Enhance Your Environment

Home to Environment - "You Complete Me!"

The United States is presently experiencing a slow real estate market.  Yet, we just sold our home at full asking price - in one week!  How did this happen?   There is no doubt in my mind that having a well designed and maintained landscape that complements the home and integrates with the interior spaces dramatically helps to make 'a house a home.' A home is more than the physical structure - it an intimate combination of the structure carefully sited and appropriately enhanced to capture the best qualities of that site.

Every homebuilder knows you sometimes have to build a spec home so that potential buyers can experience their product - because most can't do this from drawings and plans.  The physical structure is tangible - people can relate to it.  Moreover, if you have a home with poorly enhanced outdoor spaces, it is a distraction from what may otherwise be beautiful home.  Offering choices of outdoor spaces with different personalities - sometimes referred to as outdoor rooms - fully immerses the homeowner in their environment where they can envision themselves relaxing, rejuvenating, enjoying family and friends, or otherwise experiencing their home - and life more fully.   I imagine homes with great landscapes might feel as Tom Cruise did for Rene Zellweger in the film Jerry McGuire when he proclaimed to her - "You Complete Me."

Get Fired Up About Your Environment!

Years ago it was considered a symbol of success to be fully employed.  This meant there was a steady paycheck that provided the resources with which to enhance your lifestyle - whether for taking a vacation or investing  in your home or landscape.  The word fired or laid-off had an extremely negative connotation.  Today it's a punchline - thanks in part to Donald Trump.  Being fired isn't a big deal today?  Why is that?

The reason is there is so much wealth today -- such an abundance of resources of virtually every kind, such that being without work is just a minor inconvenience -- even if it lasts for months.  We have so much abundance today that it's a challenge to really appreciate everything.  Now too much work is not only not appreciated - it's described with a new word - stressful! 

This brings me to your environment.  In many cases you probably take it for granted too.  Fresh air, the cool shade of a beautiful tree, the glorious color of summer flowers - these are all things to celebrate.  This appreciation and celebration redefines your environment.  It makes it better because you are part of it.  It comes alive!  You really can change your environment by infusing it with your attention, energy, enthusiasm and appreciation.  Bring your attention to your environment and it will continue to reward you with countless benefits - like, well...hmmm.... like a steady paycheck:).

What Does it Mean to be Green?

Now that being green has become a hot trend - a trend I hope continues to develop for its own sake -  we should start considering what 'green' means to each of us.  Some take green literally.  They consider green to be beautiful, lush turf,  while others strongly oppose any artificially maintained environment, which of course includes lawns of all kinds.  They consider meadows and prairies to be the pinnacle of 'green.'  I admire and respect all natural spaces.  And since I'm in the business of delivering natural environments to clients, I have to fulfill many different needs and desires while also honoring my personal values and those of everyone here at Treemendous Landscape Company®.  Hmm...what am I thinking?  I'm thinking that like so many other issues that involve all of us dwellers of this planet, we're going to have to strike a balance in our earthly activities.  We're going to have to agree and probably also agree to disagree.

The truth is this discussion is healthy because now we are focused on taking action.  If we can determine the right reasons for having a lawn or a meadow or for harvesting rainwater, then the right actions will naturally follow - and the result will be a healthier environment for all of us.  It may not be perfection, but it wil be progress - progress toward a greener planet - which to me means a planet that supports a healthier and therefore happier quality of life!

Vastu for Balancing Your Environment

Years ago I began my study of the discipline of Feng Shui at the encouragement of one of my clients.  Back then I hadn't even heard of Feng Shui, while today many of our clients at Treemendous request Feng Shui for their homes and their outdoor environments.  True Feng Shui requires calculations - which doesn't happen to be one of my skillsets.  I am intuitively connected with nature and resist things like calculations to help me work with and understand it.  This is one reason I have learned to also apply Vastu as an adjunct to Feng Shui when working to balance a space or enivronment. 

What is Vastu?  It is a very similar to Feng Shui and originated in what is present day India; whereas Feng Shui comes from China.  However, Vastu is more intuitive in that it follows patterns many of us understand.  The sun rises in the east and this orientation is where we look to for enlightenment - or in today's society - it's the direction you want to face when you are doing creative work such as writing.  Guess which direction I'm facing right now? 

The sun sets in the west and that is where you naturally adjust your activities toward the end of the day.  We all love to watch the setting sun in the west.   This activity grounds us.  And, if you are developing your landscape, you'll want to enhance the earthy qualities of the western portion of your property by 'weighting' or grounding it with soil, organic gardens, or articles such as clay planters.  These treatments anchor the space and those that use it.  They also serve to help retain the creative energy that flows from the east.  However you approach the balancing of your environment, it's interesting to discover that when properly applied, both Feng Shui and Vastu deliver similar results.  This only proves that these systems are both valid as much today as they were thousands of years ago.   

