We're Now Proudly found at www.goodoak.com !

Spring has come more than a little early this year, we hope you're taking advantage of the warm weather and early green-up! For our part, we are SWAMPED as we struggle to keep up with the early and rapid progression of this spring, but we're catching up quickly, and with a couple new folks coming on board we'll be back on schedule in just a week or two. But anyhow...

We are excited to announce that we are now the proud owners of the goodoak.com domain name! As a result, all of our email addresses have changed as well. Our old (goodoakllc.com) email addresses and web URL will forward to our new accounts for a short time yet, so worry not if you make a mistake in the near-term, I know my fingers are having a hard time getting used to the change! Here is our new info:


Good Oak Website: http://goodoak.com/

Frank Hassler
Owner/Ecologist
Contact for: Ecological restoration, consulting, public speaking, business opportunities
new: frank@goodoak.com

Joy Follendorf
Native Landscaping Specialist
Contact for: All landscaping inquiries
new: joy@goodoak.com

Allison Eyring-Green
Independent Landscape Designer
Contact for: Landscape design
new: allison@goodoak.com

Doug Chien
Advising Ecologist - Illinois
contact for: All consulting, landscaping and restoration needs in Illinois
new: doug@goodoak.com

Athena Salzer
Ecosystem Restoration Technician/ Office Admin.
Contact for: Billing, invoicing, plant orders, general inquiries
new: athena@goodoak.com

We'll be updating our website with some of our new(er) staff and contact information shortly stay tuned!

We're Hiring!: Ecological Restoration Manager

We're looking for some new leadership for our ecological restoration division. Its a great opportunity for someone who enjoys working with property owners to restore and enhance their natural areas.  See the job announcement here. (PDF) Act fast, applications are due March 15th!

Garden Expo 2012 Handouts

For those of you who were not able to get a hand-out at my talks this weekend, or want to share the information with a friend, the links below will take you to PDF files that you can download.

• Edible Wild Plants 
• Native Plants for Any Garden Plant List 
• Native Plant Sources for Southern Wisconsin 
• Native Landscaping Resources: Books and Websites
• Weed Talk: Weed Management Books and Websites
• Weed Talk: Controlling Weeds and Invasive Plants Slides

Weed ID sheets for a number of invasive species can be found under the knowledge center link on our website. Search for your own problem weeds on our weed ID sheet page.

Enjoy!

Visit Us at Garden Expo 2012!

If the unseasonably warm weather has you itching to get your hands in the dirt extra early, the Garden Expo is a great place to discover new plants and ideas for your spring gardening plans!

The Garden Expo is this weekend, February 8-11, Friday evening from 4-9 pm, Saturday 9-6 and Sunday 10-4. We'll be manning booth #231 where we'll have some great information available and would love to chat with you!

Frank will be hosting the following inspirational and educational seminars:

• Native Plants for Any Garden at 12:00 pm Saturday

• Weeds and Invasive Plants in Our Landscape at 2:00 pm Saturday

• Edible Native Plants in the Home Landscape at 3:00 pm Saturday

• Establishing a Woodland Garden at 3:00 pm on Sunday

Also check out the following seminars for more inspiration!

• Make Your Garden Landscape Sustainable by Barbara Larson from the UW-Extension in Kenosha County at 9:00 am Saturday

• Birdscaping in the Midwest by Mariette Nowak at 10:00 am Saturday

• The Basics of Permaculture by Kate Heiber-Cobb from Sustainability on Stilts at 1:00 pm Saturday

• Energy Efficient Landscaping by Roger Reynolds of Infiltrating Landscapes at 4:00 pm Saturday

• Going Green in Landscaping by Debbie Paul from Midwest Decorative Stone at 12:00 pm Sunday

• Designing Attractive Native Gardens by John Gishnock from Formecology LLC at 2:00 pm Sunday

These are just a few of the many seminars and demonstrations where you can learn anything from how to make a gourd birdhouse, to cooking locavore foods on a budget!

For more details and a complete list of all the exhibitors, seminars, and demonstrations you can find at this year's Garden Expo, go to www.wigardenexpo.com

Backyard Wildlife Gallery

As I'm getting ready for The Garden Expo I'm sorting through some photos to use in presentations and at the booth. I decided to fix up Good Oak's "Backyard Wildlife" album. I tend to focus a lot on plants and flowers, so I thought I should have an album of the critters that these native plants attract. There are over 50 photos in it now of critters that for the most part found there way in to my own yard, but a few photos are from clients properties as well.

Here is the album on Good Oak's Facebook page. And below are a few select photos for you to enjoy as well.