How to perennialize spring bulbs with daffodils and alliums in perennial borders is a question many Australian gardeners work through by trial and error.…
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
Blanket flower, known botanically as Gaillardia aristata, sits high on the list of prairie perennials that have quietly migrated into back gardens far beyond…
Chicago has become a North American benchmark for green roof innovation, and the Perennials in Focus program has spent years identifying which species actually…
Yarrows have earned a place in countless Aussie perennial beds, and for good reason. These drought-tough members of the daisy family shrug off the kind of heat…
As autumn settles across the southern states, home gardeners start thinking about tucking their beds in for the cooler months. Mulching in March through May is…
Globe thistles (Echinops) earn their keep in perennial borders thanks to steely blue flower heads, deeply cut silvery foliage, and an unflappable tolerance for…
Dried flower arrangements have evolved well beyond the humble lavender bunch tied with raffia. Today's designers reach for structural elements that hold their…
Australia's weather rarely plays by predictable rules. A single storm cell over Sydney can dump eighty millimetres in an afternoon, while Brisbane gardeners…
Australia's gardening community has long searched for perennials that cope with the country's often challenging sandy and nutrient-poor ground. From the…
Hummingbirds are tiny, iridescent visitors that bring constant motion and life to any garden they enter. In Chicago community gardens, where shared plots and…
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.
