… White "dancing ladies" flowers mature to pale pink on this perennial adapted to full sun and sandy dry soils. In the heavier, damper soils found in most Chicago area gardens, it is a great addition to annual displays. Flowering starts in late spring and continues through to …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… within the Chicago Botanic Garden, an unsettling hush blankets the surroundings. The air is crisp, and the vibrant colors of the foliage at first creates a tranquil atmosphere. But as you wander along the paths, you begin to sense something otherworldly below the surface, a subtle shift in the air that sends a shiver down your spine. The sun-dappled trees seem to whisper secrets to each other, their leaves rustling in an eerie symphony. However the wind …
Type: Blog
… are moths. Our local butterflies range from the tiny Eastern-tailed blue and gray hairstreak to the giant swallowtail. Butterflies and their offspring (eggs, caterpillars, and chrysalids) … the majestic monarch butterflies are known for their incredible mass migration, flying up to 3,000 miles in late summer to their winter home in Mexico. But their numbers have greatly … or containers that offer nectar for the adults and host plants for the caterpillars. Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid that butterflies, bees, and other pollinators rely on for energy. If you …
Type: Plant Info
… Pergola (per’-go-lah) Pergolas may be elongated, narrow arbors, basically covering a walkway to another part of the garden. Or, they can be larger structures covering a patio or a deck. They can be freestanding or attached to an exterior wall. The top, which serves as a ceiling, is often a series of slats or latticework that provides partial shade. Like arbors, pergolas are …
Type: Plant Info
… Winter solstice is just around the corner—December 21 to be exact. On that day, we in the Midwest will have about nine hours of daylight. Compare that to a whopping 15 hours of daylight when the summer solstice takes place in June. Although there …
Type: Plant Info
… Serendipity Elephant's Ear is a tall plant with large, heart-shaped purplish-green leaves with very dark purple undersides. … a sheltered location, or as part of a moist understory planting or shady border. It will grow to about six to eight feet tall and about 4 feet wide. 'Serendipity' is not hardy in Chicago and the plant can …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… mum ( Chrysanthemum 'Matchsticks') are golden yellow with fire engine-red tips. The quill form is created when normally flat petals don't split down a seam as they mature. The red at the tips … seen if this were a daisy-flowered mum. This hardy cultivar does not need pinching or staking to reach the mature height and spread of 2 feet by 2 feet in the garden, and it often produces an early flush of flowers in July in addition to the spectacular main display from September through early November. Like all mums, butterflies …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Clematis 'Toki' produces very large, snowy white eight-petaled flowers in late May to early June. In the center of each flower is a cluster of champagne-colored anthers. One of the earliest of the large-flowered clematis to bloom, it was released in 1989 by Kozo Sugimoto of Japan. After the initial flowering, it will …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… ends of its branches; the flowers are deep violet with contrasting pink eyes. Butterfly bush is a half-hardy shrub. Its top is frequently killed to the ground in Chicago-area gardens, but it puts forth vigorous growth in late spring. It … of 5 feet in this area. Plant 'Black Knight' in full sun, and water it well the first year to get the root system well established. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… The Crispa Whiteside broad buckler fern is derived from a fern native to the open forests of northern Europe. It has yellowish-green … (or crisped) giving it an exceptionally attractive appearance. The broad buckler fern can grow to about 30 inches high and about 2 feet wide. This fern can cope with more sunshine than most …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
