The new garden in front of the Civic Center demonstrates principles of bird-friendly landscape design. Plantings are layered—including tall trees, understory trees and shrubs, and wildflowers—and plant selection takes into account the timing of migratory birds’ needs for food and shelter. The garden incorporates some non-native plants that were on the site, including a clump of forsythia shrubs. Plants come from a number of different growers throughout the region. Not included on this list are a number of spring-flowering plants, including Virginia bluebells and bloodroot, that were not available this spring but will be added later. Design is by Living Habitats, a Chicago landscape and ecological planning firm. To request the list in PDF format, contact us at evanstonhabitat [at] gmail.com.
| TREES & SHRUBS | |
| Aronia melanocarpa | BLACK CHOKEBERRY |
| Carpinus caroliniana | MUSCLEWOOD (AMERICAN HORNBEAM) |
| Crataegus crus-galli | COCKSPUR HAWTHORN |
| Diervilla lonicera | DWARF HONEYSUCKLE |
| Physocarpus opulifolius | NINEBARK |
| Quercus macrocarpa | BUR OAK |
| Staphylea trifolia | BLADDERNUT |
| FLOWERS, SEDGES, AND GRASSES | |
| Allium canadense | WILD ONION |
| Allium cernuum | NODDING WILD ONION |
| Amorpha canescens | LEAD PLANT |
| Andropogon gerardii | BIG BLUESTEM GRASS |
| Anemone cylindrica | THIMBLEWEED |
| Aquilegia canadensis | WILD COLUMBINE |
| Aralia racemosa | SPIKENARD |
| Arisaema triphyllum | JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT |
| Asclepias exaltata | POKE MILKWEED |
| Asclepias verticillata | WHORLED MILKWEED |
| Baptisia alba var. macrophylla (Baptisia leucantha) | WHITE WILD INDIGO |
| Bromus pubescens | WOODLAND BROME |
| Carex brevior | PLAINS OVAL SEDGE |
| Ceanothus americanus | NEW JERSEY TEA |
| Chelone glabra | TURTLEHEAD |
| Coreopsis palmata | PRAIRIE COREOPSIS |
| Carex gracillima | PURPLE-SHEATHED GRACEFUL SEDGE |
| Carex muskingumensis | SWAMP OVAL SEDGE |
| Carex pensylvanica | COMMON OAK SEDGE |
| Carex rosea | CURLY-STYLED WOOD SEDGE |
| Carex sparganioides | LOOSE-HEADED BRACTED SEDGE |
| Carex sprengelii | LONG-BEAKED SEDGE |
| Carex vulpinoidea | BROWN FOX SEDGE |
| Dalea purpurea (Petalostemum purpureum) | PURPLE PRAIRIE CLOVER |
| Dodecatheon meadia | SHOOTING STAR |
| Drymocallis arguta (Potentilla arguta ) | PRAIRIE CINQUEFOIL |
| Dryopteris marginalis | MARGINAL SHIELD FERN |
| Echinacea pallida | PALE PURPLE CONEFLOWER |
| Eragrostis spectabilis | PURPLE LOVE GRASS |
| Eryngium yuccifolium | RATTLESNAKE MASTER |
| Gentiana andrewsii | BOTTLE GENTIAN |
| Geranium maculatum | WILD GERANIUM |
| Geum triflorum | PRAIRIE SMOKE |
| Helianthus occidentalis | WESTERN SUNFLOWER |
| Heuchera richardsonii | PRAIRIE ALUM ROOT |
| Liatris pycnostachya | PRAIRIE BLAZING STAR |
| Lilium michiganense (Lilium superbum) | TURK’S CAP LILY |
| Lobelia cardinalis | CARDINAL FLOWER |
| Lobelia siphilitica | GREAT BLUE LOBELIA |
| Maianthemum stellatum (Smilacina stellata) | STARRY FALSE SOLOMON’S SEAL |
| Oligoneuron album (Aster ptarmicoides) | WHITE ASTER |
| Panicum virgatum | SWITCH GRASS |
| Parthenium integrifolium | WILD QUININE |
| Penstemon digitalis | BEARD TONGUE |
| Phlox divericata | WILD BLUE PHLOX |
| Polystychum acrostichoides | CHRISTMAS FERN |
| Polemonium reptans | JACOB’S LADDER |
| Rosa carolina | CAROLINA ROSE |
| Schizachyrium scoparium (Andropogon scoparius) | LITTLE BLUESTEM GRASS |
| Solidago flexicaulis | BROAD-LEAVED GOLDENROD |
| Sporobolus heterolepis | PRAIRIE DROPSEED |
| Symphyotrichum laeve (Aster laevis) | SMOOTH BLUE ASTER |
| Thalictrum dasycarpum | MEADOWRUE |
| Tradescantia ohiensis | SPIDERWORT |
| Veronicastrum virginicum | CULVER’S ROOT |
| Zizia aurea | GOLDEN ALEXANDER |
