… The aggressive root systems of these plants can go down 6 to 7 feet into the soil and travel for many yards underground before surfacing in another spot. These extensive root systems make … thistle Cirsium discolor Pasture thistle Image By Fritz Flohr Reynolds - https://www.flickr.com/photos/fritzflohrreynolds/15143788606, CC BY-SA 2.0, … being impaled by the spines. As you might imagine, the spines provide effective protection for the plants against herbivores. They tend to increase in pasture land, due to the fact that …
Type: Plant Info
… time, a sad collard green—from its pot into the trash. The mess, and the funeral, is for a good cause though. Today, I bravely enter new territory: My neighborhood garden center, … care preferences, and age. An Excel spreadsheet, you guys. This man is not messing around. For the likes of me, Wheatley recommends a more forgiving collection of starter plants. For those … my lenses and asks, “Do you need help?” My plant blindness is showing—literally. The employee points me to an aisle of easy-to-care-for, relatively-indestructible, can’t-possibly-mess-this-up …
Type: Blog
… flowers in mid-June. It can be trained to grow both laterally or vertically and is not a vine for small spaces. Dropmore Scarlet honeysuckle ( Lonicera x brownii ‘Dropmore Scarlet’ ) The hardiest of the honeysuckle vines for Northern gardens and the one with the longest bloom period, Dropmore Scarlet is also a non-invasive honeysuckle. Full sun is best for the showiest flowers, although the vine will tolerate partial shade. The red flowers persist …
Type: Plant Info
… in August and September. Later-blooming perennials, annuals, and shrubs can provide color for weeks to come. And many of their blossoms offer nectar to migrating butterflies and ruby-throated hummingbirds. Here are a dozen good-looking, late-season wonders for your garden. Butterfly bush (Buddleja) Butterfly bush is a magnet for flower-feeding butterflies, bees, and other insects. This woody perennial ranges in size from …
Type: Plant Info
… your garden indoors to join a celebration can be as easy as cutting a few evergreen branches for a vase. But if you are a little bit more ambitious about your holiday decor, it's … your project to be fresh and fleeting or dried and long-lasting. "If you go dried, it can last for years if you store it properly," Clifton says. But for a very special occasion, nothing has the impact of a centerpiece tree or kissing ball made …
Type: Plant Info
… Freeman By moving just a few inches to my left, I was able to get a more pleasing background for this orchid. Photo ©Carol Freeman It may be bright outside, but the light in the Chicago … images at a slower shutter speed. (Typically, you want to have at least 1/400th of a second for a 400mm lens, or 1/100th of a second for a 100mm lens, etc., so the shorter lens will gain … review the images on a large screen and know what will be acceptable to you on the day of your visit. Every camera is different, and what may work for me may be too grainy for you. Most …
Type: Blog
… we spend a lot of time and energy researching the flora of the areas we are going to visit. We search out areas of the world where the climate is similar to that of the midwestern … document that our hosts submit to the national environmental agencies within each country for approval and permits for the trip. Among our goals on plant-collecting trips is to collect seeds to conserve and to …
Type: Blog
… Collection, graciously met me on a Saturday and more graciously waited two additional hours for my arrival. With Pat safe and sound, I headed to the New Jersey Turnpike. As much as … as take care of some additional botanical business. I conducted a national collections review for the University of Delaware Botanic Gardens in Newark, Delaware. Feeling weak after a long day … from the Chicago Botanic Garden a couple years ago. While in the area, I had a chance to visit Doe Run, which was the famed garden of plantsman, Sir John Thouron, and which is now owned …
Type: Blog
… patches, and scientists at the Chicago Botanic Garden study prairie plants and their chance for survival amid changing climates and landscapes. For Dr. Barak, a key question is what restored plant communities will look like. Restored … rainwater and carbon dioxide—they also provide opportunities we can all enjoy each time we visit, said the scientist and former teacher. “I think it’s about more than that [the ecological …
Type: Blog
… styles, is a walk through the history of English gardening. It is also an ideal opportunity for visitors to fill their own gardening dreams with beautifully inspired ideas. A Series of … Garden Rooms The noted English landscape architect John Brookes provided the original design for this garden in 1971, and he continues to visit regularly, checking on the progress of the signature plant specimens that mark each area. …
Type: Walks
