… upon Cinderella's coach. The broad Musquee de Provence pumpkins are a rich terra cotta color with deep ribs, just like the magic ride in your childhood fairy book. In France, these pumpkins … or big enough to weigh 1,500 pounds, nearly red or sandy pale, white or gray-blue or striped with yellow. Australians don't bother with distinctions, but use the term "pumpkin" for all of … Be alert for beetles, but avoid pesticides, since the pumpkins need bees for pollination. The fast-growing vines and the swelling pumpkins will need a steady supply of moisture, and …
Type: Plant Info
… 2,000 different species, some of which are highly ornamental, and some of which are weeds with little cultivated value. They all, however, are characterized by a lack of true flower … bracts that cover the plants like flowers in spring. Most spurges are mid-spring bloomers, with the bracts coloring in May or even earlier, if spring is unusually warm. They combine … stems. At the tips of the stems are the typical bracts that turn yellow in spring. It's an excellent rock garden plant, providing a good contrast to low-growing, fine-textured plants like …
Type: Plant Info
… sales lists that take place usually from March through June. On many occasions we consulted with master gardeners and horticulture experts through the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Plant … came design. This was perhaps the most important step in our eyes. We were all too familiar with the reputation of native lawns being weedy eyesores. But we love a challenge. Determined to … heartening to see all these hallmarks of a thriving ecosystem, none of which we’d have enjoyed with a traditional grass lawn. Swamp milkweed Butterfly weed Purple poppy-mallow Plains coreopsis …
Type: Blog
… Fortunately, these are merely myths. Lilies are wonderfully diverse and can thrive here with some attention to their culture and selection. They give continuous bloom in your garden … as a dinner plate; dazzle in colors of white, pink, yellow, orange, and red to violet, and with all sorts of freckles, lines, and spots to entertain your brain; and fill your garden with … at the Chicago Botanic Garden. The international North American Lily Society produces several excellent publications, and hosts an annual show as well as a seed exchange. …
Type: Plant Info
… mellifera), has been used extensively for commercial pollination. The value of pollination service by bees is worth billions of dollars annually. Bees also pollinate our native plants that …
Type: Plant Info
… orange, pink, green, burgundy, purple, streaked and striped, and practically black. Along with those colors come a range of flavors. There's a tomato for every taste. Indeterminate … a spectacular range of flavor, shape—and color. Take 'Black Krim', a brownish Russian variety with "a very salty taste," Hilgenberg says. Like many dark varieties, it comes from the area … to grow tomatoes in large pots. But make them large and deep, so the soil doesn't dry out too fast and there's space for an ample root system. Use a rich, freely draining, sterile potting …
Type: Plant Info
… looks. This month in Smart Gardener we look at the tall and deeply colored plants that are fast becoming a signature in modern gardens. Deep, rich color gives gardeners the dark side of contrast that can be hard to achieve with green-foliaged plants. Tall, dark plants become a backdrop for everything else in the … All flower colors are more dramatic around a dark-leaved partner—especially flowers with a hint of deep purple in them, like the many lilies sprinkled with dark spots. While "back …
Type: Plant Info
… swings Our Zone 5b and 6a USDA Hardiness Zones can experience volatile weather conditions, with winter’s frigid temperatures and snow interspersed with unseasonably warm and dry weather. … of juniper ( Juniperus ). If in doubt about trees in your yard, contact our Plant Information Service. Pruning pointers March is a good month to prune many trees and shrubs. Prune out sucker … or division. If you’re not sure which technique to use, contact the Garden’s Plant Information Service for additional information. Continue starting seeds This month, start seeds of …
Type: Plant Info
… member of our modern-day garden zinnias. In its natural form it grows about 3 feet tall with branching stems and large purplish-pink single flowers. By the 1850s, breeders began … from single- and double-flowered varieties to dahlia-style pompoms, cactus-flowered cultivars with pointy petals, and the classic dome-shaped forms. The flowers can be as small as an inch … to 4 feet tall and offers large flowers that are single, double, or semi-double, and they make excellent cut flowers. Z. angustifolia (Narrow-Leaf Zinnia) Narrow-leaf zinnia is compact and …
Type: Plant Info
… spring, when it should be pruned to the ground like other ornamental grasses. Silver Any plant with blue, silver, or gray foliage must be planted in full sun in very well-draining soil or it … miller, features intense silver foliage in both summer and winter since it contrasts nicely with the bright green of boxwood or other smaller evergreens. Plant this lacy perennial where drainage is excellent. Yellow Bright golden plants in winter are striking, especially when set against the …
Type: Plant Info
