See what the RAB looked like before we started our work.

Seasonal Photos

May 10, 2025

After 3.75″ snowfall on November 30, 2024

Getting ready for winter – November 2, 2024

Mulleins in full bloom July 14, 2024

June 2024

Plants in Large Circle Bed

  • Beardtongue (Penstemon- 1 red, 1 purple) – native perennial, blooms May-July
  • Bee Balm/Horsemint (Monarda didyma-2 rose, 2 purple, 6 red) – native perennial, member of the mint family
  • Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida – 4) – native perennial, blooms June-October
  • Catmint (Nepeta- 3 purple,) – flowering plant native to Europe, Asia, and Africa and naturalized in North America
  • Coreopsis hybrida (1 UpTick gold & Bronze, 1 red/white candy stripe) – perennial also called tickseed
  • Daffodils (numerous around bed) – early Spring blooming perennial also called jonquil and narcissus, native to Europe, Northern Africa, Western Asia, and the Mediterranean
  • Eastern Blazing Star (Liatris scariosa – 3) – native perennial with purple flowers July through frost, favored by butterflies
  • Fleabane (Erigeron, Heather aster-8) – unappreciated native wildflower closely related to true daisies, foliage known as effective flea repellent
  • False Aloe (Agave virginica – 1) – native perennial, member of the asparagus family, also called Agave, with a single flower stalk that grows up to 6 feet tall. Flowers are fragrant and mostly green.
  • Foxglove Beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis) – native perennial with white flowers in bloom May-July as known as heath aster
  • Hummingbird mint (Agastache – 1 guava lava) – native perennial
  • Illinois Bundle Flower (Desmantus illinoensis-3) – native bushy plant in the legume family which produces small, round balls of twisted green seed pods and round, white flowers June-August
  • Indigo bush (Amorpha fruticosa-3) – flowering shrub native to North America with blue/purple flowers
  • Lanceleaf Coreopis (Coreopsis lanceolata)- native perennial also called tickseed
  • Lavender (Lavandula – 3) – perennial in the mint family, native to Old World and Eurasia
  • Mullein (Verbascum thapsus – seen in 2024 only) – flowering biennial native to Europe, Asia, and the Mediterranean with yellow flower spikes reaching a height of 7-8′ tall. Dense forest of mulleins in June!
  • Prairie Blazing Star (Liatris pycnostachya – 3) – prairie perennial flower with spectacular spike of tightly bunched lavender flowers May-August
  • Purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) – flowering native perennial in the daisy family
  • Purple Poppy Mallow (Callirhoe involucrata – 1) – sprawling native perennial with magenta flowers also known as winecup and buffalo rose
  • Salvia (Salvia lamiaceae – 1 rose marvel, 3 pink profusion, 3 skyblue) – herbaceous native perennial member of the sage family
  • Sky Blue Aster (Symphyotrichum oolentangiense – 3) – blue to blue-violet flowers, drought tolerant, blooms late summer to fall; attracts butterflies, bees, flies, and wasps
  • Sumac (Rhus aromatica grow low-6) – native fragrant low-growing shrub, leaves turn red, yellow, and orange in Fall
  • Vervain (Verbena officinalis – 2) – perennial herb native to Europe with small white flowers
  • White Oak tree (Quercus alba – 1) – hardwood tree growing in center of the circle bed that produces white acorns and has a whitish bark and grey twigs

East Mid-size Island Bed

  • Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia – 4) – flowering native perennial subshrub that produces an abundance of branching purple stems
  • Orange Day Lily (Hemerocallis fulva – 15) – perennial with light orange flowers in early summer, native to Europe and Asia, NOT deer resistant
  • Iris (Irideae – 10 dark purple) – native Spring perennial
  • Bee Balm/Horsemint (Monarda didyma – 1 rose, 1 purple) – native perennial, member of the mint family
  • Aster (Asteraceae – 1 purple) – cold-hardy perennial with daisy-like dark purple flowers, attracts butterflies
  • Daffodil and hyacinth bulbs (Narcissus and hyacinthus – numerous) – these early-blooming perennials debuted Spring 2025

East Small Island Bed

  • Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea – 4) – flowering native perennial in the daisy family
  • Sedum (Stonecrop – 3) – native perennial, Autumn Joy and Dragon’s Blood
  • Lamb’s Ear (Stachys byzantina – 2) – flowering plant in the mint family native to Armenia, Iran, and Turkey

West Mid-size Island Bed

  • Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia – 5) – flowering native perennial subshrub that produces an abundance of branching purple stems
  • Silver Brocade (Artemisia stellerianana – 2) – mounding perennial with silver foliage
  • Angel Wings / Sea Cabbage (Senecio candicans – 1) – Mounding annual with soft silver foliage, heat and drought tolerant, deer resistant
  • Garden Phlox (Phlox paniculata – 2 early magenta) – native perennial
  • Blanket Flower (Gaillardia aristata -2 Spintop Red Starburst, 1 Spintop Yellow Touch) – native perennial
  • Daffodil (Narcissus-16) – these early bloomers debuted Spring 2025
  • Added interest: two rock dragonflies

West Small Island Bed

  • Aster (Asteraceae – 1 purple) – cold-hardy perennial with daisy-like dark purple flowers, attracts butterflies
  • Salvia (Salvia lamiaceae – 3 Black & Blue) – herbaceous native perennial member of the sage family loved by hummingbirds; tolerates hot, dry conditions
  • Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea – 3) – flowering native perennial in the daisy family
  • Sedum (Stonecrop – 2) – native perennial