Cool landscape
This couple transformed bare land into a shady oasis by planting trees, shrubs, then perennials.
When Kevin and Kathy Gallagher moved into their country home 19 years ago, it was on an open field.
"There was nothing here," says Kevin. It was important to him to get some trees planted right away, to provide much-needed shade and windbreaks, for one thing, but also to provide places for birds and wildlife to inhabit and to serve as a backdrop for more landscaping he wanted to do.
So he talked Kathy out of money she had been saving for a couch to use to purchase shade trees instead. They started with four locusts and a river birch, which would provide dappled shade because of their small leaves.
"We had no couch, but we had trees," says Kathy with a laugh.
Kathy eventually got her couch, but Kevin proceeded to plant more trees, including an apple orchard on one side of the yard with Jonathan and MacIntosh as well as red and yellow delicious apples.
"Every other year we get a nice crop from them," he says.
He also planted an elegant crescent of thornless hawthorne trees, which are not only beautiful when in bloom but also do double duty as an attractive screen, enclosing one side of their yard with a natural garden wall.
Although Kevin works in the city and commutes every day downtown to Chicago, both he and Kathy grew up on farms and are committed to living in the country. They built their home near St. Charles, Illinois, and Kevin enjoys a stress-free hour on the train at the beginning and end of each day.
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