… heart is full of unwashed socks, your soul is full of gunk, Mr. Grinch. The three words that best describe you are as follows— and I quote: stink, stank, stunk!” —Dr. Seuss “Titan Tim” … Pollak here once again, with an update on Spike, our still-growing titan arum. Spike continues to get bigger, not only in height, but also in girth! What we’re really curious about, however, … ( Catharsius sp.) think that stink smells great. Photo ©2012 via potokito-myshot.blogspot.com A different view of ewwww! Carrion beetles, dung flies, and flesh flies aren’t responding to …
Type: Blog
… sun rocketing off the white of the snow, all plants are revealed in their naked glory. This is a moment when you really love your birch. But even if the following day is shrouded in gray … the chalky white or cinnamon bark, often peeling, or "shingling," and calls attention to the dangling male flowers known as catkins. Spring is signaled by the limey-green new foliage, … for all seasons. Betula nigra is the most southerly of all birches but still is one of the best choices as a landscape tree for our area. Able to withstand variations in soil moisture and …
Type: Plant Info
… Deeply etched, lobed, with wavy or feathered margins, these leaves are truly unique. Native to the tropics and subtropics, the angel-wings are wonderful houseplants year-round, not difficult to grow once their needs are understood. Because they offer the home gardener outstanding foliage plus a long bloom time, learning their ways is well worth the time. Most of the 1,500 species and 10,000 begonia hybrids share a few common …
Type: Plant Info
… Libraries, Missouri Botanical Garden, and the Chicago Botanic Garden) and we all researched best practices for digital libraries and made recommendations for improvement to the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL). BHL is a group of natural history and botanical libraries that work together to digitize books and …
Type: Blog
… horticulturist for the Regenstein Center Greenhouses at the Chicago Botanic Garden, I talk to a lot of people about indoor plants. I get that you want potted plants that are easy to take … have captivating flowers that look like they escaped from a Dr. Seuss book. The foliage is heart-shaped, with blushing purple undersides. The purple hues will fade with low light … your pitcher plant every few months to keep it fed and happy. Keep this plant moist; it does best in a humid and bright area. Your rock for the winter Lithops Lithops are fascinating …
Type: Blog
… Winter is a great time to celebrate the beauty of the natural world and wildlife around you. After a big … for little ones, searching for animal tracks and talking about what you find can be a fun way to stimulate meaningful conversation. This winter, I walked around my Chicago neighborhood …
Type: Blog
… Highlights Aconitum carmichaelii ‘Arendsii’ Arendsii Azure Monkshood Aconitum carmichaelii is native to eastern China and northern Vietnam, where it is found at the edges of forests and on grassy … alternately. The leathery, dark green leaves are deeply lobed and broadly ovate with three to five palmate lobes. The terminus of each branch produces a dense panicle of deep purply-blue …
Type: Page
… As proud gardeners, we are thrilled to announce the arrival of flower names as a fresh trend on the best baby name lists. While Lily, Rose, and Daisy have been perennial list favorites, Violet has … happiness when Lady Edith named the baby Marigold. Speaking of England, behind today’s trend is an even earlier, Victorian-era trend rooted in the language of flowers. This is a topic near …
Type: Blog
… Garden blog followers may remember that in “ How to Train Your Plant ” I demonstrated a way to grow a bean seed in a plastic bag to test … petals still hanging from the tip of the reddish-colored pod. Botanically speaking, this is the fruit of the plant, even though you might not think of beans as fruit in your diet. The …
Type: Blog
… can seem dark—especially on overcast days. Any sunlight that passes through windowpanes now is less intense and of shorter duration than in summer. But that’s no problem for several indoor … zamiifolia ) Although its common name is ZZ plant, this beauty is no snoozer. Plants grow 2 to 4 feet tall and wide with arching stems of super shiny leaves. Don’t be tempted to baby this … shrugs off neglect, and is almost indestructible. New cultivars like ‘Ginga Giant’, ‘Milky Way’, and ‘Big Spotty’ have leaves speckled with gold, cream, or yellow. Others sport vertical …
Type: Plant Info
