Midwinter Conference

8:30 am – 9:30 am

Know Maintenance Philosophy

Roy Diblik, Northwind Perennial Farm and Matt Moore, Village of Fontana

“Know Maintenance” means planting items suitable for the area while being conscious of the time, effort, and money associated with keeping the garden beautiful. For more than 30 years, Roy Diblik has been growing, planting, and studying perennials. See how his designs combine sustainability, beauty, and practicality. Learn to create communities of compatible plants that live well together, support each other, and establish quickly to become gorgeous gardens that require minimal care. One specific area of focus will be Fontana, near Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Roy designed the exquisite municipal areas for the village. He, along with Matt Moore, who maintains the area for the village, will include information on how Fontana has moved forward to understand their costs to maintain public space, as well has how they have used a team approach between public and private groups for creating and maintaining the area.

9:45 am – 10:45 am

Rich Eyre takes you around the world to see gardens and plants that inspired him. Visiting new gardens provide information and inspiration for enhancing designs with a great idea, new layout, or better use of plants in the landscape. He hopes this presentation will encourage designers and landscape architects to travel or reach farther for a new design concept that will give gardens a new, special look that their clients desire. Customers want four-season displays, and he demonstrates how dwarf conifers provide enhanced spring, summer, fall, and winter drama. Rich is the owner of Rich’s Foxwillow Pines Nursery in Woodstock, Illinois. The nursery emphasizes dwarf and rare plant material specifically suited for modern downsized spaces. All tree selections exhibit a unique quality whether it is a superior growth habit, outstanding color, unusual texture, or extremely slow growth. He can help you become a garden artist painting the landscape with an expanded palette of plants. Create a masterpiece in every landscape.

11:00 am - Noon

Most American landscaping is traditional turf grass, which requires continuous mowing, chemical treatment and irrigation. The resulting mono-culture ecosystem is not well-suited for the climate and soil conditions, so it requires intense human intervention. Native prairie landscaping on the other hand has evolved to thrive in the local conditions where it existed for millennia without intervention. Its deep root structure and biodiversity made the ecosystem naturally drought, disease and pest resistant. The root structure is constantly renewing, with 25 percent of root mass decaying each year, thus creating a natural carbon storage capacity as evident in the rich soil found in the American heartland. Additionally, the deep root design increases the function of the natural water cycle which provides a natural function to improve our management of water resources throughout the watershed. Landscaping with natives allows property owners to reintroduce the natural beauty of a prairie ecosystem while at the same time save money on mowing, irrigation and treatment.

8:30 am – 9:30 am

Going Green is all the rage. Author, television, and radio show host, Melinda Myers from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, will provide some new and favorite tips and techniques for helping your clients save time and energy while being kind to the environment and growing a beautiful landscape. She will discuss efficiency, eco-friendly, and attractive ways to manage yard waste, water wise gardening techniques as well as the use of rain barrels, cisterns, rain gardens, solar-powered accessories and recycled items in the garden.

9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.

Mixed containers continue to be a leading American garden trend. Jim will present a range of images of plants and combination ideas on using containers in both the commercial landscape as well as in the home landscape. From large-scale raised parkway containers to 14-inch pots for the front door, this presentation is to inspire your creative juices. He will conclude his presentation with some of the newest introductions for 2009.

11:00 a.m. – Noon

FRIDAY, JANUARY 16 2009

8:30 am – 10:45 am

Site design standards have evolved and continue to change as we move forward. Today we are in the midst of the Green age. Sustainable, green, carbon footprint, and other eco-friendly terms are reality. Consumers today are informed and want good and green designs.

We need to make sure landscape design is still based on design. In that, proposals need to: 1) Service the site and client with functional as well as attractive concepts; 2) Look at design as a staged plan, an investment, not the quick stop, in-and-out proposal; 3) Show landscape designs that convey and communicate in a professional and effective time and manner.

Today, we see times changing, and we need to service the clients design needs and emotions. While money may be tight, the need and responsibility to propose good site design remains. Good design is timeless.

11:00 am –Noon

Karla Lynch, Manager of Horticulture Education at the Morton Arboretum, suggests ways to create landscapes which balance beauty, safety and sustainability. Learn simple techniques to determine and reduce your use of non-renewable resources. Discover stylish design ideas that promote conservation, water-wise gardening, porous paving, use of recycled materials, green walls and other “green” landscape methodologies.

“Going Green” is all the rage, but what does that really mean to the green industry? How will the trend towards sustainability impact business and how are landscapers preparing for the new economy? Christy Webber will discuss the efforts her company, Christy Webber Landscapes, has made towards this end, as well as the challenges and shortcomings of greening the industry. From purchasing propane mowers to building a LEED Platinum certified headquarters building, Webber will explain how her company evaluates eco-friendly alternatives to determine if they make good business sense.

In 2006, Webber formed Chicago Greenworks to develop Rancho Verde, an eco-industrial park that houses the CWL headquarters. The headquarters building utilizes green energy systems throughout, including geothermal and active and passive solar energy. Rancho Verde has won numerous awards for its environmentally sensitive approach to redeveloping a brownfield site in a disadvantaged community. Some of the site’s innovative features are a unique stormwater management system (including a green roof, bioswales and a rain garden) and the first Chicago public street with porous paving and induction street lighting.

9:45 am - 10:45 am

Brian Barry, Senior Associate at Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects will discuss the design and installation of green roof projects, including the award-winning 20,000 square foot green roof at 900 N. Michigan Avenue. His talk will delve into design process, demonstrate innovative design uses for standardized green roof tray systems, and exam the technical challenges involved when pushing the envelope of green roof design.

