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# Green Plumb Garden Design

sustainable landscape design for beautiful outdoor rooms

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://greenplumbgardens.com/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [Blog](https://greenplumbgardens.com/blog/) - Designing and creating beautiful and sustainably-focused gardens that connect people, plants and forms into thoughtfully designed outdoor living spaces in the Chicago area since 2000.
- [Community Greening, Giving Back](https://greenplumbgardens.com/2023/01/community-greening/) - Our company's owners live in a sweet residential setting, with nearby pocket parks and some mature street trees. However, this in-town neighborhood was in need of greater investment of street trees, and both Julia and Daniel have been active community tree-planting advocates for our neighborhood. Starting in 2013, we nudged City leaders with a request
- [One year after install: a perennial garden, growing into non-stop color and texture.](https://greenplumbgardens.com/2025/10/before-and-after-transforming-a-suburban-chicago-backyard-into-a-colorful-august-garden-oasis/) - I was happy to visit this one-year-old perennial garden planting GPGD designed and installed in 2024, for a client on Chicago's north suburbs. During my late Summer visit (2025), I was pleased (as is the client!) with the fuller-than-expected blooms, texture, and pollinator sources. This garden is plagued by bunnies, nibbling at some key plants;
- [Dune grass at Miller Beach site](https://greenplumbgardens.com/2025/01/dune-grass-at-miller-beach-site/) - For a new residence in Miller Beach, in late 2023 - we installed layers of American beach grass / Marram grass (Ammophila breviligulata), along with snow fencing to act as erosion control, and to help hold the site's slumping sand, add beauty - and habitat - and help fit the home into its dune environment.
- [Design sketches for a Chicago courtyard in the Gold Coast](https://greenplumbgardens.com/2024/12/design-sketches-for-a-chicago-courtyard-in-the-gold-coast/) - Last fall, Green Plumb sketched out some concepts for a garden courtyard restoration in historic townhomes in Chicago's Gold Coast. Below are some 'before' images, as the clients had begun their total gut renovation of the homes interior and exterior areas. These clients sought a captivating and relaxing outdoor living space, in a tiny 22'
- [Witch Hazel for our first born ...and for pollinators](https://greenplumbgardens.com/2024/12/witch-hazel-for-our-first-born-and-for-pollinators/) - Reflective of the emotional reason for plant choices in a garden (we were commemorating a November birthday, when this tree's blooms sparkle) as well as the ecological ones - Witch Hazel supports valuable pollinators (such as late-season bees and moths), we selected the native WITCH HAZEL, Hamamelis virginiana, to 'REP' our front yard shrub-layer selection.
- [Ecological treatment for new home in the Dunes at Miller Beach, IN.](https://greenplumbgardens.com/2024/01/ecological-treatment-for-new-home-in-the-dunes-at-miller-beach-in/) - In 2023 our company helped a new homeowner building in the Miller section of Gary, to stabilize their dune, which had been cut into, to create their new yard and home. While sand will likely still shift and blow, this project's use of native dune grass and 'old-fashioned' snow fencing - to create and trap
- [Happy Client after only months of garden growth.](https://greenplumbgardens.com/2024/08/happy-client-after-only-months-of-garden-growth/) - I woke up this summer to a buzzing text message on my phone - this is the kind of text-based feedback a garden designer / owner hustles every moment for - and works hard to secure with her clients; a Wilmette-based client couldn’t wait to share *her joy* at her very young garden, planted in
- [a bit of before and after sparkle ...](https://greenplumbgardens.com/2024/12/a-bit-of-before-and-after-sparkle/) - Our value, IMHO, is the pop, and layering, and drawn-out seasonal color and textural changes we add to front, side and back yards. A sample before and after of a garden pre-scene, in 2023, and then in mid-Spring, 2024. This is - CLEARLY - eye roll ... the "before" image. Perennial layers in Spring 2024
