A butterfly-friendly garden can be much more than a colorful planting bed. When several nearby spaces offer nectar, shelter, water, and host plants, they form…
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
Shade can be one of the most rewarding conditions in a Chicagoland garden. Beneath mature trees, along north-facing foundations, and beside woodland paths,…
A perennial can be well suited to the Chicago climate and still fail in a city garden. The problem is often below the surface. Urban planting beds regularly…
A productive vegetable garden depends on more than sunlight, fertile soil, and regular watering. Pollinating bees, hoverflies, lacewings, lady beetles,…
Wet ground can turn perennial selection into a season-by-season guessing game. A plant may thrive during a cool, rainy spring, then struggle when heavy clay…
Gaura lindheimeri, commonly called gaura or butterfly gaura, brings a light, animated presence to perennial borders. Its slender flower stems carry white,…
A garden with continuous color does not depend on one spectacular month of flowering. It depends on a sequence: bulbs and early perennials begin the display,…
A sloping garden in Illinois has to manage more than beauty. Rainwater can wash away topsoil, winter freeze-thaw cycles can loosen shallow-rooted plants, and…
A lily can transform a garden after sunset. As daylight fades, pale flowers become more visible, warm air carries perfume farther, and a planting that seems…
Butterfly weed, or Asclepias tuberosa, earns its place in Midwestern gardens with vivid orange flower clusters, strong drought tolerance, and exceptional value…
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.
