We take immense pride in our apartment buildings. We also know that besides the apartments themselves, it’s important to think about the environment and surroundings of those apartments. This is why at Kelmscott Park Apartments we love the idea of creating a park-style setting for our residents in Lake Forest. With beautiful gardens designed by Mariani, we have created the feeling of visiting a park right here at home.

Here are four benefits of living in a park-style setting.

Nature Relieves Stress

Science has already shown that nature has the healing power to soothe and relieve stress. We get a sense of calm by breathing in fresh air and seeing the colors of mother nature around us. By bringing this park-like setting to our residents, we make it easy to wake up to beautiful scenery or relieve stress with a walk through our gardens. 

Community Matters

When you are new to a town or area and you want to make friends, it can be hard to talk to someone in the few seconds you have on an elevator or passing them in the halls. Going outside and being in the open air makes it easier to mingle with people on the lawn or sit outside by our outdoor grilling station and make new friends. There’s nothing quite like sitting by the fire at sunset with friends.

Pets Have Room to Roam

Animals can get stressed out in close quarters or on busy city sidewalks. We all know our canine friends love the park, so having one right outside makes it that much easier to take your dog for a walk or meet other dog friends out on the lawn. When your dog is happy, so are you.

A Cooler Environment

Having greenery and grass surrounding an apartment cools the area much better than asphalt or even dirt and cement. It insulates the ground rather than heating the way asphalt does, giving you more comfort in the hot summer months. This also creates a cooler space for you and your pet to enjoy the nice weather without overheating.

Why do you love living in a park-like setting? Tell us in the comments!

The post 4 Benefits of Living In a Garden-Style or Park-Style Apartment appeared first on Kelmscott Park Apartments Blog.

With innovative pots and planters that have self-watering reservoirs, it's easier than ever to grow fresh food right at your doorstep, whether it's a roomy patio, a wide front stoop or a compact balcony. Instead of digging a garden in the earth, plant a crazy quilt of herbs, flowers and vegetables in a collection of containers. By using elevated raised beds — where the planting surface is several feet off the ground — you can water, weed and harvest without bending over.

Location, Location, Location

Snip-n-Drip soaker systems can be customized to fit any planter.

Start by looking for the best site. Do you have enough sun? To do well, most edible crops require at least six to eight hours of direct sun a day, especially tomatoes and peppers. With less sun, consider growing salad greens, which do fine with fewer hours of sunlight. Keep in mind that your best "doorstep" for edible crops might be the front door. By selecting functional, decorative planters and making careful plant choices, you can still have a front entry that is ornamental and edible.

Another key consideration is water. Make sure watering will be convenient and easy. Even with self-watering planters, you will need to water frequently during the hottest part of the summer. For larger planters, such as elevated raised beds, consider using soaker hose systems for thorough, efficient watering.

Soil Matters

Container Mix is a lightweight planting mix that contains sphagnum peat, perlite and vermiculite to retain moisture without clumping or getting heavy.

Many longtime gardeners say that soil is one of the most important parts of a successful garden. The same is true for gardens in pots and planters, but the approach is different. Typical garden soil — even if it's fertile — is not the best option for pots, planters and raised beds because it doesn't drain well. To ensure good drainage, you need a planting mix that holds and releases moisture as it is needed by your plants. Typical "potting soil" is one option, but it's better to choose a mix that's designed for planters.

When vegetables are grown in pots and planters, regular fertilization is crucial because most planting mixes are fairly sterile. Start with a granular fertilizer that gets mixed into the soil and follow up with regular applications of a liquid fertilizer as your plants begin rapid growth. Depending on the size of the planter, it's a good idea to start each year with fresh planting mix. With larger pots and planters, it might be impractical to replace the planting mix each year, so use a granular "booster" that will recharge the existing mix with vital nutrients and soil conditioners.

 Cascade, a new variety of cherry tomato, is well-suited to compact growing conditions. For more like it, read Top Crops for Compact Gardens.

What to Plant

Choose crops that fit the scale of your container. For instance, a full-size cherry tomato plant can overwhelm a planter and sprawl upon its neighbors. Better to choose a variety that's more suited to compact gardens. When it comes to tomatoes, look for "patio" varieties, which mature early and remain compact. When the tomato harvest is over, you can pull the plant and fill the gap with a crop of late-season lettuce.

When combining plants in the same container, select a variety of heights, textures and colors for an effective display: place the taller plants in the center, mid-sized around the core with shorter plants along the edges to maximize the space. One of my secrets: Start with transplants instead of growing from seed. That way, you get a jump on the season.

