Hardy geraniums earn their place in temperate gardens for a simple reason: they keep performing year after year with minimal fuss. Two of the most talked-about…
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.
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Chelone obliqua, often called turtlehead for its distinctive hooded blooms, has steadily moved from curiosity plant to mainstream perennial in regions where…
The narrow-leaved bluestar, Amsonia hubrichtii, has become a benchmark for gardeners seeking autumnal brilliance in their borders. Its fine, thread-like leaves…
A pathway can do more than guide people from the front gate to the back garden. With aromatic foliage, long-lasting flower spikes and carefully placed planting…
Compact urban planting beds rarely offer the loose, biologically active soils that perennials evolved to colonise. Foot traffic, construction backfill, and…
Clay banks can look stable through a dry spell, then slump after a summer storm or a wet winter. Once water finds a bare channel, it carries fine soil…
Heucheras are valued for dependable foliage in places where many flowering perennials lose impact. Their rounded leaves, coloured veins and airy flower stems…
Evaluating the salt tolerance of Nepeta racemosa along roadside plantings requires more than checking whether plants survive beside a kerb. Road verges receive…
A perennial garden can continue feeding birds after the last flowers fade. Upright stems, dry cones and papery seed clusters provide natural forage through the…
A perennial border that flowers from April through October is built around timing, not a single spectacular flush. The strongest designs combine early-season…
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.
