… and hummingbirds. Some serve as host plants for egg-laying butterflies. For example, pipevine is the only host plant for the pipevine swallowtail butterfly. Hops vines are host plants for the … and vanilla. Flowering jasmine, which can be grown in a pot and brought indoors come fall, is highly fragrant as are sweet peas. Climbing Hydrangea Twining and Clasping Vines grow by … annual and perennial vines like medium-moist, well-drained loamy soil. If your planting spot is mostly clay, amend it first with compost so the roots can easily travel through the soil to …
Type: Plant Info
… turn up the heat and glow with the fire of early fall color. Our native goldenrod, Solidago , is one of the golden glories of the field, prairie, oak woodlands, and even seaside. There are … Garden, Landscape Gardens, and McDonald Woods. An end-of-summer visit to these various gardens is a perfect way to admire goldenrod's many forms, as well as note the companion plantings that … mid-October. Solidago 'Goldkind' (Golden Baby): Comparable in size to 'Baby Sun', 'Goldkind' is a good choice for high flower production, sturdy habit, and disease resistance. It blooms from …
Type: Plant Info
… cover beds or in perennial borders where emerging plants hide their yellowing foliage. It is crucial that the stems and leaves remain attached to the bulbs until they begin to lose their … to deer, rabbits, and other rodents due to a poisonous alkaloid in the bulb. This chemical is also responsible for the daffodil's inability to coexist with other cut flowers in a vase. …
Type: Plant Info
… There is much cheer to be found in the dainty flutterings of a cyclamen. Such springlike blossoms … splotched bicolors. Petals are frilled, folded, crested, doubled, and often fragrant. Foliage is an attractive mound, often with silver tracery on top and burgundy beneath. To grow a cyclamen …
Type: Plant Info
… Think fall color disappears in October? Nope. The first week of November is still prime time for leaf peeping at the Chicago Botanic Garden . As the Garden’s … curving paths, and I’ve been keeping my eye on them already. If the photo of larch trees above is any indication, late fall color will be stunning! …
Type: Blog
… Frost or Freeze? The typical average date for the first fall frost in the greater Chicago area is October 15. In some years, the first frost happens in September or as late as November. Frost … advantage of the soil’s heat before it chills at night. Cold Frames A useful season-extender is the cold frame, which you can see in the Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden. Cold frames are … plants will be damaged sooner than plants that are in protected spots. Nina Koziol is a garden writer and horticulturist who lives and gardens in Palos Park, Illinois. Photos by …
Type: Plant Info
… on the bottom 1 foot of the plants. It was much more devastating than we thought.” Tiddens is anticipating a lot of disease this year because of the peculiar conditions. “We’ve had … conditions and cultural practices possible. When buying new plants, match the plant to the site . If you have a spot in sun with heavy clay soil, a shade-loving plant like a hosta will suffer. A plant that is well adapted to your site will perform better and have fewer problems. During the growing …
Type: Plant Info
… that looks like a dahlia, the response would be "the many-flowered sunflower." Sunflower power is blooming in gardens everywhere. Sunflower Varieties Helianthus annuus , the annual sunflower, is the mammoth-headed flower associated with the farmlands of the Great Plains—a plant cherished … vie for valuable pollen. As surprised visitors discover in September and October, the prairie is a very noisy place. Perennial gardeners, in search of back-of-the-border plants, favor the …
Type: Plant Info
… sun. Fertilize every 10 to 14 days with a liquid 10-10-10 or 15-15-15 mix. The fertilizer is necessary to replenish the bulb for a new season’s flower display. In fall, before the Chicago … the nighttime temperature remains above 60 degrees. Place the pot in a sunny spot where it is protected from strong, afternoon summer sun. Water and fertilize regularly. When night … placed back in a sunny window but must be returned to the closet at 5 p.m. This dark treatment is necessary for the plant to set its flower buds. Provide normal water and monthly fertilizer …
Type: Plant Info
… altar honoring the dead. My dad was so skillful with paper. He was an accountant, so this is where I would see his artistic side. But to be completely honest, it was a festivity that I … in Mexican history and dates back to the days before Spanish conquest. According to UNESCO, it is an ancestral celebration recognized on the Intangible Cultural Heritage List. Pre-Columbian … with harvest time and the Catholic observances of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. Mexico is multiethnic and multicultural, and this richness has allowed diverse expressions of the …
Type: Blog
