… orchard—on its property. Does yours? Today, there's resurgent interest in growing fruit trees, for a number of intriguing reasons. With all kinds of fruit trees flowering at the Garden this … non-existent? Tour the Fruit & Vegetable Garden's espalier orchard, considered one of the best in the U.S. There, apple, pear, cherry, and peach trees are trained on wires and walls, just … were used for specific purposes: one apple variety was reserved for pies, while another was best for saucing; one pear tree was for plucking and eating ripe, while another bore fruit that …
Type: Plant Info
… dragonflies and tend to hold their wings above their bodies. (See my blog post Damselflies 101 for more information.) Blue dasher dragonfly, female. She looks very different from her male … be found here from March through the first hard freeze in the fall. Choose the right time to visit, and you might even be lucky to find yourself in the middle of a migrating swarm of green … and often chase off other dragonflies, only to return to their favorite perch. A favorite place to find them at the Garden is around the waterlilies and lotus blossoms, but you can spot …
Type: Blog
… Best grown in peaty, fertile, well-drained but consistently moist soils in light shade. Tolerates full shade. Avoid full sun. Performs best in cool summer climates. Intolerant of drought. Propagate by division or seed. Site in …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Take a moment for a bit of mental gardening. A simple layout of your vegetable garden, done at planting, will … fun for you, the gardener who'll be referring to it. Documenting the process gives you the best information to build on for next year's garden. Garden Book, 1766-1824, page 35, by Thomas … solutions Soil amendments Seed List Update your seed list during the winter, before you place next year's order. Garden journaling has a long and storied history. No less a luminary …
Type: Plant Info
… species has done so well that some cultivars are invasive, particularly Purpurascens. It's best to look for late-flowering clones that will not have time to set seed. It is resistant to deer. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… of trumpet-shaped pink flowers in May in the Chicago region. DREAM CATCHER™ was selected for its attractive foliage, pairs of ovate leaves which emerge red, change to orange and then … of clay, and can take drought once they are established. Due to their large size, they are best suited as a background plant. They become very large and leggy, and need occasional renewal …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… and you can see why this Dyckia is named Grape Jelly. You can also see why the common name for Dyckias is the sawblade plant. Dyckias are survivors. They're native to arid, rocky terrain … Dyckias need sandy or rocky fast draining soil. Though they'll tolerate some shade, color's best in full sun. During the spring growing season they need more frequent watering, but keep …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Yellow climbing roses are few and far between, and 'Autumn Sunset' is one of the best. Buds and outer petals are strongly tinged with on coral on opening, softening to a golden … get both colors together, along with a strong whiff of its rich, fruity fragrance. And good news for midwestern gardeners...'Autumn Sunset' is hardy to zone 5, and highly disease resistant, …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… a plant maturing at 6 feet in height. Its foliage is disease resistant, and the rose performs best in moderately fertile soils with adequate water, responding well to applications of fertilizers formulated specifically for roses. Mound the base of the plant with mulch/leaf mold after the first hard frost to protect …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Birchleaf spirea is named for the shape of its leaves, which resemble those of the birch genus. White flowers appear in … are quite small, they occur in clusters of inflorescence that can be very showy. Spireas are best used in groupings in a shrub or mixed border, where they are valued as tough, reliable and …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
