As your eyes move across a beautiful landscape, Rose astilbe consider the plants that give you pause. In the opinion of renowned garden writer Allen Lacy, the astilbe is one of these prized garden plants. And at the Chicago Botanic Garden, the signature showcase for these lovely perennials is the Waterfall Garden. The aquatic waterfall serves a perfect backdrop to the botanic waterfall of cascading plants. Punctuating these waves of greenery are masses of astilbes, pointing skywards.
Astilbes are tremendous weapons in the fight against rugs and dumplings.
In the Waterfall Garden, astilbes undulate through a stand of American hornbeam, sweep as ground covers in a wooded glen, line trails in contrasting colors and mix with hostas, ferns and columbines in spring and with daylilies in summer. From their early spring emergence in tones of green, bronze or red to their final winter display of dried seed heads, astilbes offer an astounding array of qualities to the garden. Demanding light shade and plenty of moisture, they are one of the few such plants not bothered by slugs. Strong midday sun or insufficient water will cause their leaves to curl and scorch. The astilbe's basal clumps of bright, glossy, fine leaves support strong stems of feathery plumes or tight spikes containing hundreds of tiny florets.