- [If there was *one* shade plant I wish more people would swoon over ...](https://greenplumbgardens.com/2023/07/if-there-was-one-shade-plant-i-wish-more-people-would-swoon-over/) - ...It would be CAREX, or sedges. There are hundreds of sedges to consider and I often use a mere 4 -5 varieties in our design work. After seeing the everyday, absolute value of Carex in my own garden, I'm ready to dive into using and integrating many more Carex throughout our garden designs. Too few
- [Green Plumb's Value Proposition - dogged commitment to quality.](https://greenplumbgardens.com/2023/06/green-plumbs-value-proposition-dogged-commitment-to-quality/) - I’ve been thinking about GPGD’s value proposition lately, based on an interaction with a client, and I realized that I often assume a potential client knows, more or less, what sets me apart from other garden-related businesses, when – in fact – many do not. I’ll be working to stress that value proposition throughout all
- [New Year and RENEWED Website](https://greenplumbgardens.com/2022/01/new-year-renewed-website/)
- [DIY, CUSTOM-CEDAR FENCE REPLACING OUTDATED AND FAILING FENCE](https://greenplumbgardens.com/2023/03/diy-custom-cedar-fence-replacing-outdated-and-failing-fence/) - We’re DIY-ing, S-L-O-W-L-Y – a new fence for our yard and making new progress with the warmer temps – some (mainly) ‘before’ images – and final image of completed fence showing horizontal cedar slots – creating alluring new privacy for our family. Inspired by the many horizontal and narrow-sloted garden rooms in London – we
- [I spy with my little eye... astilbes and ...](https://greenplumbgardens.com/2022/01/i-spy-with-my-little-eye-astilbes-and/)
- [Rain gardens = workhorses for the community, with beauty to boot](https://greenplumbgardens.com/2022/01/rain-gardens-workhorses-for-the-community-with-beauty-to-boot/) - Necessary plants for a changing climate. Some snaps of the rain gardens our company built for an area in the south suburbs of Chicago that had underinvested in its infrastructure and remains vulnerable to future heavy downpours. While rain gardens won't absorb all of the gallons of heavy rain falling at once, they can take
- [Eye-Catching Aralia](https://greenplumbgardens.com/2022/01/arresting-aralia/) - The first image of Aralia, taken in July while at a garden buying trip to Twixwood Nursery in Berrien Springs, MI, reminded me of this beauty for shady gardens. Aralia is a plant to use in 2022 - to brighten a darker zone in your yard. This perennial, which was the 2020 perennial plant of
- [Evergreen Screens](https://greenplumbgardens.com/2022/01/evergreen-screens/) - I’ve been musing and working on fences and screens this winter, since my family and I are renovating our worn out backyard fence this year, installing new cedar fencing. Our backyard boundaries are small so we need some slim and narrow options; we’d like to screen out the views of various neighboring garages, and alley
- [Curved lines for a small city backyard](https://greenplumbgardens.com/2022/03/curved-lines-for-a-small-city-backyard/) - Green Plumb designed some curved patio zones, for a typical Chicago bungalow backyard setting, where straight and narrow lines dominate this urban neighborhood. These circular spheres of bluestone with brick edging will soon have the fragrance, texture and color of lush plantings surrounding and enhancing the client's enjoyment of this new outdoor room for their
- [Late summer Little Limelight Hydrangea beauty](https://greenplumbgardens.com/2022/09/late-summer-little-limelight-hydrangea-beauty/) - With input from this client, and studying some straightforward and elegant design styles from others, this client agreed to take the leap and switch out decades-old baby-breath spirea shrubs for a late-summer display of Little Limelight Hydrangeas, fronted with Buxus 'Chicagoland Green'. Our company also installed some shrubs and colorful perennials along the home's sloping
- [Winter Textures, Improving your ground game](https://greenplumbgardens.com/2023/01/winter-textures-improving-your-ground-game/) - If Vinca is your key groundcover throughout your gardens, time for an upgrade! I snapped some shots of a client's December garden and noticed that even in the gray-covered skies and slight frost of winter, the new garden plantings of Heuchera richardsonii, Carex flacca and Hakonechloa macra Aureola offer *some* respite and interest - though
- [Latest fav perennial ... and a great pollinator magnet](https://greenplumbgardens.com/2022/01/latest-fav-perennial-and-a-great-pollinator-magnet/)

