… burning and vegetation monitoring. My role includes empowering our seasonal crew in their day-to-day fieldwork. In my spare time, I lead stewardship workdays at Sante Fe Prairie Nature … Preserve in Hodgkins, IL. Educating students and the public about ecological restoration is incredibly important, which is why I participate in Skype a Scientist to connect with classrooms around the world. …
Type: Staff bio
… summer through early fall until a secondary bloom extends the show later into the fall. It is a magnet for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds attracted to its honey scented blooms. Cutting back the plant to a height of twelve inches when blooms slow will assure a fast growing plant newly covered with …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… It almost looks as though Picasso himself spattered red paint on to the rich yellow blooms of the Picasso canna. In any case, the vivid color combination is certainly an attention-getter, even though this canna is considered a dwarf. Like all cannas, … it starts blooming, it doesn’t stop until frost if you keep deadheading. Then, if you want to save the plants for next year, you can simply dig them up and store them in a damp medium like …
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 … They are high in iron and vitamins. However, they must be boiled for at least 10-15 minutes to leach out a harmful cyanide compound. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Mojito elephant ears is a leafy tropical plant with large heart-shaped leaves held on fleshy purple stems. The leaves … a random pattern making it a thrilling plant for partly shaded gardens and planters. It grows to about four feet high and four feet wide and is suited to large containers, borders, and understory planting that receive partial sun. Elephant ears are …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Plum Passion ground orchid is derived from the ground orchids of the rain forests of southern Asia and the Pacific. It has … are a dark maroon-purple and are borne on flower stems called racemes. This orchid grows to about 2 feet tall and wide and prefers bright indirect or dappled light and consistently moist soil. It is not hardy in Chicago but can be successfully grown indoors with attention to lighting and potting medium. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Abbey Road greater masterwort ( Astrantia major 'Abbey Road') is a delicate, small, hardy perennial in the carrot family that produces thin stalks topped with half-domes of bright pink flowers that are less than one inch across. It grows 18 to 20 inches tall and prefers moist soil and full sun to partial shade. Each flower consists of tiny florets with a row of ray-shaped sepals beneath. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… on this cultivar selected for greater disease resistance and a more compact growth habit. This is a perfect plant for the rock garden or edge of a flower bed and attracts a number of pollinators. Plant it in full sun and well-drained soils to avoid rot during high rainfall periods. This perennial will need to experience the cold of winter before it can initiate flowering. Archived Copy: This content …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… This red maple cultivar can reach a mature height of 40 feet with a spread of 20 feet. This is a seedless cultivar of red maple. Foliage color starts as very dark green, turning orange-yellow to orange-red in the fall. The cultivars of red maple are much more consistent with good fall … tolerate dry clay soils, where the leaves may become chlorotic, yellowing from an inability to uptake manganese from the soil. Archived Copy: This content was captured before February 2022, …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… are pollinated by a wide range of insects. This stunning specimen plant typically lives for 3 to 4 years. The sap is known to cause allergic dermatitis, and an extract of the roots contains chemicals with coumadin-like …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
