… architect. The Chinese Garden of Perfect Brightness. Tie them together and the result is part of the intriguing back story of the Chicago Botanic Garden—which starts long before the … of Perfect Brightness] to the west of Peking,” Simonds wrote. The Garden of Perfect Brightness is one of China’s most iconic monuments, built in stages starting in the early 18th century as a … Garden began construction, Rausch recalled, “I have never seen anything quite as bad as that site. Literally, it was burning.” He was referring to the trash, raw sewage, weeds, and abandoned …
Type: Blog
… claws of some creature in a zombie movie? Does it smell bad too? Happy spring! This charmer is the first native wildflower of a Chicago spring: the skunk cabbage ( Symplocarpus foetidus). A … we walked through the McDonald Woods , the 100-acre restored and protected natural area that is home to at least seven state-listed threatened or endangered plant species. Skunk cabbage’s … and ice. The temperature inside the hood can be 95 degrees hotter than outside. Thermogenesis is the goal for skunk cabbages, titan arums , and other “warm-blooded” plants . The heat …
Type: Blog
… and whimsical gift for mom, grandma, or anyone special. A nice feature of these tiny bouquets is that you can show off the beauty of small flowers that always sing backup to showier blossoms … a little larger than you need, and then trim it to fit. Push it into the cap. If your cap is narrow, like a milk bottle cap, you may want the foam to be above the level of the cap so there is enough room to hold the flowers. Otherwise, trim the top so the foam does not stick up. Add …
Type: Blog
… “P’s,” if you will—enable many older gardeners to carry on. Keeping active in the garden is what our volunteers love best. These scoop-shaped, grip-handled trowels with serrated edges … to reducing overall garden space, and making seasonal plantings easier to maintain. There is no better place to start than prevention. Since recovery takes longer as we age, let’s make … of tools with bright colors make them easier to spot in the garden or lawn. Preparation is the next area where the time spent will be repaid handsomely. Begin with a critical appraisal …
Type: Blog
… exposed branch structure of a deciduous tree, naked of its leaves. The ingenuity of leaf loss is protection, preventing branches from bearing too much weight and breaking when it snows. All I need is patience, and I will see the world become green again. Winter pulls back a curtain to reveal … cultivate an appreciation of nature by thinking about what’s known as phenology. Phenology is the study of the timing of the biological events in plants and animals such as flowering, …
Type: Blog
… trains rolling at the Chicago Botanic Garden. A room in the basement of the Regenstein Center is the hive of repair activity for the Model Railroad Garden. There are also ghost trains for Night of 1,000 Jack-o’-Lanterns . That is why there is a staff of three year-round engineers and 18 seasonal engineers, helped by 66 volunteers, that …
Type: Blog
… damage entire landscapes. Introduced as a food source, garlic mustard ( Alliaria petiolata ) is now invasive in woodlands in the Chicago area and beyond. Most of the plants and animals … Action at the Chicago Botanic Garden. “It’s easy to assume the sea of green you’re looking at is beneficial, but buckthorn and other invasive plants can change soils, cause the loss of many … cargo ship ballasts and as an ornamental plant, purple loosestrife ( Lythrum salicaria ) is invasive in wetlands. Photo by Jim Jabcon. Right: Introduced as an ornamental plant and …
Type: Blog
… if you’re looking for inexpensive, unusual containers to hold your plants. The only caveat is that if the container has no drainage holes, it’s best to keep the plant in its original … lighted kitchen cabinets where they take up very little space. During winter, the sunlight is weaker than in summer, but it’s also at a different angle—lower in the sky—and comes more … tins that have a few drainage holes in the bottom, courtesy of a hammer and nail. If one mini is good, a grouping of them is even better. Here is a sample of space-conscious plants for your …
Type: Plant Info
… compound called capsaicin. The body often reacts to capsaicin by sweating, which some suggest is one reason hot peppers are popular in hot climates. In northern climates, peppers tend to be bred for mildness and eaten green—perhaps partly because the growing season is too short and cool to get them really ripe. Recently, though, a vogue for hot peppers has led … kind of summer that is pretty much guaranteed in Bolivia, but not in Chicago. You'll need a site in full sun and well-drained, fertile soil, amended with plenty of compost or other organic …
Type: Plant Info
… A favorite destination for gardeners and nature lovers alike is the woods. The Chicago Botanic Garden's McDonald Woods was once a part of a large oak … the natural habitats that surrounded it. Fortunately, through careful management, the Garden is restoring this beautiful woodland. Gardeners often wonder if it's possible, in suburban or … of woodland of their own. Jim Steffen, ecologist at the Chicago Botanic Garden, says yes, it is possible, but your focus must be less on individual plants and more on the whole plant …
Type: Plant Info
