Fragmented Landscapes Need Fire to Thrive The Chicago Botanic Garden sets one-quarter of its land on fire every year. These prescribed burns—planned fires set by trained staff during favorable weather conditions—are conducted each spring and fall in the Dixon Prairie , McDonald Woods , and other natural areas. Garden ecologists and Stewardship and Ecology of Natural Areas (SENA) program interns …
Type: Blog
There’s no question that native plants are popular. They provide food and shelter for native bees and many other important pollinators. Many native plants are drought-tolerant, low maintenance, and disease- or pest-resistant. As ground covers, some can be used in place of turf grass, which is difficult to grow in shade. Others, like ferns, complement nonnative perennials in shady beds, borders, …
Type: Plant Info
A tall-grass prairie native that adds beauty to gardens and nurtures wildlife, switchgrass is now being considered as a potential new fuel source. Divided into two types, upland and lowland, there are 37 cultivars of switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum ), including the popular ornamental 'Dallas Blues'. All varieties of switchgrass are resistant to many pests and plant diseases. In January 2006, …
Type: Plant Info
A misunderstood plant flaunts its fall beauty. Mention poison ivy and you will hear a few choice words. But come fall, poison ivy practically begs us to love it. Its leaves are some of the first to turn colors, from green to brilliant shades of red, yellow, and orange. If you spot its vibrant fall beauty on a Chicago Botanic Garden trail, don’t be fooled. Poison ivy is toxic all year round, and …
Type: Blog
Watch orchid buds do a 360 Angraecum eburneum , photos courtesy of Johanna Hutchins Want to see a blooming orchid bud do a 360-degree twist? We did. So we put a time-lapse camera on the comet orchid ( Angraecum eburneum ) to capture the buds as they open and rotate over a period of several weeks. You can also see what a blooming comet orchid looks like in the Tropical Greenhouse at the …
Type: Blog
Early autumn ushers in a welcome peacefulness to a rich and still-blooming landscape. Trees and shrubs are at their peak of growth for the year, and many will add still another dimension when they change color. This time of year offers a chance to reflect on what we value in personal landscapes. Certainly at the top of the list in Chicagoland are the big shade trees. The elm, oak, and …
Type: Plant Info
Gardeners do love their perennials. They delight in watching them grow and artfully combining them with neighboring plants. They savor those "in bloom" moments, and they generously share their stock (sometimes) with friends. But most of all, they love to discover new ones. Gaura lindheimeri is a relative newcomer to Chicago-area perennial borders. Native to Texas and Louisiana and planted widely …
Type: Plant Info
Having just celebrated our 50th anniversary Garden-wide, we are quietly marking the "birthdays" of several individual gardens: the Home Landscape, Aquatic, Bulb, Native Plant, Heritage, and Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Gardens all opened in the summer of 1984. This got us thinking about the issue of maturing gardens—a topic that every gardener deals with sooner or later. In this issue of Smart …
Type: Plant Info
In the Arid Greenhouse, a zealous Agave —known colloquially as a Century Plant—has grown literally through the roof, choosing the dead of winter for a bloom that’s been three decades in the making. Agave sp. FO-76 on December 10, 2025 Think nothing blooms at the Garden in January? Think again. Acquired by the Garden in 1993, Agave sp. FO-76 has embarked on its first and last bloom, marking …
Type: Blog
Everyone can use a little privacy in their garden from time to time. After all, a garden is a place to retreat from the outside world, a place to sit and sip coffee, read a book, do some yoga, bird-watch, or simply rest and relax. The garden is a place to rejuvenate. A tall solid fence can block views into a garden, but it can also make the space feel confined. That’s where shrubs come in—they …
Type: Plant Info
