… This perennial is a South African native and needs bright indoor light and dry moisture conditions to reach a maximum height of 18 inches. In the summer it blooms repeatedly with yellow and …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… ‘Gateway’, at 5 feet in height, is shorter and sturdier than the straight species and features mauve-pink flowers that butterflies are unable to resist. It grows best in moist soils and full sun. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Need a tall plant that holds up to the heat of summer? Try sweet black-eyed Susan— it has a lot to recommend it. A wildflower that tops out at 4-6 feet in full sun to partial sun, this plant tolerates clay soil, produces buttery yellow blooms with brown centers and is resistant to deer. Sweet black-eyed Susan prefers moist soil and blooms from July through …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… in milder climates, the colorful leaves remain decorative all winter. It grows well in full to partial sun locations. Green Spice Coral Bells will attract birds, bees and is resistant to deer. Its mature size is a small mound 9 inches tall by 16 inches wide, with the flowers …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Midnight Rose Alumroot, with dark purple leaves splattered with hot pink polka dots, is so delightful. This lovely Heuchera hybrid would be a lively feature in any shady garden. It can be used in full sun to part shade. As with many colorful alumroot selections, the variegation or spot color evolves … wide at maturity. The foamy white spike of late spring flowers will extend the height up to 24 inches and add additional interest. It will attract birds, bees and is resistant to deer. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… This slow-growing tree is a five-needled pine with lustrous dark-green foliage. Use it as a specimen plant. It produces 2"- to 3"-long brown cones on the ends of its branches and also has very attractive bark that exfoliates to reveal green, white and brown areas. This plant deserves greater attention in the horticulture …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… For American gardeners, the main attraction of Actinidia polygama hardy kiwi vine is the foliage, which becomes more and more silvery over the summer. That's what earned it its … And fall brings colorful yellow and orange berries. But there's a peppery, astringent edge to the taste so even in their native Japan people generally don't eat them raw. If you want to grow silver vine, plan on frequent pruning and strong support. Left unchecked, these woody …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… plant. Redbuds are a small-scale tree with big impact. A midwestern native plant growing 15 to 25 feet tall, eastern redbuds often have short trunks that begin branching close to the ground. Purple-pink flowers in March or April bloom directly on branches and mature … appeal. In native habitats, redbud grows as an understory tree in partial shade and soil that is naturally rich with organic matter. In cultivated gardens, redbud feels at home in dappled …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… of the founders of the Royal Horticultural Society in the 18th century, forsythias are medium to large shrubs that produce four- petaled clusters of bell-shaped flowers in the axils of the stiff, rough branches. These Asian shrubs are very adaptable to poor soils and varying moisture, but the flower buds may be tender on older cultivars. Pruning is best done immediately after flowering, giving new growth time to form flower buds. Never shear …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Fragmented Landscapes Need Fire to Thrive The Chicago Botanic Garden sets one-quarter of its land on fire every year. These … in Dixon Prairie. Fire burns through dead leaves and stems, opening space for native plants to grow from seed, nourished by the charred plant material and increased sunlight. The cleared, … like ours where fires were natural and many species require fire to survive, burning regularly is critical to the health of our natural areas.” That’s because periodic fires—ignited by …
Type: Blog