native plants

In Bloom, mid-June

June 14, 2013
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We have lots of things going on in the garden and yard that I haven’t written about yet, so I thought I’d start it off by showing what’s in bloom right now. This is Ohio Spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis), a native perennial. It likes the area near our garage, which gets some morning sun but is [...]

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In Bloom: Asters

September 11, 2012
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This is the first year that our asters have bloomed, no thanks to the bunnies. They must be very tasty because they seemed to constantly chomp them down despite fencing them in (the flowers, not the bunnies). I think this is their third summer so I’m excited to see them in bloom for late summer [...]

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Prairie Dock

September 3, 2012
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As summer winds down, trying to enjoy what is left in bloom. This is Prairie Dock, Silphium terebinthinaceum, a native Illinois prairie plant. I was able to start on painting the storm windows a couple days ago, but discovered that the color I chose for the outer frame was too bright so I went back [...]

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Garden Growth

July 20, 2010
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Not only do we have our garden growing like gangbusters, thanks or no thanks to all the rain we’ve had this summer, but we also have a baby robin who looks ready to leave the nest very soon. We’re not sure what happened to the other two eggs, but there always seemed to only be [...]

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It’s Native Plant Sale Time!

May 6, 2010

Get your shopping list together Chicagoland: it’s time for the annual Native Plant Sale this weekend, May 8-9 at Lake County Forest Preserve’s Independence Grove in Libertyville! About a 30- to 40-minute drive from Chicago, Independence Grove is located about 2-1/2 miles west of I-94 on Buckley Road (Route 137). Sale hours are 9 am [...]

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Springtime!

April 14, 2010
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The garden is starting to wake up and I’m looking forward to planting season next month. The plants I added to the parkway in front of the house are starting to peek through, but I think it will still be a while before they fill in. We made an early purchase last week and added [...]

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The Late Summer Garden

September 10, 2009
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I don’t think I’ve posted anything about the garden since May when I planted my new purchases. I guess all the excitement of the attic renovation took precedence. I really haven’t done much all summer in the garden because of the reno, and some of the plants have taken advantage of that. I’m going to [...]

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The Backyard is Smokin’

May 13, 2009
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It’s so nice to finally start working outside again. Pete just dragged out the Adirondack chairs, so I’m ready to soak in some morning sunshine and cool breezes. The backyard, between the house and garage, has filled in the most overall since we started planting last year. Most of the arborvitae (background) are doing well, [...]

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The Mighty Oak

May 12, 2009
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On Saturday, my sister-in-law, niece and I trekked up to Libertyville for the Lake County Native Plant Sale. Because they only allow a certain number of people inside at one time, I wanted to get there early. We arrived about 15 minutes before it opened but we still weren’t among the first group and had [...]

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Native Speaking

May 7, 2009

Attention all Chicago-area gardeners! Lake County Forest Preserve’s 12th Annual Native Plant Sale takes place this weekend, May 9-10 at Independence Grove in Libertyville. Despite the construction on the I-94 tollway expansion project, it’s an easy drive from the city to Route 137 (Buckley Road). Drive west a few miles to the Independence Grove entrance, [...]

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