… Flowering dogwood is the showstopper member of the genus Cornus -- for its elegant layered habit, stunning white blooms and vibrant fall color. While its true … and inconspicuous, they are surrounded by four large flat white bracts that appear to be petals. This small native tree is the state tree of Virginia and signals the arrival of spring in much of the southeastern U.S. Alas, it struggles to maintain bud hardiness in northeastern Illinois. Members of the genus Cornus , commonly known …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Heleniums are perennials native to North and Central America found growing in damp soils in full sun. They bloom in fall and a … can continue until frost. Heleniums, despite the common name of sneezeweed are not responsible for allergies this time of year. Blame instead ragweeds (of the genus Ambrosia ) for itchy, … plants with lots of nectar. As a result, the pollen grains are fairly large and are adapted to sticking to the backs and legs of bees and butterflies. Ragweeds on the other hand are wind …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… cooking apple because the flesh is soft and grainy, and it does not keep well. It is reported to have good disease resistance. The difference between apples and crabapples is the size of the … and in quantity as a crop, they can also be grown in the home garden. Special attention to pollination, disease/pest vigilance, and pruning may be required for the trees to thrive and fruit in the home environment. Although apple fruit trees produce …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Peonies are popular garden plants, known for their stunning flowers, their cold hardiness and the huge variety of their colors, forms and habits. They are divided into two main groups: herbaceous, which die to the ground in the fall, and tree peonies, deciduous plants with woody stems which they retain … classified as early, mid and late – ‘Mons. Jules Elie’ is a mid-late season bloomer. It grows to 30” tall, taking on a shrubby appearance throughout the summer, then dies to the ground in the …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… open bell-shaped flowers with six petals grow atop 4-inch scapes. There is usually only one to three flowers per stalk, but each bulb produces several stalks. This is a true blue, with a … stamens of ultramarine. The leaves are narrow and slightly shorter than the flower stalks. To make up for their dainty size, they are usually planted in masses. You may see lawns in older …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… structure and function in living organisms. Investigate the structures of plants and animals to understand how living things came to look and behave the way they do. Use biomimicry concepts to create engineering challenges for students to solve human problems. CPDUs: 18, Graduate credit: 1 (optional; additional fee) …
Type: Item Detail
… A one-of-a-kind orchid Photo by Ecuagenera.com While many genera in the orchid family have hundreds, or even thousands of species, the genus Frondaria (Latin for “a crown of leaves”) has just one—and you’d have to travel to the mountainous forests of the Andes to see it. Even then you’d have to look …
Type: Plant Info
… native shrub produces masses of terminal and auxilliary flower clusters from mid-summer up to frost in the Chicago region. Plant this shrub in full sun and provide room for it to grow up to 6 foot tall. It does well in average soil; it is sometimes prone to aphids. This …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… your own cornucopia with our Cornucopia 101 by Nancy Clifton ! This is a great time of year to collect interesting plant materials from your own backyard to make interesting centerpieces. Here are some plants to look for: Osage orange ( Maclura pomifera ), ornamental grass plumes, crabapple fruit ( Malus sp.), …
Type: Plant Info
… Arabica coffee ( Coffea arabica ) is indigenous to the mountains of the southwestern highlands of Ethiopia. Also known as "the coffee shrub of Arabia," it is believed to be the first species of coffee to have been cultivated in southwest Arabia, grown there for more than 1,000 years. It now accounts for 75- 80 percent of the world's coffee production. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
