… noticed more garlic mustard in your garden, yard, or alley this year. The ecologists who tend to the Chicago Botanic Garden’s natural areas have, too. We had not seen much garlic mustard in our natural areas in recent years, and its reemergence is a reminder for all of us that controlling and managing invasive species is an ongoing … Botanic Garden’s 385 acres, and these woods, prairie, river, shorelines, and lakes are home to a remarkably diverse collection of plants. In most of our natural areas, we allow natural …
Type: Blog
… possibility of a fungal pandemic of human zombies. We’re here for the show, but how plausible is a fungus-induced human zombie apocalypse, really? Greg Mueller, Ph.D., the Garden’s chief scientist and Negaunee Vice President of Science, is a mycologist—meaning, a person who knows a lot more about fungi than The Rest of Us. So in our …
Type: Blog
… Min fir is a conifer from the mountains of China and Tibet that is known for its fine, stiff needles that curve downwards and are typically one inch in length. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… the winter. This stately tree has handsome yellow leaves in the fall. A native specimen, it is also called yellow poplar, which was the stately monarch of Eastern deciduous forests, … and pulp for book paper. Archived Copy: This content was captured before February 2022, and is no longer being updated. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… <p>What makes 'Candida' stand out among <em>Weigelas</em> is the pure simplicity of its perfectly white flowers against the fresh green of its leaves. … hours of sun a day.</p> Archived Copy: This content was captured before February 2022, and is no longer being updated. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… looking at them provided me some kind of familiarity—like when you meet someone new, you want to know their name, what they do, what they like, right? Well, the same with plants. One important aspect of visiting a botanic garden is acknowledging its plant collection. Botanic gardens are living museums, and when you go to a museum, you want to know what is in front of you. A display plant’s name on the label is the …
Type: Blog
… artful, and transporting. In a way, the experience of seeing Asia in Bloom: The Orchid Show is much like ikebana, the traditional Japanese art of flower arranging. On display now through March 25, this new feature of the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Orchid Show invites you to pause and reflect on this historic art form. Ikebana is the traditional Japanese art of flower … philosophical meaning. When arranging flowers in the ikebana style, the arranger is invited to remain silent. The silence creates a meditative space for the artist to connect with and …
Type: Blog
… questions, since they are on the cutting edge of scientific understanding. One such question is: “What are those specs of gold on the monarch butterflies?” The short answer is “Nobody … features such as metallic markings by asking, “What sort of advantage would this feature give to the butterfly?” Every trait found in nature exists because it gave that individual more opportunities to reproduce. Perhaps the trait helps keep the butterfly from being eaten, or it gives a male …
Type: Blog
… shore of Lake Michigan, the ravines are a naturally engineered filtration system from land to water. Curving up from the flat lands of Illinois and arching alongside the coast into … unlike any other ecosystem in the Chicago Wilderness region. Among other benefits, they help to filter rainwater. Rare plants, migratory birds, remnant woodlands, and fish are a part of this … rare plant species that can be found there. The data, now quite valuable due to its longevity, is a treasure chest for land managers and others who are trying to better understand the system …
Type: Blog
… May is the month to look for warblers, vireos, thrushes, sparrows, and some shorebirds, as they … through the Chicago area. Most birders might agree that the highlight this time of year is warblers. It is for me—they are tiny jewels with wings. I feel totally blessed if I can see a few during migration. Since these birds are so small, they usually wait for favorable winds to help them travel. Any night with southerly winds will have the birds moving; new birds arrive …
Type: Blog
