… The Chicago Botanic Garden sits on what used to be the Skokie Marsh, part of the ancestral homelands of the Council of Three Fires—the Ojibwa, … the Ho-Chunk, Miami, Menominee, Sauk, and Meskwaki. The marsh once served as a portage for Native Americans crossing between Lake Michigan and the upper Des Plaines River. However, it … the history, center current Indigenous voices, and move the Garden toward a more equitable way of working for the future. We are just beginning that process by building relationships, …
Type: Blog
… Fruit & Vegetable Garden The Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden is one of the biggest and best of its kind in the Midwest. This 4-acre working garden shows you how to grow edible plants in a setting designed to surprise and delight. You might have a little pot … vegetables, and herbs that flourish in Chicago-area gardens and show you the most sustainable way to grow them. We use organic growing methods. What do you do with all that produce? …
Type: Page
… Nature and Wellness Resources for year-round healing Five ways to heal with plants in winter When winter takes its toll—dry … with the forest. Plant Early Spring Crops As days grow longer in early spring, gardeners get excited to start planting. And for vegetable gardeners, late March is not too soon. … Resources for year-round healing Five ways to heal with plants in winter When winter takes its toll—dry skin, coughs, holiday overload—you …
Type: Page
… Q. What variety of lavender is the best for planting in our area? I'm especially interested in an intensely fragrant variety. A. Although … over 28 species of lavender grown today, most are not reliably hardy in the Chicago area due to our cold winters and heavy, wet winter soil. The English lavender, Lavandula angustifolia , …
Type: Plant Info
… When you think of autumn, chances are the lovely fall colors come to mind—and not the leaves that end up on your lawn or in your garden beds. Here are some ways … leaves to support your plants and wildlife instead of bagging the leaves up and leaving them for collection: Help pollinators survive the winter An increasing number of people are trying to … Try gently raking the leaves from your lawn and moving them to your perennial beds. That way, you’re allowing for a more natural cycling of nutrients— and providing habitat and a food …
Type: Plant Info
… lately? Many of these open spaces boast blankets of gold sunflowers, the native plants that for me signal the approach of autumn. They belong to the Asteraceae family (previously known as the composite family: Compositae) and are … so that the sticky yellow pollen won’t drop from a vase onto furniture or clothing. Bees visit pollen-free sunflowers because they offer nectar, but what they really want is pollen. …
Type: Blog
… be lurking in a small tree cavity during the day, snoozing while waiting for its evening foray to your back porch light to catch a moth. The eastern screech-owl comes in two color morphs-red … parent morphs of the same or different colors can producer young of either color. Those who get a look at this owl under moonlight or in its daytime roosting hole will see a dark streaking … of their own. The female lays four to five white, round eggs and incubates them for about 26 days. The male brings her food when she’s on the eggs and also after they hatch. She breaks up …
Type: Blog
… 'Aqua Velva' is a large (28 inches tall, 26 inches wide) hosta with puckered blue-green leaves. Its white flowers are lightly fragrant. Hostas are shade tolerant, easy-to-grow, and long-lived. Although they produce flowers held high above the foliage on long stalks called scapes, they are grown primarily for their foliage and neat habit. Hostas are actively hybridized for leaf color, size, shape, and …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… This large (26 inches tall, 48 inches wide) hosta features bright gold leaves with a piecrust margin. 'Jimmy Crack Corn' is a seedling of H . 'Piedmont Gold.' Hostas are shade tolerant, easy to grow, and long-lived. Although they produce flowers held high above the foliage on long stalks called scapes, they are grown primarily for their foliage and neat habit. Hostas are actively hybridized for leaf color, size, shape, and …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… scarlet, gold, and orange on trees this fall or the crunch of leaves underfoot and go on your way—but Budburst volunteers stop what they’re doing and take the seasonal changes to heart. Volunteers for Budburst , a community science program of the Chicago Botanic Garden , make simple …
Type: Blog
