Christy's Corner

It's Almost Summer at Rancho Verde

2011-06-16T14:42:00.000-07:00

As summer closes in, it's easy to see the benefit of the rainy spring we had- lush greenery everywhere. Even our green roof looks more like a worn country path than a few inches of soil and sedum on top of a building.

O'Hare Airport in Spring

2011-05-11T12:24:00.000-07:00

We snapped some photos of the annual beds at O'Hare airport and wanted to share them with all of you. Known as 40MPH beds, the plantings are unique in that no one ever admires them up close, but instead from their car or taxi while driving throughout the airport. The bulbs don't need to be planted as tightly as they do for residential or public beds like at, say, Millennium Park. The layout helps save some money, but it makes for a slightly difficult photo shoot - a shot far away is boring without the movement's blur of color, and a close-up reveals the large spacing between bulbs. In most cases, the best solution was to position the camera to sweep across the top of the beds, keeping the base of the plants (dirt) out of the picture.

Washington, DC

2011-05-11T12:09:00.000-07:00

I finally downloaded some pictures off of my camera from our family visit to Washington, DC for the White House's Easter Egg Roll. I made sure to wear my blackhawks gear while at the white house:)

Blue Island Pop Up garden center

2011-05-06T06:59:00.000-07:00

We're proud to announce the grand opening of our new Blue Island pop up garden center. Serving the general public in the Blue Island area, the shop is perfect for those who want to pick up fresh, quality plants, flowers and material without trekking into a big box or a far off garden center. The right stuff, right here, right now. Sprucing up your yard or patio couldn't be easier.

OK OK, on a less sales-pitchy note, a lot of people worked hard to get this done and I can't be more thankful. It's taken a while, but it's great to see the Blue Island location standing on it's own two feet, so to speak. Stop by and check it out!!

Gateway Green Tree-K Run/Walk

2011-04-30T08:58:00.000-07:00

Despite the Seattle like weather over the past few weeks, the rain held out just long enough for a few of our Christy Webber staff to participate in the Gateway Green Tree-K Run/Walk.

Those tree costumes crack me up. No leaves??:)

Pictures from the Bricks & Ivy Ball

2011-04-12T13:03:00.000-07:00

Don't let the pictures fool you - there's no cubbie blue running through my veins. South Side for life!! Haah. I am, however, lucky enough to be good friends with one the Cub's owners, Laura Ricketts. I knew she'd love to see me attend, but when I heard that the money made from the tickets and auction items benefited kids and I knew I had to attend. The event was a blast and helped raise a ton of money. Plus, in all fairness, the Cubs staff was incredibly nice. I don't think Kerry Wood got a bite in during dinner, all with a genuine smile.

Whether they're your team or not, the organization is something we as a city can be proud of.

That said... GO SOX!!

IL Governor's Mansion Veggie Garden

2011-03-14T08:26:00.000-07:00

Last year we helped supply the mansion's vegetable garden with some much needed material. With almost a full year under it's belt, the governor's office has highlighted CWL for its help in a web page they created to show off the 'greening' of the mansion. Have a look here.

CWL at the Chicago Flower & Garden Show

2011-02-21T14:16:00.000-08:00

Click for Larger View

OK, ok, ok, a blog about the Chicago Flower & Garden Show wouldn't be complete without an accompanying blog for our own design. The theme this year is "The Sport of Gardening." We teamed up with the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks (the organization as a whole) to create a Blackhawks themed display. We'll begin the installation on February 22nd and can't wait to see the finish exhibit. Pictures to follow!

Evening In Bloom

2011-02-21T12:00:00.000-08:00

Click for a larger view

Christy Webber Landscapes, a returning exhibitor for the Chicago Flower & Garden Show, extends an invitation to Evening in Bloom, a preview event benefiting the Chicago Botanic Garden and Chicago Gateway Green. Get a sneak peek of the Chicago Flower & Garden Show BEFORE it opens to the public at this Preview Benefit from 6:00-9:30 p.m. In addition to exploring the show floor, you'll be treated to complimentary hors d'oeuvres, cocktails and live entertainment.
Visit http://www.chicagoflower.com/ for more information.

