… as wild or false indigo due to their use by early Americans as a blue dye. Although "indigo" is in the common name, the blooms of native species may be blue, yellow, or white and the blooms … Public Gardens Association. Archived Copy: This content was captured before February 2022, and is no longer being updated. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Care Department Landscape Waste Program As manager of horticulture services, Cindy Baker is responsible for the care and maintenance of more than 100 acres of ornamental landscaping. She … Baker has been involved with many projects, events, and classes at the Garden since 1988. She is a regular guest on the WGN-TV Morning News "Botanic Backyard" segments. Baker is also a frequent speaker at the American Public Garden Association's annual meetings and has …
Type: Staff bio
… that folding 1,000 paper cranes, one for each year, can make a wish come true. So it is that the crane is the symbol of longevity and good fortune. Fast forward to the turn of the twenty-first … origami cranes throughout the winter. And 3,000-plus cranes are ready to hand out. Happiness is 1,000 paper cranes…and volunteers like Susan and Edie. From Ray’s original intent comes great …
Type: Blog
… the “parent plant.” 2. Selecting Choose a ripe, disease-free tomato; one past being edible is best. 3. Removing Cut the tomato ‘around the equator’ and squeeze out the seeds and ‘goo’ in … the tomato variety and let dry which could take up to three weeks. The top of the refrigerator is a great place for this. 6. Drying When dry, scrape the seed in to an envelope labeled with … put them in my top desk drawer. 8. Life Span Seeds have varied life expectancies. Tomato seed is viable for four to ten years. …
Type: Blog
… the Forest Preserves of Cook County, including a stint at the Garden. The Conservation Corps is a paid summer internship that gives young people hands-on conservation and environmental … because everybody knows each other in the field." —Ushus Hermanson, 17, Chicago The program is part of the effort by the Garden and its partner, Friends of the Forest Preserves, to build … the Garden’s director of government affairs, who helped coordinate the program. “Not only is it a great help for the Garden’s staff to tackle needed projects, it is a great learning …
Type: Blog
… Pogue, senior horticulturist, Elizabeth Hubert Malott Japanese Garden My New Year’s resolution is to apply the principles of the Garden's soil initiative. I am very excited to learn more about … Wade Wheatley, assistant horticulturist, Greenhouses My horticultural New Year’s resolution is to be a better plant dad to my houseplants. Since I spend the day at work taking care of the tropical plants at the Garden, it is sometimes difficult to maintain enthusiasm to come home and keep watering plants. However, I …
Type: Blog
… a lot of meaning into that name: Cyprus was the sacred island of Venus’s birth, pedilon is the word for slipper, and calceolus means little shoe. The lady’s slipper orchid is native to a broad swath of the temperate world, from Europe through Asia. While still common in some wild areas, the orchid’s beauty has made it over-loved in others—it is now considered extinct in Greece, the very home of its ancient legend. And that brings us to …
Type: Blog
… species of moths in the state of Illinois—more than ten times the diversity of butterflies—it is a real adventure sampling the moth species inhabiting the McDonald Woods at the Chicago … moth ( Ponometia erastrioides ) Straight-lined Plagodis moth ( Plagodis phlogosaria ) It is a never-ending surprise to see what new species will show up each time traps are placed. Some … they are resting on; the hindwing only becomes visible when they spread their wings to fly. It is thought to be a distraction or scare tactic to foil predators. Although there is a subtle …
Type: Blog
… projector—using leaves. Rule number one with eclipses—and with the sun every day, actually—is don’t look directly at it with the naked eye . A fun way to indirectly “see” the eclipse is with a pinhole projector, and one of the best natural projectors is a leaf. Leaves often have holes that can act as natural projectors. During the eclipse, turn …
Type: Blog
… Did you know there is more to the fossil record than dinosaurs? Or that the plants that were living during the …
Type: Item Detail
