… I manage the Plants of Concern, a citizen science rare-plant monitoring program designed to gather standardized, long-term regional monitoring data to detect population trends. The program is a collaboration of trained citizen scientists, land managers, and researchers using science to best conserve rare plants and habitats. In addition to our regional monitoring work, Plants of …
Type: Staff bio
… creating a new hedge. Attractive native shrubs are often overlooked—and occasionally hard to come by in local nurseries and garden centers—but they are well worth the effort to find. … at the bit to plant this native shrub. It’s unfortunate, because the chokeberry is one of the best shrubs you can grow in Illinois. Iroquois Beauty™ chokeberry ( Aronia melanocarpa … but the fruit that comes afterward offers a food source for yellow-rumped warblers on their way south. New Jersey Tea ( Ceanothus americanus ) New Jersey tea ( Ceanothus americanus ) …
Type: Blog
… of bright yellow flowers. Depending on the spring weather, they flower any time from mid-March to mid-April. Most forsythias are native to east Asia, although one species hails from southern … many forsythia species and cultivars. A cultivar is a plant developed through breeding for particular characteristics such as color, scent, size, or shape Girald forsythia ( Forsythia … Information Deer Resistant Plants Prune Trees and Shrubs Tree and Shrub Care Checklist Get Crafty Forcing Flowering Branches Spring-flowering Branches Indoors So Classy: Spring Wreaths …
Type: Plant Info
… While few of us who garden in the Midwest look forward to cold weather, we do welcome the autumn palette, especially when it announces itself gradually, … prom dresses in the garden, there are some fall-blooming plants we will always find room for, even though they sport colors more akin to April than October. Their springlike colors … and dark autumn. A thorough reading of the Plant Evaluation Notes will help you select the best plant for your needs — and isn’t that what we gardeners all want? Greek anemone ‘Blue …
Type: Plant Info
… When ice and snow season arrives, it's important that roads, driveways, and sidewalks are safe to walk and drive on, so life doesn't become more challenging than it already is. While personal … Read the Label All deicing products have advantages and disadvantages. No matter which product best meets your needs, carefully follow label instructions to make sure it is used effectively at … lowest rate possible. Calcium magnesium acetate (CMA) is generally considered the best deicer for plants and from an environmental standpoint. But since high concentrations can reduce oxygen …
Type: Plant Info
… A biting February morning in Chicago can be a challenging experience for anyone, but for a lover of trees, it can also turn into an exhilarating moment of truth. With … the chalky white or cinnamon bark, often peeling, or "shingling," and calls attention to the dangling male flowers known as catkins. Spring is signaled by the limey-green new foliage, … for all seasons. Betula nigra is the most southerly of all birches but still is one of the best choices as a landscape tree for our area. Able to withstand variations in soil moisture and …
Type: Plant Info
… The Spiraea japonica species includes the greatest range of cultivars available to the home gardener within the Spiraea genus. They all have a compact mounding habit in sizes ranging from 18" to 5' that makes them useful in borders and smaller spaces. The cultivars also offer foliage … are quite small, they occur in clusters of inflorescence that can be very showy. Spireas are best used in groupings in a shrub or mixed border, where they are valued as tough, reliable and …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… The Spiraea japonica species includes the greatest range of cultivars available to the home gardener within the Spiraea genus. They all have a compact mounding habit in sizes ranging from 18" to 5' that makes them useful in borders and smaller spaces. The cultivars also offer foliage … are quite small, they occur in clusters of inflorescence that can be very showy. Spireas are best used in groupings in a shrub or mixed border, where they are valued as tough, reliable and …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… The Spiraea japonica species includes the greatest range of cultivars available to the home gardener within the Spiraea genus. They all have a compact mounding habit in sizes ranging from 18" to 5' that makes them useful in borders and smaller spaces. The cultivars also offer foliage … are quite small, they occur in clusters of inflorescence that can be very showy. Spireas are best used in groupings in a shrub or mixed border, where they are valued as tough, reliable and …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Description: Look in open areas like the Dixon Prairie, or elsewhere around the Garden, for this warbler that is common at the Garden during its long migration stopover. One of the most … migration is an active, thin-billed bird called the yellow-rumped warbler. It's one of up to 36 warbler species seen in the area during the spring and fall migrations. This warbler … however, there are many more, and they'll be wearing their finest attire. Though humans do best to stay away from poison ivy lest they have an allergic reaction, the yellow-rumped warbler …
Type: Birding
