… trees and shrubs this fall or add new plantings with tips from Garden experts. Take steps now to ensure the health and beauty of your garden come spring. Planning and Prevention “This summer … Sensitive plants such as magnolias will particularly benefit from mulch. A good rule of thumb is to spread the mulch as wide as the reach of the branches. Do not pile it against the trunk, … help absorb rainwater, and provide wildlife habitat among other benefits,” he said. It’s best to plant about a month prior to a hard ground freeze, says Dr. Bell, who recommends planting …
Type: Plant Info
… acre of land in the Greenbelt Forest Preserve in Waukegan. The program was founded as a pilot to examine the feasibility of expanding the Chicago Botanic Garden’s school and neighborhood … to serve teenagers in an extracurricular setting. Building on the success of the Lake County site construction of the North Lawndale Youth Farm began in 2005. This Youth Farm site is located on the west side of Chicago on a quarter-acre lot. This location is in partnership …
Type: Page
… For some gardeners, a winter landscape is a blur of neutral colors highlighted with the dark green of conifers and sometimes the blue of … also make a group of conifers more interesting, just as different leaf shapes add drama to a deciduous garden. Especially in winter, the stiff, sharp needles of spruce contrast strongly … Nana'. Not as tough as juniper or arborvitae, falsecypress must be carefully sited. It grows best in sandy, somewhat acidic soil with protection from drying winds. SHADES OF GREEN There is …
Type: Plant Info
… 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
… Highlights Aesculus × carnea ‘Fort McNair’ Fort McNair Red Horse Chestnut Aesculus × carnea is an artificial hybrid of Aesculus hippocastranum and A. pavia. Both parental species typically … hillsides and stream banks. This hybrid grows as a single-stemmed tree with a dense, rounded to pyramidal growth habit. Stems emerge green before turning copper with conspicuous lenticels and mature to produce dark brownish-grey bark that fissures into rounded plates with age. Branches bear …
Type: Page
… Lake Cook Natural Area The Lake Cook Natural Area is a narrow natural area that occurs along Lake Cook Road between the Skokie River and the Garden entrance. It is a testament to the value that even the smallest of areas bring when it comes to supporting natural species … ecologists and volunteers removed the invasive species and reintroduced native species to the site, transforming it into a beautiful and diverse landscape on display for the vehicles, …
Type: Page
… Ticket Exchange Lightscape ticket exchange is offered online. Follow these easy steps to change your Lightscape event date and time, or … If you have any questions please call Customer Service at (847) 835-6801, or send a message to @email . Step 1: Locate your ticket confirmation number on your purchase order confirmation … Lightscape ticket exchange is offered online. Follow these easy steps to change your Lightscape event date and time, or download the PDF with the same instructions. If …
Type: Page
… Tomato Talk | Canning A Full Season of Tomato-Growing Information Tomato sauces There is nothing like opening a jar of home-canned tomatoes on a cold, snowy January day. The bright … for salsa, bring back the warmth and long sunny days of summer. Canning is also a great way to make the most of your harvest—especially any not-so-perfect produce. Start when there’s a … a safe pH level. Ball has more than 500 tested recipes available online at freshpreserving.com/recipes . Prepare your ingredients ahead of time . Canning, like cooking anything else, is a …
Type: Page
… Raised-bed tomatoes benefit from "square-foot gardening"—plant one plant per square foot to ensure space for growth and air movement. Do you need to fertilize tomatoes? Yes. Tomatoes are heavy feeders and need nutrients. Even if you are not … calcium, too—try working crushed eggshells into the soil to increase calcium content. What is the difference between a synthetic and a natural fertilizer? Natural fertilizers are organic …
Type: Page
… Sprout the Titan Arum Sprout was our third titan arum to bloom. Sprout Was Huge. Everything about the titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) was big: … its corm. Learn about the titan growth cycle and follow Sprout’s height and girth gain day-to-day on our corpse flower growth chart. Sprout the titan arum photographed April 11 and 12, 2016 A Blooming Titan Arum Smells Rotten Bloom night is the big night for the titan arum’s famous stench. The flowering structure generally opens late …
Type: Page