Tag: Culver’s Root
How To Buy A Rose Bush
It was a rose bush I had to have as soon as I saw it at the garden center. It was named ‘Strike It Rich’, and it was still blooming in the August heat. Its color was described as “deep golden yellow, swirled and kissed with ruby red”. Which is to say: orange. But I …
Culver’s Root ‘Inspiration’
This is the third summer that Culver’s Root ‘Inspiration’ (Veronicastrum virginicum) is growing in the sunny driveway border. In my experience it is an excellent plant if you want something vertical with blue color in early to mid-summer. Even my son’s girlfriend, who fervently hopes that my garden obsession is not hereditary, is enthusiastic about …
Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day: July 2013
Is it already the middle of July? Hard to believe, and yet it must be, because the mid-summer flowers are blooming their hearts out. I’m actually pretty happy with how the garden looks right now. Let’s cover the highlights, starting at the sidewalk border. The Monarda didyma ‘Raspberry Wine’ is at its peak, and I’d …
It’s Spring. Do You Know Where Your Perennials Are?
When I was growing up in the late Mesozoic era, TV stations used to demonstrate their civic responsibility by running a particular public service announcement. The one I have in mind usually had a still shot of some teenagers on a dark street, obscured by shadows. And there would be an announcer, asking more in …
I Got the Orange Blues
I am not at all systematic about color. I mean, I do think about which plant combinations look good. But I have never had a color scheme for any of my flower beds as a whole. Not that I felt the lack of a color scheme very acutely up until now. I was too busy …
2012, the Year of Unnerving Weather
Extreme weather dominates my thoughts about gardening for this past year. It started with extreme winter mildness. This may sound like a contradiction in terms, but it was unnerving for those of us accustomed to harsh Chicago winters. January was about 8 degrees warmer than normal on average. Snow melted, the snowdrops (Galanthus) came up …
Chicago Botanic Garden’s Dixon Prairie
Here’s another post about a summer visit to the Chicago Botanic Garden. This time I want to write about Dixon Prairie, one of the less visited parts of CBG. Dixon Prairie is a 15 acre restored prairie with six different ecological communities, from wet to dry, black earth to sand and gravel. In addition to …
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