… This plant is a veronica. Veronica is named for St Veronica who comforted Jesus on his path to Calvary. Spike veronica has violet-blue flower …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… home landscape due to their range of sizes and cultural adaptability. Some viburnums are noted for their fragrant flowers; most bear small fruit that may add visual interest. Many viburnums …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… earned it the name odorata. Each Vriesea blooms only once, then dies down to make room for its young offshoots, called pups. It's native to Brazil's rocky southern mountains, so it …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… summer peach, a hue between pink and orange—that’s “Peach Fuzz,” Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2024. As curator of plant collections at the Chicago Botanic Garden, I immediately began … Fuzz, so silver-leaved plants make wonderful companions, maybe with white blooms in between for a subdued look. Incorporating darker pink and orange with Peach Fuzz creates a harmonious … Peach Sky’ Yarrow With flat flower heads, yarrow is the perfect perennial for spiky or globe-shaped companions. It’s a taller perennial, 32 to 36 inches, and blooms …
Type: Blog
… Growing plants from seed is fun and saves money—where else can you get dozens of plants for a few dollars? Many plants can be grown from seed indoors while others, such as carrots and … bags of seed-starting or soilless potting mix, available at local garden centers. Don’t opt for bags of inexpensive, heavy garden soil, which can harbor diseases that attack seedlings. … so it's slightly damp and place it in the pots or flats. Study the seed packet instructions for sowing depth. If the seeds are planted too deep, they won't sprout. Very fine seeds often …
Type: Plant Info
… flower segments; the three larger outer segments are unmarked. Woodland settings are ideal for snowdrops, and they will return year after year if given winter low temperatures that reach … If so, bring them into a cool, bright indoor spot, making sure the compost does not dry out. For outdoor displays, plant bulbs as soon as they are available in the fall. Place in a sunny or … to alkaline pH level. Set bulbs 3 to 4 inches deep and 2 to 3 inches apart, or scatter them for a more naturalized look. Water regularly when they are in bloom. Little fertilizing is …
Type: Plant Info
… A garden can always benefit from those special plants that can stop the eye or act as foils for the sweeps of color and texture that are the mainstays of a perennial border. These plants … a milky sap that in some species can be irritating to the skin. They are ancient plants named for Eurphorbius, a 1st-century Greek physician who used the sap for medicinal purposes. Gloves should be worn when deadheading or pruning spurges, especially if …
Type: Plant Info
… effectively killing the plant, since the rhizome is left with no means to produce food/energy for future growth. Gardeners interested in establishing wildflower gardens should make a point to … nurseries. Never harvest from the wild. It takes several years, sometimes as much as seven, for a seed to turn into a flowering plant. In Maine, trillium has been declared endangered; in … vulnerable.” While native Americans enjoyed the greens as a vegetable or chewed the leaves for a variety of medicinal purposes, ranging from rheumatism, menstrual cramps, and earaches, we …
Type: Plant Info
… Some flowers resemble old garden roses; some are borne singly on as long a stem as possible for a mini. While the average mini grows 1 to 2 feet, there are micro-minis no taller than 6 … minis that grow to 10 feet, with each plant a dwarf version of the full-sized variety. Culture for miniature roses is the same as for the full-sized plants. Minis purchased in winter must be grown in a southern window or under …
Type: Plant Info
… of Amaryllis with a darker throat. A "new" variety, individual 'Red Pearl' bulbs are selling for a little more than $10 each from the Dutch originator. Hippeastrum used to be included in the … assigning the name Amaryllis to plants from South Africa and used the name Hippeastrum for the species originating in South America. Whether called Hippeastrum or Amaryllis (now used only as a common name), these plants provide an easy-to-grow option for Chicago area gardeners who are craving a bit of color during the winter doldrums. Offered in …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
