Native Plant Sale goes live
For Immediate Release:
CHICAGO, IL (April 28, 2022)—Comfort Station, the nonprofit multidisciplinary art space in Logan Square, is hosting a native plant sale to usher in the spring season and help raise money for the organization’s upcoming year of arts programming. Pre-sale ordering runs from April 28th to May 28th, or while supplies last. All pickups will take place on June 11 from 8:00am to 4:00pm in the parking lot of Brentano Elementary Math & Science Academy located at 2723 N. Fairfield Avenue. This is one of the only spring plant sales in Chicago focusing exclusively on native plant species.
Experienced gardeners and new enthusiasts alike can take advantage of these kits can take advantage of a unique assortment of locally sourced and native plant varieties, organized into pre-made “kits” that are perfect for a variety of garden beds or containers, focusing on specific conditions and needs that your garden may have:
Full Sun Pollinator Garden
Partial Shade Pollinator Garden
Full Sun/Partial Shade Rain Garden
Full Sun Container Garden
Partial Shade Container Garden
Additionally, on Sunday, June 12th, Jeremy Ohmes of Wild World Gardens will lead a native plants workshop on the lawn of Comfort Station where there will be a limited selection of individual plants available for sale.
Pre-sale kits will be offered at prices between $65 and $85. All proceeds will benefit Comfort Station’s upcoming season of free public programming, including art exhibitions, concerts, film screenings, and other community gatherings that feature local artists and are free and open to the public.
WHAT: Comfort Station Native Plant Sale
WHEN: Online ordering begins April 28 at www.comfortstationlogansquare.org/native-plant-sale . Orders will be accepted through May 28th as supplies last.
Plant kit pickups take place Saturday, June 11 from 8:00am to 4:00pm.
WHERE: Brentano Elementary Math & Science Academy (parking lot), 2723 N. Fairfield Avenue, Chicago. The parking lot is located at Fairfield and Schubert.
ADDITIONAL: Native Plant Workshop led by Jeremy Ohmes (Wild World Gardens) on Sunday, June 12 at 1pm at Comfort Station, 2579 N. Milwaukee Avenue. Free and open to the public.
CONTACT: Teena McClelland, project manager, Comfort Station, teena@comfortstationlogansquare.org
List of Plants Offered:
Spring Forbs:
Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) 2' tall, 1' spread; blooms April–June; native spring wildflower with red, yellow flowers that attract hummingbirds (partial/shade, medium, loam)
Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum) 2' tall, 1' spread; blooms April–June; lavender to soft pink flowers and deep red fall color; forms patches that bees and butterflies can’t resist (partial/shade, medium, loam)
Golden Alexander (Zizia aurea) 2' tall, 2' spread; blooms May–June; bright clusters of yellow flowers in spring; food plant for swallowtail butterfly (partial/shade, medium/moist/wet, clay/loam)
Summer Forbs:
Blue False Indigo (Baptisia australis) 4' tall, 4' spread; blooms June–July; nitrogen fixing bush-like perennial with blue flowers on upright spikes; oblong seed pods make beautiful sounds in the fall/winter (sun/partial, medium, clay/loam)
Foxglove Beardtongue: (Penstemon digitalis) 2´–3´tall, 1.5´spread; blooms June–July; white color; also known as Smooth Penstemon, the flowers are great for long-tongued insects (sun/partial, medium/moist, clay/loam)
Leadplant (Amorpha canescens) 3' tall, 3' spread; blooms June–August; long-lived, deep-rooted prairie shrub; silver-gray foliage with spikes of purple flowers that attract abundant pollinators (sun/partial, medium, loam)
Swamp Milkweed: (Asclepias incarnata) 3´–4´tall, 2´ spread; blooms July–August; pink color; food source and host plant for monarchs (sun, moist/wet, clay/loam)
Prairie Blazing Star: (Liatris pycnostachya) 3´tall, 1´spread; blooms July–August; pink/purple color; iconic prairie flower with tightly bunched blooms (sun, medium/moist, clay/loam)
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) 4´tall, 2´spread; blooms July–Sept.; lavender color; showy daisy-like flowers that bloom in early summer and are a favorite nectar source for pollinators. Later in summer the large seed heads attract Goldfinches and other birds. (sun/partial, medium, clay/loam)
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) 4' tall, 1.5' spread; blooms July–Sept.; tall red flowering spikes; a favorite of hummingbirds (sun/partial, moist/wet, loam)
Sweet Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum) 6' tall, 3' spread; blooms July–Sept.; tall native perennial with mauve pink flowers that are highly attractive to pollinators (partial/shade, medium, clay/loam)
Fall Forbs:
Black-eyed Susan: (Rudbeckia hirta) 2´–3´tall, 1.5´spread; blooms June–October; long-lasting, yellow flowers and shiny deep green foliage (sun/partial, medium, clay/loam)
Rough Blazingstar (Liatris aspera) 2' tall, 1' spread; blooms August–Sept.; lavender flowers that sit along the stem and attract songbirds, hummingbirds, and butterflies (sun, medium, loam)
Aromatic Aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium) 2' tall, 2' spread; blooms August–Oct..; aromatic foliage with lavender flowers that bloom in fall; important late-season pollinator food source (sun, medium, loam)
Showy Goldenrod (Solidago speciosa) 5' tall, 3' spread; blooms September–Nov.; yellow; one of the showiest of the Goldenrods; essential plant for late season pollinators (sun, medium, loam)
Grasses:
Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis) 2' tall, 2' spread; blooms August–October; clump-forming native grass that smells like coriander/popcorn and turns golden orange in fall; seeds are a great food source for birds in fall (sun, medium, loam)
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum): 3'–6' tall, 3' spread; grows well in any soil, stiff stems that stand up over the winter better than all other grasses. Features medium green leaves which turn yellow (sometimes with orange tints) in autumn, fading to tan-beige in winter (sun, medium, clay/loam)
