… This is the quiet time of year, when we put our gardens to bed. All the hustle of summer planting, weeding, and watering is just a memory now. But our gardens aren’t really sleeping. Look closely and you’ll discover … they’re busy singing, looking for a mate, and building nests—in winter, a bird’s main activity is to find and eat enough food to keep warm. They’re searching for something to eat and for …
Type: Plant Info
… Lenhardt Library, the Nursery Catalog Database—and its companion, a physical file of catalogs—is a gardener's dream: an already-edited and constantly updated list of hundreds (currently 784) … Have an unusual interest? So do the mushroom folks at Garden City Fungi ( gardencityfungi.com ), the banana experts at Going Bananas ( going-bananas.com ), and the Kitazawa Seed Company ( kitazawaseed.com ), which has been selling Asian vegetable …
Type: Plant Info
… Why Care about Fungi? The Chicago area is host to more than a thousand species of mushrooms and mushroom like fungi—beneficial, … pathogens . In large forests that extend miles, older trees die to make way for new trees—it is a natural part of the life cycle. Forest fungi help this regeneration to take place. Finally, … the forest. If you do collect in the wild, be aware of and follow rules for collecting at that site, e.g., collecting fungi is not allowed on any forest preserve property in the greater …
Type: Plant Info
… love to watch spring unfold in gardens everywhere—but at the Chicago Botanic Garden, my heart is in the water. As the Woman’s Board Curator of Aquatics, I like to point out the signs of … a short, curious-looking purple flower. The Budburst plant app would tell you that the plant is a prairie wildflower known as prairie smoke (Geum triflorum) —the flower really does look like … farther downslope, you might see another short flower, this one vibrant yellow. This plant is marsh marigold (Caltha palustris) and should not be confused with the insidious invader lesser …
Type: Blog
… Description: The cheerful song of this common migrant and occasional winter resident is easy to recognize. Large flocks are often encountered in the McDonald Woods. In fall, when … October, November, and December, and again in March, April, and May. As beautiful as the song is, so is the plumage of this dapper sparrow. The adult male has a grayish body; a brown, striped back; …
Type: Birding
… A. Expecting a hardy woody plant to survive an unpredictable Midwestern winter in a container is risky business. When planted in the ground, an evergreen’s vulnerable roots are insulated from … drop well below zero. Plants are not "hardened" below ground, and the cold tolerance of roots is between 10 and 15 degrees. Temperatures colder than that will freeze tissue and kill the … Water the plants well now, throughout autumn and even during winter thaws. Another option is to wait for several freezes and then move the containers close to the house where they will be …
Type: Plant Info
… begin to green and produce new growth, I've noticed that some of my evergreens are very brown. Is this a disease? What should I do? A. The Chicago area experienced a very harsh winter this … water faster than its roots can absorb it, foliage browns and the plant suffers from what is known as winter burn. Holly ( Ilex ), yew ( Taxus ), and boxwood ( Buxus ) plants were among … on its own, or it can be trimmed. One way to minimize or prevent winter burn in the future is to make sure the plants are well hydrated going into winter. Applying a 2-inch layer of mulch …
Type: Plant Info
… When and how should I deadhead and prune my roses? A: Deadheading—the removal of spent flowers—is a form of pruning. Before making pruning decisions about your roses, it is best to determine the type of rose, and how and when it blooms. Roses are divided into … be allowed to sprawl naturally with no pruning required except to control size. If pruning is necessary on climbers or ramblers that only bloom once, it should be done immediately after …
Type: Plant Info
… an even supply of moisture rather than a heavy soaking and then a drought. Straw mulch is helpful in these beds. Many hot-weather-loving veggies, such as peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, … Espaliered fruit trees should be pruned for the second time once their spring flush of growth is over. The first pruning is done in late winter when plants are dormant. …
Type: Plant Info
… them for witnessing the real Beatles themselves. The journey through American English’s show is a meticulously crafted odyssey through the Beatles’ illustrious career. From the early years … era encapsulated in Sgt. Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour, every musical and visual detail is brought to life in vibrant technicolor. What sets American English apart is their commitment to authenticity—all songs are performed completely live, without the aid of …
Type: Event for Calendar
