… Bergenias are clump-forming perennials in the Saxifrage family, which contains a lot of species noted for growing in rocky crevices in mountains or along streams. This species produces large, round, leathery leaves that emerge …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… This shrub grows in a low mound (it’s only three feet tall!) that’s great for filling up a border with beautiful pale blue flowers nestled among silvery foliage beginning in late summer with secondary blooms continuing in the fall. It needs full sun with consistently moist, well- drained soil to bring out those …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… on spikes rising from the clump of fat green leaves with translucent windows at their tips in midwinter. The windows are created by the absence of chlorophyll in each of the three layers of cells. In the wild, leaves recurve to create a flat surface matching the surrounding soils; in the lower …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… perennial sunflower ( Helianthus 'Lemon Queen') is a strikingly tall beauty, growing to 8 feet in height and 6 feet in width with 2-inch diameter, with soft-lemon sunflowers from late July to frost. Plant 'Lemon Queen' in full sun, in the back of the flower bed, and avoid excessive fertilization to prevent this …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Dominic daylily is a vibrant dark red with a light yellow throat. The 5½-inch flowers bloom in early to mid season, and may rebloom. Although each flower lasts only one day, there are multiple buds on each stalk and several stalks on each plant. The buds open in series, so a single plant will continue to bloom for 2 weeks or more. The plant is easy to grow and does well in full sun to part shade. In 1986 the American Hemerocallis Society awarded Dominic Honorable …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… edged with deep pink and accented with deep pink to red centers. The flowers are 6 to 9 inches in diameter. At maturity the plant stands 6 feet high and blooms in mid summer to fall. It is hardy in zones 5–9. The name Hibiscus came from the Greek word “hibiskos” that meant “marshmallow.” The …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… features dark green leaves and large clusters of flowers which are either lace cap or mophead in structure. Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Shamrock’ is a compact lace cap cultivar growing to 3-4’ … sterile florets from May through August. Florets mature to a deeper pink or violet. Plant in moist soil in part shade; attractive when massed in the shrub border or used as a specimen plant. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… is a diminutive cultivar of mountain hydrangea with a mature size of just around four feet. In acidic soils the fertile and sterile flowers are a light blue while in most of the alkaline soils of the Chicago region they are pink. As the flowers age their color changes from light blue to mauve, creamy white and finally a pale pink (in acidic soils). The leaves are a yellowish green which provides for a nice contrast with the …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… panicles of oversized florets start out lime green and quickly change to a pure white that in fall, with cooler temperatures, turn to pink. This hardy shrub will reach medium height of 14 feet in size if left unpruned. Pruning, to remove dead wood or to control height, should be done in late winter. Plant this hydrangea in full sun to partial shade, and water it during periods of …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Japanese anemone begin producing their large pink flowers atop long wiry stems that dance in the breeze in late summer and continue until frost. A hardy perennial, this species requires constantly moist soils in a slightly shaded setting. The plant will slowly clump up over time if it is moderately …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
