… Waterlily crocus ( Colchicum 'Waterlily') delights and thrills gardeners in September and October when the large (6-inch tall by 5-inch wide) double flowers begin to open. Reliably hardy in the Chicago region, the plant has broad green leaves that are produced in spring and die back in early summer, so the flowers appear to spring from the bare soil in …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… blooms on a low-growing, spreading perennial plant with trifoliate leaves. Root-hardy in the Chicago area (where it gets frozen to the ground each winter), in warmer climates it grows as a deciduous creeping vine. It grows well in full sun and partially shaded gardens. Native to China, the flower shape, size, and sprawling …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Polygonatum commutatum or Solomon’s Seal is a native woodland perennial to 3 feet in height producing up to 20 clusters of pendent white flowers in spring followed by dark blue berries in late summer/fall. Best grown in a shady setting in moisture retentive soils and mulched well …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Tibouchina urvilleana , glory bush, is native to northeastern Brazil and so thrives in the bright sun, heat and humidity of Chicago summers. Royal purple 5” across flowers cover … leaves throughout most of the growing season. Will tolerate partial shade but flowers best in full sun and needs moist soils. Insect and disease free, this tough tropical makes a bold statement planted directly in the ground as an annual or in a container and overwintered in a bright warm sunny location. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… narrow, lance-shaped green fronds 24 inches long. Fronds narrow abruptly toward tips. Grow in fertile, rich, well-drained soil in deep or partial shade. Grow in a rock garden, fernery, or well-drained border. They grow in a central form called a …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… to 150 feet) with a large, rounded, spreading crown and trunks that mature to 2 to 4 feet in diameter. It is native along the Nueces River in Texas but has spread from Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, south to Alabama and Mexico, being primarily found in the Mississippi River Valley and the valleys of its principal tributaries. In Missouri, it …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… features dark green leaves and large clusters of flowers which are either lacecap or mophead in structure. Sadie Ray is a mophead cultivar that is said to have bloomed for 50 years at a farmhouse in Indiana. The flowerheads are pink or blue depending on the soil in which it is planted, pink in alkaline soil and blue in acidic soil, and they bloom from May …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… is a form of a perennial plant that is native to the eastern parts of the US where it grows in locations that are consistently moist. It bears large bracts of smallish bright purple flowers in late summer to mid-fall providing an unusual pop of tall color in the late season. Jonesboro Giant grows to a height of about twelve feet and a width of about …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… between July and late winter you'll see that the flower spikes are thick and bushy and reddish in color. A lot like a fox's tail in fact and explain why this grass is called a foxtail fountain grass. Ginger Love fountain grass is a warm season grass that grows in clumps about two to three feet wide and tall. The green foliage turns yellow in early fall and …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… a clumping warm season grass with bright green leaves and delicate flower panicles that appear in late summer and early fall. The clump can grow to about 3 feet high and 3 feet wide. The fragrant flowers are a pinkish brown which mature to a golden brown in late fall. In massed plantings the flowers provide an attractive pinkish haze which is enhanced by …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
