… Eremurus stenophyllus , or Bunge desert candle, sends up a spike to 3.5 feet tall with hundreds of yellow flowers from a rosette of foliage that resembles yucca … early summer. After flowering, the plants go dormant fairly rapidly, leaving the tall spike to mature the seed capsules. The seeds disperse in fall and sound like a rattle when hit by the … where snow melt provides moisture early in the year. It bursts into growth in a very dramatic way. The foliage seems to spring from the ground, followed by the tall spikes of flowers. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… want a brown, unruly patch of land. Conservation scientist Becky Barak, Ph.D., is looking to change that assumption. By studying alternatives to traditional turfgrass, she and her … for lawns,” Barak said. “We can help by hopefully showing which of these alternatives function best for different ecosystem services. People are already talking about lawn alternatives; now, … near their house,” Barak said. “[This research is] only helpful to the extent that it’s used!” Visit Rethinking Lawns —a website designed by Kozik in collaboration with Barak, Tonietto, and …
Type: Blog
… 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
… 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
… 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
… 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
… Shakespeare is the following: “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” You would have to read Hamlet to get the backstory, but one thing I know as an ecologist, is that we would be in … ground, and the new fungi orient in a different direction after the tree falls. (This is one way that you can discover if a tree was dead before it fell to the ground.) Just like most of the … and unpalatable, the chicken of the woods ( Laetiporus sulfureus ), is considered one of the best fungi for eating. There are also several species of shelf fungi thought to have medicinal …
Type: Blog
… Geum rivale ‘Album’ This is a white form of Geum rivale or Water Avens that grows to 12 - 24 inches high. It blooms in late spring with small nodding greenish white bells held on … leaves. As the flowers mature, the hanging bells will straighten up. Geum rivale ‘Album’ does best in moist soil and partial shade. It is hardy in zones 3 to 7. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… This tree is found only the Black Hills of South Dakota. It grows to 40’ in height and 15’ in width. It does not tolerate heat well and shouldn’t be grown south of Zone 6. It is considered to be a better ornamental tree than the straight species, Picea glauca , because it has a denser habit and brighter blue-green needles. It will do best in a sunny location with well-drained soil. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
