Ask the Expert: Dreaming of Spring With Landscape Designer Meagan Provencher

With nearly 2 feet of snow outside our doorsteps, spring seems a very long way off. So I asked Meagan Provencher, landscape designer for Wasco Nursery & Garden Center in St. Charles, to share some thoughts about how we can use winter to think about the types of landscaping and gardening we'll want to do when the weather warms up. It will warm up, right? Right? -- Tara

I have a sunroom attached to my house and I spend almost every day sitting in my husband’s my leather chair looking out the windows at my garden. Some days I only get a few minutes to reflect, other days I can actually sit and read and watch the birds flit about or the snowfall.

A view of the author's garden in winter.I have learned by sitting and just staring out the window to appreciate every season that we have here in northern Illinois. I know you are all moms and are wondering how a mother of two crazy boys can actually get a minute, let alone several, to sit and stare out the window. I just do it, and you should take time to do it, also: I’m the mom and I said so! It also really helps to have a nice view to spend that minute looking at.

I always tell my clients to consider the view out their kitchen window when planning a garden. Where do we spend most of our time, almost 365 days a year? I know that I look out the window above my sink every single day so that is the view of my garden that I love the best.

I can see a background of graceful, weeping Serbian Spruce that serves as a screen to hide my neighbor’s driveway. (No offense, Tammie … I planted them before you moved in!) In front of them I have a birdbath that is frequented by some faithful robins. When they tire of my birdbath they head for my Mini AquaBasin Fountain and sit in it like it’s their own personal spa. I sometimes find myself staring at them and creating a dialogue in my head of how the bird world works. Do they worry about their kids? Did they volunteer one too many times to bring snacks to preschool? Are they having a girls’ day out or just trying to sneak a shower before feeding the kids? :) 

I have something blooming at all times – there is Columbine in the spring, followed by a gorgeous red ‘French Lace’ Weigela (that gets buzzed by hummingbirds more and more as it grows), then an ever-blooming onion called ‘Summer Beauty’ (I know, an onion! Who knew?!). I can see the edges of a large ‘Gracillimus’ Maiden Grass swaying in the wind.

Maybe you'll want to plant a "pink double delight coneflower" next spring.For late season I have a ‘Sweet Caroline’ Hibiscus that will reward me with paper plate-sized pink and red blooms in July and August. I filled in some blanks last year with a new Bee Balm ‘Grand Parade’, ‘Pink Double Delight’ Coneflower, a Hollyhock ‘Crème de Cassis’ (it appealed to the cottage gardener in me), a dark purple Daylily ‘Bela Lugosi’, and the lesser known Calamintha that bloomed all summer long. (Check out this website to see more info on these plants.)

I had three leftover Red Cabbage from my vegetable garden so I stuck them in the front of the border and they STILL are poking through the snow with their red leaves. Talk about great color from 75 cents worth of leftover plants. In the middle of all of this is my kids’ clubhouse. I can see exactly what they are up to and can still yell at them to get out of my garden! All of this color and action just viewed through one tiny window! Imagine what you can see if you create a backyard oasis that you can view from every window. (And it doesn’t have to cost a fortune!) It might just help that long winter go a little faster.

Take some good notes at this time of year. Look out all of your windows and note what you see, what you don’t see, and possibly what you would like to show off or hide at this time of year vs. the summer. Take some photos, too. It really helps when everything leafs out again and you can’t remember what February looked like. You don’t have to list specific types of plants – that’s what I’m for! I can help you choose plants that give you four seasons of interest. A good landscape designer never forgets the strange seasons in Chicagoland. So go grab a cup of coffee, check out your view, and make a wish list. My next article will touch on how to jump right into spring without freaking out when you walk into the garden center!

Meagan Provencher is the landscape designer for Wasco Nursery & Garden Center in St. Charles. She lives in Geneva with her husband Ben, a high school teacher, and their two sons Sam and Henry.