Lupines have long been staples in the perennial border. With their elegant line, exquisite colors and fine-textured foliage, they create accents, punctuation, and almost a wave of movement when used as a group in both the garden and in cut flower arrangements. We have just one lupine in the Soest Garden and it is a seedling strain known as ‘The Governor’. 

Acer palmatum ‘Scolopendrifolium’ (“Finger Leaf” Maple)
Aesculus x arnoldiana
Aesculus pavia (Red Buckeye)
Dipelta floribunda
Magnolia wilsonii

Complete details. 

Anthurium clarinervium – White-veined Anthurium
Rhododendron occidentale – Western Azalea
Viburnum plicatum x tomentosum ‘Mariesii’ – Double-file Viburnum
Rhododendron luteum – Yellow Honeysuckle Azalea
Centaurea montana – ‘Amethyst Dream’ & ‘Amethyst in Snow’

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May is always an abundance of activity in the garden. Whether April’s on and off showers played much of a role in how many plants are blooming right now, each year we’re overwhelmed with the work as temperatures begin to warm up and just about everything calls our attention; people make requests for things (they ask more questions and are more curious and observant about a lot of things like the endless weeds we’ve been trying to stay on top of) and even the plans themselves demand that they get the cutting back, pinching, top-dress of compost and irrigation they require in order to perform their best. 

Cercis siliquastrum (European Redbud)
Davidia involucrata var. vilmoriniana (Dove or Handkerchief Tree)
Rehderodendron macrocarpum
Rhododendron ‘Loderi Hybrid’
Viburnum ‘Pragense’

Complete details. 

Selected Cuttings from the Washington Park Arboretum

Abies bornmuelleriana (Turkish Fir)
Amelanchier arborea (Downy Serviceberry)
Larix laricina (Tamarack)
Malus ‘Makamik’ (Crabapple)
Picea orientalis (Oriental Spruce)

Complete details. 

A Selection of Hybrid Narcissus from the Center for Urban Horticulture’s Fragrance Garden

Narcissus ‘Thalia’ – Triandus Hybrid
Narcissus ‘Cheerfulness’ – Double-flowered hybrid
Narcissus ‘Avalanche’ – Tazetta Hybrid
Narcissus ‘Bell Song’ – Jonquilla Hybrid
Narcissus ‘Quail’ – Jonquilla Hybrid

Complete details. 

The UW Botanic Gardens Climate Change Garden is doing more than monitoring the effects of a changing climate on plant growth and survival. (What’s the Climate Change Garden?) It’s part of a nationwide climate change education initiative entitled Floral Report Card.
Sponsored by Chicago Botanic Garden, Floral Report Card aims to integrate existing phenology citizen science programs into elementary, middle and high school classrooms through garden replication on school grounds. 

Selected Cuttings from the Washington Park Arboretum

Berberis x lologensis
Litsea cubeba
Magnolia x soulangiana ‘Bronzonii’
Prunus (Sato-zakura group) ‘Shirotae’
Rhododendron ‘Idealist’ x (‘Moonstone’ x ‘Adrastia’)

Complete details. 

It has taken me almost three years to get the chance to feature one of my most favorite of all blooming shade perennials and with a wide assortment of them beginning to hit their peak, I will discuss the entire genus. Known as” Barrenwort” to some, “Fairy Wings” to others and “Horny Goat Weed” to herbalist, I am talking about the enchanting Epimedium.