… This member of the Actaea or bugbane family is particularly prized for it remarkably dark purple, almost black foliage. In late summer, … to bugs. In fact, in earlier times, they were used to repel bed bugs. 'Hillside Black Beauty' is a shade-loving plant that forms a clump about 2-3 feet high with flower spikes reaching 3-4 … moist soils in order to retain its lush appearance and unusual leaf color. This plant is well-suited to woodland and shade gardens and while slow to establish is relatively easy to …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… lacy, fernlike foliage. It blooms from June to September in sun to part shade. This cultivar is a member of the Seduction™ Series developed in the Netherlands. It is attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds, and resistant to deer, rabbits, and drought. This is a favorite cut flower and is also excellent as a dried flower. The genus name Achillea is in …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Jackson aloe, or Aloe jacksonii , is native to Ethiopia and was first collected by T.H.E. Jackson in 1943. Since its discovery it has not been located again, but has survived in cultivation. It is considered a dwarf form, having training branches only four to eight inches long. The leaves … green, with white spots, and the leaves tend to remain clustered toward the branch apex. This is a sprawling aloe, creating a dense mound. It is known as a cremnophyte, or a plant that …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… 'Cattleya' is sometimes known as False Spirea. The bright, rose-colored plumes sit on top of dark green, … areas with shade to partial shade where it adds a welcome touch of color to a shady garden. It is generally pest-free and tough, and is resistant to rabbits and deer. It is attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds. This is an …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Large fothergilla ( Fothergilla major ), which is native to the Allegheny Mountains, grows into a rounded or upright shrub 4 to 6 feet tall. Because it is multistemmed with closely borne oval leaves, it has a dense appearance. White and yellowish flowers look like small bottlebrushes and have no petals (the showy portion is the spiky male stamens). This plant blooms from April to mid-May with a honey scent. It …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Echinacea pallida is one of two species of coneflower native to Illinois. It is recognized by the narrow, drooping rosy pink, lavender or orchid flower petals surrounding a … plant. The flowers grow singly at the top of a fuzzy flower stalk two to three feet tall. It is native through much of eastern and central North America, but is uncommon due to the loss of …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Spike gayfeather or marsh blazing star ( Liatris spicata ) is becoming more popular with gardeners for perennial, meadow, and prairie gardens. The … than the opposite, as with most spike plants. The rounded clump of rich, dark-green foliage is grassy-looking at the base of the flower spikes; the spikes have smaller leaves all the way up to the tip. Floristan violet is a consistent rich orchid color. Use it as an accent in the formal garden, or plant it in wet …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… ruffled petals surround a deep red 'eye' at the center of the flower, This deciduous shrub is adapted to full sun, dry soils and tolerant of air pollution. It is one of a number of cultivars released by the United States National Arboretum combining the … supply of flowers throughout the summer and early fall with little or no seed production. It is hardy in zones 5 – 9. When the species was named syriacus, it was thought to have originated …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Heuchera richardsonii var. grayana or Prairie Alumroot, is native to the Midwest; found in Illinois, Missouri and the adjacent states. It is a variety of the species that was described and named in 1933 in honor of Dr. Asa Gray, who … first discovered the variant. It differs in a few small measurable ways from the species, and is currently considered to be the same as the species. The flowers are a bit smaller, more …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Hydrangea macrophylla is a deciduous shrub that grows 3-6’ tall and wide. It features dark green leaves and large … flowers which are either lace cap or mophead in structure. ‘Gilded Lace’, which grows 5’ tall, is a lace cap with light blue flowers and striking gold mottling on the leaves. Flower color is … is hardy to zones 6-9 and will not survive Chicago’s harsh winters unless given a sheltered site, winter mulch and a burlap wrap. Plant in moist soil in part shade; attractive when massed …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
