Combining annuals with perennials for color all season gives a Chicagoland garden both reliability and flexibility. Perennials provide the framework: returning…
Evaluating Perennials for Chicagoland Gardens
Perennials in Focus is a plant evaluation program that examines new and underused plants for Chicagoland, the third largest metropolitan area in the country. A group of horticultural experts trials and evaluates plants at numerous locations across the region. Results help consumers, public gardens, growers, landscape designers, breeders, and other industry professionals make informed plant choices.
Blog
Iris can bring some of the most recognizable flowers to a Chicagoland garden, yet their performance is not limited to the familiar flush of spring color. Some…
Cimicifuga racemosa, also known botanically as Actaea racemosa and commonly called black cohosh, is a striking perennial for cool, woodland-like spaces. Its…
A privacy screen made from perennials can soften property lines, hide utility areas, and make an outdoor room feel more secluded during the growing season.…
A small courtyard can support a surprisingly rich planting when each perennial earns its space. The most successful combinations usually include a dependable…
Garden phlox, Phlox paniculata, remains one of the most valuable summer-blooming perennials for Midwestern gardens. Its tall stems, fragrant flower clusters,…
Gardeners in the Chicago region are often drawn to plants that bring an unusual texture, evergreen presence, or long season of bloom. Hebe is a good example:…
A formal rose garden depends on clarity. Repeated shapes, balanced borders, controlled color, and visible pathways create the ordered character that makes…
Edible landscaping brings harvestable leaves, flowers, and herbs into the same spaces as ornamental perennials. In Chicagoland, the best plants must offer more…
Hostas are widely recognized as dependable shade perennials, yet many cultivars can grow successfully in brighter locations when moisture, soil, and exposure…
In the Garden
Evaluator gardens are located across the Chicagoland area, representing a range of growing conditions. Visit our retail and wholesale partners to find trialled perennials for your own garden.
Retail & Wholesale: Hinsdale Nurseries (Willowbrook, IL), Mariani Nurseries (Kenosha, WI & Garden Prairie, IL), Northwind Perennials (Burlington, WI), The Growing Place (Aurora, IL).
Wholesale Only: Hinsdale Nurseries (Plano, IL), Intrinsic Perennial Gardens (Hebron, IL).
Our Evaluation Program
The 2017–2020 evaluation cycle included Agastache 'Blue Boa', Allium senescens 'Blue Eddy', Amsonia ciliata var. filifolia 'Georgia Pancake', Astilbe 'Chocolate Shogun', Boltonia astroides 'James Crocket', Brunnera 'Alexander's Great', and Geranium cinereum 'Jolly Jewel Purple'. Completed evaluations include Amsonia 'Blue Ice' (2004–07).
On April 10, 2020, the program published snapshot profiles for Vernonia lettermanii 'Iron Butterfly', Stokesia laevis 'Elf', Stachys officinalis 'Pink Cotton Candy', Lobelia 'Monet Moment', Helleborus 'Winter Thrillers', Geum 'Mai Tai', Geranium soboliferum 'Butterfly Kisses', Gentiana x intermedia 'True Blue', Eurybia divaricata, Asparagus 'Purple Passion', and Agastache 'Bolero'.
Browse the full collection of snapshots organized alphabetically — from A–D, E–H, I–Q, and R–Z — to find detailed performance data on perennials trialled across Chicagoland.
