… Pop Eye Orange Mum Like it's cartoon namesake, this mum is tough with strong stems that hold up well in heavy rains and high winds. Double orange flowers with a greenish-bronze eye begin early in the season (late August) and continue to the end of October (or later - depending on first date of hard freeze). Plant them while still in green bud, showing no color, to allow their root system to get established for best results. Like other mums, it is highly attractive to all manner of pollinating insects. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Lesser calamint is an aromatic, slow-growing, erect perennial with ovate dark green leaves that are 1½ inches long that smell like mint. It grows best in sun in well-drained moist soil. In summer, it produces 5 to 15 white-turning-to-light-lavender to blue flowers with the onset of cooler nighttime …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Q. I read that good lawn maintenance involves aeration. Exactly what is this and when should it be done? A. Aeration is a process that creates openings in turf to reduce thatch and help with water infiltration, nutrient absorption, and air movement to … of aeration because it allows the most room for water, nutrients, and root development. The best time to aerate lawns is in the spring or fall when the turf is actively growing but not …
Type: Plant Info
… This large, nonhardy perennial comes into flower in midsummer and continues blooming up to frost. It is best used as an annual in Chicago-area gardens. Plant this salvia in sunny locations that will …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… continuously throughout the summer on this hardy hydrangea. Plant this hydrangea in full sun to light shade in neutral pH, moisture-retentive soil and water during periods of summer drought for best results. One of the first pink-colored forms of the native hydrangeas. Archived Copy: This content was captured before February 2022, and is no longer being updated. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… tolerates partial shade. It thrives in open woodlands and along the edge of woodlands, growing best in moderate to dryish soils. Pollinating insects appreciate the opportunity to stock up on the nectar of … before winter sets in. Archived Copy: This content was captured before February 2022, and is no longer being updated. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… surface of the plant. Tree peonies are not really trees but woody shrubs that can reach up to 6 feet. They thrive in full sun to partial shade and moderate moisture conditions. Free of most insect and diseases, it flowers best in full-sun conditions. Archived Copy: This content was captured before February 2022, and is no longer being updated. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Cestrum elegans var. smithii is a native of Mexico featuring pink tubular flowers at the ends of long arching flowering stems to 8'. Grow in full sun, moderate water and fertilization for best results. Like other members of the Solanaceae (Potatoe family), the leaves, stems, flowers …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Cardinal flower ( Lobelia cardinalis ) is a native perennial considered one of Illinois' Best Plants. Growing 2 to 3 feet tall, cardinal flower is blooming at the water's edge of Spider Island, where it can …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Big bluestem, ( Andropogon gerardii ) is a dominant grass of tallgrass prairies in the Midwest. It forms deep-rooted clumps and is best used for naturalizing or soil retention. When in bloom, the flowering stems reach to 6 feet or taller. The flowers are 3- to 5-part spikelets that resemble turkey feet. The …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