## Pages

- [Green Plumb Garden Design](https://greenplumbgardens.com/) - Designing and creating beautiful and sustainably-focused gardens that connect people, plants and forms into thoughtfully designed outdoor living spaces in the Chicago area since 2000.
- [Native plantings and restorations](https://greenplumbgardens.com/native-plantings-and-restorations/) - Since our company's founding days, in the early 2000's, we've been engaged in planning, designing and implementing nature-based landscapes, creating native prairies, rain gardens, restoring oak savannas, and re-foresting and providing canopy and cooling to under-resourced communities. Here are some samples of our ecological projects, for federal grants, local municipalities, and homeowners. Many of these
- [Portfolio](https://greenplumbgardens.com/portfolio/) - Designing and creating beautiful and sustainably-focused gardens that connect people, plants and forms into thoughtfully designed outdoor living spaces in the Chicago area since 2000.
- [Entrance Plantings in Valparaiso](https://greenplumbgardens.com/entrance-plantings-in-valparaiso/) - Green Plumb completed this garden in partnership with the owner's keen knowledge of plants, landscapes and design, adding some simple and captivating plantings to fill in the voids at the shrub and groundcover layer when hired to renovate some gaps in the garden. The owners had some worn-out plantings of baby breath Spirea and too
- [Contact GPGD](https://greenplumbgardens.com/contact/) - Designing and creating beautiful and sustainably-focused gardens that connect people, plants and forms into thoughtfully designed outdoor living spaces in the Chicago area since 2000.
- [Open Vistas at LaPorte County Farm](https://greenplumbgardens.com/laporte-county-farm/) - At a northern LaPorte County second home, this family insisted on low-maintenance plantings and organic lawn care for their young family and many dogs. GPGD designed, installed and followed up with careful maintenance - using organic and soil-building products – for these dynamic plantings that wrap around the pool house and guest quarters for the
- [Blog Page](https://greenplumbgardens.com/blog-page/) - Blog One year after install: a perennial garden, growing into non-stop color and texture. Juliaplumbgold – October 23, 2025 I was happy to visit this one-year-old perennial garden planting GPGD designed and installed in 2024, for a client on... Read More Blog Dune grass at Miller Beach site Juliaplumbgold – January 14, 2025 For a
- [DIY, custom-cedar fence replacing outdated and failing fence](https://greenplumbgardens.com/diy-custom-cedar-fence-replacing-outdated-and-failing-fence/) - We're DIY-ing, S-L-O-W-L-Y - a new fence for our yard and making new progress with the warmer temps - some (mainly) 'before' images - and final image of completed fence showing horizontal cedar slots - creating alluring new privacy for our family. Inspired by the many horizontal and narrow-sloted garden rooms in London - we
- [About Us](https://greenplumbgardens.com/about/) - Designing and creating beautiful and sustainably-focused gardens that connect people, plants and forms into thoughtfully designed outdoor living spaces in the Chicago area since 2000.
- [Services](https://greenplumbgardens.com/services/) - Designing and creating beautiful and sustainably-focused gardens that connect people, plants and forms into thoughtfully designed outdoor living spaces in the Chicago area since 2000.
- [Blog 2](https://greenplumbgardens.com/blog-2/)
- [Wilmette Residence](https://greenplumbgardens.com/wilmette-residence/) - A simple and well-balanced garden layout compliments this small but richly-textured backyard landscape. Panicle Hydrangeas, dwarf Crabapple tree and purple-leaved Smokebush frame the pollinator-dominant species of coneflower, yarrow and salvias. The show-stopping display of Thalictrum rochebrunarium (lavender mist meadow rue) hits its peak display mid-summer, lighting off its own version of summer fireworks. A more
- [Flossmoor Garden Renovation](https://greenplumbgardens.com/flossmoor-garden-renovation/) - Green Plumb designed and installed three garden zones for this Flossmoor home, including new shady plantings of astilbe, ginger and fragrant Clethra shrubs, a new bluestone patio, dry-laid and lush perennial plantings in the front yard and side entrance. This project was one of our first to use a few new plantings, including the gorgeous
- [Lincoln Park Home](https://greenplumbgardens.com/lincoln-park-home/) - These homeowners in Lincoln Park, who worked with our company on their second home in Harbert, MI, acquired an open lot to the west of their home, seeking a more distinctive, colorful and generous entrance than the typical layout of lawn with evergreens edging the fence line. This new garden features dry-shade perennials and shrubs,
- [Evanston Front and Back Yard Garden](https://greenplumbgardens.com/evanston-front-and-back-yard-garden/) - Some loyal clients we’ve worked with for many years have phased in garden projects with Green Plumb, starting with a renovated backyard planting a decade ago. Evergreens and a portable water feature soften a rear door entrance, while the site’s heavy clay soils, often waterlogged after any precipitation, support native favorites, ‘Queen of the Prairie’,
- [Hyde Park Urban Greenery](https://greenplumbgardens.com/hyde-park-urban-greenery/) - Space limitations did not deter the owner of this home from dreaming of a long list of activities and features for her family. Green Plumb designed and coordinated construction of this urban garden with a re-circulating water feature, patio, pathway, lighting and plantings to screen and compliment a balanced and well-used outdoor setting. Hyde Park

