The September patio pivot, September garden tasks, autumn containers, Bob Bertog on WGN, the return of the front porch, fall entryway displays, and notes from the President's desk.
September is the perfect month for enjoying the scope of experiences outdoor living provides. Hardscape, heating, textile and lighting choices provide support and comfort as summer pivots to fall.
They also set the stage for next season's landscape design trends. Lifestyle leaders predict that homeowners will place next-level emphasis on creating backyard spaces that emulate their indoor rooms.
We're already experiencing this trend taking shape, and it makes sense.
Strategic lighting creates an inviting glow over the evening landscape. Durable patio pavers provide a strong foundation, mirroring indoor elegance.
Subtle heaters and custom fire features bring gentle warmth. Grab a throw woven from weather-resistant textiles for late-night conversations by the fire.
Fully equipped outdoor kitchens keep open-air gatherings thriving well past sunset, while versatile spaces under custom-built pergolas are the ultimate game-day or movie night destination.
Bertog Landscape's award-winning professionals are experts at bringing outdoor living visions to life. If your backyard could use a refresh, September is the perfect month to get started — ensuring that your outdoor living space is right on trend for spring.
Transform your outdoor space this fall with custom containers by Bertog Landscape.
Rich plant colors and interesting textures turn each arrangement into a living work of art. Our designs complement your home's architecture and personal style.
We select cold-hardy favorites to ensure displays last all season. This allows for endless creativity, from sophisticated and stylish, to modern and simple, or whimsical and playful.
Combine vibrant options like mums, ornamental cabbage, Mona lavender and purple fountain grass. Add stylish accents for a truly unique look.
We deliver the plants and design the arrangements directly into your existing containers. Bertog Landscape does the work. You enjoy the compliments.
Ready to plan for the fall holidays and elevate your seasonal curb appeal? Contact us to get started.
Bob Bertog joined WGN Midday News recently for our monthly "Gardener's Toolbox" segment. He shared easy ways to turn landscapes into safe, year-round bird sanctuaries. Inspired by his wife's love for birdwatching, Bob explained how plant layouts and simple feeding techniques can make a huge impact on local wildlife.
Native perennials like coneflowers and berry shrubs provide natural food. Evergreens like arborvitae offer crucial winter shelter. Bonus: welcoming songbirds to your landscape provides natural pest control. A chickadee family can eat up to 7,500 grubs in a season!
For safety, place feeders within 10 to 15 feet of thick shrubs so songbirds can escape predators. Keep feeders under 3 feet from windows to prevent collisions. To outsmart squirrels, mount feeders 5 feet high with a 15-inch baffle on a pole set 10 feet away from fences or deck railings.
Missed the broadcast? Click here to watch.
You can also catch Bob when he joins WGN Radio's John Williams to take listener calls on air each Wednesday at about 1:10 p.m. Call in with your questions. They may be answered during the broadcast!
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Welcoming front porches are a great place to enjoy morning coffee. They also serve as a bridge between private home life and the surrounding community.
Once as common in neighborhoods as the white picket fence, front porches look a bit different now than they did "back in the day." Their popularity waned throughout the mid-20th century due to cultural and technological shifts, but front porches are experiencing a resurgence.
According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), nearly two-thirds of new single-family homes have porches as homeowners prioritize usable front-entry living spaces and updated curb appeal.
While the backyard remains the family's sanctuary for dining, entertaining, lounging and spending time together, the front porch is the new parlor. Create a cozy space including comfortable seating and seasonal displays using containers with plants that complement nearby seasonal perennial beds.
Need help refreshing your front porch? Give us a call today.
As autumn approaches, elevate your home's curb appeal with a custom seasonal display from Bertog Landscape.
Our team brings vibrant seasonal colors, rich textures and classic elements directly to your entryway. Each of our four custom fall packages is thoughtfully designed to complement your home's unique style.
We handle every detail from start to finish. Packages include personalized design, delivery and professional installation. We'll even take care of the pick-up the week after Thanksgiving.
Whether you are looking for a subtle seasonal accent or a lavish arrangement featuring pumpkins, gourds, cornstalks and lush fall florals, we craft displays tailored to your vision. Add-on extras are also available.
Reserve your fall display today! Secure your installation date for the upcoming fall season.
When I was growing up in Glenview in the 1970s, I can vividly remember the "Dog Days of Summer" and how we celebrated them. Outside of our annual trip to Lake Delavan for a day of hanging out with our cousins on the boat, we didn't do much summertime traveling.
That's because my parents had a vision of an "outdoor oasis" before it was ever called that. Their vision was to bring the party outside and enjoy everything our outdoor living space had to offer.
One element of the backyard was the pool — rectangular, 20-by-40-by-4.5. That is not a typo. My parents were big advocates for us kids becoming swimmers, not divers.
So our pool, without a deep end, became the neighborhood hangout — every inch of it usable for volleyball and basketball games that easily fit 20 people at once.
Of course, it naturally follows that there was an outdoor bar and cooking area — a stand-alone Charmglow barbeque and a redwood-stained bar, a Styrofoam cooler, all of which today have been replaced with bluestone terraces, granite countertops, Wolf grills, Sub-Zero fridges, fire features and just about anything you could "vision."
Even though a Tanqueray and tonic and a half-pound Cheddar burger taste the same as they always did, enjoying them in today's outdoor living space makes the experience that much more unforgettable.
Fast forward 50 years, and that same backyard vision has become an art form.
If an "Outdoor Oasis" is on your bucket list, give us a call and we can "Bring Your Vision to Life."
Keepin' it Green, Bob Bertog
"If summer had one defining scent, it'd definitely be barbecue." — Katie Lee
— Bertog Landscape
Now booking — Fall 2026
Pumpkins, mums, cornstalks and gourds, arranged at your front door. We design it, install it, and pick it all up after Thanksgiving — you do nothing.
See Fall Displays →Reserve by Oct 16
