… yourself back from buying every type you see on the shelf, you also know that this feeling is fleeting. Those beautiful colors and unusual varieties are in their prime now, when the hot … for a fruiting pepper plant. In just a month or two, the number of varieties will start to dwindle and your hot spicy recipes will taste bland again. Fear not! You can preserve that … contains the following: 2 cups vinegar (white distilled vinegar preserves the pepper colors best) 1¼ teaspoons canning or pickling salt ½ tablespoon of sugar or honey (*may be left out if …
Type: Blog
… Garden’s Nature Preschool. The dedicated places are a mindful way for people of any age to check in with and be present in the natural world. Choosing a Spot The best kind of sit-spot is one that you feel comfortable in and familiar with. So choose a natural area that is easily …
Type: Blog
… For many bonsai tree species, early spring is the best time for repotting. As the days get longer and the temperatures slowly increase, the … During this time, the energy of the tree that was stored in the roots over the winter begins to move back up into the tree branches. As this happens, the dormant buds begin to swell. This …
Type: Blog
… Using peonies as a cut flower for floral design is easy, with a few tricks to preserve the health of your plants and flowers. Peonies are the … plant can continue to thrive. You can select flowers that are as open as you like, but for the best vase life, select buds that have just begun to open and feel similar to a marshmallow. Cut …
Type: Blog
… of books about the subject, including many entitled The Language of Flowers , was donated to the Lenhardt Library. The gift of James Moretz, the retired director of the American Floral … His donation gives the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Lenhardt Library one of the Midwest’s best collections of literature on the language of flowers. As even these few photos show, there … paused for a very long moment before responding. Clearly, her answer would have weight. “It is the single most outstanding donation in my tenure as director,” she replied. …
Type: Blog
… the year. Many traditional plantings have unfilled niches and open soil, allowing sunlight to directly reach the ground. Any bare soil is a welcome mat for seeds—just look at any empty lot where weeds fill the cracks. In the summer, … it can soften the bark and cause rot. Don’t pile it on! Do the Mulch Math “Plants are the best mulch,” says landscape designer Claudia West, who recently spoke at the Garden. “Filling the …
Type: Plant Info
… gathered stories about the most famous orchid of them all: the genus Vanilla. (Yes, vanilla is an orchid.) One unusual story comes from Ph.D. student Lynnaun Johnson, whose work in our doctoral program in Plant Biology and Conservation took him to Mexico, the native land of edible vanilla. Last April, I ventured to Mexico as part of an … said he knew what his plants needed and thought growing his vanilla on concrete blocks was the best method. At another farm, the farmer brought decaying wood from a neighboring forest and used …
Type: Blog
… designer Bunny Williams of Bunny Williams Interior Design at Get Growing Weekend. We spoke to her about her potted paradise design. Q: Describe your process for designing your container. … a good container? A: One of the things I’m always thinking about when I’m doing a container is height. When you first plant a container, all of the plants are very small. But a month later … Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’ Origanum ‘Kent Beauty’; photo by Paul S. Drobot Q: What’s the best thing about planting containers? A: What’s interesting and fun about containers is you have …
Type: Blog
… The plant collections of the Chicago Botanic Garden have a new place to show off in a “theater” designed just for them in the Helen and Richard Thomas English Walled Garden . Plant theater is a traditional English presentation of exceptional plants, such as snowdrops and primroses, … “We have a fantastic production department,” Sherwood said, and they will coordinate the best times for the plants to be replaced with new ones, four times a year. The potting soils will …
Type: Blog
… The cultivar 'Sir John Thouron' is valued for its showy, pale yellow flowers that form a ball-shaped umbrella well above its … eight years ago that White Flower Farms offered 36 plants for $950 each; all were sold out to a movie star, a fashion designer, and several collectors. (The cost has dropped since then.) … the plant back indoors in fall. The plant is one of those rare plants that actually blooms best if slightly pot-bound, but its roots are perennial. The plant resents root disturbance …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
