… Foliage In any garden, foliage color is an important element. Flowers come and go, but leaves stay the season. Foliage is especially important in shady gardens, where flowers are usually more … less showy. In many cases, leaves, with their texture, shape, size and color, contribute more to a shade garden than flowers. Hostas Shade gardeners know and appreciate the ongoing role of …
Type: Plant Info
… Q. Is it true that some viburnums will not be affected by the viburnum leaf beetle? A. Viburnum leaf beetles prefer viburnums with little to no hair on the foliage. Plants grown in the shade also exhibit more feeding damage.The University ofIllinois Extension has placed …
Type: Plant Info
… Native to Central America, this orchid grows to 1 foot in height. Its flowers are 5 inches across and bat-like, with the lip and column held apart from the petals and sepals. The coloring is white dotted with red …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Carol Jickling Lens began her carillon studies in 8th grade at Christ Church Cranbrook. She continued at the University of Michigan and Dutch Carillon School in Amersfoort, where she studied with Leen … Guild of Carillonneurs in North America (GCNA), is a judge and was chair of the Exam Committee for many years, sat on the Board from 1996-99 and 2017-2020, was head of the Nominations …
Type: Event for Calendar
… Big Ben is a large version of the native false indigo plant. It is a large, upright perennial that produces flower spikes with numerous dark purplish blue pea-like flowers in spring. Pollinators such as birds, bees and butterflies are attracted to these upright spikes that persist for about two weeks. Big Ben grows to about four feet in …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Q. What are the recommended fertilizers for different garden plants today? A. Whether it’s your lawn, a mature oak or a perennial border, it’s wise to refrain from adding any amendment to soil before having a soil test. Most Midwest soils … fertilizer with a nitrogen to phosphorus to potassium ratio of 3:1:2. This can be done in early May or early fall. Avoid heavy nitrogen use if water runs off your lawn into a body of …
Type: Plant Info
… Phaius tankervilliae 'Rabin's Raven') is commonly called nun's orchid because if you look into the throat of the flower, there appears to be a nun with her head bowed in prayer. This lovely terrestrial orchid is a robust plant that blooms with clusters of four to …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Satin Doll orchid ( Brassolaelia Sea Urchin 'Satin Doll') is the darkest cultivar of this primary hybrid of Laelia anceps and Brassovola glauca . It's a very … particularly appreciate the lower costs associated with keeping this orchid "warm enough" in their greenhouses during Chicago winters. The orchid family consists of a large number of … and contrasting colors and in a variety of shapes and sizes. Although some orchids are native to temperate zones, most orchids tend to prefer a semi-tropical or tropical environment (USDA …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Native to central and South American, Brassavola orchids are named after the Venetian nobleman and … Antonio Musa Brassavola. They have long, thin, tubular leaves that can reach up to a foot in length and sometimes appear unrolled or flattened. The tubular leaves are designed to reduce …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Resembling over-sized pansies, most vanda orchids can be recognized by the five rounded petals with a very small cup in the center. The lower petals of this cultivar are a rich violet-red. The three upper petals … that are more short-lived if cut. In the wild, there are 35 species of vanda orchid, native to India, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, the Philippines, New Guinea, southern China and northern …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
