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  • … Narcissus ‘Exotic Mystery ‘is in Division 11a. It stands 14 -16 inches high and blooms in mid season with 3 ¼ inch flowers. … petals which overlap only at the base. Each petal has a small point on the tip. The corona is yellowish green with a light yellow base and a greenish yellow rim The rim is split to the base with the 6 segments overlying the petals. The bulbs are toxic and will not …
    Type: Garden Guide Plant
  • … This broadleaf evergreen selection grows 6 feet in height and is a hybrid of two Asian species. New growth that appears in spring is deep red before it fades to a dark, shiny green. An abundance of tiny, white urn-shaped flowers hang above the leaves in 4- to 6-racemes in April. If spring is cool, they will last for a few weeks. The buds are formed the previous fall, staying tightly …
    Type: Garden Guide Plant
  • … <p>Even though the flowers are yellow and the foliage is deep green, <em>Sedum</em> kampschaticum is commonly known as orange stonecrop. That’s because the long-lasting yellow flowers age to russet, and the foliage is tinged with red once the weather turns colder. It’s native to the Kamchatka peninsula in …
    Type: Garden Guide Plant
  • … Senecio stellata ‘Giovanna’s Select’ is a seed strain featuring purple, blue, and blue-purple flowers on 3 feet tall plants that thrive under cool, moist, shady conditions. This species is an annual in the Chicago area but is perennial in USDA zones 9 to 10. Free of most insect and diseases (botrytis on the petals in …
    Type: Garden Guide Plant
  • … Simmondsia chinensis , or jojoba, is native to the southwest desert and is best known for jojoba oil, a very long, straight chain wax that has more in common with whale oil than with more traditional vegetable oils. This wax is used in cosmetics and has potential for use as biodiesel fuel for automobiles as well as in a …
    Type: Garden Guide Plant
  • … The Staghorn or Elkhorn fern is native to the tropical rainforests of South East Asia, Polynesia and Australia where it grows … plant can reach 2-3 feet in height and width. A warm humid environment with filtered light is necessary for successfully growing these epiphytic ferns. In home gardens it is commonly grown by tying the crown to a board or planting in an epiphytic potting mix. While …
    Type: Garden Guide Plant
  • … take a closer look at the leaves and notice that they look like a little ladder. This plant is often called Jacob's Ladder like the stairway to heaven described in the Bible. Heaven Scent Jacob's Ladder is a cross between the American native and the Japanese polemonium. Reddish fern-like leaves … flowers have faded the leaves become green and take on the fine-leaved ladder-like form that is almost fern-like. This plant likes many of the same conditions as ferns including humus-rich …
    Type: Garden Guide Plant
  • … Weigela florida ‘Pink Princess’ is a 6-to-9-foot shrub that, in May and June, is covered with lavender-pink flowers that hummingbirds find irresistible. Flowers are produced … so any pruning to keep the shrub within bounds needs to be done immediately after flowering is complete.  'Pink Princess' has no fall color or ornamental fruit to speak of; this shrub …
    Type: Garden Guide Plant
  • … At the Chicago Botanic Garden, our staff community is working on being intentional in the way we do our work. In September 2022, we introduced a new … defines growth as “perseverance and humility as we work towards our long-term impact.” This is the side of growth that is very much tied to the way that Dr. King lived his life through his activism and his commitment …
    Type: Blog
  • … Description: This is one of two visible woodpecker species with red highlights on its head. Oak woodland restoration has helped to increase their numbers in recent years. It is most often seen in McDonald Woods. …
    Type: Birding