To keep planters overflowing with healthy plants, consider a succession of edibles that will stretch out the season. For instance, sow seeds between plants that will emerge as other crops mature and die back. Make a list of "succession crops" by season — early, midseason and late — so you know when to sow seeds. Choose crops that grow quickly from seed, such as basil, dill, chervil, mesclun greens or nasturtiums. For more on succession crops, read Double Your Harvest with Second Plantings

And finally, think about what you love to eat, your favorite colors and what you can't find at your local market. Love to cook Asian cuisine? Grow a few Thai eggplants surrounded by cilantro. Love basil? Grow aromatic cinnamon, lemon or lime basil alongside the traditional Italian sweet basil.

Related Articles

• Top Crops for Small Vegetable Gardens
• Growing Vegetables in Pots and Planters
• Grow Carrots in a Grow Bag

Where to Plant

When selecting containers, you can start with just a few pots and add more each year until you have a clustered container garden, filled with fresh food all summer long. Keep in mind that smaller pots will dry out frequently, so select to planters that hold at decent amount of planting mix, roughly 12 inches in diameter or larger. Planters with self-watering reservoirs will really help reduce watering frequency, and even ordinary pots can be converted to self-watering planters with a self-watering conversion kit. Whatever pot you choose, make sure it has drainage holes.

Another option is to start with elevated raised beds, where you can make use of square-foot gardening techniques. Because they are larger, you have more room to design an ornamental-edible garden. Many of the beds are designed to accommodate frames and covers that protect crops from pests, disease or intense sun. For design ideas that use the square-foot concept, see Planting Plans for the Elevated Cedar Raised Beds. Or, use the Kitchen Garden Planner, our free, online design tool.

To get you started, here are some container combinations, designed to fit some of the innovative planters from Gardener's Supply.

Trough VegTrug: Place this near a sunny dooryard and fill with aromatic culinary herbs, such as cilantro, dill, basil, sage, thyme, tarragon, parsley and chervil.

This new addition to the Vegtrug line is 20" high, with a flat back that can be placed against a wall. It's deeper in back for large plants, such as tomatoes, and shallower in front for smaller plants, such as greens, herbs or cascading vegetables and flowers.

 Standing Garden

Standing Garden: This waist-high planter is ideal for the mid-sized vegetables that don't require a wide berth. Try purple bush beans, artichokes and Thai peppers. Create a border with Pistou basil, a miniature variety, alternating with Lemon Gem marigolds, a variety with edible flower petals.

This elevated garden has sides of rot-resistant cedar and aluminum legs with casters, so you can move it easily. A 4-gallon self-watering reservoir keeps the soil moist with less-frequent watering. At 10-1/2" deep, it accommodates large plants, even root crops.

Grow Bags: These are best for those space hogs that are not especially ornamental, such as tomatoes, peppers and potatoes. I've seen these growing on front steps of city apartments, balconies and alongside a driveway. I even know a gardener who fills the back of his pick-up and has a traveling garden.

Grow Bags are available in several sizes, designed to fit various crops, including tomatoes, potatoes and peppers. The porous fabric aerates roots, prevents heat build-up and allows excess water to drain away.

The post How to Plant a Patio Garden for Your Apartment appeared first on Kelmscott Park Apartments Blog.

If you’re anything like us, the best thing to wake up to in the morning is a nice cup of coffee. With the countless coffee shops around Lake Forest and Lake Bluff, it might be hard to decide where to go for your morning pick-me-up.

I took it upon myself to rank (most of) the coffee shops in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff in three different categories- presentation, cost, and taste on a scale of 1-5 stars.

Lake Forest

Starbucks

The first coffee that I tried is Starbucks, a coffeehouse chain that is probably the most popular place for coffee around the town. 

The presentation was not anything special, just a plastic cup with the Starbucks logo.

A venti (or large) sized coffee from here was a little under $5 , which is pretty pricey for an everyday buy.

This drink was very high quality and well done, with a perfect chai tea latte flavor. I loved this drink, and I would give it a 5/5 for taste.

Dunkin’ Donuts

The second coffee place I visited is Dunkin’ Donuts, which is another very popular coffee chain around the town. It is also located on Western Ave. in Lake Forest, and I tried the french vanilla 

The presentation was not anything special, simply a plastic cup.

A medium size coffee from here was only $2.60, which is much cheaper than any other coffee 

I love a good vanilla coffee and this drink was perfect! It was the perfect amount of sweetness while still keeping the coffee taste alive, and it definitely gets 5/5 stars.

Egg Harbor Cafe

I next visited Egg Harbor, which is a restaurant that serves delicious breakfast and lunch foods, and also has some fun coffee drinks. I decided to try their Mocha Java drink, which is half coffee and half hot chocolate. I also tried their flavored coffee of the day for a bonus, which was caramel flavored coffee and it was very delicious!

The presentation of the Mocha Java was my favorite by far, served in a glass mug and topped 

This drink was pretty pricey at around $5 , and on top of my meal it was kind of a splurge.