Kevin's Garden

2010-12-17T06:39:00.000-08:00

My LA Grace, designer Julie and I attended a meeting at the Children’s Memorial Hospital with Maggie Daley to begin designing a small outdoor terrace space in memorial of her son Kevin Daley. The garden is planned to be an outdoor space where patients who are not well enough to leave the hospital can be out in the fresh air and feel the sunshine. Because it is a children’s hospital, a Children’s Advisory Board was founded with the belief that the patients should have a say in how the hospital is designed. We met with four members of the Advisory Board and presented some preliminary ideas for the space. Over the next hour or so, we discussed what the kids were looking for in the space like purpose, seating and plant material. Due to the small size of the garden, options were limited but a general consensus was reached with raised planters containing evergreens and boxwoods as well as bright, recognizable flowers. But the most important element that the kids wanted was a fire pit which they said would be “bigger than bingo” which is a very popular event for the patients staying in the hospital. Though Kevin’s Garden is not slated to be installed for a few seasons yet, everyone left the meeting enthusiastic about the possibilities for making the garden a relaxing and beautiful space.

Style Network's Guiliana & Bill Airs Tonight

2010-10-11T11:14:00.000-07:00

Over the summer, Christy Webber Landscapes provided the landscaping design and build for the Rancic's new home. While the full schedule hasn't been released, our portion of the show should end up airing either tonight at 7:oo pm, or next week at 8pm.

I had a lot of fun filming my portion, and look forward to watching all of my staff who helped out on tv. Throughout the last few months, Guiliana and Bill even spent some camera time getting to know my family and some of that should be the episode as well. You can bet I'll be recording the next few episodes!

Hmmm, maybe Hulu will have the episodes...I'll update with a link if I see one.

Lord Stanley Asks the Question...

2010-10-04T07:57:00.000-07:00

Q: What would you do if you had five minutes with the Stanley Cup?

A: I'd put my kid in it.

Ha, who wants to drink from it now? Just kidding, no poopy diapers here.

Mayor for Life

2010-09-23T13:48:00.000-07:00

I couldn't help myself. I wore this for an engagement that I knew Mayor Daley was attending. Ha. Love it. Is it just me, or does the mayor, the mayor's image and I all have the exact same expression?

Rancho Verde Plays Host to Migrating Monarchs

2010-08-26T07:37:00.000-07:00

Dozens of Illinois' state insect, the Monarch butterfly, made their temporary home here at Rancho Verde over the past week. While it's hard to tell if the butterflies started their journey here or further up north, I do know (Wikipedia told me) that they'll be continuing their road trip all the way down to Mexico to special butterfly sanctuaries - Mariposa Monarca Biosphere Reserve.

Our butterfly garden impressed everyone who spent time out by the flowering plants, but the real deal is down south. The butterflies gather by the millions, completely covering clusters of large trees, waiting till spring to make the trek back up north.

One fact about their migration that I find particularly interesting is the group's round trip journey far exceeds an individual butterfly's typical life span. The butterflies lay eggs during a section of the migration and then die off some time after. The following year the spawn pick up where their parents left off and continue their migration. No one knows exactly how the new generations of butterfly know how to complete the journey, but they find their way back the same spot year after year.

Pitching in at the Model Bungalow

2010-08-26T07:35:00.000-07:00

Christy Webber Landscapes latest pro-bono project was to design, source all materials and install the landscaping at the Historic Chicago Bungalow Association's model green bungalow. This home is part of the HCBA's fifth Green Bungalow Block and is located in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood.

This project is exciting because it showcases the bungalow, a trademark of Chicago's residential architecture, and it also provides others in the neighborhood the opportunity to get grants of up to $5000 for energy efficiency projects for their own homes.

Our landscape design incorporated zone appropriate perennials, permeable paving and other sustainable elements (like a fruit tree!).

