… frothy, almost shamelessly brilliant flowers known as cool-season annuals. But as we putter in the garden, or enjoy a spring-break walk, seeking out cherished wildflowers, bulbs, and other early bloomers, we should take every opportunity to spot one of the most invasive plants in our area—garlic mustard, Alliara petiolata . Don't be fooled by the name. Today, it offers no beneficial culinary component in spite of what the early Europeans may have thought when they tucked it into the ship's hold …
Type: Plant Info
… strip, meant to attract bees and other busy insects to the smorgasbord of food plants growing in the garden. Smart gardeners know that it's the presence of pollinators—the bees, butterflies, … moths, beetles, flies, and other insects (plus hummingbirds)—that makes the difference in the health and fertility and productivity of wild plants, food plants, and landscape plants alike. Recent news about the die-off in honey bee colonies and the decline in monarch populations makes the issue of pollinators …
Type: Plant Info
… In 1926 when Eva Kenworthy Gray of California launched her at-home hybridizing of fibrous … with thick canes or stems, often brilliant foliage and heavy clusters of dangling flowers in cherry red, orange, salmon, pink and white. They can be easily identified by the folded, often feathery, winglike leaves that appear speckled, polka-dotted, banded or splotched in multicolors, including metallic silver. The splashiness of color and pattern in the foliage …
Type: Plant Info
… Peony's a charming lady, she doesn't like a spot too shady; likes to live out in the light, dressed in red or pink or white. --Elizabeth Gordon Peony plants are some of the oldest perennials in cultivation. There are woody small shrubs (euphemistically referred to as tree peonies) in …
Type: Plant Info
… own native bees. Illinois is home to about 500 species of bees that are important pollinators in natural areas, in agricultural fields, and in our gardens. Like honey bees, native bees are threatened by pesticides, habitat loss, disease, …
Type: Plant Info
… College student Jessica Tillery came to the Chicago Botanic Garden for the summer to work in a plant science lab, hoping to jump start her career in habitat restoration—which she did. And she got the chance to develop something she wasn’t … friends. And those relationships, Tillery said, “made her experience.” Tillery was an intern in the Garden’s 2022 Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program in Plant Conservation. …
Type: Blog
… Q: I’ve heard about using water-absorbing crystals in container plantings. What are they? A. This product is actually a polymer in a crystal-like form. It is added to the soil in containers, near the plant’s roots, where it absorbs water like a sponge. As the soil begins …
Type: Plant Info
… This is a ground cover that forms a tight mat 3 inches tall and 18 inches wide. It blooms in spring with spikes of blue flowers that rise above the green foliage. It can be grown in average soil with average moisture in full sun to partial shade and can even tolerate being planted under walnut trees. It can be …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… of the large purple ball-type ornamental onions to come into flower each year. Starting in May, 3 feet tall, sturdy flowering stalks support the purple star- shaped miniature flowers forming the large globe. Plant this allium in full sun, with moderate water conditions during growth and flowering, followed by a dry resting period ending in September. The flowers attract birds, bees, and butterflies, and are resistant to deer. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Allium tanguticum 'Summer Beauty', forms a clump 12 inches wide. It blooms in mid-summer with pale lavender pink, 2-inch globes that sit atop 24-inch stems. It prefers well-drained, loamy soil in full sun. Summer Beauty is a butterfly and honeybee magnet. Summer Beauty ornamental globe onion is sometimes referred to in the literature as Summer Beauty lavender globe lily—but it is not a lily at all. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
