… My 3-year-old son and I have enjoyed many seasons of Little Diggers. We have learned new things together and have had a lot of fun with the projects. One of our favorite projects was with insects. We got up close and personal with ants, butterflies, grasshoppers, and ladybugs. The instructor set up habitats …
Type: Blog
… the four weeks he was on display in our Semitropical Greenhouse. Spike brought the nation’s—and even the world’s—attention to the Garden, as we waited for our first-ever flowering titan to open up in all its stinky and colorful glory. The event—and I am proud to call this an event—brought more than 76,000 visitors to see Spike (8,200 people …
Type: Blog
… Production at the Garden, where he has worked since 2001. As part of his job, he is the grower and buyer of all the plants for the seasonal annual displays, containers, hanging baskets, and specialty plant displays. He also assists with the seasonal (spring, summer, and fall) annual design and the plant selection process; he helps develop and plan the …
Type: Staff bio
… Gardening is all about embracing change. You plant seeds and wait to see which ones will sprout. You monitor emerging spring buds to mark the time until leaf-out and see which ones were affected by Chicago’s harsh winter. And you watch as the bulbs you planted last fall emerge strongly but are not quite the color you …
Type: Blog
… the 125th anniversary of the Chicago Horticultural Society, which created the Garden and manages it today. The roots of the Chicago Botanic Garden run deep. Ground was broken in 1965 and the Garden opened in 1972, but its underpinnings can be traced to 1890, when the Chicago … the Society’s 125th anniversary, the Garden is featuring two special exhibitions, lectures, and the launch of a commemorative book, Chicago and Its Botanic Garden: The Chicago …
Type: Blog
… I thought: “I can smell winter.” It’s that subtle shift that you feel as the days click on, and we are led farther away from the beloved fall season. The days continue to get shorter, and the sun doesn’t seem to shine quite as bright so naturally; moods shift, and energy becomes muted. I have a number of friends and family members who suffer from Seasonal …
Type: Blog
… Selecting perennials to look good year-round and weather the seasons outside our wall (and next to the freeway) has been a challenge! With its own group of microclimates and an often-harsh growing climate—including high winds and both flooding and drought …
Type: Blog
… In August, when the jewelweed and cardinal flowers bloom, the ruby-throated hummingbird is migrating. It’s perfect timing, … © Carol Freeman The ruby-throat is the only hummingbird to breed in eastern North America, and these tiny jewels are somewhat common nesters in Cook County woodlands. They become more numerous in late summer and fall, as those that nested farther north pass through on their way to their winter homes in …
Type: Blog
… How does a college intern help advance science on pollinators of native prairie wildflowers and other plants? It starts with a summer filled with scientific observation at the Nativars … for Budburst , a project by the Chicago Botanic Garden to work with community scientists and experts to better understand how plant species and ecosystems are responding to human impacts, such as climate change, on the environment. One …
Type: Blog
… The Mesozoic was a period of great change. Ancient lineages of seed plants were disappearing and other lineages were taking their place. Some of these would go on to dominate modern ecosystems, such as the conifers and angiosperms. Jurassic and Early Cretaceous age rocks from Mongolia and Inner Mongolia, China, are the source for a …
Type: Staff bio
