Landscape architect Greg Pierceall started designing his “paradise garden” at his home in Springfield after he retired about 10 years ago. A decade later, it is a sight, and a site, to behold.
“A stretch of land that goes back 300 feet from my house and was formerly vacant is now filled with hundreds of trees, shrubs, native grasses, flowers, herbs and veggies, as well as sitting and entertaining areas,” he says. “I turned what was once the garage into my atelier [studio], which also houses my reSource-gallery and House+Garden collection of antique furnishings and accent pieces.”
Pierceall’s passion for horticulture started at a young age. As a teenager living in Olympia Fields, south of Chicago, he worked for $2 an hour to save enough money to build his own greenhouse. At age 15, he began working for a landscape contractor. He then pursued education, earning his horticulture degree from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, followed by a graduate degree in landscape architecture from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
He was a professor of landscape architecture for a total of 35 years, and he is a professor emeritus of Purdue University, where he taught for 30 years. In 2006, he was hired by the University of Illinois to start a landscape architecture program in Oak Brook and teach at the Urbana-Champaign campus. During his time in the Chicago area, he designed the Smart Garden and Smart Home for the Museum of Science and Industry.
“I am a consummate educator,” says Pierceall. “I love teaching. I have a passion for designing environments both indoors and outdoors. I think of myself as a visual composer.”
Pierceall explains that landscape architecture is not to be conflated with gardening. It is much more. “It is highly customized planning and design of healthy environments through site engineering, construction, drainage, roads. It’s the big picture. I always taught my students to ‘do no harm.'”
The landscape architecture blueprint created by Pierceall for his property was completed in phases and features various spaces (or “rooms”) and connectors. “You start with space planning by considering the structure and function of the space – the shade, sun, environment, drainage, pollinators and so on. The spaces need to function and flow well.”
As you walk along a gravel path through the garden, you will see busy bees and fluttering butterflies in the pollinator gardens, along with hummingbirds flittering around tubular flowers. It is nearly impossible to name everything, but you will also see pomegranate, olive and tomato plants, curly willows, horseradish, parsley, daffodils, bleeding hearts and spirea.
In addition to plantings, Pierceall incorporated a long barn-timber bench, his studio and a casual seating area with an antique English sundial. Toward the back of the property is an entertainment area with a glass-top table and firepit that is surrounded by lighting for evening gatherings.
Pierceall’s advice for gardeners is to keep it simple, take things step-by-step, plant what you like (based on plant requirements, which you can Google) and provide good soil, light and plenty of water.
“You cannot count on rain or a sprinkler,” he says. “Plants need concentrated watering to reach the deep roots. I water each of my plants for 10 seconds with a hose. During very hot conditions, watering should be done daily. At the same time, roots need to breathe, so be careful not to overwater.”
He advises that pruning should be done in the autumn, not the summer. “In the fall you can see the structure of the plant and you want to retain the structure,” he explains. “If you have an overgrown shrub, cut out older stems so new stems can come up and have vigor inside. Over-pruning can destroy a plant’s growth.”
Pierceall is also an author. He has written numerous books on landscape design and interior flora design, as well as articles for green industry publications. He continues to lecture to groups, juries landscape projects from all over the world for an international organization and leads a group tour of Rome every summer. He was awarded the International Award of Distinction from the Association of Professional Landscape Designers in 2003, as well as awards from the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association for Service in 2004 and Man of the Year in 2008.
Pierceall loves sharing his knowledge. He offers free tours of his property at 1220 Governor on Fridays and Saturdays between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. No appointment is needed. He also plans to hold yard sales Oct. 6-7 and Nov. 3-4. Check Facebook (House+Garden Springfield) for information on his tours, sales and educational programs or call him at 765-427-9326.
A final note. It’s interesting that Pierceall sprinkles his conversations with lots of “re” words, such as reuse, recycle, reset, repurpose and rejuvenation. So, REGEN seems a most appropriate vehicle to share his story.
Jean Campbell is a Springfield freelance writer who would love to grow a green thumb.
This article appears in Fall 2023.