I loved the mix of hot chocolate and coffee that this drink had and it was super delicious. This drink definitely gets 5 stars for taste.

Einstein Bros. Bagels

I next went to Einsteins, which is an American bagel and coffee chain located in Lake Forest town. I tried the regular latte here, one of their most popular coffee drinks according to a staff member.

The presentation was pretty solid, with a normal coffee cup but the latte itself being very pretty.

This drink was pretty normally priced at around 4 dollars for a medium-sized latte.

I enjoyed this latte a lot, as it was the normal latte taste that I am used to but just a little bit sweeter, which I love! It definitely gets ⅘ stars for taste.

Lake Bluff

Bluffington’s Cafe

The first place I visited in Lake Bluff is Bluffington’s Cafe, a specialized sandwich place which serves breakfast and lunch. I tried the latte here, as they didn’t have too many offers for coffee drinks.

(Photo creds to google because I forgot to take a pic!)

The presentation was okay, with the cup not being anything special but the latte itself being very nice looking!

This drink was mediocrely pricey at around 3-4 dollars, but again lattes are usually more expensive than regular coffee drinks. This was actually a pretty good price in my opinion for a 

I enjoyed this latte, as it was the normal latte taste that I am used to.

Hansa Coffee Roasters

I tried Hansa next, a chain coffee shop located in Lake Bluff. I had their honey latte here, recommended by a friend of mine!

The presentation was very nice, with a mug and art on top of the latte, so I would give this drink 5 stars for presentation.

This drink was kind of pricey at around 4 dollars, but lattes are usually more expensive than regular coffee drinks.

I loved this latte, as it was a perfect amount of sweetness with the honey in the latte. It was very delicious and definitely gets 5 stars for taste!

Panera Bread

I also tried Panera, a restaurant in Lake Bluff that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as some spectacular coffee drinks. I had their Caffe Mocha here, which is a mix of espresso, foamed milk, and chocolate.

The presentation was pretty nice, with a sleek green coffee cup and the drink itself being pretty with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle on top.

This drink was kind of pricey at around 4 dollars, but specialty drinks like mochas are usually more expensive than regular coffee.

I loved this mocha, as it was a perfect mix of chocolate and coffee flavors, so it definitely gets 5/5 stars for taste!

Prairie Espresso

I last tried Prairie, a local coffee shop tucked away in an alley on Scranton Ave. (Bonus points because you can bring your pets here!!) Here, I tried their normal coffee with a splash of creamer.

The presentation was pretty normal, with a classic to-go cup and a customized Prairie coffee sleeve. I would give this coffee  ⅘ stars for presentation.

This drink was a pretty normal price, at around 3 dollars for a medium sized coffee. I felt like this price was pretty fair, so it gets  ⅘ stars for presentation.

I wasn’t expecting much since I didn’t order a specialty drink and only a regular cup of coffee, but I was pleasantly surprised with the taste of this coffee. I would give it a ⅘ stars for taste.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with all of the coffee shops in Lake Bluff and Lake Forest. I enjoyed my drinks at all of these places so they all got pretty high rankings, but my favorite coffee shops were definitely Hansa and Prairie of Lake Bluff and Egg Harbor of Lake Forest. These places all had awesome drinks (both specialty and normal drinks) as well as a comfortable and cozy coffee shop environment!

The post The Best Lake Forest Coffee Shops in Illinois appeared first on Kelmscott Park Apartments Blog.

As the number of Americans fully vaccinated against the coronavirus continues to grow, the traditional Thanksgiving gatherings of the pre-pandemic days are likely to return with a full, festive vengeance to Lake Forest and Lake Bluff this year.

In our excitement to once again cook a complete holiday meal for 20, it's quite possible we'll forget an item or two on our grocery lists. 

Fortunately, plenty of grocery stores in the Lake Forest area will be open Thanksgiving Day to pick up that missing can of cranberry sauce or additional package of biscuits. 

Here are the hours for grocery stores that will be open on Thanksgiving Day, along with those that won't. As always, Patch encourages you to call ahead to your local store to confirm hours at that location.

Find out what's happening in Lake Forest for Thanksgiving!

CVS: Many CVS Pharmacy locations, including 24-hour locations, will be open regular hours. Some pharmacies may have reduced hours or be closed for the holiday. The company recommends calling ahead to confirm store hours.

8 a.m. to 10 p.m. — 520 N. Western Ave., Lake Forest

24 hours — 1539 Clavey Road, Highland Park

The Fresh Market: All locations will be open with limited hours.

7 a.m. to 3 p.m. — 850 N. Western Ave., Lake Forest

Grand Food Center: The upscale market will have limited hours on Thanksgiving Day.

7 a.m. to 2 p.m. — 606 Green Bay Road, Winnetka and 341 Hazel Ave., Glencoe

Jewel-Osco: Some stores will be open on Thanksgiving, but call to confirm hours.

