided to talk with her father. “He said I’d have to start at the bottom, so I worked as a cashier in our garden center,” she said. It wasn’t like she was a new employee. She began helping in the nursery when she was a child. “My dad paid me 25 cents an hour,” she said with a laugh. “I was only eight years old and my center of gravity was lower, so I pulled weeds, worked in the propagation house and did odd jobs.” Later on, she mowed the grass, watered plants and worked in the garden center during high school. Although the ski Chuck Tosovsky slopes still beckoned, those experiences proved to be quite beneficial. “Going to work somewhere else gives you a different perspective. When I came back to the company, everybody was supportive and helpful, answering questions and helping in every way, shape or form.” ILCA recently bestowed the 102-year-old Home Nursery with the Supplier of the Year award. “We’re thankful for the recognition and we appreciate the support of ILCA members— customers that we’ve had for years,” Tosovsky said. Kevin McGowen, operations manager at Kaknes Landscape

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Supply in Aurora, Illinois, has done business with Home Nursery for 11 years. “They have great consistency in their products and the quality of their material is phenomenal. They’ve revolutionized the industry in container-grown Taxus and there isn’t a nursery in the country that does better with yews.” The Home Nursery team that Kaknes works with, including Dave Morgenroth and Rosie Trame from shipping, has always been great, he said. “Having suppliers come and see our operations— and then service us better when they see our challenges—is priceless and that’s what Home Nursery has done for us.” History in the Making Emmanuel Tosovsky, a colonel in the Czechoslovakian army, escaped a German takeover and fled to the U.S. where he settled in Edwardsville, Illinois. He worked in a coal mine and saved up money to bring his wife, Emily, and young son, Ernest, to the U.S. Unfortunately, Emmanuel died a few days before his wife and son arrived in 1908. Emily married a local fellow who owned a truck-farming business. Ernest’s new Ernie Tosovsky stepfather taught him everything he knew about farming. His stepfather’s mentorship propelled him into growing plants and by 1921, Ernest was growing vegetables and berries in hot beds. He expanded into flowers, fruit trees and ornamental plants next to his home. By 1928, he had opened his first retail store, and over the the next 36 years, he opened five more retail stores across the St. Louis area. In the 1950s, Ann Tosovsky’s grandfather, father, and uncle Ernie, moved the business into wholesale.

The Landscape Contractor January 2024

The 1975 Board of Directors for the Illinois Nurserymen’s Association

About 335 acres were planted with field-grown evergreens, trees and shrubs between 1955 and 1970. The nursery had a propagation department next to Ernest Sr.’s home that supplied cuttings and grafts. The nursery also became one of the first in the Midwest to experiment with container-grown plants. A major expansion program in 1970 started with the purchase of 230 acres in Albers, Illinois. That new land purchase would become the nursery’s production farm. Container grown stock increased from 13 acres to 60 after the purchase of the Albers farm and 120 acres of this new land would be devoted to field production. The nursery business eventually overtook the retail side and all the stores were closed by 1984 except the one in Edwardsville where Ann worked, and it closed in 1999. “I was in the retail side for about seven years and closing was a hard decision,” she said. “My dad and I talked that through. The retail was a very small percentage of our business and took a lot more resources, but there was an emotional attachment. It was a hard decision, but the right thing to do.” As the nursery business grew, more land was purchased in Albers for container and field growing. As field production was reduced and container production increased, the land use changed. In 2019, a 138-acre growing facility was purchased in McMinnville, Tennessee. The Nursery Today With more than 300 acres in Albers and 200 acres in production, the nursery employs as many as 130 people throughout the year. “Labor is always an issue,” Tosovsky explained. “We had to move to the H2A program a few years ago. You just can’t find people to work so we were forced to move in that direction. It’s a cumbersome and costly program, but it is what it is.” Four Home Nursery employees serve on ILCA committees and Tosovsky serves on the board of AmericanHort, which represents the horticulture industry, including breeders, greenhouse and nursery growers, retailers, distributors, interior and exterior landscapers, florists, students, educators, researchers, manufacturers, and all of those who are part of the industry market chain. “It goes back to collaborating. I like working with a group of people and getting different ideas.” She’s especially interested in legislative issues that affect the

industry. “Nobody likes it, but you have to stay engaged—as with Covid, the government could shut you down in an instant.” Challenges Following in her father’s footsteps was a bit like being in his shadow. “I was doing things my way versus the way he would do it, but we always got along. We never had any blowouts or arguments.” After her father passed away in 2014, she recalls, “It was like ‘oh my gosh’, this company is mine now, what do I do with it? That was always very overwhelming, but I had that support system.” She pondered what to do with the company. “We need to continue growing and that’s what we did. We put together a pretty aggressive strategy.” Looking Ahead Tosovsky’s son Nick is the distribution manager at the farm and her daughter Tayler is the human resources manager. “They didn’t grow up working in the business because the farm was an hour away. Their free time was playing competitive sports. I didn’t push them. I’m just very glad they’re both here.” And with a new grandchild, there could be a fifth-generation owner down the road. “I always like trying to improve our company,” Tosovsky said. “I enjoy collaborating with my team because I’m not the plant expert. My dad was a plant geek and they look at things differently. Having a great team in place and figuring out how we can do things better—that’s what I enjoy.” Many customers and sales reps have long-time relationships with the nursery. “The people and plants are consistent and of high quality,” says Zack Sargent, inventory manager/purchaser at Fiore Nursery & Landscape Supply in Prairie View, Illinois. “Their quality is one of the few that did not slip up over the past few years when availability was low. They maintain standards order after order. We always start with the evergreen category and then order across the board because they listen and continue to produce small and large sizes for us.” And while Tosovsky sees herself more in the business planning mode than plantswoman, she admits, “I love plants and I love how they make people feel when they’re sitting on their lawn chairs or patio. That makes me happy.” Here’s to the next generation.

The Landscape Contractor January 2024

13

ILCA Awards & Honors —

ILCA Awards—

Special Recognition to Debbie McGuire Volunteer Extraordinaire

by Nina A. Koziol

E

the Women’s Networking Group, the Publication’s Committee, xuberant. It’s the state one has when full of energy, and the Membership Committee where she was a co-chair for excitement and cheerfulness. But more than that, an three years. exuberant person motivates, delights and creates a “I loved the fact that I could be a part of the growth organispreading enthusiasm among others. Debbie McGuire is nothcally in some way, shape or form. All of the member volunteers ing if not exuberant. She has been a tireless supporter of ILCA on each of the committees bring something very valuable to the and its members for many years, serving on three committees, table. These professional friendships with competitors in the and volunteering for countless events. industry is what makes ILCA such an incredible Association and Other long-time ILCA members recognize McGuire’s what I love about the ILCA family.” qualities.“Regarding Debbie, “I have known Debbie since there’s one word that comes to joining the membership commitmind — exuberant,” said ILCA tee,” says ILCA president Ashley board member Kim Hartmann. Marrin. “I was straight out of “Her energy and enthusiasm for school and did not know anyone in everything she does is infectious. the green industry. Debbie immediHer upbeat, can-do attitude sets the ately took me under her wing, made tone for the successful committees me feel welcome and introduced me and initiatives she’s led.” to others.” McGuire, an advisor with McGuire’s charming personality Aleckson Insurance, began her has attracted many new committee career when less than five percent members. In September, she attendof the insurance industry employed ed ILCA’s “Landscape Design women. “I went to work for a Unplugged: An evening with the small local agency that specialized pros,” to hear the panel, which in insuring landscape contractors.” included Pamela Self, of Pamela It was The American Plantsman Self Landscape Architecture. “I’ve Insurance Brokers, Ltd. “They insured Pamela since the day she were an ILCA member and, as a opened her doors.” McGuire was result, I became a member.” Her seated next to a woman and began relationship with ILCA began in working her magic. “I was there 2002. sitting at a table with a bunch of She attended her first Mid-Am ladies and a gal named Jennifer. I didn’t know her, but I said, Show when it was held at Chicago’s McCormick Place. “I met ‘do I have a committee for you.’” And she joined. so many people in the green industry and immediately loved Marrin fell under that same exuberant spell. “I roped the camaraderie. I started getting to know the ILCA and what Ashley in on the Membership Committee — the first one she it offered to the industry, and I wanted to know how I could was on.” McGuire also notes that one of the amazing things make a difference and get more involved. I found that because about ILCA’s Women’s Networking Group is the organization I insured landscape contractors — and still do —talking to and dedication of each and every woman. “I say this because them educated me on so many levels.” it is very rare that we have a meeting that does not have 100 McGuire recognized that membership is crucial to the percent attendance,” she said. “Because of the constant comILCA and wanted to see the Association grow. She serves on The Landscape Contractor 14 January 2024

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munication between the women on this committee, I have seen so many new and fresh ideas and continual growth.” When the Association considered moving the Annual Party to Rosemont, McGuire accompanied ILCA staff to visit the venue to make sure it would work. And, she has volunteered at ILCA’s iLandscape booth answering questions, helping attendees and encouraging non-members to join. “Her energy and attitude is infectious,” Marrin said. “She always has a positive attitude and an abundance of fresh ideas and drive to keep improving the committees and the annual party. I cannot say enough great things about her dedication to ILCA.” Tina Shaw, implementation specialist for the Integra Group, has served on the Women’s Networking Group with McGuire for many years. “She is always willing to help, support and encourage wherever she is needed. Early on in my career, not only did she help me with my insurance needs, she encouraged me to get involved in ILCA. Her positivity and enthusiasm gave me the push I needed. Debbie is a dynamo and her energy, commitment and glowing endorsements of all things ILCA have undoubtedly improved our association tenfold.” Besides working 10-hour-days in the insurance business, and her ILCA commitments, McGuire was a board member of a suburban non-profit called “It’s All About Kids.” Prior to that, she was involved for a decade with Soroptimist International, a global non-profit organized to transform the lives of women and girls. “Believe it or not, I am presently looking for another small, local non-profit I can get involved with in the near future. However, it takes time to find the right one you become passionate about and there are so many.” McGuire has four adult children and seven grandchildren. “If I am not working, or with one of the kids, I have a few different circles of friends and I meet up with the different groups for fun gatherings. Variety is the spice of life, isn’t it?” Call your sales rep today! “I honestly do not think I would be in the position I am serving on the board without Debbie,” Marrin said. “I was shy coming out of school and she truly made the committee experience such a positive one with her outgoing personality, which encouraged me to do more. She’s driven and truly cares about 18715 Route 84 N ILCA’s mission and members.” Cordova, IL There’s a saying that epitomizes McGuire’s outlook: Don’t 309-654-2261 judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you sales@xylemltd.com plant. “I am passionate about it — I sincerely believe that there is a way to give where there is a need,” she said. “I have seen the result of giving over the years and it is as simple as the ability to make a difference in some way because every little bit helps.” The Landscape Contractor January 2024

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ILCA Awards & Honors —

Congratulations Scholarship Winners! Christian Schlogel Clarendon Hills, IL

Kristina Robinson McHenry, IL

$10,000 Scholarship College of DuPage (2021-23) Purdue University Fall 2023

$2,500 Scholarship Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Ralph and Lucile Little Memorial Scholarship The Little Family

Ronald R. Damgaard Memorial Scholarship Otto Damgaard Sons, Inc.

Carolynn Sagi Roselle, IL

Etienne Sirois Mount Prospect, IL

$5,000 Scholarship College of DuPage and University of Illinois Chicago

$2,500 Scholarship University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Denny R. Church Memorial Scholarship The Church Family and organized by Bruce Church of Balanced Environments

The William E. “Bill” Dahlgren Memorial Scholarship Fiore Nursery and Landscape Supply

Sarah Stevens Hanna City, IL

Luis Mazariegos Bolingbrook, IL

$5,000 Scholarship Illinois State University

$2,500 Scholarship College of DuPage

James Martin Family Scholarship James Martin Associates, Inc.