## Categories

- [Blog](https://greenplumbgardens.com/category/blog/)

## Tags

- [Green Fence](https://greenplumbgardens.com/tag/green-fence/)
- [Shade Perennials](https://greenplumbgardens.com/tag/shade-perennials/)
- [Landscape Design](https://greenplumbgardens.com/tag/landscape-design/)
- [Bluestone Patio](https://greenplumbgardens.com/tag/bluestone-patio/)
- [Garden Install](https://greenplumbgardens.com/tag/garden-install/)
- [Chicago Landscape Designer](https://greenplumbgardens.com/tag/chicago-landscape-designer/)
- [Little Limelight Hydrangeas](https://greenplumbgardens.com/tag/little-limelight-hydrangeas/)
- [Chicago Landscape Design](https://greenplumbgardens.com/tag/chicago-landscape-design/)
- [Horizontal fence](https://greenplumbgardens.com/tag/horizontal-fence/)
- [DIY](https://greenplumbgardens.com/tag/diy/)
- [Privacy](https://greenplumbgardens.com/tag/privacy/)
- [Chicago Region Landscape Design](https://greenplumbgardens.com/tag/chicago-region-landscape-design/)
- [Carex pennsylvanica](https://greenplumbgardens.com/tag/carex-pennsylvanica/)
- [Penn Sedge](https://greenplumbgardens.com/tag/penn-sedge/)
- [Dry plants for shade](https://greenplumbgardens.com/tag/dry-plants-for-shade/)
- [Wilmette gardening](https://greenplumbgardens.com/tag/wilmette-gardening/)
- [landscape deisgn](https://greenplumbgardens.com/tag/landscape-deisgn/)
- [pollinating garden](https://greenplumbgardens.com/tag/pollinating-garden/)
- [colorful garden](https://greenplumbgardens.com/tag/colorful-garden/)
- [Garden design](https://greenplumbgardens.com/tag/garden-design/)
- [courtyard](https://greenplumbgardens.com/tag/courtyard/)
- [urban greenery](https://greenplumbgardens.com/tag/urban-greenery/)
- [patios](https://greenplumbgardens.com/tag/patios/)
- [Marram grass](https://greenplumbgardens.com/tag/marram-grass/)
- [Miller Beach](https://greenplumbgardens.com/tag/miller-beach/)
- [native landscape](https://greenplumbgardens.com/tag/native-landscape/)