7 a.m. to 4 p.m. — 890 N. Western Ave., Lake Forest

Mariano's: Stores will open at their usual time and close at 4 p.m. Pharmacies are closed.

6 a.m. to 4 p.m. — 2999 Waukegan Road, Bannockburn

Sunset Foods: The North Shore grocer will have reduced hours on Thanksgiving Day and will close at 6 p.m. on Black Friday.

7 a.m. to 2 p.m. — 825 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest

Walgreens: Most stores and 24-hour pharmacies will be open during regular business hours. Select pharmacies will be open with modified hours. Customers are encouraged to check their local store hours before heading out.

7 a.m. to 10 p.m. — 296 E. Deerpath Road, Lake Forest

6 a.m. to 12 a.m. — 655 Elm Place, Highland Park

9 a.m. to 6 p.m. — 632 Roger Williams Ave., Highland Park

Whole Foods: Stores will be open on Thanksgiving, but hours will be limited and vary by location.

7 a.m. to 3 p.m. — 760 Waukegan Road, Deerfield

Closed Thanksgiving Day:

• Aldi

• Costco

• Foodstuffs

• Lakeside Foods

• Pastificio

• Sam's Club

• Target

• Trader Joe's

• Village Farmstand

• Walmart

The post Last-minute Shopping: Grocery Stores Open for Thanksgiving Day appeared first on Kelmscott Park Apartments Blog.

Did you hear!?

Kelmscott Park Apartments is just 5 minutes away from one of the most beautiful beaches on the Northshore. With plenty of sand, sun, grass, and shade, this gorgeous Lake Michigan beach is hard to beat.

And guess what? It’s open!

We are excited to welcome the Kelmscott Park Apartments Community back to the beach for the 2021 season.

About the Beach

Visitors to the 29-acre Forest Park and Lake Forest Beach can enjoy the large beach and grass areas. The park is open year-round, and park amenities include sheltered pavilions, a fishing pier, boat launching ramp and storage area, walking paths and a concession stand open during the summer months.

Boating is allowed and permits can be purchased in person at the recreation center. Information for that can be found here.

Kayaking and paddleboarding are allowed and can be launched from cells 1 and 4. No motorized watercraft are allowed in these areas. Rental information can be found here.

Beer and wine are sold and consumed in designated areas seven days a week.

Unfortunately, no pets are allowed.

A few reminders:

• The park is open 6:00 am – 11:00 pm daily.

• Proof of residency is required – driver’s license, school ID, Lake Forest water bill, or a Forest Park ID.

• Lifeguards are on duty from Memorial Day to Labor Day from 9:30 am – 7:00 pm.

• Parking:

  • North Lot: All vehicles are required to have a City of Lake Forest vehicle sticker. A City of Lake Forest vehicle sticker is also required for overflow parking.

  • South Lot: Additional permits are required and are available for purchase at the Recreation Center, 400 Hastings Road.

• For information on water quality, please call the Forest Park Beach Hotline at (847) 234-6702 & press 8.

Please note: All city ordinances, policies, and procedures will be enforced.

With summer heating up and the outdoor life in full swing, it’s a great time to come check out the beach and enjoy the water.

Questions or comments? Drop us a line in the comments below!

The post The Lake Forest Beach and Park Is Open Again for 2021 appeared first on Kelmscott Park Apartments Blog.

If tranquil lake-side living is for you, then our apartments are perfect: we offer an incredible location at the heart of Lake Forest, within an incredibly short distance from Lake Michigan. Close proximity to Downtown Lake Forest means that your shopping and dining options are only less than a mile away, and ensures that you’re extremely close to the Metra commuter line for all your transportation needs. Our location also offers a wide range of community amenities, such as the Forest Park Beach, Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve, Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital, Jewel-Osco, and a bunch of other forest preserves and hotspots.

Rent any of our 1, 2, and 3 bedroom homes that feature luxuriously open floor-plans, condominium-quality finishes, and views that overlook private gardens and parks landscaped by Mariani. Experience for yourself the loads of conveniences that only a rental lifestyle can provide, and figure out why Lake Forest residents are continuously choosing the rental lifestyle after selling their homes and downsizing their properties. There’s truly more value to be had when you live a life at our Kelmscott Park apartments, and the residents here know it best. 

Amenities such as our pet friendly community, outdoor lounge w/ a fire pit and grilling stations, in-home washers and dryers, and luxurious private gardens all offer a stunning living experience unmatched by any other apartment home along Lake Michigan. Bask in the lifestyle that only a Lake Forest apartment home can provide, and swim in the bountiful luxuries and conveniences that only our apartments at Kelmscott Park can offer.

The post Life by the Lake at Kelmscott Park appeared first on Kelmscott Park Apartments Blog.