Rosborough Partners, Inc. Scholarship Rosborough Partners, Inc.

Jennifer Suszek Berwyn, IL $5,000 Scholarship College of DuPage Schwantz Family Charitable Foundation American Endowment Foundation 16

The Illinois Landscape Contractors Education and Charitable Organization (ILCECO) was established to create a perpetual fund for ILCA’s annual scholarships. The ILCECO mission statement is “To promote higher education in horticulture and green industry-related courses by funding an endowment.” Each year, the ILCECO Board of Directors determines the number of scholarships and amounts awarded out of the fund that was established. The Landscape Contractor January 2024

— High School Recipients —

Matthew Jurinek Naperville, IL $1,000 Scholarship Naperville Central High School Schroeder Family Foundation Scholarship R.A. Schroeder Family

Lauren Carlson Platteville, WI $1,000 Scholarship Byron High School Ray and Bernadette Oltman Scholarship GRO Horticultural Enterprises, Inc. Joseph Hissem McHenry, IL $1,000 Scholarship McHenry Community High School Rocco Fiore & Sons, Inc. Scholarship Rocco Fiore & Sons, Inc. Ananiah Barbee Louisville, IL $1,000 Scholarship North Clay High School Schmechtig Landscape Company Scholarship Schmechtig Landscape Company Emmet O’Brien Chicago, IL $1,000 Scholarship DePaul College Prep The Pizzo Group Scholarship for Ecosystem Restoration in Honor of Grace Koehler The Pizzo Group

2024 Scholarship Applications Available Now visit www.ilca.net

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The Landscape Contractor January 2024

Let the Good Times Roll by Meta Levin

iLandscape attendees will have a great time

during the Mardi Gras themed 2024 iLandscape, January 31 through February 2, 2024 at the Schaumberg Convention Center. Beads, masks, a Voodoo cemetery, food and, of course all the latest equipment, plants and materials, as well as educational offerings from some of the leaders in the industry will be on tap. “People think of iLandscape as a big party before the season starts,” says Scott Grams, ILCA Executive Director. “Last year we had a party atmosphere and people responded to that. So, this year the committee is bringing the whole feeling of New Orleans up to Schaumburg.” As befits an industry that makes its living by beautifying the outdoors, the iLandscape committee will bring Mardi Gras color and gardens indoors. As you walk into the show, you will be greeted by a large mask (a good place to take a photo) and plants in the main exhibit hall, not to mention a Voodoo cemetery in the ballroom. Bob Hursthouse and his team did the designs, while Topiarius is bringing them to life. The ILCA and the WNLA booth will look like a giant balloon dragon float of the type seen during the Mardi Gras parade. The décor not only includes gardens, but a main street, made to look like New Orleans famed French Quarter. In the ballroom, the Voodoo garden/cemetery will include headstones and a dead tree covered in beads. And if you are hungry, you might want to eat in the Jambalaya café or perhaps sit and relax in the Louisiana Garden. “Everything will be decked out in Mardi Gras,” says Hursthouse, whose wife is from Baton Rouge, LA, meaning they have been to the real thing. “This has been a really fun concept,” says Dan Sines, senior landscape designer at Topiarius. Sines and his team have been immersed in the color and fun of the Mardi Gras design – lots of gold, green and purple. There will also be plenty of opportunities to learn, as well as party.

Educate Yourself

Pre-Show Workshops Kick off your iLandscape education a day early, on Tuesday, January 30, with a deep dive into any of four topics with the pre-show workshops. The price of three of these workshops, Talent Pathway Planning, Valuation: What is a Company Worth and How Can we Improve It? and Landscape Design for Busy Landscape Professionals includes a general education pass for the rest of the show. Irrigation Contractor Essentials: 4-hour Refresher Course. Approved by the Illinois Department of Health for four hours of continuing education, required for all Illinois registered irrigation contractors, it will be taught by Alex Mayfield of JM Irrigation. This four-part class will include RPZ fundamentals, wire tracing, pump basics, decoders and 2 wire and Wi-Fi fundamentals. Talent Pathway Planning – Finding, Growing and Keeping the Very Best Talent. Traci Austin of Elevated Talent Consulting will work with attendees to help them invest time and energy in developing tools like career paths to encourage internal growth and help retain employees. Austin will work with participants on meeting the needs of the employees, as well as those of the organization. Valuation: What is a Company Worth and How Can We Improve It? Designed for core decision-makers within a company, it will be taught by Alison Hoffman of Harvest the Green Partners, Inc. Attendees will share practical strategies and ideas for improving the value of the business both for sale or long-term profit gains. Hoffman will help business owners review what a successful business needs to achieve its goals, including people, leadership, financial resources, market potential, who are your customers, products and services and your unique selling proposition, comparing your organization with your competition and your business processes and systems. (continued on page 20)

The Landscape Contractor January 2024

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iLandscape 2024 — Let the Good Times Roll (continued from page 19) Landscape Design for Busy Landscape Professionals. This workshop is aimed at landscape professionals, garden centers/retail sales, landscape designers and landscape architects and will be taught by Grant Dawson of Chalet’s Design Studio. This immersive, hands-on workshop is meant for landscape contractors who need to quickly create designs to present to clients and will feature Realtime Landscape Pro software. The instructors – all from Chalet – will take participants through site measurement essentials, types of photographs needed and creating realistic renderings. Attendees will be given hands-on opportunities to use the software.

Education Unplugged

Education Unplugged will be available in the ballroom for all trade show pass holders and will feature “Container Wars,” three container challenges with three to four designers in each category. Wednesday’s will focus on annuals and tropicals; Thursday’s will be perennials and Friday will be Mardi Gras. Designers will discuss their containers and audience members will be able to vote for their favorites. Wednesday and Thursday’s competition will be from 9:45 am to 10:45 am and Friday’s will run from 11:00 am to 11:30 am. David Culp, vice president of sales and marketing for Cavano’s Perennials will take the trade show stage from 12:15 pm to 12:45 pm, Wednesday. On Thursday, Gary Lewis of Phoenix Perennials and Specialty Plants, Ltd., will talk about ground covers from 12:15 pm - 12:45 pm.

Spanish Language Education

There also will be four free Spanish language sessions geared to crew leaders and up. Sessions one and two will start at 1:15 am and 12:15 pm, Wednesday, in Nirvana A, while Sessions three and four will be at 11 am and noon on Thursday.

The Landscape Contractor Series

In what has become a popular addition to the educational offerings, two staff writers for The Landscape Contractor, the ILCA publication, will present programs based on work they have done for the magazine. Nina Koziol: The Pros at Home with Jerry Adelman and Cliff Miller, 1:30 pm to 2:45 pm, Wednesday in Utopia CD. This is based on The Pros at Home series in The Landscape Contractor magazine and will take an intimate look at Jerry Adelmann’s historic 1838 stone home and garden in Lockport, with its pre-settlement trees, as well as Cliff Miller’s home in Lake Forest. Adelman is past president and CEO of Openlands and Miller is a well-known landscape architect. 20

Heather Prince: The Secret Gardens in the City: A Case Study of Norweta Condominiums. In a conversation with Hana Ishiwaka, AIA, ASLA, Design Principal; Mark Jirik, PLA, ASLA, LEED, AP, ISA Certified Arborist, Director of Horticulture and Kevin Crist, Director of Construction for Intrinsic Landscaping, Inc., Prince will explore how this Chicago project was developed and installed, as well as the plant and material choices that created this green oasis. The area is dedicated to the connections between outdoor green space and family-friendly design. Nina Koziol and Heather Prince: The Evening Garden – Designs that Inspire. Gardens that can be enjoyed beyond dusk can be a selling point for any landscape designer. Imagine fireflies, crickets, the sound of gently cascading water, flames dancing in a fire pit, marshmallows, brews and great conversation. Nina Koziol, whose new book, The White Gardens comes out in February, will introduce this program, followed by Bob Hursthouse of Hursthouse, who will talk about the design and Heather Prince will take attendees through the plants.

Education Passes

Education Committee chair, Mike Blackwell, is looking forward to the opportunity to hear and talk with several speakers during iLandscape 2024. “We have a really great mix this year, which gets people excited,” he says. For Blackwell, that includes Adrian Bloom, whose new book, Foggy Bottom – A Garden to Share, recently came out. Bloom heads the family business, Bloom Nurseries, in Bressingham, UK, and will speak twice during iLandscape, “Giveaway Plants,” 1:30 pm on Wednesday, January 31, and “Foggy Bottom,” 8 am on Thursday, February 1. Blackwell also points to other outstanding speakers, including David Culp, whose new book, A Bountiful Year: Six Seasons of Beauty from Brandywine Cottage, will serve as the basis for his iLandscape presentation. Blackwell is particularly interested, because he grew up near Brandywine Cottage and is familiar with Culp’s work. “The book expands the plant palette and the planting season,” he says. Culp will speak at 9:45 am on Thursday, February 1 and at 12:15 pm, Wednesday, January 31, as part of Education Unplugged. Other speakers’ topics will run the gamut from business to horticulture, hardscapes and technology.

Lets Party!!

What’s iLandscape without the party? More than that, what is Mardi Gras, but a big party?

Excellence in Landscape Awards

This year’s celebration will kick off from 5 pm to 9 pm, Tuesday, January 30, 2024 with the annual Excellence in Landscape Awards Program, featuring the cream of the (continued on page 22)

The Landscape Contractor January 2024

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iLandscape 2024 — Let the Good Time Roll (continued from page 20) crop of the industry’s best projects. Attendees will honor the Person of the Year, confer the Excellence in Landscape Award Winners, award the Distinguished Supplier, bestow the Special Recognition Award and announce the 2023-2024 scholarship winners. Not to mention, they will unveil the Judge’s Platinum Award, given to the best project among all entries, as chosen by the judges.

iPix Photo Competition

Got a good eye for photography? Enter the iPix 2024 Photo Competition. There are 12 major categories: Flowers & Plants; Landscape Contractors in Action; Landscapes & Gardens; Midwest State Parks & Forest Preserves; Pets; Pollinator; Snow; Sustainability; Trees; Urban Horticulture; Wildcard and Wildlife. The contest is open to any iLandscape attendee, exhibitor or sponsor and you do not need to be an ILCA member to enter. There will be cash prizes: $100 first prize and $50 second prize in each category, as well as a $500 grand prize. The grand prize winner will be announced at 4 pm, Thursday, February 1. All winners and runners up will be displayed at iLandscape. Hurry, January 5, 2024 is the deadline for entering.

Raffles

Yes, there will be raffles and prizes galore. Win a John Deere Gator or airline gift cards. Maybe you can nab a Kohler Spa gift card or even some cash awards. On Wednesday, a Blackhawk skybox experience for 12 will head the raffle prizes, not to mention assorted gift cards. You must be present to win.

Games and Food

Warm up your lungs to shout, “Bingo!” during Bingo and Beads, 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm, Wednesday, January 31 on the main stage. There will be games, beer and nonalcoholic beverages, as well as plenty of opportunities for fun and networking.

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What’s Mardi Gras without a little gumbo? Get ready for more games, prizes and networking during Gumbo Games from 4:30 pm to 7 pm, Thursday, February 1 in the main hall. There will be Bags, Nerf Guns, a mask design contest and more, not to mention free beer and food.

