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.

What's Blooming? Color!

While the violet-blues of the Salvia River continue to dominate, other plants are bringing more colors from the spectrum as the garden eases into its summer cloak. Reds, oranges and yellows can be found, making an effective contrast to the blues and purples of the meadow sage.

In the Light Plate, Echinacea 'Orange Meadowbrite' (Coneflower) can be found between the Salvia River and the Seam, growing through the delicate blades of an ornamental grass, Molinia caerulea 'Dauerstrahl' (Moor Grass). Look for Monarch butterflies lighting on the dark cones as they continue their migration through Illinois.

Above the Seam in the transition area of the Dark Plate, Knautia macedonica (Knautia) is opening before its companion plant, a daylily, Hemerocallis 'Gentle Shepherd' that will follow next month. If you are familiar with the lavender perennial pincushion flower (Scabiosa), you will see some similarities as they are both from the same family, Dipsacaceae. However, the flower of the knautia is claret red and only an inch across. As you traverse the stairs, notice that the red of the knautia echoes the color of the burnette on the opposite side.

The tallest plant in the Meadow is in bloom with bright yellow daisy-like flowers. Silphium laciniatum is commonly called Compass Plant because it can align its leaves north and south to reduce exposure to the hot sun and conserve moisture. This North American native can grow to 10 feet, towering above the Rattlesnake Masters and Green Edge Coneflowers that are interplanted throughout the Meadow. Beginning in late summer, the seeds of its cones will feed birds through the fall and into winter. Look for goldfinches perched along its stem, looking for food.