I'm including some before and after photos so you can see the transformation!

Helping Out on the South Side

2010-08-05T14:03:00.000-07:00

Christy Webber Landscapes recently donated plant material to the Chicago Police Department's 5th District Youth Group. Along with the Neighborhood Intern Project (a new prototype after school program), area youth and police officers helped the local senior citizens clean up and beautify the neglected senior homes, inviting them to take pleasure in the positive transformation they've made on their community.

My own green roof.

2010-07-21T06:15:00.000-07:00

I never liked the fact that much of my view from my back porch was of the top of my garage. Grateful as I might be for having a roof over my car, the sight of it wasn't exactly refreshing or inspiring (come on, it's a roof), so I decided to do what many of our clients do and create a green roof on an otherwise mundane little bit of space. And not only does it add some visual interest, it also diverts rainwater!

Converting my entire roof would have been costly, so to reduce costs, only the area that was visible to me was reworked. The initial steps consisted of putting the edging, root barriers and drainage in. That step took about 5 solid hours of work. After that, the actual laying of soils and plants finished out the second day. I took care to select plants and ground cover that would weather out the long dry summer days, but would also withstand those violent storms that seem to pop up frequently. Getting everything planted took a bit longer, only because I took some time to plan out a design.

Like many people, having a family and full time career doesn't leave me with a whole lot of extra time, but I felt real good about being able to do the work myself. It's like putting a motor back together or building a nice book shelf - you take a lot of pride in the work you do. . . well, you can leave the green roofs to me* (ha), but seriously, it's important to find time to do the things you love and labor over.

* If you're doing it yourself, please remember to use a certified structural engineer to assess your work site BEFORE you start loading up the roof with heavy material!!

Helping Herman Miller

2010-06-29T05:16:00.000-07:00

Last week, I was one of 30 people who donated their time to assist home and office furniture maker Herman Miller in planting garden material at the Madonna House. Herman Miller donated trees, shrubs and perennials to Catholic Charities for one of their homes in Wrigleyville. Thanks to everyone who helped out that day. It was such a great way to help out a local charity.

Adding to the Recycle List

2010-06-21T14:37:00.000-07:00

We've always taken steps to reduce the amount of waste here at Rancho Verde. We've done our part to recycle cans, bottles and paper (no greasy food packaging though!) and even the amount of water that runs off our streets into the sewer, but one item that you may not think about is the simple nursery pot we receive almost all of our plant material in. Any given week we receive hundreds of these pots, and in the past these would have been cast aside or thrown away because the type of plastic is not readily recycled in most municipal programs. Since moving to Rancho Verde, we've recycled these pots, but a drop in demand over the past few years made that challenging. Despite that, we were able to recycle 22,770 pounds of the nursery pot plastic last year alone. This year, we're thrilled to be teamed up with Adams Plastics, another west side business, to make sure these pots are always recycled after use.
We look forward to seeing how much we're able to recycle this year!
Update 6/29/10
Our total up to this point is 10, 866 lbs, with an additional 7-8000 going to Antek, Madison to a different recycling plant. Not too bad for a couples of months worth of work.

Christy Webber Landscapes

2010-06-21T06:54:00.000-07:00

Christy Webber Landscapes recently installed a temporary landscape feature at the Merchandise Mart for the upscale furniture company Herman Miller. The install consisted of numerous plantings, including flowers shrubs and even trees. It might not sound too impressive until you consider the installation was built on a flat bed and sat in front of the mart near the river. Impossible? Of course not. Easy? Well maybe not easy, but I'd like to think we're always up for a challenge, big or small.

Friday's Storm

2010-06-21T06:22:00.000-07:00

Friday's storm certainly did it's fair share of damage across the city; you can't deny the awesome power of Mother Nature! While downtown saw pieces of building falling off and outdoor cafes blown over, here on the west side we were privy to quite a show as well, in the form of what I can only explain as a mini tornado!