Entertainment There will be a Cajun feel to everything. And by everything, the Experience Committee means, the décor, the opportunity to see into the future with a fortune teller, face painting, an ice sculptor, a contest to decorate your own Mardi Gras mask (yes, with prizes), beads and more games. The committee is working with the Schaumburg Convention Center to include Louisiana themed food. “We want to keep it fun, light and different,” says Tina Scanlon-Turner, Experience Committee chair. There are even opportunities for the exhibitors to get in on the fun. They can decorate and enter their booths in any of 10 different categories, of which, of course, Mardi Gras is one. Winners get certificates and prize money. “I think the group will embrace this,” she says.

Exhibit Halls The committee and attendees

may think iLandscape is a wonderful event, but so do the exhibitors. “We sold out everything in August and have a long wait list,” says Terre Houte, who is in her last year as the ILCA events manager. There are 257 companies in 521 booths (some companies take more than one booth). Last year there were 518 booths. Many, if not most of the exhibitors have been a part of the show for several years. “Most said it was a good show for them,” Houte says. “People clamor to get in.” Even the sponsors are eager to be a part of the show. As of November, 80 percent of the sponsorships were sold, most of those returning. iLandscape sponsorships are available only to those who have booths in one of the halls. “I think people are going to be blown away,” says Grams.

The Landscape Contractor January 2024

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January 2024

Special Feature —

Making Magic — The Michigan Avenue Planters

F

by Heather Prince

rom thousands of tulips to lush interlocking tropical displays, the median planters on Michigan Avenue bring a welcome sweep of plant magic to the City of Chicago. As you’re speeding by, your eye might be caught by the waves hydrangea, rugosa roses, or grass plumes that dance in the breeze of passing traffic. Vibrant cannas, plush coleus, and dazzling lantana are shining against the concrete. Myriad birds dart in and out of the crabapple trees, while mature ginkgoes turn brilliant gold on an autumn morning. Since being built in 1993, 2.3 miles of concrete planters have been filled with trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses, annuals, and bulbs to delight visitors and urban residents. Taking over from Hoerr Schaudt in 2015, Pamela Self Landscape Architecture (PSLA) designs the 79 raised planters that stretch down Michigan Avenue from Roosevelt Road to Oak Street as well as supervising installation and maintenance in partnership with their client, the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT). We spoke with Pamela Self to find out how she and her team manage this challenging project that brings a magical stretch of green oasis to an iconic boulevard.

Planning a Year Ahead

“It begins in August,” said Self. “We develop a design concept and our plant palette for the next year. We have

24

between 35 and 40 plant species. Some years I pick a palette that’s monochromatic, some years I’ll use yellows and pinks with the purples or we’ll center it around red and orange.” Self works closely with CDOT, who approves the design and plant palette in September after a bit of back and forth to fine tune the choices. From September to November, Self and her team develop the construction documents and finalize the concept plan. Around Thanksgiving, plans are sent to the contract growers, and they will start to procure seeds for the finished plant material. “We’ll go back and forth with the growers if there is an issue with any sourcing of any of the seeds,” commented Self. “CDOT finalizes the procurement in December and that’s done through the growers. Greenhouse propagation then begins in January. PSLA and CDOT keep a close eye on quality and have scheduled reviews at least once a month in February through May to inspect the plant houses and the growth progress.” Plants are reviewed via photos following a series of deadlines to ensure the material meets specifications. Plants must provide almost instant gratification when installed, so growers have set standards to meet by each deadline. “They send us a picture of an individual plant, as well as the whole crop. They measure the height and pull out a sample so we can see the roots. As we get closer to May, we may have (continued on page 26)

The Landscape Contractor January 2024

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Special Feature — (continued from page 24) updates twice a month. Once in a while there’ll be a crop failure, and then either the grower will replant if there’s enough time to finish it or we’ll substitute a different plant. Finally, in May we’re ready for installation sometime in the two weeks around Memorial Day.” Plants are installed over the course of one week of intense organization. During the season, the planters are maintained by A Safe Haven Landscaping and inspected every two weeks to catch any issues. A Safe Haven Landscaping is a social business enterprise division of A Safe Haven Foundation that provides training in the landscape field to at-risk-youth, veterans, and individuals who have come through their substance recovery program. Finally, in late October to early November when the annual plants have reached their end, A Safe Haven pulls them and installs thousands of tulips. A finishing layer of sod is placed for winter to create a crisp, clean look until spring.

Safely Installing on Michigan Avenue

On a bright May afternoon, your journey north on Michigan Avenue might be slowed by PSLA and a crew of landscape architecture students in safety vests laying out thousands of plants as the planting teams from A Safe Haven follow behind installing them. “I hire 8 to 10 college students that are in landscape architecture programs,” reported Self. “I like to give them a resumé building experience.” “We used to do this over the course of seven or eight nights,” remembered Self. “We’d be out there with planting plans and our team hoping for a clear night since we’d be trying to read drawings and check plants. The streetlights sometimes aren’t enough, and the moonlight helped. Fortunately, now we’re installing them during the day. We’re out there Monday through Friday and we’re laying out 2,000 to 3,000 plants each day.” Self meticulously organizes plant installation so that each planter has the right plants, her staff double-checking as they come off the truck. The placement team places each plant following detailed drawings and A Safe Haven follows about an hour behind to get material in the planters. They organize by plant size. “There’s two days we put in all the structure and the mid-size plants, so anything over 24 to 30 inches, which is mostly in the middle. The next three days, we layout the low plants and the trailers. That’s five days to install South Michigan Avenue. It takes us two to three days to install North Michigan Avenue. Those planters do not have permanent plants and are mostly a consistent size, so it is easier to reach into those and lay out all the plants.”

Challenges of a Public Median Planting

The Michigan Avenue planters are the centerpiece of a busy streetscape with never-ending vehicular traffic, which is challenging enough. However, they are all different sizes and shapes from 30 inches tall to 6 to 12 inches at a crosswalk. The smallest is 6 feet by 12 feet and the largest are 8 to (continued on page 28) 26

The Landscape Contractor January 2024

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The Landscape Contractor Planters Fine Dry Cast Limestone January 2024

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Special Feature — (continued from page 26) 20 feet wide and 300 feet long. Those are in front of the Art Institute of Chicago, making them a visual hotspot for tourists and office dwellers. At the north end, north of the Chicago River, the planters are a more uniform 8 feet across and 20 to 24 feet long. Add in a varied streetwall of buildings, many of which are skyscrapers. “We have many microclimates to consider,” commented Self. Self and her team keep detailed maps of each planter and its microclimates, updating them each season as permanent plants evolve and change. “There’s several planters with permanent plant material including crabapples, Limelight hydrangeas, ginkgo trees, and varied shrub masses,” said Self. “And then we have some with no fixed plant material at all in full sun. There’s tree shade, plus building shade, but also with the reflective surfaces of some of the glass, we get false sun. When you’re right at Roosevelt and across from Millennium Park, we have massive wind tunnels because it’s so open. Moisture levels can vary from one end of a planter to the other. When they installed Millennium Park, it allowed the city to add irrigation to the planters south of the river. North of the river, ASHL hand waters as there’s no access below grade to add an irrigation system.” On top of a myriad of microclimates, Self and the team also have to be mindful of vehicular sightlines. “The low planter heights were determined by the IDOT standards when they were built in 1993,” reported Self. “Wherever there was a sight triangle, which is a calculated space where a driver traveling at a certain speed has to be able to see pedestrians, the plants are restricted to certain heights above the pavement. We have a sight triangle that will go various lengths back into the taller planters.”

Design Considerations

Apart from the challenging physical spaces, there are a suite of design considerations as well. The City of Chicago demands a 28

unified look and feel to Michigan Avenue each year. Self chooses a color palette, but also “each year I like to choose a Chicago artist as an internal inspiration,” she commented. “It helps set a theme and gives us a direction for colors and textures.” “The thing to remember with these planters is that they have to have impact from at least 35 miles an hour,” said Self. “They are also seen from the buildings above them and by pedestrians. The plants are viewed intimately only at the crosswalks. Unlike Lurie Garden, people are not in the middle of these plantings experiencing them up close. They’re 50 feet away. We have to choose plants with strong impact.” Self has learned that white flowers disappear against all the concrete of the streets. She chooses showy, textural foliage plants that can hold a design together. “We also mix our plants,” reported Self. “I have used large masses of one plant, but I prefer to mix plants for a subtle change. One species might not do well, for a variety of uncontrolled reasons, and not thrive. Mixing plants compensates for the unforeseen. I have to use bold colors, or the plants get lost amongst the cars, the buildings, the roads, and all that concrete.” The Michigan Avenue planters are a fun and interesting challenge for Self and the team, but one aspect folks may not notice as they speed past is these layered plantings add habitat. “ASHL tries not to use pesticides,” said Self. “We create over two miles of pollinator and nature friendly gardens by supplying food and habitat. During our inspections, I see monarch caterpillars, pupa, and butterflies. There’s bees, wasps, and hummingbirds as well as all types of songbirds. It’s Michigan Avenue, and these animals are living and thriving there. I believe it shows how you can have a piece of sustainability still incorporated into an ornamental garden. It doesn’t need to be one or the other. There are ways to blend the two. I think that’s probably what I’ve really enjoyed – is seeing that life and how it has evolved.”

The Landscape Contractor January 2024

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TUESDAY PRESHOW WORKSHOPS Tuesday, January 30, 2024 8:00 AM - 11:30 AM A Blueprint to Your People’s Success. Easy as 1, 2, 3 Traci Austin Utopia AB WHO SHOULD ATTEND: Anyone involved in the onboarding process. Owners, managers, recruiters, and human resources. As the Great Resignation puts retention at the top of everyone’s to-do list, one thing employers may overlook is the importance of internal career growth. Call it onboarding or inboarding, companies need a comprehensive understanding of what their employees love about their jobs. Companies often unintentionally give preference to external candidates while overlooking internal talent. Investing time and energy in developing tools like career paths that encourage internal growth is one great way to help support talented employees. This 3.5-hour session takes a holistic approach to meet both the needs of the individual as well as the needs of the organization. From an individual perspective, participants will learn what drives needs in a job and work environment. The organization as a whole will examine different talent pathways an employee can take within the company. The end result is the creation of a culture of growth for staff while meeting business results. Finding and keeping the best people is the secret to success…and a lot less stress.

Tuesday, January 30, 2024 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM Irrigation Contractor Essentials: 4-Hour Refresher Course Alex Mayfield Utopia CD This course is approved by the Illinois Department of Public Health for 4 hours of continuing education that is legally required for all registered irrigation contractors in the State of Illinois. Course Approval #: 750-221-C3 Alongside RPZ fundamentals, this four part class covers the essentials for professional irrigation contractors. Join us for (4) round table education sessions which provide hands-on education covering the following topics:

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•

Wire Tracing – Learn how to trace wires and how to use your wire trackers with a hands on demo.

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Pump Basics – Learn how to size your lake pumps and booster pumps and basic pump trouble shooting.

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Decoders and 2 Wire – Learn about IVM controllers and two wire from Rainbird.

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Wi-Fi Fundamentals – Smart controllers and the new Hydrawise platform from Hunter.

