Tag: Amsonia
More Fall Color in the Garden
As we near the end of October, fall seems to be ambling rather than marching on. We have yet to see a frost, and the warm weather means colors have shifted only slowly. Seedheads of Northern Sea Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) are no longer green, but seem to shimmer like hundreds of tiny goldfish. They look …
Winners and Losers in the Battle of Dry Shade
My back garden raised bed has been something of a permanent work in progress. I was in my Raised Bed Period when I created it. Somewhere, I really can’t remember where, I had read about the virtues of raised beds. Over the next couple of years I created four of them in the garden. Anyway, …
Back Garden Notes
Time to Dig the Alliums In the back garden there is a patch of Allium ‘Purple Sensation’ (Allium aflatunense) that has expanded substantially over time but that is also getting rather too congested. A sign of this is the thick growth of Allium foliage but fewer actual flowers than we saw last year. When they …
Chicago’s Lurie Garden in May
Earlier this week Judy was walking to the Millenium Park garage in downtown Chicago but, prompted by the mild weather and clear light, took a detour into the Lurie Garden. The views were sublime – full of blues, purples, and whites – and Judy took some photos with her cell phone. They came out pretty …
GBFD: September Foliage and Fruit
The colors of autumn are only starting to settle in here in Chicago. Grasses often have more of a fall look than does the foliage or flowering perennials. The ‘Northwind’ Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) are displaying their airy panicles, though the leaves are still blue-green. The ‘Northwind’ Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) are displaying their airy panicles. …
Chicago’s Lurie Garden
After the Chicago Botanic Garden, the Lurie Garden should be the next must-see item on the agenda of any avid gardener visiting Chicago. It is a five acre garden in the heart of downtown, designed by Piet Oudolf and Robert Israel. Truly a garden in a city. The Lurie Garden has a prairie-style design, but …
End of Month View: May 2013
It’s been a very long day so I am just going to post some photos of various parts of the garden at the end of May. These pictures were actually taken on Sunday, but close enough. First, the driveway raised bed. The foundation bed at the front of the house. View from behind the sidewalk bed. …
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