Search

  • … The Bailey dogwood is a cultivar of the native redosier dogwood and is notable for its bright red winter stems. It does not have the stoloniferous (spreading) habit of the … pruning in early spring/late winter encourages growth of new stems, which have the best color. Members of the genus Cornus , commonly known as dogwoods, are welcome in the home … -- be it flowers, fruit, foliage, and/or bark -- and their range of forms from small trees to suckering shrubs. The dominant display, however, varies among the species. Dogwoods are native …
    Type: Garden Guide Plant
  • … Many gardeners remove the oldest stems in early spring, because the younger ones provide the best color. Members of the genus Cornus , commonly known as dogwoods, are welcome in the home garden for their multi-season interest -- be it flowers, fruit, foliage, and/or bark -- and their range of forms from small trees to suckering shrubs. The dominant display, however, varies among the species. Dogwoods are native …
    Type: Garden Guide Plant
  • … The American elderberry is an attractive and useful plant whose only vice is the tendency to send out runners and pop up where you didn't plant it. The cultivar 'York' is a compact selection about 6' tall. It is best paired with 'Nova' as a pollinator for better fruiting. The leaves are compound with usually 7 toothed leaflets. The light brown …
    Type: Garden Guide Plant
  • … dozens of long lasting fragrant flowers at the tip of a three foot flowering spike. Native to higher elevations in Central America and southern Mexico it grows best in cool conditions, bright sunlight and high humidity in very well drained orchid potting …
    Type: Garden Guide Plant
  • … denser branching than the species. Like other spruces, it is extremely cold-hardy. It will do best in a sunny location with well-drained soil. Norway spruces are easy to grow and tolerant of difficult growing conditions. They have stiff, sharp pointed needles …
    Type: Garden Guide Plant
  • … in attracting flies that pollinate the flowers as they lay their eggs in what appears to be a dead animal. This native of southern Africa is not hardy outdoors in the Chicago region and grows best in full sun and relatively dry soils. The odor can be overpowering indoors. …
    Type: Garden Guide Plant
  • … 1-inch-wide, pale blue flowers. A perennial bulb that blooms in early spring, it grows from 3 to 11 inches in height. The bulbs should be planted 3 inches deep in well-drained soil. It is best used in the front of the border or where it can be seen. …
    Type: Garden Guide Plant
  • … This large, nonhardy perennial comes into flower in midsummer and continues blooming up to frost. It is best used as an annual in Chicago-area gardens. Plant this salvia in sunny locations that will …
    Type: Garden Guide Plant
  • … When my mother first moved from England to Chicago in the late 1950s, she’d never heard of a prairie. In England, a grassland is called a … the Garden’s prairie and river senior ecologist. It’s challenging for her to suggest the “best” time to visit the prairie because it’s constantly changing—every week, every month, there’s something …
    Type: Blog
  • … Native to moors, swamps, and grasslands in central Eurasia, purple moor grass is a slow-growing plant … green foliage 12-20 inches tall that turns yellow in the fall. Purple flowers bloom on 20- to 32-inch stalks in July and August. Purple moor grass grows best in full sun with regular moisture and is tolerant of both acidic and alkaline conditions. …
    Type: Garden Guide Plant