The Landscape Contractor January 2024

Tuesday, January 30, 2024 12:00 PM - 03:30 PM Valuation: What is a Company Worth and How Can We Improve It? Alison Hoffman Utopia AB WHO SHOULD ATTEND: This exclusive workshop is for core decision-makers within a company. These can be owners, senior managers, or those in the line of succession. Attendees are encouraged to attend with key personnel to share strategies and ideas for improving the value of the business whether for immediate sale or long-term profit gains. It is a seller’s market for landscape businesses. Whether next month or next decade, all businesses change hands. How do potential buyers look at landscaping companies and calculate what they are worth? What’s a good way to estimate a value for a company? How can a business create value within a company whether for a potential sale or transition to family, management, or a 3rd party. How does an understanding of what makes a business attractive help a business operate today? This practical workshop will use a combination of hands-on learning, skills building, lecture, and practice to prepare attendees for a better understanding of how businesses are valued. The team of national instructors will evaluate a sample company’s current state, estimate a value for the company and identify steps that could be taken to increase the value and compare the future value. Besides a current valuation using industry-proven methods, this workshop dives deeper. It will help owners and senior managers review the company’s current strategy while providing a road map for higher valuation. It will do a comprehensive review of what a successful business needs in place in order to achieve its goals including: • • • • • • •

People Leadership Financial resources Market potential. Who are your customers? Services and products What is your unique selling (or value) proposition? How does that compare to your competition now? In the future?

Tuesday, January 30, 2024 12:00 PM - 03:30 PM Landscape Design for Busy Landscape Professionals Grant Dawson Utopia CD WHO SHOULD ATTEND: Landscape Professionals, Garden Center/Retail Sales Landscape Designers and landscape architects. Join instructors from the North Shore landscape company Chalet for this immersive, hands-on 3.5-hour workshop. This workshop is tailored for landscape contractors that need to create quick engaging designs to present to clients. Using Realtime Landscape Pro software as the example, attendees will discover the power of this design tool, from basic setup to crafting stunning landscape visualizations. Learn site measurement essentials, types of photos needed, and how to create realistic custom renderings that will wow your clients. Note: This workshop will focus on one specific software – Realtime Landscape Pro. The instructors receive no financial subsidy or incentive for this workshop. They are users, not sellers of Realtime Landscape Pro and want to share lessons from how they have successfully integrated the technology in their design-sales and enhancement processes. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Specific workshop sections will include: Overview of the program – What it can and cannot do Site measurement, photos and documentation requirements for the best results – Gather the intel so the tech works for you. Create a design in the system – Use the digital tools to bring the design to life. Set expectations with clients and use the technology to its full advantages Time to play! Use what you learned and dive into the tech.

TUESDAY PRESHOW WORKSHOPS

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WEDNESDAY EDUCATION SESSIONS 8:00 AM - 9:15 AM Getting Beyond the Bloom

8:00 AM - 9:15 AM Workshop Title Coming Soon! Traci Austin Euphoria

Irvin Etienne Nirvana BC We all have a strong tendency to select plants for our gardens based on their flower power. And there is nothing wrong with that, but it becomes so limiting of the possibilities available to us. With most plants the flowering time is very short, maybe only a couple weeks, a month or two with the best. That same plant’s foliage on the other hand can be on display for six months or longer. Why don’t we choose more plants based on their foliage power? Plants with gorgeous foliage range from the most tender tropicals to the hardiest perennials and woodies. Colors range from brightest yellow to darkest black, plus all the variegated options. You just may forget all about the flowers. We’ll be getting beyond the bloom.

8:00 AM - 9:15 AM 8 Key Steps to Designing a Deer-Resistant Garden Karen Chapman Nirvana A Offer your deer-challenged clients more than just a sympathetic nod and generic plant lists. Those don’t translate to the billowing borders or Instagram-worthy landscapes homeowners envision. What they need from you, the professional, are tried and true strategies and design tricks that will enable them to have the garden of their dreams without resorting to tall fences or constant spraying. Karen will share 8 key design steps that professionals can employ in their workflow and illustrate how those principles can be put into practice whether designing privacy screening, floral tapestries, focal points, foliage-first displays, woodland borders, a critter-resistant vegetable garden or drought-tolerant combinations for hot, sunny gardens. Learn how to sell your specialist knowledge - and set your clients expectations. Please note: the speaker has requested that their session NOT be recorded.

8:00 AM - 9:15 AM Local Heritage Trees Kris Bachtell Utopia AB There is a great story linked to every tree - at least, there should be! Learn from a tree guy with over 40 years of experience of observing and working with cool trees some really interesting incites to regionally important trees. Some of these wonderful specimens are still with us, while others have moved on. Learn who these trees are, where they are, and gain some knowledge how we can protect these jewels into the future.

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9:45 AM - 11:00 AM How to Understand Workflow in Technology Bryan Mours Utopia CD Technology provides a means of creating good workflow through the use of solid business processes. If people do not perform their needed tasks then the workflow breaksdown and good data cannot be produced for business analysis. This presentation will help to explain the importantance of good workflow through technology and how everyone at the company plays an important part in the successful movement of data and information so that the company can make the proper changes that drive greater success.

9:45 AM - 11:00 AM The Green Industry Economic Outlook for 2024 Charlie Hall Utopia AB The audience will have a better feel for the future economic environment during the rest of the year. Also, the forecast for input cost increases will provide valuable information for negotiating with vendors. Audience members will also be able to make more informed strategic decisions regarding their business going forward into 2024. 9:45 AM - 11:00 AM Unleashing the Power of ChatGPT: How Landscape Pros Can Save Time and Money Corey Halstead Nirvana A By harnessing the power of ChatGPT, you can revolutionize your landscaping business by improving customer interactions, automating office tasks, enhancing marketing efforts, and optimizing communication. Join Industry veteran, Corey Halstead, as he helps to unlock the full potential of this exciting technology in the landscape industry!

The Landscape Contractor January 2024

WEDNESDAY EDUCATION SESSIONS 9:45 AM - 11:00 AM Conquering the Hellstrip! Daniel Gerdes Nirvana BC

1:30 PM - 2:45 PM Traffic Stopping Color Daniel Gerdes Utopia AB

The notorious hellstrip challenges the most skillful landscapers with an environment of drought, pollution, pet and people traffic and the occasional errant public utility crew. In this fun and insightful seminar, we will look at a variety of design approaches and tough plants that can conquer the hellstrip once and for all.

A fun and colorful run through of 20 years of seasonal color in the wilds of downtown Chicago! We’ll talk about what works, what doesn’t, pleasing the ever fickle customer, and the latest and greatest plant combinations to stop traffic and people in their tracks.

9:45 AM - 11:00 AM Advancements in Tree Injection Research and Technology Richard Hauer Euphoria

1:30 PM - 2:45 PM From Green Thumbs to Geek Thumbs: Demystifying Landscape Design Software! Joe Salemi Nirvana A

As we hit the 20th anniversary of the emerald ash borer (EAB) discovery in North America, what have we learned? What do the next 20 years hold for ash trees? Join us for an interdisciplinary journey using lessons learned with EAB management. See how science has led to effective treatments based on tree size and health as reliable predictors for preventing tree loss. Next, we will explore an ash tree retention and replacement study using tree canopy as a currency to evaluate a no net loss of tree canopy over a 20-year-time period. We will explore EAB decision-making by using sustainability constructs. What do we know about tree treatments to prevent ash loss? Finally, we will look at practical findings from field studies with tree and soil injection to help you make short- to long-term decisions with ash tree populations.

Are you ready to revolutionize your landscape design game with cuttingedge technology? Come with me on this journey as we dive into to the wonderful world of landscape design software.

1:30 PM - 2:45 PM Giveaway Plants Adrian Bloom Nirvana BC

1:30 PM - 2:45 PM How to Capitalize on the New Nature Movement Carol Pasternak Euphoria Carol will present an overview of the ever expanding interest in butterflies and native plant gardening. The audience will leave feeling inspired to enter this market niche because it is profitable, purposeful, and, fun! I will include promotion and networking ideas, and recommend quick ways to bring the landscapers knowledge up to speed. Audience participation and idea sharing keep everyone engaged and entertained.

Whether you’re a seasoned landscape designer or a curious novice, this session is for you. We’re going to look at the great options available on the market today and how they can help you generate more revenue. Discover the power of digital creativity as I take you through the power that landscape design software brings with it. Worried about technical complexities? Fear not! I’ll demystify the process and show you how to wield this digital magic like a pro. Prepare to be inspired and empowered as you explore the world of landscape design with ease and confidence. It’s time to transform your landscape design processes and embrace the tools available to you now. See you there! 1:30 PM - 2:45 PM The Lamdscape Comtractor Series: The Pros at Home -The Gardens of Jerry Adelmann and Cliff Miller Jerry Adelmann; P. Cliff Miller Utopia CD The Pros at Home is a series of articles in The Landscape Contractor magazine that provides a behind-the-scenes look at how members of the green industry landscape their own property. Join us for an intimate look at Jerry Adelmann’s historic house and garden in Lockport and Cliff Miller’s home in Lake Forest.

The Landscape Contractor January 2024

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THURSDAY EDUCATION SESSIONS 8:00 AM - 9:15 AM Foggy Bottom

9:45 AM - 11:00 AM The Landscape Contractor Series: Secret Gardens in the City: A Case Study of Norweta Condominiums

Adrian Bloom Utopia CD

Hana Ishikawa; Mark Jirik; Kevin Crist Utopia CD

Planning and Planting for the Future Chad Rigsby Nirvana A

We will revisit the basics of selecting and planting trees and shrubs, but will focus on plant selection in the context of climate change. What species should we be selecting? For what time scale are we planning? How do we select plants for an uncertain future? 8:00 AM - 8:15 AM Beyond Selling: Using 3D for Landscape Analysis Eric Gilbey Nirvana BC Though 3D modeled landscapes are becoming more common in design workflows, there is still a hesitancy to involve modeling unless a client is paying for this service. There is a key benefit to incorporating 3D in your landscape design, beyond selling, and that is analysis. In this session, you’ll learn how to leverage the power of solar, terrain, building, and landscape feature modeling to better analyze site conditions, advise clients, and validate design choices. The good news is that by integrating 3D with 2D design workflows, there is less of a disruption in getting to a sellable, yet better performing, solution for your clients. 8:00 AM - 8:15 AM Hybrid Base Installation Tyler Walsh Euphoria Hybrid base construction for interlocking concrete pavement, concrete paving slab and plank stone installation projects is extremely popular because, when done right, it will save time during the build and reduce the potential for callbacks. That said, there are a few pitfalls to avoid to ensure success. This presentation will cover the do’s and dont’s of hybrid base pavements, as well as helpful construction tips and how-tos to help you gain the edge your looking for with building your hardscape business. 38

The Norweta community of condominium and apartment residences is focused on the connections between outdoor green space and family-friendly design being central to contemporary urban living. Intersections between plants and people are artfully woven through the built space with three elevated courtyards, a pool, and a rooftop garden. In a conversation with site design group’s Hana Ishikawa, AIA, ASLA, Design Principal and Mark Jirik, PLA, ASLA, LEED AP, ISA Certified Arborist, Director of Horticulture, plus Kevin Crist, Director of Construction for Intrinsic Landscaping, Inc., we’ll explore the thoughtful plant and material choices that have created a green oasis, while also touching back to the aesthetics of our unique Midwestern landscapes. Discover how this dynamic project was developed and installed including its singular challenges. 9:45 AM - 11:00 AM Liquid Labor: Innovative Solutions to Manage Landscape Maintenance Cory McCurry Nirvana A This presentation will cover key aspects that impact labor in your landscape maintenance business. In this fast-pasted world of constant demand for production and less labor to perform that work it is critical to use product technologies to your advantage over competitors in the green industry, which allows your business to adapt and innovate. Unfortunately, 71% of green industry companies indicate that skilled labor is becoming scarcer, compromising companies abilities to grow. Utilizing tools like tree, shrub and turf plant growth regulators (PGRs) and safer non glyphosate herbicides and including innovative protocols for plant and vegetation management are imperative for the financial success of every business. PGRs provide several other benefits for your business-like retention of our clients and employees, improved plant health, and development of drought tolerance in our landscape plant material.

