… toxic and will not be eaten by deer or rabbits. The name Narcissus comes from the Greek word for narcotic and is tied to the myth of a young man known as Narcissus who fell in love with his own reflection. When he …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… purples, charming pinks, blue, and white. Unlike many primroses, this species is well adapted to heavy clay waterlogged soils which makes it a winner for Chicago area gardeners. The plants clump up over time turning into an almost solid mass that …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… conditions. This species is an annual in the Chicago area but is perennial in USDA zones 9 to 10. Free of most insect and diseases (botrytis on the petals in areas with poor air movement … the exception). Seeds are started in February in a cool greenhouse (like pansies and primulas) for planting out after the last of the hard freezes. Taxonomic research using DNA analysis …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… club resembling a soprano-range eighth note. The club portion of the “musical note” splits to reveal an attractive flower that resembles a small white butterfly. It has several red, thin, … beyond the flower’s petals. The buds grow upright in large numbers, borne in clusters of 5 to 10 white flowers. A prolific bloomer, the flowers have no fragrance and are rather short-lived, lasting at most for two days. The dull green, lanceolate leaves have variable shapes; some have smooth margins, …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Bear's foot or stinking hellebore is native to central and eastern Europe. Hellebores are prized for their flowers which appear in late winter or early spring and are often the first flowers to appear in the Chicago garden. Wester Flisk hellebore grows into a low mound about 2 feet tall …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… with purplish- brown spots. The flowers are outfacing and cup shaped on stems that stand 1 to 3 feet tall. A single stalk will have 1 to 5 blooms and narrow leaves arranged in whorls. Lilium philadelphicum, or wood lily as it is … is naturally occurring in mountainous meadowlands. The bulbs were gathered by Native Americans for food. Unfortunately, this lily has been disappearing from areas where it is over grazed, …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… with a hint of pink at the base in early spring. Members of the genus Magnolia are known for the stunning beauty of their usually large flowers, which emerge prior to the foliage in spring, and are often fragrant. While shades of pink are the most common bloom … fruiting body of small follicles forming a cone-like shape. The species range from small trees to very large trees and shrubs. Magnolias are an ancient genus that appeared before bees; early …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… blossoms are creamy white and pink with red streaking. Members of the genus Magnolia are known for the stunning beauty of their usually large flowers, which emerge prior to the foliage in spring, and are often fragrant. While shades of pink are the most common bloom … fruiting body of small follicles forming a cone-like shape. The species range from small trees to very large trees and shrubs. Magnolias are an ancient genus that appeared before bees; early …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Pink jasmine is an evergreen, twining climber native to China. It produces an abundance of light pink flower buds in late winter and early spring, … fragrant, trumpet-shaped, star-like white flowers. The plant bears compound leaves with five to seven leaflets. They are dark green on the upper surface and a lighter green on the lower. … Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in 1993 and was chosen on the bicentenary list of 200 plants for the RHS. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… and late; ‘Bob Krekler’ is a midseason bloomer, usually mid-May in the Chicago area. It grows to 36 inches tall, taking on a shrubby appearance throughout the summer, then dies to the ground in the fall. Plant in sun to part shade with the eyes no more than 2 inches below the soil surface. It is deer resistant. Peonies are popular garden plants, known for their stunning flowers, their cold hardiness and the huge variety of their colors, forms, and …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
