… at the overlook, next to the English Walled Garden . From this point, the entire central lake is visible, with Evening Island , the Arch and the Serpentine—the two bridges that connect the … Fruit Birds, bees, and butterflies love these blossoms, and the tasty fruit that follows is enjoyed by hungry birds and wildlife. There are considerable differences in fruit as well as … nonstop blooming beauty. As the bridge reconnects with the main island, a shadier environment is revealed, with ligularia, hosta, fern, Jacob’s ladder, and Solomon’s seal growing low, while …
Type: Walks
… order to satisfy their chill requirement. Simply defined, the accumulation of chill units (CU) is a cumulative measure of the number of hours trees spend between 32 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit. … meet those requirements, barring extreme fluctuation like last year. Our current cool weather is right on track and looking positive for growers. Knowing a fruit tree’s chill requirement is a tool for choosing the right plants for your garden. Come to the garden for a quiet early …
Type: Blog
… most beloved nature poems in the English language. The poem, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” is a reminder of the ability of the natural world to lift spirits. Wordsworth wrote the poem on … Boyce, the Garden’s director of living plant documentation, even knows where each daffodil is— Narcissus ‘Bittern’, yellow petaled daffodils with orange cups, is under the crabapple trees in the Graham Bulb Garden, masses of large-cupped daffodils are on …
Type: Blog
… Bartram’s Garden, once visited by notables such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, is now a 45-acre National Historic Landmark in Philadelphia. “It’s an amazing place,” said Owen. … the work of artists who created works that included wood from the felled trees. Each piece is meant to celebrate Bartram’s desire to share his passion for trees and other plants. An … the natural world and in collecting and documenting the human species,” said Owen. “Nature is a vast source of that fascination.” …
Type: Blog
… walk of the Garden. Or did you say cow slobbers? Whatever you call it, Tradescantia ohiensis is just one of the prairie plants that has a unique story to tell. Tradescantia ohiensis , better … are replaced by new flowers, prolonging the blooming period. Another interesting feature is its other common name, cow slobbers. If you break a leaf, you will understand how this common … form as it stretches between your fingertips. By the way, the “wort” part of spiderwort, which is commonly used to describe many plants (figwort, moneywort, mugwort, liverwort), simply means …
Type: Blog
… pesticides (including DDT), and the creation of osprey nesting platforms, the fish-eating bird is breeding again in local forest preserves. The osprey looks somewhat like an adult bald eagle, … counties. This year, the Chicago Botanic Garden installed an osprey nesting platform, and is waiting to see if a pair will find it to their liking. According to officials of the Cook … off the platform. Watching an osprey grab a meal can be fascinating. The bird appears as if it is going to plunge head-first into the water, but then it straightens its head and grasps the …
Type: Blog
… I appreciate any cultivar name that invokes thoughts of my favorite holiday: Halloween. It is fun to stumble upon some Gaillardia ‘Goblin’ , Hemerocallis ‘Bela Lugosi’ , or Alchemilla … The straight species, S. lateriflorum , was also among the seven, so you can see that this is one of the best asters for your garden. The foliage of ‘Lady in Black’ is an almost black-purple color, enhanced in autumn by numerous sprays of teeny white daisies …
Type: Blog
… All species have long, arching branches that cascade outward but with pruning, the shape is variable. Beautyberry should be planted in rich soil and pruned in early spring but otherwise … and coneflowers With familiar daisy-like flowers that will bloom through all of fall, it is no wonder that species of Rudbeckia are a fall favorite. Petal colors can range from shades of … via Wikimedia Commons Imperata cylindrica ‘Rubra’ Japanese blood grass Japanese blood grass is another low-maintenance ornamental grass. Usually smaller in stature than switchgrass, it …
Type: Blog
… at workplaces, in government, in science, etc. Unfortunately, the number of women in science is still pretty dismal. Despite earning about half the doctorates in science, only 21 percent of … we recognize that our ongoing commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility is some of the most important work we do. On International Women’s Day, we pay tribute to women in science at the Garden, past and present: Left to right: Krissa Skogen, Ph.D., is studying hawkmoth pollination with Victoria Luizzi (Amherst College student, NSF REU student, …
Type: Blog
… supervisor of plant health care, said an insulating blanket of snow on the ground helps. Snow is a good insulator for plants that are exposed to extreme cold temperatures, so any plants that … their trunk more so than other trees, making them more likely to develop frost cracks. There is not much you can do if frost cracks happen except to watch the tree through spring to see if … the tree will survive this injury. Other ways a polar vortex might affect plants negatively is in flower bud survival. Forsythia shrubs could see damage to any branches that were above the …
Type: Blog