The Landscape Contractor January 2024

THURSDAY EDUCATION SESSIONS 9:45 AM - 11:00 AM Liquid Labor: Innovative Solutions to Manage Landscape Maintenance Cory McCurry Nirvana A This presentation will cover key aspects that impact labor in your landscape maintenance business. In this fast-pasted world of constant demand for production and less labor to perform that work it is critical to use product technologies to your advantage over competitors in the green industry, which allows your business to adapt and innovate. Unfortunately, 71% of green industry companies indicate that skilled labor is becoming scarcer, compromising companies abilities to grow. Utilizing tools like tree, shrub and turf plant growth regulators (PGR's) and safer non glyphosate herbicides and including innovative protocols for plant and vegetation management are imperative for the financial success of every business. PGR's provide several other benefits for your business-like retention of our clients and employees, improved plant health, and development of drought tolerance in our landscape plant material. 9:45 AM - 11:00 AM Natural Stone vs. Manmade Materials: Exterior Applications Daniel Wood Euphoria Natural stone has been the premier building material of choice throughout history, thanks to its durability and timeless aesthetic. Inherently beautiful and versatile, it’s no wonder that manmade materials aim to replicate its attributes, appearance and ultimately its desirability. This course will compare the versatility, performance characteristics, and green building considerations for both natural stone and manmade materials. Understanding these key points will prepare you with knowledge for design concepts, applications and how to educate the consumer. Styles change from season to season, but mother nature creates unique designs in natural stone that are historically innovative and always on trend. 9:45 AM - 11:00 AM A Bountiful Year: Six Seasons of Beauty from Brandywine Cottage David Culp Utopia AB Based on his most recent book of the same name, this talk digs deeper into David Culp’s celebrated garden Brandywine Cottage, featuring a focus for each month, including recipes, a garden to-do list, flower arrangements

and practical information. Favorite mail order sources, gardening for biodiversity and wildlife habitat, the creation of the meadow at Brandywine Cottage, recommended plants for dry places, and even favorite weeds will also be discussed. This lecture and book are about lifestyle, and blurring the lines of indoor and outdoor living. 9:45 AM - 11:00 AM Principles of Persuasion, How to Increase Your Level of Influence Jeff Joutras Utopia AB Lets face it, everyone is trying to influence somebody, everyday. In this presentation, attendees will learn the principles of influence, principles backed by research. Principles that are scientific, ethical and applicable. Oftentimes, increasing your level of influence comes down to minor changes that won’t cost you anything or will only require a small investment. Learn how to move more people in your direction to achieve a favorable result. This will include examples for sales and marketing professionals and even managers who want to improve their level of influence with clients and staff. Understand the psychology of persuasion and create a specific action plan to improve your results! 9:45 AM - 11:00 AM How to Spot Red Flag Performance Indicators and What to Do About Them Joel Korte Nirvana BC “Red flags” indicate a serious performance issue. Whether you’re looking to position your landscape contracting company for acquisition or want to stay independent, key performance indicators (KPIs) and specifically red flags, are factors that will affect your company value and its appeal to clients. In this session you’ll learn: • The difference between leading and lagging indicators • How to identify and measure leading indicators that must be managed appropriately to avoid becoming a red flag issue • Tools for tracking and measuring KPIs to correct or avoid trouble • Various methods of correcting downward trends • What red flag performance issues demand immediate attention and which ones potential investors consider deal killers • How to position your landscape contracting business as an attractive acquisition target Plus learn about steps you can take immediately to turn around negative trends, improve performance, and optimize company value.

The Landscape Contractor January 2024

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THURSDAY EDUCATION SESSIONS 1:00 PM - 1:50 PM Illinois and Wisconsin Invasive Pest Update Chad Rigsby Utopia CD This talk will cover the latest on the situation with several invasive and destructive pests in our region, such as spotted lanternfly, boxtree moth, and beech leaf disease. Management of these various pests will also be discussed.

1:00 PM - 1:50 PM D & I are Critically Important to Landscapes as Well Kris Bachtell Nirvana BC

1:00 AM - 1:50 AM Expanding the Landscape Environment: A Look at Green Roofs Karen Midden Utopia AB The multifaceted values of green roofs compliment and support the goals and purposes of ground level landscapes in the built and natural environments. The practice of green roofs in North America is relatively new as compared to the traditional landscape industry yet continues to expand nationwide given the aesthetic, environmental, social and numerous other benefits of green roof systems. As you may imagine, gazing out a high-rise window looking down onto adjacent buildings, it’s much more interesting and pleasing to see plants and outdoor spaces compared to a standard roof. Along with the improved aesthetics and increased accessible outdoor spaces, that roof serves other roles such as managing storm water runoff, reducing urban heat and noise pollution, increasing building insulation and the lifespan of the roof, supporting wildlife habitat and urban agriculture. This presentation will provide a discussion of the multifaceted benefits of green roofs, different types and basic construction of green roofs as well as the creative opportunities in the landscape industry.. 1:00 PM - 1:50 PM Introduction and Design of Gas Fire Features Ken Love Euphoria Outdoor fire features have evolved from your basic wood burning fire pit in the backyard. Current trends are showing gas fire features as one of the top asks by consumers looking to create a unique outdoor living space to enjoy with family and friends. This seminar will focus on introducing the different types of ignitions, utility requirements and options of gas fire features. As well as understanding the ins-and-outs of designing a space for 40

a gas fire feature that is not only beautiful to look at but functional, as well. The presentation takes you through the process from beginning to end. Using a multi-point check list providing you with all aspects to consider for your landscape design.

The world’s climate is changing rapidly and new pests and diseases continue to be recognized as a threat. Strong tree Diversity and the Inclusion of new tree selections is our best protection to help avoid catastrophic losses and to build healthier tree dominated communities. From a veteran horticulturist, learn how low tree diversity impacted landscapes in the past and modern strategies to grow healthier trees for a greener future. 2:10 PM - 3:00 PM Innovation in the Natural Stone Industry including Sustainability, Technology, and Design Trends Daniel Wood Euphoria This course will look at sustainability initiatives in the natural stone industry including the Natural Stone Sustainability Standard and Industry Wide Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) . It will also highlight the latest technologies available and the creative options that they are providing for the market. Finally, we will review case studies for award-winning projects that highlight the innovative use of natural stone materials and a survey of current trends that architects and designers are seeking. 2:10 PM - 3:00 PM Realize Your Selling Potential Neal Glatt Nirvana BC

It takes successful personal selling in order to rapidly grow a profitable business, yet most people who sell never realize their full potential. Most salespeople aren’t limited by their selling ability as much as they are limited by the lack of sales structure and process. In this session, Neal Glatt will provide a template that will help you get to the next level of sales success. Attendees will learn: The Landscape Contractor January 2024

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FRIDAY EDUCATION SESSIONS 8:00 AM - 9:15 AM Parterre Gardens Anna Timmerman Euphoria This presentation covers the history and basic design principles of traditional French parterre gardens and how this formalized style spread globally and has adapted over time. Also included will be examples of historical properties and contemporary homes in South Louisiana featuring parterres, illustrating a Creole version of French formal gardening that remains relevant and loved today. 8:00 AM - 9:15 AM Horticultural Accuracy in the Age of Influencers Derek Haynes Utopia AB Attendees will learn the potential pitfalls of social media, including, but not limited to, presenting facts online, cultivating their community, being their best selves online, and the dreaded and invasive viral lies that are in the plant communities online. This session will also address confronting nonfactual yet viral information, and the possible outcomes thereafter. Social media is an easy, and free way to promote a business, topic, or movement. Attendees will learn how to navigate social media and will discover how to use the platforms to their benefit. 8:00 AM - 9:45 AM The Complete Talk on Ground Covers: Plants That Reduce Maintenance, Control Erosion, Improve the Environment, and Beautify the Landscape Gary Lewis Utopia CD Ground covers are widely thought of as utilitarian, but these plants also offer a diverse range of beautiful and intriguing options. They can unify a landscape, knit together plantings and hardscape, and add extra layers of beauty. As a replacement for lawns, they can reduce our use of water, fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides, carbon-based fuels, and help transform a yard into a diverse landscape and food for native insects, birds, and other wildlife. This is a companion talk for professional audiences to Gary’s encyclopedia The Complete Book of Ground Covers published by Timber Press in fall 2022. As an added bonus, Gary will illustrate all these benefits and uses of ground covers with beautiful photos taken from his travels! 42

8:00 AM - 9:15 AM See the Landscape Through the Eyes of an Ecologist Jack Pizzo Nirvana BC 8:00 AM - 9:15 AM How to Use Artificial Intelligence to Your Advantage Valerie Smith Nirvana A Communication as we know it is rapidly changing...and artificial intelligence is playing a huge role in these changes. With tools like ChatGPT, Bard. IO, Perplexity.AI, Otter.AI, and Dall.e, it’s no secret that artificial intelligence is quickly revolutionizing how humans work, create, and communicate. Discover and demo some of the various artificial intelligence tools available for communication strategies including natural language processing, chatbots, and AI-powered voice assistants. Learn about the many ways we can take tools such as these and apply them to common communication practices in the Green Industry today. Use artificial intelligence’s targeted outreach to better reach relevant audiences for your products and services like landscaping needs or client preferences, create customized programs for water conservation and soil enhancement, level up your customer service team with chatbots, and more. 9:45 AM - 11:00 AM Natural Disaster: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Managing Naturalistic Landscapes David McKinney Nirvana BC More than ever, commercial properties and new developments are asking for landscapes to be more naturalistic and even totally native. These landscapes require different care and strategies than the lawns and gardens of the past. Listen as David talks about his experiences and lessons learned from managing naturalistic landscapes in commercial settings along with how they can be rewarding and save labor over time. 9:45 AM - 11:00 AM Thistles, Skyscrapers, and Other Unusual Perennials Homer Trecartin Nirvana A An introduction to some new and unusual perennials that can be used in the landscape. I would cover plant characteristics, growth habits, and care needs, as well as our experiences growing

The Landscape Contractor January 2024

FRIDAY EDUCATION SESSIONS them at the nursery. Most of the plants would be varieties coming out of Europe and favored by Piet Oudolf style gardens. Some examples of the plants would include Eryngium, Echinops, Thalictrum, Saponaria, Dodecatheon, etc. Eryngium and Echinops are thistles. There are several kinds of Thalictrum we will cover, but one of them (‘Elin’) can get 9’ tall. We’ll cover as many as possible in the time allotted making sure to cover the details of how they grow and where they can be used. 9:45 AM - 11:00 AM Protecting Yourself from Slip and Fall Lawsuits in your Snow Business Michael Anderson Euphoria As Indiana’s first Certified Snow Professional, Mr. Anderson started shoveling neighbors’ driveways when he was 6 years old and has worked as an expert witness for attorneys on slip and fall cases on snow and ice since 2011. A former member of the ILCA in the ‘80s and 90’s, he now runs a “snowonly” business in Hammond, Indiana. In this session, you will learn the essentials of avoiding liability from a slip and fall lawsuit and how to minimize the damages if you are served with a lawsuit. It all starts with communicating expectations and negotiating the snow contract when the sun is shining and it’s 70 degrees outside. It continues through the proper training of you and your employees, how to best set up your routes, acquiring the proper anti-icing and deicing materials, operations, retention of the proper documentation, and what to do if you are sued. This class is a “must attend’ if you are supplementing your summer income with snow and ice services.

