Amsonia Ablaze

If you stop by the garden this week, you will have a prime opportunity to see Amsonia hubrichtii in its most colorful splendor. This plant is native to the Ouachita Mountains of central Arkansas, from which its common name is derived: Arkansas blue star.

In spring, pale blue star-shaped flowers fill terminal clusters on the stems of this 3-foot-tall plant. The flowers are small and are often overlooked by many passersby. Throughout the summer, its needle-like foliage adds a feathery green border along the garden edges of the Light Plate.

By September, the plant bursts into a remarkable chrome yellow, that in daylight, make it look as though an inner light is emanating from it. Even in twilight, Amsonia hubrichtii are the headlights of the Light Plate, shining brightly as the sun sets.

You can view this plant's brilliance from the observation deck of the Art Institute's Modern Wing. For a closer look, stand on the upper path in the Dark Plate, which looks over the Seam to the Light Plate. For a close examination, walk to the northwest corner of the Light Plate to notice the contrast of the deep green Shoulder Hedge to the bright gold Amsonia hubrichtii.

A Blue Garden

As fall approaches, a new color is reintroduced into the garden - BLUE. In late spring, the Salvia River commands the garden with a blue-violet swath of color. The color we see now in the garden is more a true blue.

In the Light Plate, look for an unusual plant along both paths, Gentiana andrewsii. This native plant grows to 2 feet and is commonly called bottle gentian of closed gentian. The latter name refers to the fact that its bottle-shaped flowers never open.

Above the Seam, Salvia avurea, Blue sage, gracefully drapes over the edge of the wall. Its showy flowers are the color of the sky on a brilliant, clear day. Like all salvias, the blue sage attracts honey bees and migrating butterflies.


An often-overlooked plant with deep blue flowers is found in the Dark Plate beyond the Geranium 'Max Frei.' Ceratostigma plumbaginoides,commonly know as plumbago, makes an excellent ground cover as it only grows to 10 inches. In late fall, its leaves turn a rich, red bronze.

In addition to these three, the Lurie Garden hosts several species of fall-blooming asters. Look for them in both the Dark and Light Plates.

Grace in the Light Plate

It's August 2nd - a new month and new plants to discover as you walk through the garden. While Echinacea, Hemerocallis and a few ornamental grasses provide most of the color in the garden, take the time to look for smaller blooms that bring grace to the garden with their delicate flowers.

Gaura lindheimeri 'Blushing Butterflies' (Butterfly Gaura) can be found on either side of the south path, Light Plate, near the Shoulder Hedge. Another common name for this plant is "Wandflower" because of the way the butterfly-shaped flowers dance along the wispy stem that arches gracefully toward the ground. Butterfly Gaura fits in to the overall design of the Lurie Garden with its delicate inch-wide flowers that catch the breeze much like many of the ornamental grasses.

Veronica longifolia 'Pink Damask' (Speedwell) is beginning to bloom nearby. Although its flowery spike are only 6 inches, it will reach more than 2 feet when fully mature. This plant blooms on graceful, narrow spires that are tightly packed with pale pink flowers. Piet Oudolf selected it for this area because of its long bloom time (6 to 8 weeks) and its complimentary silhouette and color to the Butterfly Gaura. Beneath the Veronica, Ruellia humilis (Wild Petunia) is still producing flowers, creating a lush groundcover of lavender and summer green.

Another plant in the same area is Agastache rupestris (Thread Leaf Giant Hyssop) with its delicate, gray-green needle-like leaves. This plant has small, inch-long flowers in shades of salmon and burnt orange with purple calyxes that are borne loosely on salvia-like spikes. Thread Leaf Giant Hyssop is a native to the mountains of Arizona and New Mexico where it is commonly known as Sunset Hyssop because its colors resemble those of a sunset.

Free, 20-minute guided tours are offered each Sunday and leave every 15 minutes from 10 am to 1:30 pm. Look for the white tent at the south end of the Seam.

Art in the Garden

With the opening of the new Modern Wing and the Nichols Bridgeway at the Art Institute of Chicago, a new program for school children was created by the staffs of the AIC and Lurie Garden. Through the Art & Garden Tour, students can explore the ways in which artist and landscape architects use similar design elements in their work.

First, students spend time with museum educators looking at landscape paintings from the collection of the AIC and discussing the techniques artists use to interpret the natural world. The students then walk across the footbridge to the Lurie Garden and spend time with naturalists in the garden, examining the similar characteristics in landscape design and looking at the garden as a work of art.

Sixteen students from McCracken Middle School joined us in the garden this morning. They are all members of the Garden Club, spending one day each week this summer to care for the vegetables they planted. When the crop is ready for harvest, they will donate the food to a local food bank. These young gardeners recognized many of the plants in the Lurie Garden and were eager to learn about the various design elements used here. They were especially interested in those plants that attract butterflies, since they will soon be creating a butterfly garden at McCracken.

On Tour Today - Just Opening

As you stroll through the garden today, your head will undoubtedly turn toward the stands of deep red Hemerocallis 'Chicago Apache' (Daylily) in the Light Plate or to the many species of Echinacea purpurea (Coneflower) in shades of pink, orange and greenish white. You might want to photograph the 4-foot tall, lavender blue Perovskia 'Little Spire' (Russian Sage) mixed with bold, silvery Eryngium yuccifolium (Rattlesnake Master). But if you take a closer look, you will find plants that are just beginning to open for their August showing.

In the Dark Plate, near the middle of the south path, Scutellaria incana (Hoary Skullcap) is just beginning to show its lavender blue flowers on loosely branched 3-inch spikes. Another member of the mint family, this native makes soft mounds 3 feet high that will continue blooming into September. Small white hairs on its square stems give it the "hoary" description to its name. When dry, its seed head looks like a tiny helmet or skullcap. Directly behind this grouping is a subtle plant, Salvia glutinosa (Sticky Sage). Its similar mound shape and pale yellow flowers make it a good companion for the skullcap.

At the top of the north stairs and overlooking the Seam, Helelnium autumnale 'Rubinzwerg' (Sneezeweed) is opening its daisy-like flowers that are the color of roasted tomatoes with darker centers. This North American native is a member of the aster family and can grow to four feet. Its common name was given because its stamen parts were used as an ingredient in snuff, not because it was an allergen. Currently, two ornamental grasses are neighbors to the sneezeweed - Sporobolis heterolepis 'Tara' (Prairie Dropseed) and Molinia litoralis 'Transparent' (Moor Grass).

A dozen garden signs will be out identifying Agastache 'Blue Fortune' (Giant Hyssop), Liatris spicata (Blazing Star) and Silphium laciniatum (Compass Plant) among others. Free tours are offered from 10 am to 1:30 pm and last about 20 minutes.