A girl, a shovel and about 10,000 bulbs*

My New Years Resolution as it applies to garden projects: Plan ahead, Slow down and rely on my friends at the Barn.

At my old job, there were two schools of thought on business personalities. You were either "Aim, Fire, Fire, Fire, Fire" (kindof how my brother hunts) or "Aim, Aim, Aim, Aim, Fire" (kindof how my husband approaches a home improvement project). I was always more like my brother, but I am thinking when it comes to gardening a little more Aim could be a huge help.

So, long after a sane person would plant bulbs, after the first minor snowfall, I decided we absolutely, positively needed to plant the front of the garden center with bulbs to add some color for spring. After consulting with no one, I set out Saturday morning with the idea that I would knock this project out quickly and feel like a real landscaper!

I gathered my supplies, roped a yard boy into helping me and went to work. Both he and I quickly realized our project was in trouble. First, I had no plan. My assistant realized this almost immediately and quickly disappeared, never to return. I always thought he was a pretty smart guy, but this proves he is much more intelligent than I originally gave him credit for. Looking back, the incredulous looks pretty much everyone gave me as I announced my plan was a polite heads up I chose to ignore. And I think I did start crying when I told Heather I was done and she sweelty informed me that there was an entire cart of tulips left.

A number of hours later, I was able to collapse on my couch and I realized although I was tired, I felt good. It wasnt as hard as I thought, and while I am scared of the results, and a little nervous for next spring, I learned a lot of lessons that I can apply to next year.

First, the Barn has some great people with a lot of experience, and I should have relied on that. Second, if I had spent about 10 minutes deciding where and how to plant the bulbs, before I just started digging, it would have been a lot easier. Third, don't bother using anything else besides a good old fashioned shovel. Seriously.

*slightly exaggerated!

Give a wave to your snowplow guy!

Hey, this storm looks like trouble and for those of you whose snowplowing we do, look for us in your driveways, ahead of Santa's arrival, salting, plowing and shoveling a path for your familys safety and comfort. I have to admit, the first big snow storm of the year is always a big rush of excitement around here. The phones are buzzing with customers getting signed up, renewing contracts and making sure we will be there. The rush wears off though, as we and our families realize we might not make those holiday parties or will arrive, late, cold and tired, as soon as we can.
In the meantime, we are taking good care of our customers and are proud to do it. We wish you all a very safe and merry Christmas and if you happen to see us in your driveway, give us a wave!

TKSR

Sustainability?

Due to a lack of material from Tom & Tom, this blog will feature a guest blogger - me, Julie, Tom's daughter and Tom's sister. I figured I might as well post myself, rather than ghost write for them because as anyone who knows them both would have to admit, you can tell the difference.

Sustainability is a big buzz word in our industry this year. You are going to be hearing a lot about sustainability, and I have to speak on behalf of most of us here: we are a little confused.

Personally, my husband works from home, with no commute, and I didnt even buy my first car until I was practically 30 years old. Professionally, I feel at least partly responsible for the fact that the Barn sells about 10K trees and shrubs per year - and what is more sustainable than that? Unfortunately, I am guessing many of our customers are claiming those trees towards minimizing their own carbon footprints, so I suppose my green self-esteem is a little exaggerated.

But back to our confusion. Can we be more "sustainable"?

In order to get our heads wrapped around this thing, we are dedicating our winter, our educational classes, training and time to make sure we can be as sustainable as possible. As a company, we know we should lead the green movement - not lag behind, because we do this job out of love and with passion and that love is a job benefit that not many people get to experience.

Some of this is simple and you will see it at the garden center. Look for plant labeling to include drought tolerance, notes on natives and more. Check out our organic selection of fertilizers and pesticides. Our landscape team is ready to design your rain gardens and outdoor living areas to work with nature, not against.

We have two upcoming projects in our Sustainability initiative. First, an all day sustainability conference, including classes, as part of the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association's annual winter conference. The second is joining MELA - the Midwest Ecological Landscaping Association. We are all very excited about both and I look forward to sharing what we learn with our customers in 2010.

JJ

Winter Plans - is spring already around the corner?

Every April, we are bombarded with calls and emails from customers looking to get plans in place and jobs on the schedule. We LOVE to hear from you guys, but I would love to suggest adding "Call the Barn." to your To Do list this winter! There is nothing I would love more than to come out, get a plan together and have your home on our schedule first this spring. It is disappointing to us and to new and old customers to hear that we can't get to your project as soon as you would like - so don't delay. We work year round and are waiting to hear from you.



As for some personal updates, The Barn had a fun filled potluck at the store yesterday. The biggest surprise - all the kids!! How did it happen that in just 2 years it seems like everyone had babies. It adds a lot of fun and energy to the party. Next year, we will have to see if Santa can stop by. We also do a beer swap - the highlight of many of our landscape guys day. It was great to see all our employees and wish them Happy Holidays.

Happy holidays and best wishes for a prosperous and happy 2010 to you!

TKSR

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends, customers, family and employees!! We are planning a happy weekend full of friends, food, and fun. Thursday is Turkey and guess what?? Saturday is a big day for me - 60!!! At least I remain, as always, younger than my sister and wife!!

TKSR

Trick or Treat!

Well, this is really late in posting but we have been busy. First I would like to post some pics of an important tradition in the Barn/Kusmerz family: Pumpkin Carving. The first pic is of the founder of the Barn, Len Kusmerz with his kids Tom and Sharon. The second is of the current generation, proudly presenting their pumpkins.

The second item of note regarding the Barn family is the most recent edition. Paige Julianne Kusmerz was born on Halloween! She is happy and darling, enjoying life with myself, Danelle and big brother Jack. So far, she sleeps most of the time. We are keeping our fingers crossed that it remains this way.

Enough family talk! I know you are more interested in our landscape projects and updates. Here is a simple update you can do that makes a world of difference. It is a pet peeve of mine: ugly outdated pots and planters on doorsteps and patios. I left a nice restaurant last night and was sadly disappointed that such an upcale restaurant would have dead mums and other withered items in their front pots. Simple Winterscapes are easy to do. You can even trim some of your own berried stems or evergreen cuttings to fill in the dead spots. Or top by the Barn and let us do it for you, or choose from our selection of greens and berries. Don't delay! You never know when I will be stopping by to check in on your landscapes!!

Finally, I would like to let everyone know that the Garden Center's manager, Heather, is back part time from maternity leave. Welcome back, Heather!

TKJR

Little Cate's Patio

This project started and ended with a bang.
The original focus was to just clean and seal the existing patio ... the end result, well, just look at the final pictures. I will not go into full details but let's just say that it included some tricky materials, some wonderful (and understanding) clients and a company willing to stand behind it's finished product to complete the project with a result that exceeded not only our clients, but my own, expectations.

Here is a before shot.
Some of the highlights include natural bluestone steps, holland ashlar pattern patio and of course the firepit and seat wall. The material consisted of Paveloc's Creta seat wall to give a natural look to blend better with the thermal bluestone cap stones. The firepit was lined in firebrick and refractory mortar to provide a safe burning structure that will last for years to come. Also please note the solid brass accent lighting added to the seat wall and surrounding patio which allows a busy family to enjoy their outdoor escape regardless of the time of night.

Here are some of the after shots.

As for the name of this posting, let's just say little Cate was just a small bump in a belly when the original planning for the project was started and we had it completed with only two days to spare.

Good luck to Cate and her family, I know they will enjoy their new outdoor living space for years to come!

Here some additional images.