9:45 AM - 11:00 AM Winning More Deals with Team Selling Neal Glatt Utopia CD Selling as a team has been shown to increase sales up to 258% but very few teams know how to leverage this tool to close more deals. In this session, Neal Glatt will share how he successfully used team selling tactics to close multi-million dollar exterior service contracts and how your business can improve close rates, profitability, and customer satisfaction by taking a team approach to selling. Attendees will learn:• When and why to deploy team selling tactics to win deals • How to identify the right situations to leverage team selling • Who should participate in team selling opportunities • How to prepare for team sales the right way 11:30 AM - 12:20 PM The Evening Garden — Designs that Inspire Heather Prince; Bob Hursthouse Utopia CD Fireflies, crickets, the sound of gently cascading water, flames dancing in a fire pit, marshmallows, brews and great conversation. That’s what many homeowners cherish but may not verbalize when discussing projects. As night falls, we become much more attuned to our surroundings. Creating a home landscape that can be enjoyed beyond dusk is a selling point when talking to clients. Evening is the time when fragrant white blossoms and shimmering silver foliage become the stars of the garden. Discover how you can take your design skills up a notch by including key features —plants, fire, water and lighting that can create exquisite settings.

9:45 AM - 11:00 AM Growing Healthy Trees in the Built Environment - A Review of Expert Remediation Techniques & Engineering Solutions 11:30 AM - 12:20 PM Michelle Catania Art of Synthetic Turf Installation Utopia AB David Kocourek The green industry plays an essential role Nirvana A in shaping our urban forest canopy. As Landscaping artificial turf is one of you look around the urban and suburban the fastest growing areas for residenlandscape, you cannot help but notice tial and commercial use. Learn the mature trees are struggling. Newly Art of Installation from Synthetic Turf installed trees have high failure rates and will not replace experts. Instruction will include the these forest elders. From cultural practices to pressures from industry leaders in product knowldevelopment, these landscapes are not ready to support edge and installation , including a healthy, long-lived trees. This built environment is engiformer synthetic turf patent attorney, neered to support infrastructure. Undisturbed, healthy soils now owner of one of Midwest’s leading field turf comare uncommon in this environment. Overcoming the difficul- pany of synthetic turf systems. ties of growing healthy trees in compacted, urban soils is a challenge without appropriate site preparation. This talk will aim at providing science-based and peer-reviewed recommendations to ensure healthy urban trees persist and thrive in the built environment. The Landscape Contractor January 2024

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iLandscape Mardi Gras 2024 by Meta L. Levin

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n cualquier idioma que escoja, los asistentes a iLandscape se lo pasarán en grande durante la ILandscape 2024 con tema de Mardi Gras, del 31 de enero al 2 de febrero de 2024 en el Centro de Convenciones de Schaumburg. Esferas, máscaras, un cementerio vudú, comidas y, por supuesto, estará disponible lo último en equipos, plantas y materiales, así como ofertas educativas de algunos de los líderes de la industria. “La gente piensa que iLandscape es una gran fiesta antes de que empiece la temporada”, dice Scott Grams, director ejecutivo de ILCA. “El año pasado tuvimos un ambiente de fiesta y la gente respondió a eso. Por consiguiente, este año el comité está trayendo la atmósfera de New Orleans a Schaumburg”. Como corresponde a una industria que se gana la vida embelleciendo los entornos al aire libre, el comité de ILandscape llevará los colores y los jardines de Mardi Gras adentro. Al caminar por la exposición, lo saludará una gran máscara (un buen lugar para tomar fotografías) y plantas en la sala principal de exposiciones, además del cementerio vudú en el salón de baile. Bob Hursthouse y su equipo realizaron los diseños, Topiarius les da vida. Los stands de ILCA y WLCA tendrán la apariencia de un dragón flotador inflable gigante, del tipo que se ve durante el desfile del Mardi Gras. El decorado no solo incluye jardines, sino también una calle principal, parecida al famoso French Quarter de Nueva Orleans. En el salón de baile, el jardín/cementerio vudú incluirá lápidas y un árbol muerto cubierto de cuentas. Y si tiene hambre, podrá comer en el Jambalaya café o sentarse para relajarse en el Louisiana Garden. “Todo estará decorado al estilo del Mardi Gras”, afirma Hursthouse, cuya esposa es de Baton Rouge, LA, lo que significa que han estado en el verdadero evento. “Esto ha sido un concepto verdaderamente divertido”, asegura Dan Sines, diseñador paisajista senior de Topiarius. Sines y su equipo han estado inmerso en los colores y la alegría de los diseños del Mardi Gras – muchos dorados, verdes y morados. También habrá muchas oportunidades para aprender y divertirse. Edúquese Talleres pre-feria Inicie su educación en iLandscape un día antes, el martes, 30 de enero, con una zambullida profunda en cualquiera de los cuatros temas de los talleres pre-feria. El precio de tres de estos talleres, Planificación del camino del talento, Valuación: ¿Cuál es el valor de una compañía y cómo podemos mejorarlo? Y Diseño paisajista para profesionales del paisajismo ocupados incluye un pase para educación general para el resto de la feria. Elementos esenciales para el contratista de riego: Curso de repaso de 4 horas. Aprobado por el Departamento de Salud para cuatro horas de educación continua, requerido para todos los contratistas de

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riego registrados en Illinois, será impartido por Alex Mayfield de JM Irrigation. Esta clase dividida en cuatro partes incluirá fundamentos de RPZ, rastreo de cables, conceptos básicos de las bombas, descodificadores y fundamentos de 2 hilos y Wi-Fi. Planificación del camino del talento – Cómo encontrar, desarrollar y conserva los mejores talentos. Traci Austin de Elevated Talent Consulting trabajará con los asistentes para ayudarles a invertir tiempo y energía para desarrollar herramientas como trayectorias profesionales para estimular el crecimiento interno y ayudar a conservar empleados. Austin trabajará con los participantes sobre cómo satisfacer las necesidades de los empleados, así como los de la organización. Valuación: ¿Cuál es el valor de una compañía y cómo podemos mejorarlo? Diseñado para los responsables principales de la toma de decisiones en una compañía, será impartido por Alison Hoffman de Harvest the Green Partners, Inc. Los asistentes compartirán estrategias e ideas prácticas para mejorar el valor del negocio tanto para las ventas como para las ganancias a largo plazo. Hoffman ayudará a los dueños de negocios a repasar lo que un negocio exitoso necesita para alcanzar sus metas, incluyendo, gente, liderazgo, recursos financieros, potencial de mercado, quiénes son sus clientes, productos y servicios, su propuesta única de ventas, comparación de su organización con sus competidores y los procesos y sistemas de su negocio. Diseño paisajista para profesionales del paisajismo ocupados. Este taller está dirigido a profesionales del paisajismo, centros de jardines/ ventas minoristas, diseñadores paisajistas y arquitectos paisajistas y será impartido por Grant Dawson de Chalet’s Design Studio. Este taller práctico inmersivo está dirigido a contratistas paisajistas que necesitan crear rápidamente diseños para presentar a clientes e incluirá software Realtime Landscape Pro. Los instructores – todos de Chalet – llevarán a los participantes a través de los elementos esenciales de la medición de sitios, tipos de fotografías que se necesitan y cómo crear representaciones realistas. Se dará a los asistentes oportunidades prácticas de usar el software. Educación “unplugged” Educación abierta (“unplugged”) estará disponible en el salón de baile para todos los portadores de pases para la feria e incluirá “Guerras de contenedores”, tres desafíos de macetas y contenedores con tres o cuatro diseñadores en cada categoría. El miércoles se concentrará en plantas anuales y tropicales; el jueves serán las plantas perennes y el viernes será el Mardi Gras. Los diseñadores hablarán sobre sus macetas y contenedores y los miembros del público podrán votar por sus favoritos. Las competiciones de miércoles y jueves serán de 9:45 a.m. a 10:45 a.m. y la del viernes, de 11:00 a.m. a 11:30 a.m. David Culp, vicepresidente de ventas y mercadotecnia de Cavano’s Perennials ocupará el escenario el miércoles, de 12:15 p.m. a 12:45 p.m. El jueves, Gary Lewis de Phoenix Perennials and Specialty Plants,

The Landscape Contractor January 2024

Ltd., hablará sobre coberturas del suelo de 12:15 p.m. a 12:45 p.m. Educación en español También habrá cuatro sesiones gratis en español dirigidas a líderes de equipos y más. Las sesiones uno y dos comenzarán el miércoles a la 1:15 a.m. y a las 12:15 p.m., en Nirvana A, mientras que las sesiones tres y cuatro se realizarán a las 11 a.m. y al mediodía del jueves. Pases para educación Mike Blackwell, presidente del Comité Educativo, espera con entusiasmo la oportunidad de escuchar y hablar con varios oradores durante la iLandscape 2024. “Tenemos una mezcla realmente estupenda este año, lo que anima a la gente”, dijo. Para Blackwell, eso incluye a Adrian Bloom, cuyo nuevo libro, Fondo brumoso – Un jardín para compartir, acaba de salir al mercado. Bloom dirige el negocio familiar, Bloom Nurseries, en Bressingham, RU, y hablará dos veces durante la iLandscape, “Plantas de regalo”, 1:30 p.m. el miércoles, 31 de enero, y “Fondo brumoso”, 8 a.m. el jueves, 1 de febrero. Blackwell también señala otros oradores sobresalientes, incluyendo a David Culp, cuyo nuevo libro, Un Año abundante: Seis estaciones de belleza de Brandywine Cottage, será la base de su presentación en iLandscape. Blackwell está particularmente interesado, porque creció cerca de Brandywine Cottage y está familiarizado con el trabajo de Culp. “El libro amplía la paleta de plantas y la estación de plantar”, dice. Culp hablará a las 9:45 a.m., el jueves, 1 de febrero y

The Landscape Contractor January 2024

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a las 12:15 p.m., el miércoles, 31 de enero, como parte de Educación abierta.Los temas de otros oradores cubrirán toda la gama desde negocios a horticultura, elementos sólidos de paisajismo y tecnología. Vamos de fiesta ¿Qué sería iLandscape sin la fiesta? Más que eso, ¿qué es Mardi Gras sino una gran fiesta? Premios a la Excelencia en Paisajismo

La celebración este año arrancará de 5 p.m. a 9 p.m., el martes, 30 de enero de 2024 con el Programa anual de Premios a la Excelencia en Paisajismo, que presenta lo más granado entre los mejores proyectos en la industria. Los asistentes honrarán a la Persona del Año, conferirán el Premio Excelencia en Paisajismo a los ganadores, otorgarán el premio al Proveedor Distinguido, concederán el Premio de Reconocimiento Especial y anunciarán a los ganadores de becas 20232024. Sin mencionar que develarán el Premio Platino de los Jueces, otorgado al mejor proyecto entre todos los participantes, escogido por los jueces. Concurso de fotografías iPix

¿Tiene bueno ojo para la fotografía? Participe en el Concurso de Fotografías iPix 2024. Hay 12 categorías principales: Flores y plantas; Contratistas de paisajismo en acción; Paisajes y jardines; Parques estatales del Medio Oeste y reservas forestales; Mascotas; Polinizadores; Nieve; Sostenibilidad; Árboles; Horticultura urbana; Fauna y vida silvestre. El concurso está abierto a todos los asistentes, expositores o patrocinadores de iLandscape y no es necesario ser miembro de ILCA para participar. Habrá premios en efectivo: $100 primer premio y $50 segundo premio en cada categoría, así como un gran premio de $500. Se anunciará al ganador del gran premio a las 4 p.m. del jueves, 1 de febrero. Todos los ganadores y subcampeones serán mostrados en iLandscape. Apúrese. El 5 de enero de 2024 es la fecha límite para inscribirse. Rifas

