… summer with relatives. My grandparents’ farm was the home base for my adventures with cousins and siblings. We spent hours in the breezy northern hills, picking the sweetest strawberries I ever had. They grew wild and tasted like candy. We often brought some back to share with the family, but there is nothing … This strawberry is Fragaria × ananassa , which has only been around for about 260 years, and has undergone a lot of breeding in that time. Fragaria × ananassa is actually a cross of …
Type: Blog
… International Landscape Architects includes specialty evaluation areas for perennials, roses, and vines. This new garden features crabapple tunnels, deciduous hedges, and playful ornamental grass mounds that come together in a distinctive, non-traditional design. … his time as a child. As a teen while adventuring out west, he saw his first old-growth forest and from then on, has become enamored of the power of plants, and especially trees. David has …
Type: Staff bio
… ecological processes. I am interested in how species interactions, population dynamics, and the timing of biological events respond to various types of environmental changes. My work so far has investigated the consequences of climate change and species invasions for plant-pollinator mutualisms, plant populations, and plant communities. Using long-term data sets, observational & experimental …
Type: Staff bio
… by Italian botanist Odoardo Beccari in 1878. On August 6, 1878, he first observed the leaves and fruits of a plant (interestingly, August 6 is the date we put Spike on public view!) … . Several weeks later, Beccari saw a flowering plant for the first time. He sent a few tubers and seeds to Florence, Italy, but the tubers all perished; a few seeds, however, eventually … which is being steadily eroded by deforestation for palm oil production, by pollution, and by human encroachment. The corms are also being dug up for food—and by collectors or …
Type: Blog
… background for your family pictures! No. 1: Crescent Garden Works great for: groups large and small. Chrysanthemums and Japanese maples in shades of burgundy and wine. No. 2: English Oak Meadow Works great for: families. As our silhouette “family” …
Type: Blog
… the Aztecs, who used the tubers as one of their staple foods. The plants were brought to Spain and eventually spread throughout Europe, as people appreciated the beauty of the flowers … Since dahlias do not like to get their “feet” wet, the area should not accumulate water and should drain well. If the soil is clay-like, it should be amended with leaf mulch, compost, … accommodate. Planting You can plant your dahlias as soon as the danger of frost has passed, and the soil temperature remains above 55 degrees Fahrenheit. In Chicago, this typically means …
Type: Blog
… blow over in winter’s first blizzard. I attended a winter containers class at the Garden and this is what I learned: Materials needed: Winter-hardy container: plastic or fiber container and wood mulch for filler A variety of winter greens: balsam fir, white spruce, white pine, … Fill container with wood mulch to weigh your container down so it won’t blow over in the wind and to hold the branches in place. Step 2: Place birch branches in wood mulch, and dig down to …
Type: Blog
… Are you feeling winter blue? Do you feel trapped in cold and ice? Has your mood gone south, leaving you wishing that you could, too? What, with the world’s best antidepressant right out your front door? The magic elixir is a winter walk. And the Chicago Botanic Garden awaits with a prescription-strength dose—miles of trails through the Garden, almost all of them kept clear of snow and ice, with a number of mapped-out walks ranging from 1 to 2.3 miles. A hidden gem, the path …
Type: Blog
… For Earth Day this year, take some time to appreciate the rich soil that covers our planet and supports plant life. Try this soil seed-bank test to discover the magic of topsoil. The soil seed-bank test is used by farmers, scientists, and others to find out what weed seeds are hidden in a garden or cropland’s soil that could … judging the value of the plants. Weeds are just plants growing where we don’t want them, and you definitely want everything to grow in your seed bank. The basic directions for a soil …
Type: Blog
… If you are like me, though, you just can’t wait for that first day when you lose the covers and open the windows. It is that breath of fresh air that tells us summer is just around the … warm blanket of composted horse manure. Compost protects roses from the harsh winter winds and freeze and thaw cycles that can be deadly to many cultivars. As the hours of sunlight increase and …
Type: Blog
