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Chicago magazine recognizes Pet Essentials department, manager

Chalet, Wilmette, Ill., has been named “Best Store for Pet Food” by Chicago magazine. The garden center and retail outlet’s Pet Essentials department is featured in the magazine’s August issue, which spotlights “Best of Chicago” businesses and services throughout the city and suburbs.

“Outside it’s an award-winning nursery and landscaping business, but inside an expert staff runs a comprehensive pet food department,” Chicago writers note in the profile. “Chalet carries a staggering array of organic and special-diet dog and cat foods – more than a dozen of them endorsed by Whole Dog Journal – including nutritional choices for senior pets or pets with food allergies.”

Currently, Chalet carries 12 of the top dry dog foods and seven of the top canned dog foods recommended by Whole Dog Journal, in addition to a broad line of cat food and food for bird, rabbits, gerbils, mice and other small creatures. Chalet also helps pet owners leave a smaller carbon “pawprint” through a growing array of earth-friendly pet food and other green pet care products. Creature comforts include leashes and collars, apparel, beds, travel bags, toys, first aid items and grooming and health products.

Chalet’s Pet Essentials Manager Gabbie Roderer also was recognized by Chicago, which honored all of this year’s “Best of Chicago” winners, at a special event earlier this summer. The department has gained a loyal following among pet owners in the suburbs and city, according to Chalet store manager Tony Fulmer. “We were thrilled to hear we were included in this always well-read and prestigious issue of Chicago magazine,” said Fulmer. “We feel the excellence of our Pet Essentials department is a reflection of the way we try to conduct all aspects of our business, whether it’s our retail garden center, landscape division or nursery. That means providing the best quality products and services for our customers – and their pets.”

Roderer says she’s grateful that her department received the distinction, especially since there are so many pet food stores in the greater Chicago area. “I love being here every day and interacting with pet owners and their pets,” she says. “Being able to share with them the best, most nutritious food for their four-legged or winged family members is its own reward, too.”

For more information about Chalet, including its Pet Essentials department, visit www.ChaletNursery.com or call 847-256-0561.

Jim Broccolo receives honor from Green Profit magazine

He’s young. He knows about all things green. He’s garden-wise beyond his 30 years.

Meet Jim Broccolo, nursery manager and annuals buyer for Chalet, Wilmette, Ill., recently named 2010 “Young Retailer of the Year” by Green Profit magazine, a trade publication for the garden center industry. Broccolo, chosen from dozens of garden retail professionals under age 35, will be featured on the magazine’s cover in September.

The announcement was made this month during the Ohio Flower Growers’ and Retailers Association (OFA) Short Course, considered one of the largest and most important horticulture industry events in the world. Chris Beytes, Green Profit editor and publisher, said the magazine’s panel of expert judges was impressed with Broccolo’s vision for the future of garden centers, and his belief in contributions to the local community and the earth.

“The criteria for this award are knowledge, education, experience, travel, involvement in their own business and the industry, as well as their community and an expression of passion and enthusiasm for their chosen trade,” said Beytes. “This can be a tough industry and the award recognizes hard-working young people who spend a lot of long hours and weekends at their job.”

Broccolo also impressed the judges with his entry’s essay on customer service.

“Servicing the customer of 2020 begins by establishing a trusting relationship with today’s customer, working with growers to improve our environmental impact and using technology as an avenue for education and outreach,” he wrote. “We must view our customer as multi-generational: the gardeners tending to their property for several decades, the first-time homebuyers excited about the opportunity to maintain their own yards, and the young children in a classroom or shopping with a parent.”

Broccolo also wrote that he and his colleagues are able to meet customers’ needs by building relationships and providing service that is knowledgeable as it is friendly. They do this through interactions with longtime and new shoppers, and as a result of Chalet’s regular presentations at local garden clubs and schools.

To view Green Profit online, please visit www.ballpublishing/GreenProfit. For more information about the award-winning Chalet, visit www.chaletnursery.com.