Enjoyment of Green - Not Soylent Green!

Scientists are beginning to come to grips with the dramatic changes we are experiencing in our environment.  Just yesterday we marked a record high of 79 degrees in Chicago - in March!.  It was actually quite warm at a time when we are used to getting that last big snowfall.  In fact, we've been known to experience snow in April and May in the windy city.  But not to worry -- scientists are now running computer models to simulate the changes being observed to predict "future climates."  Just a  few weeks ago, they weren't certain that global warming was a reality.  Now they've come to the conclusion that "some weather patterns may disappear entirely."  Oops!  Did we do that, we'll be asking ourselves in a few years?  Is it possible we could overrun this environment to the point where a present- day Soylent Green becomes plausible?  While I don't want to go there, it is a thought that came to mind.  Of course, I'm only referring to the mismanagement of our environment, not the infamous food substance mentioned in the last line of the movie!

The interesting thing is that the disappearance of specific climates and environments won't leave an empty hole, but will create new environments.  What will they be?  Will they provide the enjoyment we now derive from nature.  The spin I'm beginning to see is along the lines of "we had too much ice in Siberia anyway."  I guess now we can look forward to beaches and waterfront developments in these areas?  Let's hope we don't have to go there either.  Let's hope we appreciate the balance that Nature provides us with and seek to preserve that in whatever ways we can.  Plant a tree.  Take a walk instead of driving.  Most importantly, get out there and enjoy nature now!  Someday you might have to tell your grandchildren what it was like.

Landscape Friends – Plants, Ponds, Pools and Patios

My family recently returned from a vacation in Mexico where me and my son Zak scuba dived for the first time and even earned our scuba diver certifications.  We discovered an amazing world of brightly colored fish – thousands of them - and so friendly in their environment that they swim within inches of your touch! We also encountered a couple of sting rays, trumpet fish, and many other interesting creatures whose names escape me. This fascinating experience gave me a new perspective on the ponds and landscapes Treemendous® creates in the Naperville area.

We probably underestimate the value nature brings to our lives if we don’t spend time immersed in it and hopefully learning how it works. You don’t need to understand the natural interrelationships in your personal landscape to enjoy it, but it can give you a greater appreciation for its value in your life.  Beautiful landscapes are a joy to admire. Yet, they also bring a balance to our lives by reminding us of our role as creatures of nature.  Being the highest on the food chain, we have a responsibility to preserve and protect our environment so that future generations can benefit from it.   

These days suburban landscapes are predominantly comprised of hardscapes – patios, terraces, pools and ponds.  Yet, these man-made elements lose some of their appeal if they are not balanced and accentuated with natural elements like plants and fish that we intuitively connect with.  If you aren’t getting the enjoyment you expect from your landscape, you may be missing one of nature’s ‘friends.’ This spring when you venture out and enjoy the fresh fragrance of nature, think about what’s next in enhancing your environment.

Enhance Your Environment - Let Nature Melt Away Your Stress

Do you find yourself surrounded by stressful influences? Many of these influences are unavoidable.  Yet, you can choose to reduce your stress by creating an environment at your own home that offers a respite from those conditions that are largely beyond your control. 

Nature reduces stress.  It reminds you that you are part of nature, something that came naturally to human beings when our society was closer to the land.  Your energy is balanced by nature through its balance.  While there are many ways to achieve balance in our lives, one of them is to immerse ourselves in natural environments that feed our senses with wonderful sights and fragrances and textures – and rejuvenating energy.

Treemendous Landscape Company® is presently working with several clients that specifically selected us for our understanding of the principles of Feng Shui.  Feng Shui is a time honored science that respects the flow and circulation of energy for the benefit of people in practically any physical space.  I became a Feng Shui practitioner some time ago after years of study with the American Feng Shui Institute.  I quickly learned that well conceived designs create environments that enhance the lives of people using the space. The original Feng Shui masters came to this conclusion thousands of years ago by simply meditating on a site to understand its energies.  In many ways, this is how we work when we apply our intuition, experience and talents to helping our clients create an environment that enhances their lives.  It may well be true that landscaping and other green industry practices enhance people’s quality of life as much as any other industry.  This is why the leadership of The Professional Landcare Network (PLANET), a green industry organization of professionals representing the professions that create and maintain green environments, is taking the initiative to promote this wonderful benefit of green spaces. 

About Treemendous Landscape Company®

Would you like to enhance the experience
you have in your personal environment?

That's what we do.

Treemendous Landscape Company® is exclusively focused on the Design-Build
and Maintenance needs of Residential clients
in the Naperville area.

Founded in 1988 -- Treemendous has earned numerous local and national awards for its projects -- and recently named Business of the Year by the Naperville Chamber of Commerce.            

We are located at 23736 W.  119th Street, Plainfield, IL.  You may phone us at 815-439-0440 or email at business@treemendous.com.  We'd love to hear from you!