Discover the Latest Landscaping Trends
As we start to think about spring and hopefully warmer weather, now is a great time to think about your landscape and any changes or additions you’ve been dreaming about. If you are looking to freshen up your patio, lawn or garden with some updated landscaping, make sure you take a look at one of these current trends.
Current Landscaping Trends:
- Simplicity
- Fire accents
- Outdoor rooms
- Concrete pavement
- Edible and Rain Gardens
- Water features
- Accent lighting
Less is More
In the years following the recession, homeowners have moved away from over-the-top landscapes to investments in higher quality, more natural materials. Low-maintenance grasses are especially popular since they require less time and money and cut back on the use of fertilizers and weed killers.
Fan the Flame
Homeowners are turning up the heat on their landscaping designs with dramatic fire accents. Whether it’s a fire pit, an outdoor fireplace or full-blown outdoor kitchen, a fiery accent can add a cozy, romantic feel to any outdoor area.
Inside Out
Bring the game outside! By mounting a TV outdoors, you can enjoy the day while you watch your favorite teams. Just make sure your TV is rated for outdoor use, and installed properly by a professional. And, as the technology behind waterproof and fade-resistant outdoor fabrics improves, full outdoor rooms are becoming increasingly popular. Homeowners are furnishing their patios with permanent living spaces complete with comfortable furniture and stylish designs.
Pave the Way
With continued improvements in the quality of paving, concrete is becoming a trendy, affordable landscaping alternative to stone and brick. Combined with the right pattern and design, pavement can be a complementary asset to any yard, as well as environmentally advantageous.
Vegging Out
While vegetable gardens have always been around, edible yards are experiencing a never-before-seen boom in popularity. Growing everything from fruit trees and tomato vines to berry bushes and medicinal plants, homeowners are adding a variety of colorful, useful plants to every area of their yards. Have you heard of a Rain Garden? This is a wonderful way to enjoy the beauty of a garden while making the best use of rain runoff.
Testing the Waters
Water features are dominating landscaping designs, adding a natural, fresh feel to outdoor areas. From simple birdbaths to bubblers, to elaborate, high-end water walls, homeowners are truly going crazy for water landscaping.
Lights on!
With LED lighting becoming more affordable and much more aesthetically pleasing, we are seeing outdoor patio lighting, particularly strings of lights across such places as pergolas and gazebos. Up-lighting, “Moonlighting” (high lighting placed up in trees to shine down on patios), and Down-lighting from hardscape (hidden by day, lights up at night) are trending, along with the ability to control from your iphone and/or ipad.
NORMAN S. HALL JOINS KINNUCAN TREE EXPERTS & LANDSCAPING COMPANY
Norm started working in the tree care industry in 1969 during his summer break. As a 2nd generation arborist, Norm has been around tree care all of his life. He enjoyed working with his father at an early age and developed a passion for plant life. Like most arborists, Norm started working as a groundsperson for the same company as his father. His experience includes rope and harness climbing, aerial lift operation, technical tree rigging, chainsaw operation, truck mounted crane assisted removals, applying pesticides, fertilization, cabling and bracing, and lightning protection installation. Norm has been an ISA (International Society of Arboriculture) Certified Arborist since April 1996 and an ISA Certified Tree Worker “Climber Specialist” since April 2002, when the program originated. Norm is an ISA, Illinois Chapter proctor for the Certified Tree Worker program.
Additionally, Norm has served on the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) Z133 Committee, a group of USA arborists who are committed to safety for the tree care industry. He is also an Illinois Arborist Association (IAA) past president, and is on the Illinois Arborist Association “Advanced Qualification” program as a lead instructor in the “Tree Work” domain.
Norm has received 3 “Special Recognition” awards from the Illinois Arborist Association, and is an “Honorary Life Member” of that organization.
In his free time, Norm enjoys boating, fishing, water sports, hiking, and spending time with his wife in their “empty nest” home.
Kinnucan performs safe, efficient mechanized tree removal
A Leader in the Tree Care Industry for Over 45 Years
Lake Bluff, Illinois February 16, 2016
Kinnucan Tree Experts and Landscape Company, Inc., a leader in the tree care industry for over 45 years, is pleased to share our commitment to the following industry certifications and accreditations:
To date, we employ:
8 Certified Arborists
2 Qualified Tree Risk Assessment Arborists
1 Certified Municipal Specialist Arborist
1 Certified Arborist and Tree Worker
4 Certified Tree Care Safety Professionals
10 Pesticide Applicator Card Holders
Heavy Machinery Helps Kinnucan Deliver Results
New Crane
Kinnucan recently purchased a 22 ton rear mount crane with a 101 ft boom. This equipment will greatly increase the safety and efficiency of Kinnucan's tree removal operations. In addition, this unit will be utilized in the landscape construction to move safely and efficiently various construction and plant materials.