Sí, habrá rifas y premios en abundancia. Gane un John Deere Gator o tarjetas de regalo de línea aérea. Quizá pueda atrapar una tarjeta de regalo Kohler Spa o incluso algún premio en efectivo. El miércoles, una experiencia con los Blackhawk desde palco para 12 encabezará los premios de la rifa, además de una variedad de tarjetas de regalo. Debe estar presente para ganar. Juegos y comida

Caliente sus pulmones para gritar, ¡“Bingo!” durante Bingo y Esferas, de 4:30 p.m. a 6:30 p.m., el miércoles, 31 de enero en el escenario

principal. Habrá juegos, cerveza y bebidas no alcohólicas, así como muchas oportunidades para divertirse y establecer contactos. ¿Qué es Mardi Gras sin un poco de gumbo? Alístese para más juegos, premios y establecer contactos durante los Juegos Gumbo de 4:30 p.m. a 7 p.m., el jueves 1 de febrero en el salón principal. Habrá bolsas, armas de Nerf, un concurso de diseño de máscara y más, además de cerveza y comida. Entretenimiento

Habrá una atmósfera cajún en todo. Y por “todo”, el Comité de Experiencia quiere decir, el decorado, la oportunidad de ver hacia el futuro con una vidente, pintacaritas, un escultor en hielo, un concurso para decorar su propia máscara de Mardi Gras (sí, con premios), esferas y más juegos. El comité está trabajando con el Centro de Convenciones de Schaumburg para incluir comida temática de Louisiana. “Queremos mantenerla divertida, liviana y diferente”, dice Tina Scanlon-Turner, presidente del Comité de Experiencia. Hay incluso oportunidades para que los expositores participen de la diversión. Pueden decorar e ingresar sus stands en cualquiera de 10 diferentes categorías, de las cuales, por supuesto, Mardi Gras es una. Los ganadores obtendrán certificados y premios en metálico. “Pienso que el grupo aceptará esto”, dijo. Salones de exhibiciones El comité y los asistentes pensarán que iLandscape es un evento maravilloso, pero también lo pensarán los expositores. “Vendimos todo en agosto y tenemos una larga lista de espera”, dice Terre Houte, quien se encuentra en su último año como gerente de eventos de ILCA. Hay 257 compañías en 521 stands (algunas compañías ocupan más de un stand). El año pasado hubo 518 stands. Muchos, si no la mayoría de los expositores han participado en la feria durante muchos años. “La mayoría dijo que fue una buena experiencia para ellos”, dice Houte. “La gente clama por entrar”. Incluso los patrocinadores están ansiosos por participar. Al mes de noviembre, el 80 por ciento de los patrocinios se habían vendido, la mayoría son patrocinadores que regresan. Los patrocinios de iLandscape están disponibles solo para los que tienen stands de exhibición en uno de los salones. “Pienso que la gente quedará impresionada”, asegura Grams.

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The Pros at Home —

The Landscape Contractor Visits with Horticultural Educator Liz Paine by Nina A. Koziol Editor’s Note: This is another in a series of articles that feature the home landscapes of green industry professionals— ILCA members, plant breeders, nursery owners, public garden staff and educators. After all, who wouldn’t like a little peek at what peers are doing around their own homes?

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iz Paine’s path into the green industry happened at a mid-life crossroads. “I’m an art history major with a B.A. from Vanderbilt. I’d attended a program in Florence, Italy, and had a minor in Italian and history—all useless in business, but great in horticulture—and I’ve always enjoyed beauty.” After a career in communications, Paine began studying plants and design. “I took every class I could from ornamental plants to vegetable gardening,” she said. “I decided to learn as much as possible. My mother had taught me a lot about woodies, but she was the chemical queen and loved her tea roses, which she sprayed. My focus in landscaping shifted—it was going to be ecological because I wasn’t seeing any birds.” In 2015, she joined Knuppers Flower and Garden in Palatine before moving to the Chalet in Wilmette where she taught sev-

eral classes. She’s taught at the Chicago Botanic Garden for the past five years. Many of her classes focus on perennials, native plants, spring bulbs, wildflowers, ecology and wildlife and that focus carries over into her 1/4-acre garden in Park Ridge. The property has undergone a transition over the past two decades. “I was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with all that good soil. I grew up near Mt. Cuba Center [botanic garden] and they have the best soil. I didn’t know what was going to grow well here.” She moved to Park Ridge in 1987. “When we saw the house it was during a baking drought, but when we flew in there was a massive storm and flooding everywhere.” The front of the property slopes to the back where water collects. “Everyone has built up around us. We’re the lowest plat in our entire neighborhood.” Her initial goals included removing the yews and filling in beds and borders. She calls her first attempts at planting the back garden, “the collector’s garden. I was having way too much fun buying plants, but it’s a flood plain, which is mostly sun and a ton of native plants that do fine. I made assumptions about the clay soil here. I thought it was just like what we had in Pittsburgh, but there it was acidic. And Pittsburgh was zone 6.”

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The Pros at Home — The foundation planting has morphed into a medley of colors and textures. “My plant combos were originally based purely on what I liked. Now, if they don’t do well, I move them based on my observations and taking photographs.” After resetting her goals about what she wanted the landscape to be, she says, “I’ve gotten interested in the ecology of the site. I wanted plants that did well even though our topsoils had been carted away—by planting regionally appropriate plants for the site. I wanted it to be my garden—not a Chicago garden or my mother’s garden.”

Ecosystem Supporter

“My main criteria for selecting plants are attracting and supporting hummingbirds and other birds, sphinx moths, bees, and beneficial insects--predators, parasitoids, and others to enhance aesthetics and the ecology of my gardens.” She recently added seven types of native sedges. “I want to keep an eye on them and see how they do. They’re ecologically important and Roy Diblik has made the case for them—they’re so tough.”

Native foxglove penstemon (Penstemon digitalis), amsonia, lead plant (Amorpha cancescens), button bush, zigzag goldenrod, vernonia, Jacob’s ladder, cinnamon fern, asters and golden Alexanders (Zizia) wind through the borders. “Leadplant has been a favorite. I have indigo bush (Amorpha fruticosa) in the wet area and it’s as happy as a clam. It doesn’t bloom a long time but it is fascinating. When it starts to dry out, I cut it back, otherwise it can reach eight feet.” Paine treats her landscape as an evaluation garden. “I’m interested in trying certain plants and siting them properly.” Although the property is small (50’ x 160’), it features native itea, clethra, and oak-leaf hydrangea. “I don’t have a lot of room for big honking shrubs, but everything is totally packed in—you won’t see any mulch or bare soil.”

Melting Pot

Although many straight-species natives meander through the borders, Paine uses native cultivars and nonnative perennials as well as annuals and

spring-blooming bulbs. “My design intent is wild cultivation. I’m closer to the naturalistic garden with layers while honoring some of the tradition of perennial border designs.” Primroses, hosta, tiarella, pulmonaria, and the Fashionably Early series of phlox offer sequential bloom. “The phlox fill in and they’re mid-size and disease-free. I have natives around them and I love my plant combinations.” Annuals were somewhat shunned for years, but Paine became interested in them again, planting angelonia, coleus, sweet alyssum, lantana, verbena, ‘Canary Wings’ begonia and cuphea. “The alyssums are some of the best beneficial bug attractors—and I like pansies. The annuals have to attract beneficial bugs. It’s fascinating to me. If you have plants that attract pollinators, you’re going to get beneficial insects that will come in and take care of your problems.” Another favorite annual is the pollinator-attracting annual Salvia ‘Amistad’. “You don’t even have to wait for it to get going.”

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The Pros at Home —

Some of the plants, including natives, are aggressive spreaders. “The floodplain in the back is mostly sun and many natives do fine there. I’ll let Filipendula rubra (Queen of the Prairie) run across the bed—who am I to argue?” The seed heads remain standing over winter so any unwanted seedlings get pulled in spring. A dappled shade border is host to Japanese painted fern and marginal shield fern (Dryopteris marginalis). “I’m doing groupings of plants more to mix up the heights and to satisfy aesthetics and wildlife.”

the Netherlands and Giverny in France have encouraged her to look at plantings in a new way. And many trips to national parks and local botanical gardens have provided ideas for her landscape. “Visiting garden centers, reading, talking to others, and garden walks are inspiring, as well as joining the American Horticultural Society and the Perennial Plant Association.” What does she like best now that the garden is settling in for a winter’s rest? “I really enjoy how the front has evolved— and I do have an almost five-season garden.” Serviceberry, a crab apple and hemlocks offer winter interest along with drifts of dried seed heads. “I leave so much more standing in fall—I love snow and I love how it looks on plants.”

Influencers

“I love what Roy Diblik has taught for decades now—the more naturalistic gardens—and those of Piet Oudolf.” Trips to Linderhof Gardens in Germany, and to Denmark, Utrecht in

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Member Profile Snapshot

Home Pride Landscape 405 S Roselle Rd., Roselle, IL 60172 (630) 401-8558 www.homepridelandscape.com

by Meta L. Levin

A

t age 16 Wes Wilcox wanted a job, but he didn’t want to work for minimum wage. So, he took his parents’ push mower and began knocking on doors in his Roselle, IL neighborhood. It wasn’t long before he had nearly a dozen accounts at $15 to $20 a lawn. At the time minimum wage was $5.75 an hour. “It fueled a hunger for me,” Wilcox says. Each year he added more acounts and services. As he did that, he needed equipment, buying an aerator, a dethatcher, a trailer and a dump truck. To expand his offerings, he hired people with skills and knowledge. In the meantime, sports intervened. A good basketball player, he never played in high school, because he was too busy running his landscape maintenance business, but once out of high school he joined a men’s league. There he was discovered by the basketball coach for Michigan’s Northwood University. He put his business on hold for six years, played basketball, earned a bachelor’s degree and an MBA, then played six months of professional basketball in China. “The graduate

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program gave me confidence and I decided to start Home Pride Landscape & Design Inc. again,” he says. “I recruited a friend, Brad Kettler, to go 50-50 with me.” They are still business partners and friends. “He has dedicated his life to this.” Using a combination of networking and hiring those with more knowledge and experience, watching YouTube videos and taking advantage of ILCA classes, especially during iLandscape, Wilcox and Kettler worked for two years to get the business going again. Home Pride Landscape & Design, Inc. offers weekly lawn maintenance and lawn care, including fertilization, aerating, dethatching, shrub trimming, mulching and creating flower beds. A freelancer provides landscape and hardscape design work. The company installs fire pits, outdoor kitchens and concrete driveways. They also do snow management. “We pride ourselves in innovating when it comes to customer service,” Wilcox says. “We stress communication and do what we can to build rapport with our customers.” The company focuses on residential work. During the first year back in business, Wilcox and Kettler

The Landscape Contractor January 2024

Growing for your success. hired two employees. Now the business has eight to 15 in season and at least eight year around. Luis Hernandez has been with them since the beginning. A field manager, he is experienced and “knows our standards,” says Wilcox. “He checks the quality of the work and trains new employees, instilling them with our values of honesty and integrity. We never have to worry, because we know he has the same standards.” Home Pride Landscape & Design’s ILCA membership has provided Wilcox, Kettler and their employees with many educational opportunities, says Wilcox. They usually bring a half dozen employees to events like iLandscape. “ILCA does a good job of trying to educate people,” he says. “This is an investment in our people.” Wilcox has focused on differentiating the company from other landscape contractors. He has worked on branding the company, including all equipment, the web site, insuring that he gets as many reviews on Google Business Page as possible with accurate information and that the logo is displayed on equipment and trucks. Blades are sharpened daily and he wants his employees to look nice in clean uniforms. “We pay great attention to detail,” says Wilcox. “It’s always been about quality. We want every T to be crossed and every I dotted.” Buoyed by the success of Home Pride Landscape & Design, Wilcox moved to St. Petersburg, FL to start a new, related business: Balcony Oasis, leaving Kettler responsible for Home Pride’s day-to-day operations. “Brad has been a good friend and a good business partner,” he says. Kettler inherited a beach house on Torch Lake in Michigan. Each year he and Wilcox bring their employees there for a four day weekend that includes jet skis and boating. Wilcox is proud of what the two of them have built. “Home Pride is my baby,” he says.