11:00 am - Noon

Local expert, Grace Rappe, of Hoer-Schaudt will discuss different landscaping ideas that can minimize a home’s footprint on the earth by capturing rain water, and reducing air conditioning loads, wind erosion and more. Green Industry professionals can benefit from this program as it introduces new and innovative concepts that can be applied to working at a customer’s current home, or used when designing your next residential landscape. Learn how to change Midwest landscapes into more sustainable and environmentally friendly places.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2009

8:30 am – 9:30 am

Are you marketing your business to take advantage of the growing consumer interest in sustainable products and services? While we may be the original green industry, your business is at just as much risk as those compact fluorescent light bulbs (filled with mercury). With environmental focus at a 20-year high, your customers are more wary than ever about the claims you make about the products on your shelf. This session will take you through a step-by-step process to identify how to market your products to your consumers in a way that is authentic, honest, and meaningful to them—and most importantly, puts more “green” in your register!

9:45 am - 10:45 am

Green is hot! If Wal-Mart and Lowe’s tout the eco-friendliness of their businesses, why aren’t we shouting even louder? We are the original green industry! We need to do our part in reminding our customers that our products remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Water conservation is hot! Do you sell, demonstrate, and use rainwater collection devices? Do you offer plants in non-plastic containers? Are you considering recycling tags, flats, packs, etc? Are you adding value for your customers? Being budget-friendly is very hot! Professor Bridget Behe from Michigan State University will address these many topics to help let your customers feel good about being green with your store.

11:00 am - Noon

The topic of sustainability is on the top of consumers’ minds, changing the way they think, what they buy, and where they buy it. But there’s also a lot of misinformation out there that’s confusing the consumer, and we have an opportunity and responsibility to clarify their thinking and educate them on the environmental benefits our products provide.

For instance, did you know that since much of our product is grown in greenhouses, we’re responsible for that environmental nemesis, greenhouse gases? And because greenhouse gases are contributors to global warming, we are leaving behind a huge carbon footprint? You and I know better, but these are real consumer perceptions that exist and that we need to educate them about. The reality is that you may be not only carbon-footprint neutral, but a reducer of greenhouse gases, helping to reduce global warming. But your customer will never know this unless you tell them!

Join Stan Pohmer to hear about some of the fictions that consumers hold and some of the real environmental benefits our products provide, and how to communicate that information to them.

8:30 am - 9:30 am

As municipal Geographic Information Systems (GIS) grow, the need to access the data is becoming more important. Municipalities, utilities, and other agencies (including those in the Green Industry) need instant access to information regardless of their physical location. With advancements in technology, access to GIS information is now available virtually anywhere. This presentation will focus on the different ways customized applications, written in ArcEngine, ArcGIS Server, and ArcIMS, are providing GIS to staff at all levels. We will show how municipalities and utilities are employing custom applications to maintain, access, and analyze data remotely (including ArcEngine field applications and ArcGIS Server Web applications) and will discuss what technologies are best for specific applications.

9:45 am - 10:45 am

This course will cover the basic tools, techniques, and use of the AutoCAD program within landscape architectural and landscape design offices. Demonstrations will focus on applications specific to a landscape design including base plans, layout plans, revisions, planting plans, and construction detailing. Attendees will gain a better understanding in how to use and apply the software. As the most prominent and necessary tool in the modern landscape architectural and landscape design office, AutoCAD is a must for people in the green industry.

Do you have a PDA? If so, do you use it to its fullest potential? If you don’t have a PDA yet, is it time to get one? Kevin Marko, the Landscape Division Manager for Chalet in Wilmette, Illinois says, “If you want to stay ahead of the curve, you have to stay cutting edge.” Learn how a Blackberry, Trios or updated Palm Pilot can help you make the most of your time and benefit your clients. Learn how to keep client/vendor contact information at your fingertips … access lawn care, design/build or maintenance information immediately … find the cost of a 10-foot Norway Spruce and much more! This session will run approximately 30 minutes with an additional 15 minutes for your questions to be answered by Kevin.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2009

8:30 am - 9:30 am

Ornamental Grower Association members, Rich Eyre of Rich’s Fox Willow Pines and Dave Wanninger from Beaver Creek Nursery will enlighten you with some great evergreens and woodies for those small landscape designs. These locally grown compacts, dwarfs, and pyramidals are sure to have a big impact on your spring projects.

9:45 am - 10:45 am

Emerald Ash Borer infestation presents us with both challenges and opportunities. It’s difficult to imagine what urban landscape will be like without ash trees. Diversifying tree inventory is one of the key strategies that can protect us against such devastating pest as EAB in the future. Kunso Kim from the Morton Arboretum will discuss some desirable alternative trees for urban landscape.

8:30 am - 9:30 am

9:45 am - 10:45 am

Effectively communicating safety to your Hispanic/Latino workforce is more than playing a safety videotape in Spanish. OSHA has reported numerous injuries and fatalities among Hispanic/Latino employees in the Green Industry. This session will teach you how to effectively communicate safety by working around various language, cultural, and literacy level barriers. OSHA recently emphasized that employers must train workers not just in a language they understand but also in a “vocabulary” (or manner) they understand. Becoming effective safety communicators to your Hispanic/Latino employees will not only save you money in potential OSHA penalties but will also help you save lives.

There are many types of systems available to monitor soil moisture levels. They vary from as simple as a soil probe to as elaborate as electronic data loggers and weather stations. We will review how trees and turf differ in their water requirements as well as some of the common instruments available to measure soil moisture to enable you to better serve your clients.

Todd Degner from The Care of Trees will discuss new tree preservation technologies: what they do, how they work and when to use them. It will also give an overview of how root zone considerations should shape planning/design and construction decisions throughout a construction or land development project. Included will be case studies with before, during and after photos.