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  • … color is purple. Viburnums are a versatile genus of multi-stemmed shrubs that are well suited to the 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
  • … of the species. Viburnums are a versatile genus of multi-stemmed shrubs that are well suited to the 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
  • … August on this rhizome-producing onion. Ornamental onions with rhizomes are typically confined to the late summer flowering group but are much better adapted to Chicago soils than their bulb-producing cousins flowering earlier in the summer. This hybrid … apparently a spontaneous occurrence in the garden of Mark McDonough—internationally recognized for his work with Allium . It strongly resembles nutans , a native of Siberia, the leaves of …
    Type: Garden Guide Plant
  • … It has a very narrow pyramidal form, with rich, teal blue-green needles. Balsam fir is native to the colder regions of Canada and the northeastern United States. The slow growth rate makes it an ideal low-maintenance plant for lawns in cold climates. In the Chicago area, it is prized as a Christmas tree because of its fragrance and symmetry. It grows in full sun to partial shade, in a slightly acidic, well-drained soil. It is not tolerant of heat and needs …
    Type: Garden Guide Plant
  • … Beautiful five-to-nine-lobed leaves emerge early. The plant grows 10 feet in height with a similar spread, and it is highly admired for its semi-weeping branches. Use the Japanese maple as a specimen plant. May and June bring … rich red. Foliage is red and turns a brighter red in the fall. This lovely small tree, native to the Far East, can be grown only in very protected areas if you live in Zone 5. It is an …
    Type: Garden Guide Plant
  • … early fall until a secondary bloom extends the show later into the fall. It is a magnet for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds attracted to its honey scented blooms. Cutting back the plant to a height of twelve inches when blooms slow will assure a fast growing plant newly covered with …
    Type: Garden Guide Plant
  • … CHARM™ boxwood features deep green foliage with a bluish cast in summer that changes to a rich black-green in mid-winter. It is notable for its excellent cold hardiness, compact, oval-rounded habit, delicate foliage and good growth … the Morton Arboretum and the Ornamental Growers Association of Northern Illinois formed to promote plant cultivars that perform well in northern Illinois. This variety was selected by …
    Type: Garden Guide Plant
  • … leaves are lime green with splashes of black in a random pattern making it a thrilling plant for partly shaded gardens and planters. It grows to about four feet high and four feet wide and is suited to large containers, borders, and understory planting that receive partial sun. Elephant ears are …
    Type: Garden Guide Plant
  • … A very strange plant, the Chaya or Mayan Spinach tree is a tropical shrub native from Mexico to South America. A member of the euphorbia family, a milky sap is exuded by the stems and … and eaten like spinach. They are high in iron and vitamins. However, they must be boiled for at least 10-15 minutes to leach out a harmful cyanide compound. …
    Type: Garden Guide Plant
  • … Dark-colored foliage provides a perfect background for the bright yellow-orange flowers beginning in July. This nonhardy bulb can be grown in either moderately moist to very moist soils in full sun and moderate fertility. In the Chicago region, this plant is not susceptible to some of the foliar pests found in warmer climates. Lift the tubers in fall after the first …
    Type: Garden Guide Plant