Native to Europe, central Asia and northern Africa, the white willow can become an imposing tree or can be coppiced to a smaller, twiggier size. Named for its pale green leaves that are covered in fine white hairs, the white willow sets itself apart from trees that show a deeper summer green tone. Male catkins are yellowish, while female catkins are green and nondescript. Members of the genus …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Even though this is called a bluestem willow its stems are actually red with a white coating that makes them look bluish. In nature, this willow tree is found growing around streams in the mountains of the southwestern US where it is sometimes called the sandbar willow. While the bluestem willow grows naturally at altitude it …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… A Very Different Garden Walk What is it about walking in the Prairie that is so very different from any of our other Garden walks? Perhaps it’s the experience of seeing … surprising to many visitors who think of the prairie as a dry, sunny, flat, open grassland. A quick stroll to the mounded hilly section of the Dixon Prairie, known as the gravel hill prairie, …
Type: Walks
… Lynne performed in jazz operas in Europe; her own one-woman show “A Great Big Diva;” and is a featured vocalist with Corky Siegel’s Chamber Blues. Lynne has traveled the world with her … works at numerous Live lit shows in Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Moscow, and Paris. Because she is a popular entertainer in Chicago, she has honed her storytelling skills with every song. Lynne is a 3Arts Make a Wave Artist and is currently enjoying being artist-in-residence at the Raue …
Type: Event for Calendar
… Q. What lawn chores are best done in the fall? A. Fall is the preferred season to tackle turf tasks. Grass will begin to grow quickly again in response to cooler nights, moderate days and increased rainfall. This is an indicator to fertilize if you have not yet done so. Broadcast an organic or slow-release … grass roots and give grass a jumpstart to turn green early next spring. September weather is suitable for overseeding an existing lawn, renovating bare spots or laying down sod. Be sure …
Type: Plant Info
… hydrangeas to test three methods: Hydrangeas we tested, from left to right: smashed stem, Quick Dip, plant food only, alum powder. Specimen 1 Dipped the stem in alum (a food additive … asked the Garden’s horticulturists for advice before our experiment. “The smashing of the end is an old-fashioned means to open capillaries to get more water uptake,” said exhibits … help reduce transpiration and increase bloom longevity.” Know this: Sticky resin clogs the cut site When you cut a hydrangea bloom, the plant produces a sticky resin at the cut site that will …
Type: Blog
… the eastern United States, ranging from Minnesota to Massachusetts. Like all bumblebees, it is a superb pollinator of some of our favorite foods like tomatoes and blueberries, but also of … range shrank by over 90 percent in less than a decade. The most concerning part of this story is that we don’t know what caused the decline. Insects like bumblebees face myriad threats … including habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change—but identifying a single culprit is often difficult. Even worse, basic parts of the rusty patched bumblebee life cycle remain a …
Type: Blog
… This is the quiet time of year, when we put our gardens to bed. All the hustle of summer planting, weeding, and watering is just a memory now. But our gardens aren’t really sleeping. Look closely and you’ll discover … they’re busy singing, looking for a mate, and building nests—in winter, a bird’s main activity is to find and eat enough food to keep warm. They’re searching for something to eat and for …
Type: Plant Info
… full of bright berries and seed pods. Types of Containers Choose your container to suit your site, the design of your home, and the types of plants you want to grow. Every pot must have … are also very heavy and expensive and should be used only as permanent containers. Terra cotta is a popular, medium-priced material, available in all sizes and therefore a good choice for … directly into the larger garden or elevated on a tabletop, a step, or a garden wall. Plastic is lightweight, nonporous, inexpensive, and suitable for hanging baskets or for plants that are …
Type: Plant Info
… A. Expecting a hardy woody plant to survive an unpredictable Midwestern winter in a container is risky business. When planted in the ground, an evergreen’s vulnerable roots are insulated from … drop well below zero. Plants are not "hardened" below ground, and the cold tolerance of roots is between 10 and 15 degrees. Temperatures colder than that will freeze tissue and kill the … Water the plants well now, throughout autumn and even during winter thaws. Another option is to wait for several freezes and then move the containers close to the house where they will be …
Type: Plant Info
