… Rue is a dainty, attractive perennial native to south Europe with spicy, aromatic foliage. It grows … dried leaves are used in herbal medicines, and stems can be used to flavor vinegars, but it is not used directly as food, only as an extract. The fragrance is intriguing, like a combination of pine, thyme and soap; some considering it malodorus. It …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… ACCOLADE™ elm is a deciduous pyramidal elm tree growing 50 – 60 feet tall and 24-40 feet wide. Its claim to fame is its resistance to Dutch elm disease and the elm leaf miner. This elm grows vigorously, … It was named 2012 Urban Tree of the Year by the Society of Municipal Arborists. This tree is a Chicagoland Grows® selection. Chicagoland Grows® is a plant introduction partnership of the …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Vanilla, besides being a fragrant extract essential to baking, is a vining orchid native to Mexico. It is not at all difficult to grow indoors given the proper conditions, but it may be difficult to … ensure production of the vanilla pods that carry vanilla "beans". This labor-intensive method is one reason that vanilla is so expensive. The Aztecs were the first to create the sublime blend …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Prairie ironweed is a perennial plant that is native to the eastern parts of the US where it grows in locations that are consistently moist … should be taken in siting it especially in smaller gardens. However, because of its height it is suitable for borders, screens, and for native and cottage gardens. Since Vernonia fasciculata …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Jade vine ( Strongylodon macrobotrys ) is a rare find in U.S. botanical gardens. Aside from the Chicago Botanic Garden, only the … Gardens in Hawaii have this interesting plant. The unusual color of the jade vine's blooms is the result of pigments in two different color classes being modified by high pH in the sap of the stems. Native to the Philippines, only old, mature plants produce flowers. Jade vine is a member of the pea family (Fabaceae) and is bat-pollinated in the wild. The brilliantly …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Solanum betaceum. It's a tree...in the tomato family. The oval fruit is about the size of a Roma tomato, and it has a recognizable tomato taste, though it's somewhat milder and tarter. The flower is always lavender-pink, but the fruit can be yellow, purple, orange, or red depending on the … it's now grown widely in South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia as a food source. The skin is quite thick, so to eat it fresh you have to scoop out the flesh. It can also be cooked as a …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Acer x freemanii , commonly called Freeman maple, is a hybrid of red maple ( A. rubrum ) and silver maple ( A. saccharinum ). Only specific … cross are sold commercially today. 'Jeffersred', sold under the trade name of AUTUMN BLAZE, is an older cultivar that was discovered by nurseryman Glenn Jeffers in the late 1960s. This is an upright, fast-growing, deciduous tree that will typically grow 40 to 55 feet tall with …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… 'Sentyabrakaya' , also known as SEPTEMBER SUN™, is a member of the kolomikta species of hardy kiwi vine. They have two distinctive and appealing features. One is their hardiness...down to -30 or -40. The other is their beautifully variegated green, pink, and white folliage. All the female varieties …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Allium caeruleum is a native of Central Asia and is known as a blue globe onion. People seem to be attracted to the color blue — at least as it is displayed by flowers. Name the rarest, most sought after cultivars and species, and there will …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… leaves have sunken pores that prevent water loss. Burgersfort Aloe, or Aloe burgersfortensis is very similar to two of its closer spotted aloe relatives and is only distinguished from the other similar species by its smaller size and longer floral bracts … it was combined with Aloe parvibracteata . Burgersfort Aloe's native habitat in South Africa is on sandy soils in the open or the shade of trees. The tight rosettes can be 11 inches to 15 …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
