If you garden in Lake County, you're working in USDA Hardiness Zone 5b or 6a, on glacial clay, with hot humid Julys and the occasional polar vortex January. The plants that thrive here without fuss are, almost without exception, the ones that evolved here. Below are twelve we specify constantly — for everything from a small Mundelein front yard to a full Lake Forest estate.
Perennials we'd never garden without
1. Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
Long-blooming, drought-tolerant, beloved by goldfinches in fall when the seed heads ripen. Plant in groups of seven or more for impact. Avoid the fancy double-flower cultivars — they don't feed pollinators.
2. Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
Our favorite native grass. Blue-green in summer, copper-red all winter, three feet tall. The cultivar 'Standing Ovation' holds upright in heavy snow.
3. Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum)
The unsung hero of part-shade gardens. Soft pink flowers in May, then a tidy mound of leaves through summer. Spreads gently — never a thug.
4. Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Bright orange, host plant for monarch butterflies, drought-proof once established. Hates wet feet — give it the sunniest, driest spot you have.
5. Joe-Pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum)
For the back of a sunny border. Six feet tall with mauve flower clouds in August that pull in every late-season pollinator within a quarter mile.
6. Smooth Aster (Symphyotrichum laeve)
Late-blooming powder-blue asters that close out the garden season. Pair with little bluestem for a meadow feel.
Shrubs that earn their space
7. Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius)
The cultivar 'Summer Wine' gives you year-round structure with burgundy foliage and exfoliating winter bark. Tolerates clay, deer mostly leave it alone.
8. American Hazelnut (Corylus americana)
An underused native shrub. Lovely catkins in early spring, edible nuts, brilliant fall color. Grows where almost nothing else will.
9. Smooth Hydrangea 'Annabelle' (Hydrangea arborescens)
Native, reliable, blooms on new wood — meaning Lake County winters can't ruin next summer's flowers. The classic for shaded foundation plantings.
Trees worth a long look
10. Serviceberry (Amelanchier × grandiflora)
Four seasons of interest from a small understory tree: white spring flowers, edible June berries, orange-red fall color, smooth gray winter bark.
11. Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa)
For larger properties. Massive, slow-growing, supports more wildlife than any other tree we plant. Plant for your grandchildren.
12. American Hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana)
A small, elegant shade-tolerant tree with muscular gray bark. Wonderful for naturalistic woodland-edge plantings.
If we had to pick a single planting principle for Northern Illinois, it would be this: plant in matrices, not specimens. A drift of three coneflowers will look fussy. Twenty-one will look like a meadow.
What to plant where
Most North Shore lots have three distinct conditions: a sunny front yard with compacted soil, a transitional side garden, and a shaded back yard under mature canopy. Choose plants from the right column for each — don't fight the site.
- Sunny front: Coneflower, butterfly weed, little bluestem, smooth aster, ninebark, serviceberry.
- Part shade transition: Wild geranium, Joe-Pye weed (in a moist spot), smooth hydrangea, hornbeam.
- Deep shade under oaks: Wild geranium, native ferns, foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia), Solomon's seal.
If you're staring at your own front yard wondering where to start, that's exactly the conversation we love to have on a site visit. Drop us a line — we'll come walk it with you.