For Your Garden - June 2016

Native plants provide beauty as well as food and shelter for wildlife. Native species are adapted to the Illinois climate. They require little or no watering and are resistant to drought, insects and most diseases. Because they are perennials, you can welcome their presence year after year.

great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)

Photo © Illinois Department of Natural Resources

Great blue lobelia grows in wet areas throughout Illinois. It blooms from July through October, producing spikes of blue-to-purple flowers on a stalk from the top of the plant. The flowers have two upper lobes and three lower lobes. The lower lobes have stripes of white. This plant grows one to three feet in height. This member of the bluebell family has leaves arranged alternately along the stem. The leaf margin is toothed. Usually only one stem is present.

Classification and taxonomy are based on Mohlenbrock, Robert H. 2014. Vascular flora of Illinois: A field guide. Fourth edition. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale. 536 pp.

Illinois Range

Native Plant Information

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For more information about native Illinois plants, including where to purchase them and planting guides, view the following publications at our publications page. You can access more information on the Schoolyard Habitat Action Grant page, too.