… Relatively narrow, glossy green leaves (without a pale silver stripe down the midrib) appear shortly before the white narrowly obovate petals that open on warm days to display the inner petals with their narrow green V marking and honey fragrance. Snowdrops are … life cycle, adapted to deciduous forests, is completed by the time oaks and maples leaf out in spring. Unlike other bulbs, they need a consistently moist (not soggy) soil during summer …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Cayuga viburnum was developed by the U.S. National Arboretum in 1953. Abundant pink buds open to very fragrant white flowers in late April or early May. Its …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Waterlily crocus ( Colchicum 'Waterlily') delights and thrills gardeners in September and October when the large (6-inch tall by 5-inch wide) double flowers begin to open. Reliably hardy in the Chicago region, the plant has broad green leaves that are produced …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… The blackjack oak is native to the south-central and southeastern U.S. It has a scrubby and irregular habit and is more likely to be found in the wild in poor sandy soil than in nursery stock. Acorns mature biennially. The genus Quercus … (biennial). Oaks are often imposing shade trees at maturity and provide habitat and food for a variety of wildlife. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… 'Pumila' has feathery plumes of lilac pink that rise above the dark green, deeply cut foliage in late summer to early fall. The soft fluffy spikes are comprised of tiny, densely packed flowers on narrow …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Aconitum 'Barkers Variety' is a tall (up to 5-feet) perennial for the back of the flower or mixed shrub border, featuring long, densely packed spikes of …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… American Alumroot is an attractive native plant for sun or partial shade. It matures to a mounded form about 15 inches tall and 18 inches wide. Tall airy panicles of greenish white flowers appear in the late spring and early summer increasing the height to about 24 inches and adding a nice lacy …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… The weeping beech forms a large tent-like mass creating an impressive specimen. Although all of … shape -- with or without human help. Lustrous deep green summer foliage turns golden bronze in fall. A wide range of cultivars of the European beech have been developed, many of which are … of the species. The genus Fagus includes 10-13 species of the beech tree, which are native to temperate regions of Asia, Europe and North America. Only Fagus grandifolia , the American …
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 … stinging hairs. The leaves of the latter can be boiled 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 …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Prairie blazing star ( Liatris pycnostachya ) blooms in late summer. A native of the tallgrass prairie, prairie blazing star is distinguished from … by the sharply arched bract (modified leaf) below each flower head. Each flower head has five to 10 tufted, lilac-purple flowers that bloom from the top down. The flowers attract butterflies …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
