… Description: The junco is a very common migrant and winter resident. It can be found in most habitats at the Garden. Those of us who live in northerly climes refer to our family and friends who head south for the winter as snowbirds. A … a chatty, active bird that brightens the woods, shrubby areas, and conifers at the Garden and in northern Illinois backyards. The junco is about the size of a sparrow, and is closely related …
Type: Birding
… This evergreen shrub native to the South Pacific islands grows to a height of 10 feet in full sun with moderate moisture conditions. The leaves are large, broad and toothed with a coarse texture and milky sap. In some varieties the leaves are crowded together and cupped or twisted. They are grown for their … and pendant male catkins, not ornamentally effective. They are best used as specimens or in a border in a tropical climate. In colder climates they can be used as potted plants during …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… plant like bugbane be native to Arizona? It's native to just a few places - deep canyons in the Arizona dessert where it's protected from the sun and picks up moisture from small rivulets and streams. In the garden, it's a strong vertical accent in the shade border, and with its creeping rhizomes forms a good-sized clump in a year or two. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… for the burgundy/bronze tinge to its leaves. The 2 - 3-foot wands of bloom are purple in bud, and tinged pink when they first open, maturing to white.In the late summer they form a striking presence in woodland garden, or the back of a shady border in late summer. Given moist, shady, peaty …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… stalks. Asparagus is a hardy perennial with thick, succulent shoots that are harvested in April to early May, leaving younger shoots for future growth. Asparagus is high in vitamin K and many minerals. It needs to be planted in well-drained soil, with careful selection of the site, considering that it will continue to …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… green strappy leaves growing from a central crown giving the appearance of a bird's nest. In cultivation it usually grows to about three feet in height and about three to four feet wide. It is most commonly cultivated as a houseplant as it is not hardy in Chicago and must be brought inside once the nights become cool. Since the bird's nest fern is …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… crown. Use it as a shade tree or specimen plant. The pealike flowers, which are more abundant in alternate years, hang in strings 8 to 14 inches long. These drooping clusters of fragrant blooms are among the most beautiful to be found. Lovely chartreuse leaves distinguish this tree in the spring and summer, when they contrast nicely with darker greens in the garden. In the …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Coal Miner colocasia is a showy member of the arum family originating in southern Asia. Although cultivated for millenia for their edible corms, these days the plants … like a shield, so their full beauty can be appreciated. It grows to four or five feet in height and about three feet in width and requires partial shade to enhance its coloring and consistent moisture to avoid …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Common witch hazel ( Hamamelis virginiana ), a native of woodlands in eastern and central North America, grows as an understory large shrub. In mid- to late October, clusters of fragrant flowers with four strap-like petals emerge. 'Champlin's Red' has flower petals that are red-orange at the base, tipped in yellow, emerging from yellow-green calyxes. In the home landscape, it can attain heights of 15 …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Hellebores or Lenten roses are prized for their flowers which appear in late winter or early spring and are often the first flowers to appear in the Chicago garden. The foliage is leathery and dark green with finger-like clusters of serrated leaflets which are evergreen throughout the winter except in extremely cold locations. Hellebores prefer cool, moist soils with a high organic content but …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