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Classified Ads HELP WANTED

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Account Manager: Flexible hours, a friendly team, and exciting work! An Account Manager at CPHort aims to provide our clients with outstanding service and support while establishing long-term relationships. The desired candidate will have proven estimating and farming sales skills while developing and overseeing a diverse portfolio of clients. You must have strong interpersonal skills to work with internal partners within the Sales, Project Management, and Production teams, collaborating to ensure every client project’s timely and outstanding delivery. You must be able to meet with decision-makers and help them solve their problems in a consultative manner. You should be goal-oriented and work well without supervision, achieving sales goals by tracking, identifying, and adding qualified opportunities to the sales pipeline. Outstanding communication and experience with CRMs, creating work orders, and Google Workspace are highly desirable. You must have previous earnings of at least $90,000. How to apply: Visit our online Assessment (https://eval.objectivemanagement.com/ XVJ74PD) and follow that up with an email to Be-A-Star@CPHort.com with a copy of your resume.

stuberlanddesign.com to see more! Who you are: You have a degree in Landscape Architecture or Horticulture with an emphasis on Landscape Design. You are creative, motivated, and visionary! You have a passion for making clients’ dreams come true. You enjoy working with a small group of talented professionals dedicated to the design, installation, and management of beautiful outdoor spaces. The role: This position will include developing design solutions and graphic presentations along with making sales presentations to clients. The right candidate will bring strong skills in landscape design as well as technical computer skills. The individual will be involved with client communication, project installation oversight, and providing expertise to clients and the production team. This is a fulltime, salaried position. Health and retirement benefits are available as well as employee discounts, paid holidays, and paid vacation. How to apply: Please send a resume to jobs@stuberlanddesign.com Call Lauren at 309-208-4777 with any questions.

in the field. A minimum of 3 years (preferred) professional work experience with a proven sales history. Strong plant and construction knowledge. Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite. Proficiency in UVision or other 3D design programs. Will train UVision program if needed. Working knowledge of construction detailing and implementation. Ideal candidates should be detail-oriented, logical thinking, conscientious, professional, and maintain a high level of honesty and integrity. How to apply: email resume and portfolio to stephanie@atouchofgreen.net

Landscape Architect/Designer Who we are: Stuber Land Design, Inc. has been designing, building, and managing exceptional outdoor spaces for nearly 30 years. We are fortunate to work in the small-town environment of Tremont while providing unmatched vision and quality work that competes with large urban markets. Please take a look at our website at www.

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Landscape Designer/Architect We are looking to add a talented landscape design and sales professional to our team as we continue to expand. We are seeking creative candidates who thrive in a collaborative studio setting with the ability to lead projects through all phases including client contact, design, cost estimating, sales and project management. Minimum requirements: A 4-year degree in Landscape Architecture or 3-5 years of Landscape Design experience

The Landscape Contractor January 2024

Operations Manager, Construction Superintendent, Maintenance Account Manager ILT Vignocchi is currently seeking the right people to fill the following positions: Operations Manager: Manages day-today operations for superintendents who are responsible for construction, maintenance, and irrigation crews. Construction Superintendent: Manages construction and site improvement crews to evaluate budget, schedule jobs profitably, material procurement, and quality on site. Account Manager: Customer relationships and contract management. How to apply: email Donna Zych at dvignocchi@iltvignocchi.com

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Classified Ads HELP WANTED

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Landscape Project Manager The individual selected for this position should be able to operate independently and work closely with all landscape personnel, subcontractors, management and clients. The individual selected for this position should be comfortable representing the company and owner with high profile clients. The person selected for this position should understand and embrace the company philosophy of meeting or exceeding client expectations. Job Requirements: At least 2-3 years experience required, preferably in a project management or landscape architecture role. Horticulture Degree preferred. Have a current pesticide license or be able to obtain license. Demonstrate strong communication skills. Demonstrate accountability for work being performed and completed on schedule. Demonstrate knowledge of landscape terminology, plant material, applicable construction material, and installation techniques. Ability to work in a team environment. How to apply: Email jobs@cityescape.biz

The Director of Horticulture should be an expert in horticulture with a broad understanding of plants including annuals, perennials, shrubs, trees, lawn, and bulbs. They will lead our Field Team in ensuring standards of care, honoring our plant palette, and growing the horticultural knowledge of the team. They will work collaboratively with planting design, maintenance, and container leaders to review and improve plant selection and garden care techniques. How to apply:

Our small office (6 staff members) offers a competitive salary commensurate with experience and a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, IRA SIMPLE plan with company match, up to two remote days per week, and a business casual dress code and atmosphere. The salary range is between $80-$90,000. For more information about the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association (ILCA) and our programs, visit www.ilca.net. Email resume to: Scott Grams, Executive Director, sgrams@ilca.net.

Director of the Chicago Region Trees Initiative Job Opportunity The Morton Arboretum is a world-renowned tree-focused botanical garden located just outside of Chicago in Lisle, Illinois. The Chicago Region Trees Initiative (CRTI) is the Arboretum’s flagship urban and community forestry program, designed to energize and catalyze tree advocacy, build community capacity, and improve the health, diversity, and equitable distribution of the urban forest in the Chicago region and across the state of Illinois. The Director of the Chicago Region Trees Initiative will lead all activities of the CRTI program, including the administration of $23 million in federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act to improve the tree canopy in disadvantaged communities throughout Illinois. This is an exciting opportunity for a confident and innovative leader to oversee this pivotal time, bringing together diverse stakeholders to create a greener, healthier, and more beautiful world where people and trees thrive together. How to apply: https://careers.hireology.com/themortonarboretum/1537777/description Director of Horticulture Nathan Wright Landscape Design (NWLD) is a Chicago-based design and build studio with a commitment to naturalistic perennial garden design.

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Education Manager The Illinois Landscape Contractors Association (ILCA), a suburban Chicago (Oak Brook) non-profit professional trade association seeks an experienced Education Manager. This position functions as the organization’s educational events, programs, and distance learning manager. The position coordinates educational opportunities and resources and supports the committees that develop those deliverables. Duties include, but are not limited to: site selection, hotel and vendor negotiations and contracting, preparing and managing program budgets, determining audio-visual, set-up, and food & beverage requirements, committee management, and providing on-site management of programs including supervision and coordination of vendors and staff. All events are held within the state. The Education Manager will be the primary manager (and motivator) of the event program committees for content development. Requirements Must have a proven track record of managing meetings and events with attendance from 50-2,000 (the largest conference has about 2,000 attendees). At least 6 years of direct educational event management experience is required. Must be well-poised and projectdriven and have proven success working with volunteer member committees. Possess proven budget and fiscal abilities; interpersonal communication and organizational skills, and a team orientation. Excellent project management skills are required. The candidate should possess strong writing skills. Limited travel. Spanish language candidates will be offered special consideration. The ideal candidate will support and actively build an office culture dedicated to superior service that exceeds member and attendee expectations. Education: Bachelor’s degree required.

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Construction Manager, Project Foreman, Project Installers EXPERIENCED CONSTRUCTION MANAGER CB Conlin Landscapes Inc. is seeking an experienced Construction Manager who can effectively schedule, organize, coordinate, and oversee our in-house residential hardscape and landscape installation crews as well as subcontractors. The position would be responsible for daily communication with our design team, purchaser, and installation crews to ensure the work is completed properly and efficiently. The ability to read and understand site plans and construction details as well as a thorough knowledge of hardscape/softscape materials and proper installation methods is required. Microsoft Office and Excel knowledge is a plus. We offer excellent salary, health, and retirement benefits. Please forward resumes to slucchetti@cbconlin.com or call (630) 416-8998 for more information. PROJECT FOREMAN CB Conlin Landscapes Inc. is seeking an experienced Project Foreman who can effectively lead a team of 3-4 hardscape installers. The ability to understand site plans and construction details as well as knowledge of hardscape materials such as pavers, clay brick, and natural stone is a must. Must have a valid Driver’s License, CDL is a plus. We offer very competitive hourly pay along with health and retirement benefits. Please email resumes to slucchetti@cbconlin.com or call (630) 416-8998 for more information. PROJECT INSTALLERS CB Conlin Landscapes Inc. is seeking experienced hardscape and softscape installers. Valid Driver’s License and CDL are a plus. We offer very competitive hourly pay, health and retirement benefits, and opportunities for advancement. Please email resumes to slucchetti@cbconlin.com or call (630) 4168998 for more information. How to apply: Phone Call or Email

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Before You Go —

Contorted Filbert for a Gnarly Winter! By Mark Dwyer

W

inter interest in the garden can be a subtle contribution to include colorful stems, ornamental bark, persistent fruits, grasses and much more. However, winter can also become the premier season that features the primary attribute of a plant. My favorite example is the contorted European filbert (Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’), also known as the corkscrew hazel. I have three of these in my home garden in prominent locations and enjoy their winter silhouettes both with and without snow! This plant is not as much uncommon in horticulture as it is underappreciated, in my estimation. Originally found in England in 1863, this deciduous plant has been described as picturesque, twisted, contorted, knotty and gnarly. These are all apt descriptives and refer to the uniquely curled and twisted stems and branches. The crumpled leaves of contorted filbert have some interest, particularly with the maroon selections of ‘Red Dragon’ and ‘Red Majestic’. Do note that the intensity of the deep maroon foliage in spring for these selections does fade to a more muted, maroongreen by mid-summer. New growth continues to show deeper maroon highlights. The amazing winter form is what really stands out when this selection is in a prominent location (a true “focal point”!) and can be enjoyed for its unique character. Another common name for this plant is Harry Lauder’s walking stick. Sir Harry Lauder was a Scottish entertainer (1870-1950) who was known for having a crooked walking stick. The contorted filbert also received the Award of Garden Merit from the Royal

Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’ 62

Horticultural Society. This member of the birch (Betulaceae) family is hardy from z 4-8 and will reach 8-10’ tall and wide in time. Ideally, position this plant in full sun and organically rich, welldrained soils. While the species is native to Europe and western Asia, contorted filberts are primarily grafted to the America filbert (Corylus americana) which may periodically send up straight suckers that should be removed as they appear to prevent thicket formation. With all the twisting and contorted branches, these selections can become congested which warrants some judicious thinning in late winter and very early spring. Save your trimmings as they are excellent in containers and other arrangements! I have been “heavy handed” with the pruning of all three of my specimens (two ‘Contorta’ and one ‘Red Dragon’) to help open them up for air circulation and a more exquisite winter appearance. Position contorted filberts to be accents and focal points. Proximity to window views, along paths and even in containers will make these specimens a conversation piece in the garden. The early flowers (catkins) offer interest and again, the ruffled foliage is noteworthy. The maroon foliage selections mentioned above have become more available and are highly sought as garden accents. Be warned that Japanese beetles will certainly stop by for a nibble and there is a filbert blight that may announce itself with entire branches dying suddenly in summer. Regardless, you can have a “totally gnarly” winter season with the contributions of the quirky and charismatic contorted filbert!

The Landscape Contractor January 2024

D&B LANDSCAPING SERVICES, INC. IN COLLABORATION WITH ANIASCAPE Best Outdoor Living

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