Our project @nuluum in Logan Square received Gold at the @landscapeillinois Excellence in Landscape Awards - a garden and gathering space providing plant growth and people growth. Daydreaming with @lolapwright and @nathanwrightla about how to revitalize Nuluum in a high-impact, fast time-lined, and inspired way was a highlight of 2025, and I can’t wait to share what else we’re cooking up at @nathanwrightlandscape
We took a defunct landscape yard in Logan Square and transformed it into a connected campus of garden rooms—redefining how a working yard can also support community gathering.
Big thanks to @landscapeillinois and our entire team @nathanwrightlandscape for the ingenuity, hustle, grit, and extra love it took to reimagine our space for the people of Chicago.
Tonight we won a Gold Award for Commercial Landscape Construction at the 2026 Excellence in Landscape Awards hosted by Landscape Illinois.
Two of our favorite Chicago artists and good friends @_slangism and @heyitsmatthew contributed their incredible work to the space. And @enfuzechicago and @outdoor.lighting.perspectives brought the extra magic through sound and landscape lighting.
@nuluum is a really special place, we hope you visit us soon.
As we enter the holiday week, our wish for you is simple: time to be in the spaces that steady and inspire you. A garden, a kitchen, a neighborhood street - wherever you feel grounded, may it offer a moment of clarity and comfort this season.
Yesterday, our business @nathanwrightlandscape was stopped by ICE.
Let me be clear: ICE is bad for business.
It’s expensive, for everyone.
ICE targeting industries and harassing employees is detrimental to all of us. It is a manufactured distraction that pulls focus away from what truly matters—employing Americans, supporting small business, and building strong, hardworking teams who contribute meaningfully to their communities.
For decades, our employees have been incredible members of American society—they are United States citizens and residents.
Their work, and our business, have been disrupted—for no good reason. We’re now having to invest in immigration legal counsel for citizens. That makes no sense.
This is not okay.
This is not normal.
And still, our team is unwilling to stop.
Concerned as we are, our field team remains:
🌿 Committed to business as usual
🌿 Committed to our clients and our team
🌿 Committed to doing beautiful, meaningful work in the world
If this has felt like noise to you, please reconsider. Pause before you judge what you don’t understand.
Real people, real families, and real businesses are being impacted.
We’ve got eight weeks left in this season, and we’re not stopping now.
A letter from our CEO @lolapwright :
This morning, members of our field team were stopped by ICE while installing a project in Oak Park. Everyone is safe, but the experience has left our team—and our wider community —deeply concerned and resolute.
I’m sharing this because silence serves no one—and because this is no longer just something we see in headlines or social media posts. It’s something our team was confronted with today. And it’s not okay.
We stand in solidarity with those most directly impacted by this climate of fear and instability. Our colleagues, friends, and neighbors should never have to navigate intimidation or uncertainty simply for showing up to work and contributing to our shared world.
I want to recognize our field team for their vigilance and professionalism in how they responded and documented the exchange. Their calm presence and quick thinking ensured safety and accountability in a moment designed to provoke fear.
At Nathan Wright Landscape Design, we are guided by values of dignity, humanity, and community. Today’s events are a stark reminder of the fear tactics being deployed across our country—an organized effort that sows division and insecurity.
We do not stand with this strategy or the abuse of power it represents. It is destructive, detrimental, and expensive for all Americans.
I’m deeply grateful to our clients and partners who have reached out with concern. Your compassion matters.
If you witness ICE activity in your area, stay calm and safe.
• Document what you see (video when possible).
• Call or text the @icirr_il Family Support Hotline: 855-HELP-MY-FAMILY (855-435-7693)
• Share verified information, not rumors.
Staying vigilant and informed helps protect one another.
We’ll continue to show up for our team and our community—with honesty, transparency, and courage.
With gratitude and solidarity,
Lola Wright
CEO, Nathan Wright Landscape Design
Every designer needs a garden of their own. Our team member Hayden’s garden is a working laboratory of design, where personal taste meets professional practice, and the experiments that inform our projects often begin.
Check out this before and after, and read more on our blog. Link in bio!
When the hardscape holds its line, we layer in the softness. Boxwood punctuation and a carex field do the rest.
#landscape #landscapearchitecture #gardendesign #landscapedesign #larch
