Lawns lacking flowers or shrubs often overcompensate for their ordinariness by dyeing themselves in outrageous colors or developing sinkholes. Give your plot some poise with today's Groupon: for $20, you get $40 worth of plants and shrubs at Sands Nursery in Machesney Park.

Sands Nursery brings lawns and gardens to life with a multitude of locally grown flowers, trees, shrubs, and ornamental grasses, including many hard-to-find varieties. Build a butterfly garden with a host of wing-pleasing colors, such as the quick-fire hydrangea ($14.99) or scarlet weigela (from $6.99). Tailors and dressmakers can find inspiration in the china-chiffon hibiscus ($9.99) or bachelor buttons ($4.99), and the coral bells ($4.99) rouse tranquil gardens with full-throated harmonies. Summon passing aircraft with the forsythia lynwood, a shrub that eagerly shoots its golden-leaf-covered branches in all directions ($9.99). The Pohjola's Daughter rhododendron bush gives sullen lawn mowers a place to hide in leafy solitude ($19.99). The nursery’s fauna followers stand at the ready to offer tips and advice, ensuring that plants maintain their health, happiness, and ability to come when called.