… take care of their "dirty" business. Starting with and maintaining healthy soil is fundamental to good gardening, but too often it is overlooked in the frenzy to get those plants in the … topsoil to your garden. This requires working with local nurseries to source out where they buy their topsoil and finding a nursery with soil that matches the native soil of your area. When … compost will be ready for your garden in four to six months. It's so easy, and it's the best thing you can do for your soil—and your plants. …
Type: Plant Info
… Orange flowers appear in late summer into early fall much to the delight of hummingbirds and gardeners. This un-described species hails from Brazil where it grows in full sun on grassy hillsides. Unlike other species, the older leaves begin to curl up with age creating a very unique form. Full sun and dryish conditions appear to be the best approach for containers. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… local, no Chicago dog is complete unless it comes with sport peppers!) Use these top tips to ensure the best pepper harvest year after year in your garden, because every bite is worth savoring. … forget to save those seeds! Looking ahead: sowing your own seed Most home gardeners prefer to buy peppers in pots at their local garden center—and let's face it, not everyone wants to start …
Type: Plant Info
… Native to the Appalachian Mountains, ‘Wate’s Golden’ is an irregular, slow- to medium-growing Virginia pine that is best known for its outstanding golden foliage in winter. It grows 15-30 feet tall in an open pyramidal …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… exfoliating bark. Plant in well drained, acidic pH, moist soils in partially shaded conditions for best results. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… my nostrils at an Orchid Show scented display one year. The sweet smell was a great way to show many Chicago Botanic Garden visitors that vanilla comes from the fruits of the vanilla … and epiphytic roots anchor it to tree trunks. My last post, Vanilla inhabitants: The search for associated bacteria and fungi , showcased my ongoing experiment in Mexico. This included … colonize a vanilla’s root. To further investigate the situation, I ran an experiment using the latest DNA technology—Next Generation Sequencing (NGS)—to document the communities of fungi …
Type: Blog
… needles curve upward and are a startling shade of pale blue-gray. It makes a fine specimen for a lawn. This slow-growing cultivar originated as a chance seedling found in France in 1929. The white fir withstands city conditions better than any other fir and is more resistant to heat and drought. It is one of the best firs for the Midwest. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… in China in 1845 by plant explorer Robert Fortune, and was the first forsythia brought back to Europe for cultivation. Although forsythias were a novelty to Europeans and Americans, they were very … 18 inches tall and spreading to 36 inches. It has better flowering than ‘Arnold Dwarf’. It is best used in masses, to cover large areas or define a border. Named after William Forsyth, one of …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… “I love this plant for its clouds of tiny white flowers on black wiry stems in early autumn,” says Jill Selinger, manager of continuing education. “One of its best assets is that it grows well in dry shade, where so many other plants I tried have failed.” …
Type: Plant Info
… months of the growing season. Kale prefer moderately rich, well drained soils in full sun for best production. Proof that you can have your ornamentals and eat them too! …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
