AG VanGundy Landscape, Inc. & AG Landscape Materials, Inc.

Take a look outside. What do you see? Snow? Ice? An empty garden? A yard that is beaten down and brown? Although it’s January, it may not seem like there is a lot going on in the world of horticulture, but now is the time when your possibilities are endless. You can dream about what you would like to see in your yard. Your thoughts aren’t crippled by the weeds growing in your garden. You’re technically working with a blank canvas. This planting season you can change whatever needs changing. But, where do you start? A good idea is to think back to last spring what did you like about your yard, garden, or planting areas? What plants to you want to work with in your existing landscape? What colors would you like to incorporate? Think back to other yards either in your neighborhood or others, did you take notice of any of their plants? Do you want to add a whole new outdoor living space (outdoor kitchen and/or fireplace)? Does your existing patio or walkway need updating or replacement? What goals would you like to accomplish with your landscaping?

Now that you have some thoughts & maybe some ideas, it’s time to do some investigating and educating.

You may need to educate yourself on plants that will work in your growing zone and on plants that can conform to your existing outdoor living space. Maybe you have a shady area that tends to be difficult to grow anything in or vice-versa a very sunny area that gets extremely hot during the summer days. But where do you start? A great starting place is on the internet. There are countless number of sites and forums. Other great sources are seminars, home improvement shows, your local newspaper and your library. Seminars are often held by the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, local gardening clubs, and the Chicago Botanical Gardens – you can contact anyone of those sources for schedules and topics. Home Improvement Shows are in abundance in the Chicago area, especially during the winter and early spring months, may you can attend one or two of these and pick up some literature. A lot of newspapers will have whole sections dedicated to Homes & Gardening. There’s also your local public library. Although the library seems to be a dying entity, it’s really a great source of information gathering. You can usually fine virtually everything there, from hard copy books to periodicals to internet access to local news regarding local happenings such as seminars. Finally, for those of you who want to invest a little more, most community colleges offer introductory to advanced horticultural classes, seminars and symposiums.

Once you’ve done your investigating and maybe some educating, some of you may decide you need additional help or you just don’t have the time and/or patience to incorporate your new found knowledge yourself – you may want to work with a professional landscape company, such as A.G. VanGundy Landscape, Inc. We love working with informed, educated clients; however, we also relish the opportunity to work with and inform clients new to the landscaping world.

Homeowners and clients aren’t the only ones needing seminars and education. We use this time of year for training, seminars and trade shows. This month we’ll be attending the largest Midwest Horticultural Show in Chicago (Mid-Am). There, we’re looking forward to seeing the latest in equipment, new growers, new materials and of course being reintroduced and reminded of some of the standards we’ve already been accustomed to. At the end of the month, a couple of us will be attending a computer class to brush up on some of old skills and hopefully learn some new applications. February will find us at another trade show and a seminar specifically geared toward Perennials. Our crews will more than likely be attending a safety class, a pruning workshop and updating licenses. Personally, one of my goals for this off season is to learn more about flagstone and topsoils.

Don’t forget that January and February are great times to do your dormant pruning. If you haven’t done so yourself and aren’t planning on doing it yourself, please contact us at www.agvangundy.com or call us at (630) 295-8190 and we’ll be happy to help you.

Spring and warmer weather are only a couple of months away. Soon it will be March and usually the snow has melted a few times, so you can get out and assess your landscape. Get your training in now, stay excited and work toward a goal.

LET’S THINK SPRING!