Learn to create stunning container gardens, plant with style, cook season’s bountyChalet, an award-winning landscape, nursery and garden center on Chicago’s North Shore, presents a free lecture and workshop series on seasonal gardening and garden design topics from June 3 through July 16, 2010. Lectures, which often include slide presentations and demonstrations, are held at the Chalet Education Center, 3132 Lake Ave., Wilmette, Ill., on Thursdays, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. and repeated Fridays, 10:00 to 11:30 a.m.The schedule for mostly free summer education events are as follows:June 10 and 11: Don’t Forget the Summer Flowering ShrubsFlowering shrubs are wonderful additions to the landscape as specimen plants and members of mixed borders. Learn the favorite summer flowering shrubs of Jennifer Brennan, Chalet’s Horticulture Information Specialist. See slides and enjoy a walk through the nursery to get a personal introduction to these excellent showpieces for summer. Free. No registration required.June 17 and 18: Roy Diblik Presents … Right Plant in the Right Place with StyleSustainable perennial gardens do not need to look “wild and wooly.” Selecting the right plant for your garden is the key to its longevity in that “right place.” Roy Diblik, owner of Northwind Perennial Farm, will teach you how to use plants to create your own unique garden style. By using his trademarked concept of “Know Maintenance,” you can create a garden that you will enjoy because of its continuous beauty and unique characteristics. Free. No registration required.June 25 and 25: Butterfly Gardening with FreyaFreya Wellin, Chalet’s perennial buyer, has been busy raising butterflies! She will teach you about the life cycle of these special creatures and the host plants they need to sustain life. Even at summer’s peak, there is still time to add elements to attract butterflies to your garden. Free. No registration required.No classes July 1 and 2 due to holiday weekend. Happy Fourth of July!July 8 and 9: How to Water ProperlyA Chalet expert will discuss why correct watering is the most critical factor in the survival of our garden plants. Many of the problems diagnosed by Chalet’s experts aredue to inadequate watering techniques. Free. No registration required.July 15 and 16: Dave Esau Presents … Cooking with Your Summer HarvestDave Esau, chef and owner of Dave’s Specialty Foods (www.davespecialtyfoods.com), will demonstrate how to creatively use the harvest from your garden (or the farmers’ market). Esau was trained in France, has worked at Le Titi de Paris, Charlie Trotter’s and The American Club in Kohler, Wis., the only Five-Diamond resort in the Midwest. Enjoy the sights, fragrances and tastes at this fun demonstration. Free. No registration required.Lectures are free with no registration required. Tapes or DVD’s of each lecture can be rented for $3 for three nights. For questions about the series, contact Brennan at 847-256-0561, ext. 225, or jenniferb@chaletnursery.com.The goal of Chalet’s public education series, offered since 1997, is to provide timely, current and accurate horticultural information as a public service. The series reaches 3,000 adults and 700 children annually and regularly attracts industry leaders as guest lecturers. Education seminars are led by Brennan, who has a degree in ornamental horticulture and is an Illinois Certified Nursery Professional. The company’s Education Center and online resources offer tips and ideas on a broad range of subjects, from lawn care and pest control to caring for roses and creating a vertical garden.Click here to visit Chalet’s web site for more information.

Chalet’s new Plant Finder web-based tool enables gardeners to search for just the right plant and create a customized needs list for their home landscape. (Give it a try)Search for plants using specific keywords or from a series of search parameters, such as characteristics, landscape attribution, ornamental features and site conditions. The database then prunes through 7,800 trees, shrubs, ground-covers, roses, perennials, ornamental grasses and ferns to find the plant you’re looking for.Let’s give it a try! I went through and specified some features. I’m not too picky, though. I wanted a perennial for rock garden application that maybe attracted bees (the big fuzzy ones are okay). I also wanted it to peak in late spring, so I can sit outside and look at it before it gets too hot. I didn’t specify color and shade, but I would prefer something that could grow in a partially shaded area, fragrance being a bonus.Here was my first result:Autumn joy stonecrop! These dense broccoli flowers are exactly what I had in mind for my imaginary rock garden.What kind of plant are you looking for?Try Chalet’s Plant Finder.

Chalet’s Tony Fulmer headed over to WGN recently for a Midday feature showcasing tropical plants. There, he demonstrates that such plants are not only beautiful and exotic, they’re good for you, too! A study commissioned by NASA in the 1980s showed that two medium or large houseplants can effectively reduce airborne toxins by as much as 87% in a 100 square-foot room. Ferns combat household smoke (from smokers) by detoxifying benzene, a byproduct of cigarette smoke. Plants can also increase humidity in the dry and winter season. They also require less water in the winter. Bet you didn’t know that those green things could be so useful!

See the video on WGN, here, for a list of the ten best purification plants.

