Beneath the Blooms: Meet the Mind Behind Lake Forest’s Beautiful Landscape

By Helena Kavanagh If you’ve admired the beautifully landscaped parks, medians, or vibrant flower urns around Lake Forest, chances are you’ve seen the care and dedication of Miguel Camarena Jr. in action. After nearly three decades of service to the City, Camarena was recently promoted to Supervisor of Horticultural & Landscape Maintenance, a role that reflects both his expertise and his deep connection to the community.

“The urns at City Hall are very important to me.," says Miguel Camarena Jr.

Camarena is responsible for upkeep of nearly 50 sites, 100 landscaped park areas, and 180 cul-de-sacs across Lake Forest. He oversees a small but mighty team, comprised of one full-time employee, seven seasonal employees, and one summer worker. His day-to-day responsibilities vary from determining landscape priorities to collaborating with outside firms like Craig Bergmann, Belvedere Landscaping and Bertog. “We create a tiered priority list to manage the workload,” Camarena explained. “We focus on visibility, public use, condition, and community feedback to ensure every area gets the attention it needs.”

Whether it's high-visibility projects like the Route 60 medians or lesser-known treasures like Townline Park, Camarena approaches every task with love, respect, and pride. “Each project, big or small, helps shape the City’s charm,” he said. “The urns at City Hall are very important to me. I personally planted them and continue to care for them to ensure they look good.”

Camarena's commitment also extends to sustainability and seasonal care. Behind the scenes, his team prepares for the growing season with soil treatments, winter bed prep, vegetation control, and pruning, always thinking about how to keep our landscapes healthy and beautiful year-round.

When asked what keeps him so passionate after all these years, Camarena pointed to his love and enthusiasm for building and repair, something that he has had since he was a young man. “The best part of my job is that every day brings a new project and a new area to improve,” he said.

Outside of work, Camarena is a family man who enjoys bowling (with a respectable 170 average), four-wheeling in Wisconsin, and simply spending time with his kids, especially now that the oldest is back home from college. And as for favorite flowers? Camarena doesn’t hesitate. “Hydrangeas and double knock-out roses," he said, because he loves the way they bloom together: the hydrangeas adding fullness, and the roses offering contrast.

And as the City continues to grow and change, Camarena's steady guidance, vision, and decades-long experience ensures that Lake Forest’s natural beauty will remain in full bloom, for residents and visitors alike.