Learning Garden 2025 Update: North Shore Native Flowers
Starting in 2025, the Learning Garden at the Lake Bluff Public Library will shift its focus from a vegetable garden to a beautiful collection of North Shore native flowers. This change is part of our effort to adapt to the evolving needs of our community and support our staff as we undergo other exciting changes at the Library.
The new native flower garden will feature plants that are not only beautiful and resilient but also contribute to local biodiversity by attracting pollinators like bees, butterflies, and birds. The garden will provide our patrons with opportunities to learn about the ecological benefits of native plants, sustainable gardening practices, and the unique flora of our North Shore region.
The Learning Garden is an outdoor space along Oak Street that is maintained for the enjoyment of the Lake Bluff community. The Learning Garden currently features native flowers and plants that are not only beautiful and resilient but also contribute to local biodiversity by attracting pollinators like bees, butterflies, and birds. The garden provides the community with opportunities to learn about the ecological benefits of native plants, sustainable gardening practices, and the unique flora of our North Shore region.
Current Plants
- Anise Hyssop – Agastache foeniculum
- Black-Eyed Susan – Rudbeckia hirta
- Blue Wild Indigo – Baptisia australis
- Brown-Eyed Susan – Rudbeckia triloba
- Butterfly Weed – Asclepius tuberosa
- Columbine – Aquilegia canadensis
- Common Milkweed – Asclepius syriaca
- Compass Plant – Silphium laciniatum
- Culver’s Root – Veronicastrum virginicum
- Lead Plant – Amorpha canescens
- Little Bluestem – Schizachyrium scoparium
- Marsh Blazing Star – Liatris spicata
- New England Aster – Symphyotrichum
- Obedient Plant – Physostegia virginiana
- Prairie Alumroot – Heuchera richardsonii
- Prairie Coreopsis – Coreopsis palmata
- Purple Coneflower – Echinacea purpurea
- Purple Prairie Clover – Dalea purpurea
- Rattlesnake Master – Eryngium yuccifolium
- Showy Goldenrod – Solidago speciosa
- Sideoats Grama – Bouteloua curtipendula
- Swamp Rose Mallow – Hibiscus moscheutos
- Thimbleweed – Anemone cylindrica
- White Prairie Clover – Dalea candida
- Wild Bergamot – Monarda fistulosa
- Wild Garlic – Allium canadense
- Wild Lupine – Lupinus perennis
History and Creation
The Lake Bluff Library Learning Garden was established in 2022 and was made possible through sponsorship from the Davey Tree Expert Company. The Learning Garden raised beds were built by River Valley Gardens, Inc. The wood for the raised beds was harvested locally and treated using a Japanese technique called Shou Sugi Ban. This process consists of charring the wood with fire, which makes the wood resistant to insects, rot, and warping. It is eco-friendly and a sustainable way to preserve our garden beds.