Robert Milani (center), Chalet senior landscape architect, accepts the PLANET (Professional Landcare Network) Judges Award from Dave Snodgrass (left), PLANET president-elect, and Bill Hildebolt, current PLANET president. Photo credit: Philippe Nobile Photography

Chalet’s Landscape Division has received the highly coveted Judges award from PLANET (Professional Landcare Network) for its residential design/construction of a home in Lake Forest, Ill. Chalet also garnered a Grand Award for the same home, as well as a Merit Environmental Improvement Award for its residential landscape design/construction of a home in Wilmette, Ill. Chalet was recognized as the sole winner of the top award for residential/design construction at PLANET’s Awards Reception on Friday, Oct. 30 at the Green Industry Conference in Louisville, Ky. The global Environmental Improvement Awards Program, which is open to only PLANET members, reflects the association’s commitment to creating and preserving the beauty of the landscape. The annual program is designed to reward independent landscape, lawn care and interior plantscaping professionals who execute superior projects.

Lake Forest Residence

Chalet’s Judges and Grand awards winner in Lake Forest is a formal, structured and manicured landscape reflecting the beauty, elegance and permanence of a period Italianesque villa. Beyond the front entryway, garden visitors are greeted by a three-tiered, limestone fountain surrounded by a large semicircular pergola with hand-carved limestone columns and a sunken garden.

Wilmette Residence

Chalet’s Merit Award winner is a stately English Tudor in Wilmette, complemented by a formal, manicured and symmetrical garden. Dense yew and Green Velvet boxwood hedges line the front foundation and are meticulously trimmed while ‘Tina’ crabapples flank the front entry, left natural to contrast with the structured landscape. As visitors travel down a bluestone walk from the brick driveway to the pool area, a diverse and colorful array of Daphne, rhododendron, viburnum and astilbe catch the eye.

For information on the PLANET Awards, visit www.landcarenetwork.org.

Gold-Medal Olympic swimmer Matt Grevers signed autographs and met fans at Chalet garden center, Sept. 27, 2008. Chalet senior landscape architect Ed Grevers and his wife Anja welcomed their son back from the 2008 Beijing Olympics where he won gold medals in the 4×100m medley relay and the 4×100m freestyle relay, and a silver medal in the 100m backstroke.

A preview of the event was featured in the Sept. 11, 2008 edition of Pioneer Press North Shore.

Cooler weather gives grass a great boost of energy as it gears up for winter, making early fall a good time for lawn maintenance. In the Sept. 7, 2008 edition of the Chicago Tribune, reporter Beth Botts asked Bill Leuenberger, Chalet’s lawn care manager, and Paul Tukey, founder of safelawns.org, for “10 things to do by fall to keep (or get) your grass looking great.” The first piece of advice is to mow the lawn. Set the blade so that the grass grows three to four inches. Taller grass means deeper, stronger roots. It also shades out many weed seeds so they can’t sprout. After mowing, leave the clippings. They will decompose and return their nutrients to the soil. Fall is the best time of year to reseed and over-seed. Whether clearing a spot for new grass or scattering seeds over patchy places, make sure it is well watered for thicker grass in the spring. Click here to read the article.

Daily Herald and Pioneer Press featured Chalet’s free fall education series on gardening and garden design topics in their calendar of events listings. These include times and directions as well as information on “Fall Lawn Care,” a free demonstration by horticulture specialists Jennifer Brennan and Bill Leuenberger on how to fertilize, core-aerate and re-seed your lawn this fall. Listings appeared Aug. 28, 2008 in Pioneer Press and Aug. 30, 2008 and Sept. 6, 2008 in Daily Herald.

The summer 2008 issue of Garden Decor, a quarterly supplement to Home Accents Today and Casual Living, spotlights Chicago’s Chalet (page 8-12). Since taking root in 1917, Chalet has become a prosperous, award-winning operation located on 16 acres in North Chicago. The article by Susan Dickenson takes a look at some of Chalet’s history and some historical moments. Chalet was named the 2007 Innovator of the Year by Garden Center magazine, but innovation has always been a key part of the company. In 1954, L.J. Thalmann (founder) built a 9,500 square foot garden center, which was something almost unheard of at the time. L.J. (Larry) Thalmann III joined the company in 1984 and has since become, and remains, the store’s president bringing a vision of “excellence in service, quality and value in a culture that is supportive and rewarding to employees.” As part of his vision, Thalmann created the Chalet College, attended by staff members in the off-season for training and review. Thalmann said, “I take a great deal of pride in watching our company get a little bit better each year… I love working with people who share in that pride, and want to be a part of something special.” The article also mentions that Chalet has more Illinois Certified Nursery Professionals than any other garden center or landscape firm in the state. With a rich history and a promising future, we look forward to Chalet’s continued success and innovation.