OK, so a true funnel didn't descend from the heavens, but on the ground its path was certainly laid out. The micro cell tore through the train yard due south of our property here at Rancho Verde. It knocked down numerous power lines and pulled quite a bit of scrap metal up into the air. Although I'm sure the train yard and scrap yard weren't to thrilled, imagine if this cell had hit the neighborhood a few blocks west.

Secretary Sebelius and Governor Quinn Visit

2010-06-21T05:40:00.000-07:00

Christy Webber Landscapes hosted the Governor and Secretary this past week to speak about Illinois' Put Illinois to Work program. CWL was ultimately chosen in part because of the large number of workers hired from the program, and to illustrate that not all stimulus money is used for corporations and bail outs, but also for the working class and small businesses like CWL. Roger Post and I were able to give the two a tour of our site, Rancho Verde, before they spoke about the progress made thus far. It was a great experience to host these two individuals and show them what Christy Webber Landscapes is all about.

Our Bees Are Busy Bees

2010-06-17T10:10:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, we purchased two bee hives. We had hoped the bees had adapted to their new home, but we had yet to see any real indication of them working as a colony. Until now. If you look closely, you'll notice pollen that's been secured onto the legs of a bee in the middle of the picture above. This is great news, because it's proof that the bees have found their individual roles and are in fact working as a collective whole.

Blackhawks Win!!!!

2010-06-10T05:40:00.000-07:00

So I might just be a little bit (very) superstitious. I didn't want to say anything until they won. But they did and I'm freakin' out! Before the last series started, we added a little bit of team spirit.

Hopefully they made the series even more enjoyable for anyone who visited the United Center.

We've Got Blisters on Our Green Thumbs!

2010-06-09T12:45:00.000-07:00

Holy Cow. We just got the final count on the annual bulbs we planted this spring. The total?

129,477!
A huge thank you to everyone who helped get these planted. They looked amazing this year.

Mike Nowak on WCPT 820AM

2010-06-08T05:19:00.005-07:00

This past Sunday, I was a guest on Mike Nowak's show, a Chicago broadcast on gardening and the environment. I could tell you all about it, but that wouldn't be fun. Click here and listen to it for yourself instead!

Missing Something?

2010-05-25T13:54:00.000-07:00

Photo courtesty of Bill Hogan

I was recently quoted in WGN's Chicagoland Weather Center website, speaking on my experience with having plants and trees stolen from the sites we built and serviced. A while back we had done some planting at Kennedy-King College, and after some time, we found out 4 trees had been stolen. Having anything stolen is bad enough, but knowing it was a relatively organized group of people makes it even more maddening. And odd too. Seriously? Who needs to steal trees. The article can be read here.

One Word Says It All...

2010-05-21T14:36:00.000-07:00

Go Hawks!!

Christy Webber Landscapes presents Garden of Eve

2010-05-21T13:57:00.000-07:00

This past Friday we brought our crews in a little early to make sure we got our shop nice and clean. We used our space for Garden of Eve, a special event to celebrate and support the services and programs of Howard Brown Health Center's Lesbian Community Care Project (LCCP). The event featured live music, dancing, delectable desserts and food from over 2 dozen local restaurants, and a silent auction (I sooo wanted that football signed by Walter Payton). All in all the event was a huge success. We had over 650 people here. 650! I'm surprised we had enough parking. A special thank you to Kat Fitzgerald for all the pictures.

CWL & MCM Grand

2010-05-21T13:22:00.000-07:00

Christy Webber Landscapes and its garden center - Grand Street Gardens, supplied material for MCM Grand's Jewelry Expo. Grand Street supplied plants and Japanese maples in Cresant pots for their entry way. How awesome are those neon lights. To learn more about MCM and the Grand Avenue Design District click here.

2010-05-06T13:54:00.000-07:00

My poor shadow, the 'first born' baby Webber, Oscar, needed his teeth cleaned the same day the baby was born. Luckily, a friend had taken care of him while we were at the hospital. He had been knocked out for the cleaning, and could barely stay awake afterwards. Poor Oscar just wanted to be at home with mom, but instead he was the playmate for a very happy & hyper dog, name Picco. I'm sure Picco enjoyed the play date, but Oscar is certainly glad to be home with the family.

