Landscaping Tips & Insights • The ILT Vignocchi Journal

Notes From the Field

Landscaping tips, seasonal guidance, and the occasional strong opinion from a family that has cared for Chicagoland properties since 1969. Written by the people doing the work: our designers, our horticulturists, and the crew leaders who have watched the same gardens change for twenty years.

What You'll Find Here

01

Seasonal guidance.

What to do in the garden this month, and just as usefully, what to leave alone.

02

Design and inspiration.

How outdoor spaces get planned, and why certain choices still look right a decade later.

A blank white background

03

Plant and lawn care.

Practical landscaping tips for Chicagoland soil, shade under mature oaks, and a deer population with opinions.

A blank white background

04

Property management.

For the people responsible for grounds that have to perform every day, not just look good in June.

A blank white background

05

Behind the scenes.

Occasional stories from a family business that has been at this since 1969.

A blank white background
Resdential, Landscape Design Halstead Media Group Resdential, Landscape Design Halstead Media Group

How to Find the Right Patio Installation in Island Lake, IL, When the Quality Has to Match the Property

Searching for patio installation in Island Lake, IL, returns a list. Every company on that list will tell you they build great patios. Some of them do. Most of them build adequate patios. A few of them build patios that develop problems within two winters because the base was undersized, the drainage was ignored, or the design never accounted for how the patio connects to the rest of the landscape.

On the North Shore, where the properties demand a level of craftsmanship that matches the architecture and the community, the search for patio installation should not end with proximity. It should end with the company whose process, whose materials, and whose design capability match the standard the property deserves.

Read More