November’s sky is chill and drear, November’s leaf is red and sear. Sir Walter Scott Mid-November Notable Native Trees and Shrubs The November landscape has a sepia coloring, reminiscent of the rotogravure section of the old Chicago Tribune. The leaves of the Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa) fell in October, but those of the [...]
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Flames of Scarlet and Gold
Flames of Scarlet and Gold Frequently seen on magazine covers and calendars in fall, Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) is the quintessential tree of autumn with its brilliant scarlet, tangerine, and topaz foliage. It’s the first shade tree to color, starting as early as late September, continuing through the end of October. A majestic tree, it [...]
Fiery Foliage
…and the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame, September Song Fiery Foliage There are abundant trees, shrubs, and vines whose leaves “turn to flame” in autumn, reflecting the fire of the setting sun. The earliest, beginning at the end of September, are Virginia Creeper, various species of sumac and serviceberry, and our favorite [...]
More on Asters and Grasses
More on Asters and Grasses I can’t help myself. All last week, whenever I would step outside my front door, whether to get the mail or pick up the newspaper, I would run back into the house for my camera and take more photographs of all the asters. Aromatic Aster and Prairie [...]
Astounding Asters
Astounding Asters I have way too many asters—Smooth Blue, New England, Aromatic, and Heath in my prairie gardens and Short’s and Side-flowering in my savanna gardens—that is, until September. Now I’m emerged in joyful aster exuberance, exultation, abundance, generosity, verdancy, lushness, luxuriating in asters, intoxicated with asters…well. look for yourselves: I’ve been so busy [...]
Prairie Grasses in Late Fall
The big show is almost ended by the first hard frosts. Although the tall grasses provide an encore with their rich burst of golds, winey russets, and shades of bronze, the great host of prairie flowers now exists only as dried stalks with stripped seed heads, and a few pods clinging to frost-blighted stems. Then [...]
Fiery Fall Foliage
“I planted white acorns… The white oak is the noblest tree in Illinois. It will live to be a thousand years old on soil best fitted for it.” Jens Jensen Kames and Kettles Fiery Fall Foliage First Week in November The Chicago area landscape was formed by ice. As the Wisconsin glacier receded about 13,000 [...]
Maple Trees
MAPLE TREES The scarlet of the maples can shake me like a cry Of bugles going by. William Bliss Carman Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) is not suited for new subdivisions or street tree plantings, says Possibility Place Nursery Catalog. Obviously, this Sugar Maple in my [...]
Golden Leaves
Golden Leaves What causes leaves to turn color in the fall? Shorter day lengths and cooler temperatures trigger the leaves to discontinue the production of chlorophyll, allowing other pigments to shine through. Sunny days stimulate the manufacture of carbohydrates and cool (40-45° F) nights allow the carbohydrates to break down into sugars. The more [...]
Autumn Savanna
Autumn Savanna Many people tell me that they would love to have a prairie garden, but they have too much shade. My answer? You can have a savanna or woodland garden with a diversity of forbs and grasses every bit as as ravishing as a prairie–just with different plants. Last week I described and showed [...]
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Wild Ones: Northern Kane County Chapter