DROUGHT The current drought situation has been aided by an overall persistence of unusually warm, dry weather. June of 2012 officially ranked as the 6th warmest on record in Chicago, while it was also the 5th driest. WGN Meteorologist Paul Merzlock We are, indeed, in a drought. Trees are stressed; lawns are brown. Prairies [...]
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Garden Walk Report
GARDEN WALK REPORT He who plants a garden, plants happiness. Chinese Proverb The day was perfect–part sun, not too hot. The Butterfly Weed was still in bloom, joined by Prairie Coreopsis and Wild Quinine, mentioned last week. The Purple Prairie Clover, also mentioned last week, was a big hit. Visitors were fascinated [...]
PLANT MILKWEED
LETS PLANT MILKWEED!!! Recently, Wild Ones posted the following monarch update on the Wild Ones Facebook page: We are trying to harness the power of the Internet and Facebook to help save our Monarchs. Please share this information with your members and ask everyone to send this information to their friends and family. Also, [...]
Attracting Butterflies
One of my greatest pleasures in August is to eat lunch in my screened front porch and watch the Tiger Swallowtails nectar in the Compass Plant, Tall Coreopsis, and Joe Pye Weed , while their now-forming seeds attract Gold Finches. Plant these feeding stations close to your house and within viewing distance of your [...]
Yellow Daisies
Yellow Daisies My House in August Radiant yellow daisies dominate my August gardens. The wanton, golden Showy Black-eyed Susan, the color of marigolds, is everywhere, anywhere its seeds have found a bit of bare dirt in which to sprout. Every year I think I have way too many Showy Black-eyed Susan–until August, when their ravishing [...]
Stupendous, Astonishing Silphium
What a thousand acres of Silphiums looked like when they tickled the bellies of the buffalo is a question never again to be answered, and perhaps not even asked. Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac Silphium are among the most interesting of the prairie forbs. They stand out, not only because of their enormous size, [...]
Scarlet Lady
Do you recognize this plant? No, it’s not Cardinal Flower–that doesn’t bloom until August. This is Royal Catchfly (Silene regia), a rare plant in the Chicago area–indeed, it is endangered in Illinois. Fortunately, it is readily available from native plant nurseries as plugs or seeds. The above photo was taken last week in [...]
My Gardens This Week
My Gardens This Week–Second Week in July Another of my favorite flowers is Purple Prairie Clover (Petalostemum purpureum). A purple fringed tutu of tiny blossoms begins to climb up the tubular cone early in July and becomes a long purple cylinder as the season progresses. It gets even better–bright purple-stemmed, golden-orange anthers [...]
Two Splendid Summer Shrubs
Several years ago, in July, 1999, I saw two extraordinarily beautiful native shrubs in bloom at the Chicago Botanic Garden that I had never seen before. They are in bloom now–what would you guess? Maybe you have never heard of them before either. The first is Prairie or Illinois Rose (Rosa setigera) . [...]
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Wild Ones: Northern Kane County Chapter
Drought? What drought? Part 2
July 27, 2012 • Categories: Pat's Comments, Summer Garden, sustainable • by PatHill
Drought? What drought? Part 2 July 26, 2012 If ever there was a summer to convince people to plant prairie flowers and grasses instead of lawns and exotic flowers, this is it. I began to plant my prairie garden in 1998, starting with the front foundation, entry walk, and along the front walk, adding [...]
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