… This Missouri/Arkansas native is a clump-forming perennial that grows to a height of 8” with a similar spread. The deep blue to purple, three-petaled flowers last only for a day, but …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Culver’s root is native to northern Asia. It grows to about 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide with lance-shaped leaves that surround the stems. Dense spikes of tiny lavender flowers open from …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… prairies throughout the Midwest. ‘Album’ grows to 4 feet tall and features pure white flowers with pink stamens from May through August on strong upright stems. Smaller branching lateral …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… a very small clump of less than 6” in height and about 6” in width. It blooms in early spring with either bicolored (upper petals dark purple and lower ones light blue) or uniform light blue …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… The flower spike of this bromeliad can reach 6 feet. As it reaches upward, it's covered first with silvery gray bracts protecting the buds, then prolific yellow blooms. Their remarkable …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… is good Earth . There is a family story about how my father and great-grandmother healed me with mshkeke when Western medicine failed. It involved a bad case of pneumonia, an ill-tempered … Vivian. A word of caution: It has taken me many years to develop a relationship with these plants to correctly identify and respectfully harvest and prepare these plants for … and knowledge to teach you since many plants can be toxic if you ingest or come into contact with them. The Great Maple Nation Shenamesh (sugar maple) teaches us about caring for each …
Type: Blog
… natural areas disconnected from each other and the processes that keep them healthy. “With our fragmented landscapes in Illinois, burning the Garden’s natural areas gives them the best chance to thrive with so much working against them,” said Jim Jabcon, prairie ecologist at the Garden. Fire is an … native plants and limits the growth and spread of invasive species that didn’t evolve with fire. “McDonald Woods—our restored oak woodland—is so rich in native wildflower, grass, and …
Type: Blog
… in bloom. They twinkle beside sidewalks, peek up from the leaf litter, and carpet the ground with much-needed color. Snowdrops are popular early-blooming favorites, but they are followed by … puschkinia, and grape hyacinths, many of which span the season from March to May. Gardening with Little Bulbs Their basic requirements are just like a daffodil's: plant in fall, so they get … the trees leaf out. They need moisture to bloom, but they usually get it in a Chicago spring. With their light texture, little bulbs can romp charmingly between masses of larger, showier …
Type: Plant Info
… get you growing. Let’s dig in. Start Small Don’t have space to garden outdoors? Start indoors with pint-sized houseplants . You can find them at garden centers, big box stores, and at many … in pots is a good way to add color and a little pizzazz. Flanking a walkway or a front door with large plant-filled containers creates an inviting space. Choosing Containers Invest in … and wide dry out very quickly in hot weather, which can lead to plant stress. And, choose pots with drainage holes. If there’s no way for water to run out, the soil at the bottom can become …
Type: Plant Info
… Smaller, three- to six-pounders are the best for pies since they're sweet and non-stringy. As with all squash, the flowers are edible too! If you can find named pumpkins at your local … their first true leaves, thin the plants out, saving just the two healthiest ones. Sidedress with compost after the first blossoms appear. Pumpkins are almost 90 percent water and have high water requirements. Water each hill with at least two to three gallons of water per week. Water the roots only to keep fungal …
Type: Plant Info
