… Liz is an interdisciplinary researcher who does both ecological research and the work of sharing that research with wider audiences. She creates visual-forward science communication to take the vital lawn alternative research and make it something that people can easily understand and implement. Given the challenge in lawn enhancement and replacement is that so many disparate homeowners are decision-makers, reaching these audiences with how-tos …
Type: Staff bio
… Bloodflower ( Asclepias curassavica ) is a nonnative perennial plant from South America that the Chicago Botanic Garden grows from seed and uses as a warm-season annual. It is a member of the milkweed family, which includes butterfly weed ( A. tuberosa ), prairie … monarch and queen butterfly larvae and its nectar attracts many other species of butterflies to the Garden. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… MUNSTEAD WOOD™ rose is named for Gertrude Jekyll's home, where she wrote many of her influential gardening books. Its buds are a light, pinkish crimson, opening to reveal velvety deep crimson roses 4 inches in diameter. The scent is also described as exceptional...old rose, with hints of berries. MUNSTEAD WOOD™ is on the …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Tsukomo false cypress is a miniature, globular evergreen shrub with light green needles of a very fine texture, growing … rock gardens and miniature landscapes. In its native habitat in Japan, Sawara false cypress is a large evergreen tree, growing to between 50 and 70 feet in height. The many cultivated varieties of this large evergreen come …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… In spring, Cytisus × praecox 'Allgold', also known as Scotch broom or Warminster broom, is covered with canary-yellow flowers topped with a pale yellow flag on a shrub maturing at 6 … fragrance that not everyone finds pleasant. Not reliably hardy in the Chicago area, this plant is also noted for its tolerance of salt spray and poor, acidic soils. The very small leaves are deciduous during droughts, leaving the task of photosynthesis to the green chlorophyll covering the densely twiggy stems and trunk. Archived Copy: This content …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Hydrangea macrophylla is a deciduous shrub that grows 3-6’ tall and wide. It features dark green leaves and large … which appear in July, are light pink in alkaline soils and light blue in acidic soils. Hardy to Zone 6 – will struggle in the Chicago winters and should be planted in a protected site. Archived Copy: This content was captured before February 2022, and is no longer being …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Pee Wee’ is a diminutive form of the native oakleaf hydrangea maturing at 4 feet high by 3 feet wide. Panicles of white flowers age to soft pink while the green leaves turn shades of bronze, maroon, and purple. The bark on older … moist soil and thrives in partially shaded locations. Unfortunately, this native shrub is on top of the dinner menu for rabbits and deer that find the stems particularly tasty in …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Iris ‘Guise’ is a Standard Dwarf Bearded Iris which stands 12 in high. The standards are cream colored blending to violet. The falls are lavender with yellow edges and bronze beards. The flowers are less than … Irises but before the Intermediate Bearded Irises. It may rebloom later in the season. Iris is the name of the Greek goddess of the rainbow. The classic ‘Fleur de Lys’ which has been a …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Narcissus ‘Amor’ is in Division 3. It stands 12 -16 inches tall and blooms in mid season with flowers that are 5 … eaten by deer or rabbits. The name Narcissus comes from the Greek word meaning intoxicated and is often tied to the myth of a young man known as Narcissus who fell in love with his own reflection and …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Narcissus ‘Glencoe Pink’ is in Division 2. It ‘blooms in mid season with white petals and a large pink corona. It was … not be eaten by deer or rabbits. The name Narcissus comes from the Greek word for narcotic and is tied to the myth of a young man known as Narcissus who fell in love with his own reflection. When he …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