Welcome the Newest Member of the Webber Family!!

2010-05-06T09:38:00.000-07:00

He's here!!

On Tuesday and 12:32PM, Jenny and I welcomed the newest addition to our family. There's just one problem - we haven't picked a name yet. Jackson, Henry, Charles? I can't pick. I'm too busy celebrating this wonderful moment with Jennifer and Oliver. Maybe I'll have my staff back at work vote on a name:)

Baby Webber is 6 pounds, 3 oz, 19 inches long with a head full of blonde hair.

Arbor Day Event at Nathan Hale Elementary School

2010-05-06T09:03:00.000-07:00

I recently had the honor of helping the wonderful students at Nathan Hall Elementary School plant a tree on the school's property. Along with 23rd Ward Alderman Michael Zalewski and representatives from the Chicago Department of Aviation, a total of ten trees and 25 hydrangea bushes were planted as part of the airport's compatible landscaping community education program -say that 3 times fast!

It's great knowing you've helped to clean and beautify a school, but even better knowing that the kids helping have a better idea of the benefits of keeping the school and the come to school and see the trees, they know they had a direct hand helping out the school and their community. How cool is that.

The United Center isn' the only place where hawks play

2010-04-05T13:48:00.001-07:00

We're constantly amazed at the assortment of wild life that frequents Rancho Verde. This time around, what appears to be a Cooper's Hawk perches a top one of our shade tents. The hawk took refuge from a pair of crows who had been chasing him/her around the yard. Probably more annoyed than worried, the hawk took the time to allow us to snap a few pictures. How lucky are we to get the opportunity to see such a beautiful animal up close and personal.

welcome Christy

2010-01-25T03:39:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

My New Years resolution is to try to get on board or at the very least attempt to participate in the 21st century by blogging.

I have never blogged before nor do I even begin to understand what it means. However it must mean something because I am to send my "blogs" to my staff for proof reading prior to posting. This first attempt seems pretty harmless so I will post without corrections!

To start off... did everyone attend the Mid Am trade show? And if so what were your thoughts?

I breezed through mostly to stop by my friends new venture Ivanhoe Nursery. I have maintained the United Center for years for the Wirtz family and one of the daughters is starting a tree farm on the family farm in Ivanhoe, close to libertyville (where ever that is). Gail set up a booth and because of her family ties was able to get a Blackhawk (Savard) to sign autographs at the show on Thurs. How cool is that! Anyway I hope you all picked up their pricing sheets and give them an opportunity to bid your work.

They have been so supportive of me and my company since my first cut of the grass at the United Center! I am sure you will find them to be very helpful and responsive to your needs.

Speaking engagements

2009-04-29T08:48:00.000-07:00

Over the past six months, I've been asked to speak at several green industry conferences. It is such an honor for me to be asked to address my peers at some of our industry's premier events!

I have been speaking on the topic of "greening the green industry," something which I have learned a lot about over the past few years. Many of you may know about our sustainable development on Chicago's west side (the Christy Webber headquarters building and our Rancho Verde development were awarded a LEED Platinum rating in 2007). Since the completion of Rancho Verde, we have been greening our operations and have gained a reputation for being a leading green business. We - and the rest of the "green" industry - have a long way to go, but I am happy to share the experiences and challenges we've had with others. It is flattering that people have taken an interest!

The photo here is of me giving my presentation at the Reinders' Turf conference in March.

Congratulations to Drucker Zajdel Structural Engineers, Inc.!

2009-03-30T09:13:00.000-07:00

Drucker Zajdel Structural Engineers, Inc. were awarded a 2008 IDEAS (Innovative Design in Engineering and Architecture with Structure Steel) Merit Award in the under $15 million category for their work on the Christy Webber Landscapes headquarters building. Congratulations Drucker Zajdel!