… abundant yellow flowers can be clearly seen, making this a beautiful plant when little else is flowering. Witch hazel extract is used in cosmetics and skin care products. This relatively large vase shaped shrub grows to a … petals that provide a showy display and persist through the winter months. Harvest Moon is tolerant of a range of shade conditions from full sun, to part shade to full shade, but will …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… moisture conditions. It produces domes of slightly fragrant bright pink flowers in spring and is graced with bright red foliage with the onset of winter temperatures. Like other Rhododendron species, it needs an acidic soil pH. Acidic pH is not a characteristic of most Chicago area soils so care must be taken to incorporate peat into … identified as appropriate for Rhododendron and other acidic-loving plants. The root system is comprised of a dense network of fine feeder roots in the top couple of inches of the soil and …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Rodgersias they can tolerate boggy areas and naturalize over time. 'Bloody Wheels' foliage is particularly colorful. The leaves emerge bright red, then deepen to a bronzed purple before maturing to green. Fall color is also dramatic. The flowering spikes can be 5' tall, but bloom is iffy. As a species, Rodgersias give you a bold counterpoint to the delicate airy foliage …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Spotted beebalm is a plant native to eastern North America, where it is found on the sandy edges of rivers, lakes, and coastal waterways. Its name refers to the … debris to prevent these diseases from harboring in the soil over the winter. As a native it is attractive to pollinators and generally repels deer. It is suitable for border plantings in …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Glade mallow is an uncommon and valued native species found in the wild along river banks and open areas with … moist soil. Considering that it grows to over six feet tall and stands out in the garden, it is odd that every year people wonder what it is. It is native only in scattered counties in the Midwest, east to Vermont and Pennsylvania. It …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… This plant is a Narcissus , named for a beautiful young hunter in Greek mythology who fell in love with his reflection. It is a spring-flowering bulb, and when flowering is over, you can see the strappy green leaves that provide nutrients for next year's flowers. Las …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Tara Prairie Dropseed is a clumping warm season grass with bright green leaves and delicate flower panicles that appear … brown in late fall. In massed plantings the flowers provide an attractive pinkish haze which is enhanced by backlighting in early morning or late afternoon. This grass is a wonderful all year plant with bright green foliage in spring and summer, flower spikes in …
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
… and bushy and reddish in color. A lot like a fox's tail in fact and explain why this grass is called a foxtail fountain grass. Ginger Love fountain grass is a warm season grass that grows in clumps about two to three feet wide and tall. The green … in July and persist until winter and are usually retained over winter and the entire plant is cut back in late winter. This grass is extremely adaptable and can be used in a wide range of …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… The Desert Mountain mock orange is native to the dry, mountainous regions of southwest North America. It bears highly fragrant white flowers with a maroon center in May to June. The Desert Mountain mock orange is a medium-sized deciduous shrub with narrow grayish-green leaves that are adapted to dry … feet in height and width with gently arching branches and an open appearance. While this shrub is adaptable to a range of conditions including drought, it prefers sunny locations and cannot …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
