Sage Advice

White fringe tree is  stunning and unusual  in the spring garden, with its white blossoms that look like fringe. It is a showstopper. This multi-stemmed small tree also has glossy green leaves that make a nice backdrop for other plants all summer long.

Calycanthus is a native shrub with an unusual waxy flower that has a fruity scent. Wonderfully different.

This small courtyard behind a city condominium was nothing but mud and weeds before Sage Advice got to work. Two mature trees gave some privacy and enhanced views from second and third story windows, but at ground level they looked unsightly. Drainage was also a problem requiring sophisticated solutions before a patio could be installed.  The customer wanted an “outdoor room” for eating, relaxing and enjoying summer evenings.

Sage Advice and its hardscape partner, Cityscape Landscape, got to work and designed a drainage system with underground catchment basin and channel drains to direct water away from the house. These were installed first. Finished drains in the patio are almost invisible to the visitor, and no water collects on this new patio, even in wet weather.

The patio was designed and installed with bench seating, plenty of room for the grill and table, and a walkway to the back gate.

The trees were pruned, sprayed and fertilized by The Care of Trees, and the garden, designed by Sage Advice, provides all season interest and blooming shrubs and flowers despite the fact that this garden is always shady.

This shady front garden is unique and colorful and incorporates large, stately oak trees in its design.  The Japanese Kerria blooming on the right adds a bring splash of golden color in spring to this shady front yard.  Kerria appears from a distance to be a lot like forsythia, but is much more interesting and unusual. For close-ups of the blossom, check out or blog on gardening ideas.

Fothergilla is a spring-blooming shrub with very unusual blossoms (shown here).  It grows well in both shade and sun, and is sure to get comments and compliments.

The best way to have a garden that doesn’t look like every other one on the block is to incorporate a wide variety of less-common shrubbery. Here’s one to consider. Kerria is blooming now with its stunning yellow golden blossoms. And would you believe it — this is a shade loving shrub!

Mayapples are another spring ephemeral that you can see now in the woods — or in a shade garden. Why not try some?

This term refers to spring wildflowers that appear quickly in early spring when sunlight, moisture and soil nutrients are just right. Ephemerals  bloom, fruit, die back, and then disappear completely from the garden before the spring season has even completed its run. Novice gardeners may think the plants have died, but they have not! Spring ephemerals return each year only at the exact right time given the conditions mentioned above. Why spring? Because that’s when the sunlight can still reach the forest floor – and ephemerals are native to the woodland. Ephemerals must bloom before the leaves of overhead trees unfurl and block the light. They are able to do so because they grow close to the ground, where soil moisture protects them from the cold temperatures we sometimes experience in spring.

Native geum, called Prairie Smoke, is blooming now with its unusal wispy blossoms.

Prairie Smoke has a blossom that looks like smoke

A shrub and perennial border, including a small rain garden, was designed to attract birds and other wildlife.

This mid-sized suburban garden was redesigned to attract birds, using native plants and shrubs, and to provide a play area for grandchildren (foreground). The neighboring lot line house is in the background of the picture shown.