New Caterpillar 299D
Turn undesirable woody vegetation into mulch. Kinnucan has a Caterpillar 299D with a heavy duty mulcher attachment which efficiently mows down Buckthorn and other woody weed vegetation quickly turning that vegetation into landscape mulch. In addition, this machine has a shear which can shear a 17 inch tree trunk in seconds. This equipment gives Kinnucan a unique advantage in providing safe and efficient service to Kinnucan's clientele.
KINNUCAN CONTRACTS WITH CITY OF LAKE FOREST, ILLINOIS
Kinnucan Tree Experts has been awarded 2015 tree removal contracts for the City of Lake Forest. In a continued effort to remove diseased Ash, the City of Lake Forest is aggressively removing trees along city parkways. Trees being tagged are either dead, beyond saving or pose specific safety hazards. The City’s long-range plan is to replace about 400 ash trees a year through 2021.
BUR OAK BLIGHT
A serious leaf blight disease on bur oak has been recognized in several Midwestern States, including Illinois. Researchers in Iowa confirmed that this disease is caused by a new, and yet unnamed, species of Tubakia. The disease was named bur oak blight, or BOB for short.
BOB occurs only on bur oaks, primarily on naturally established trees, and especially on mature trees on upland sites that appear to be remnants of savannah forests.
Leaf symptoms typically first appear in late July or August. Infected leaves develop purple-brown lesions along the midvein and major lateral veins on the underside of leaves. Large, wedge-shaped areas of chlorosis and necrosis develop on the leaf blade, and major leaf mortality may occur. The symptoms of wilting and leaf scorch resemble, and have been confused with, symptoms induced by oak wilt. A unique feature of BOB is that some of the killed leaves remain on the tree during the winter (healthy bur oak trees shed all of their leaves in the fall)
Over time, severely affected trees may die. Boosting tree vigor may prolong the life of affected trees and ward off invasion by secondary pests. In preliminary studies, injections of the fungicide propiconazole in late May or early June (prior to leaf symptoms) have reduced symptom development in the fall and the following year. For more information of Bur Oak Wilt, feel free to contact one of the Kinnucan Arborists.
KINNUCAN AWARDED 2015 CONTRACTS FOR EMERALD ASH BORER CONTROL AND DUTCH ELM DISEASE
To date, Kinnucan has been awarded 2015 municipal contracts for the following cities and towns:
- The Village of Mount Prospect, Illinois (Emerald Ash Borer Control)
- The City of Naperville, Illinois (Emerald Ash Borer Control)
- The City of Park Ridge, Illinois (Dutch Elm Disease)
- The Village of Schaumburg, Illinois (Emerald Ash Borer Control)
- The City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa (Emerald Ash Borer Control)
- The City of Des Moines, Iowa (Emerald As Borer Control)
LB Still A ‘Tree City USA’
For the 19th consecutive year, Lake Bluff has been named a Tree City USA community by the Arbor Day Foundation honoring the Village’s commitment to outstanding community forestry practices.
As part of a family of over 3,400 communities that have received this designation, Lake Bluff has met the following four standards required to become a Tree City USA:
- the operation of a forestry department.
- the protection of trees through a tree preservation ordinance,
- the implementation of a comprehensive community forestry program, and
- a proclamation observing Arbor Day.
In accomplishing one of the standards for Tree City USA status, the Village Board designated Friday, April 24th as Arbor Day in Lake Bluff. This celebration will happen throughout the day in programs at schools and , in particular, in the planting of a tree at Blair Park (355 W, Washington Ave.) at 2:00 p.m.
The benefits of being a Tree City USA are many and are well known to the 135 million Americans living in a Tree City USA. The standards used by the Arbor Day Foundation that distinguish these communities from others help create a framework for an urban or community forestry program. By retaining the Tree City USA designation the Village continues to successfully fulfill one of the goals outlined in the 2016 Strategic Plan, enhancing public and private open spaces, which seeks to achieve the community’s vision of Environmental stewardship, which enhances the natural beauty of the community.
When asked about the environmentally-friendly award, Public Works Superintendent Jake Terlap says, “Being recognized as a Tree City USA for the past 19 years says the Lake Bluff enjoys a quality of life better than most other places and ensures its commitment to its natural environment continues.”
The Tree City USA program is sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the National Association of State Foresters and the USDA designation, contact Jake Terlap, Public Works Superikntendent, at 847-735-2310 (tel: 847-735-2310), or email at vlb@lakebluff.org.
KINNUCAN CONTINUES WORK AT STONEBRIDGE DEVELOPMENT, LAKE BLUFF, ILLINOIS
Stonebridge, referred to as Lake Bluff’s Historic Garden Estate, is a new multi-home site to be developed by The Roanoke Group. Once developed, Stonebridge will also include a fully restored Jens Jensen landscape with over 12 acres of gardens. To help with the restoration and preservation, Kinnucan has been busy these last few weeks trimming deadwood, removing hazardous and non-native trees, as well as fertilizing weak trees.
