… Long-ago legend says that cranes can live for 1,000 years…and that folding 1,000 paper cranes, one for each year, can make a wish come true. So it is that the crane is the symbol of longevity … Each winter, Ray and wife Ginny folded cranes…and each spring/summer Ray handed them out, one by one, to the curious children. Over the years, Ray and Ginny made 40,000 cranes. Now there are 10 …
Type: Blog
… dragonfly, female. Most dragonflies have very different-looking males and females. This one was in the Native Plant Garden. Photo ©Carol Freeman. Some of the dragonflies migrate south … in both stages. They don’t bite or sting humans, though. The common green darner dragonfly is one of the first dragonflies to emerge in the spring, and one of the species that can be found migrating in huge swarms in the fall. Photo ©Carol Freeman. …
Type: Blog
… & Blooms at the Chicago Botanic Garden has hosted some remarkable butterfly species. One definite crowd-pleaser: the orange dead leaf (Kallima inachus) . If we didn’t point out this character to guests, no one would ever suspect that they were looking at a butterfly. I like to describe the orange dead … canopies and use them as a place to blend in. I always got a kick out of showing people that one of those dead leaves was not what it seemed. Kallima inachus at rest on a branch Kallima …
Type: Blog
… the finished star wreath. Just follow these step-by-step instructions from Heather Sherwood, one of our very creative senior horticulturists, to get your own star appeal for the holidays. … branches) Five 1½-inch bundles of twigs cut in roughly 11-inch lengths (or slightly more than one-third of the length of the base twigs) Roughly 90 36-inch lengths of raffia An 8-inch length … need the five heavier branches, duct tape, and zip ties: Connect the five base branches into one long strand, using the duct tape to create “knuckle” joints: Place the end of the first …
Type: Blog
… from, let’s use some sucrose to make a treat. The common sugar beet, Beta vulgaris (this one is cultivar ‘Bull’s Blood’), is the source of our refined white sugar—not sugarcane! Rock candy is pure, crystallized sucrose, and you can make it at home. This takes one to two weeks, so be prepared to be patient. How to Make Rock (Sugar) Candy All the … glasses or glass jars (like Ball or Mason jars) 2 clothespins Suspend the skewers using one or two clothespins as pictured here, and be ready to cover loosely with a piece of paper …
Type: Blog
… with trains. “I hardly get to play with my railroad at home because I get to play with this one,” said Dave Rodelius, in the tone of a man who can’t believe his good fortune. Dave Rodelius shows off one of the stars of the Model Railroad Garden this spring: a steam engine! This year marks … the newspaper that the Chicago Botanic Garden needed tram drivers. So I became a tram driver. One day, I saw that they had torn things up right in the middle of the Garden. I said, “What the …
Type: Blog
… to chrysalis to butterfly is truly mind-boggling when you really think about it. Seeing one is a joy. Seeing hundreds at one time is truly amazing! I had the pleasure of photographing butterflies at Butterflies & … perches in a well-lighted area. Even though there are a lot of butterflies there, finding one you like sitting still on an attractive surface might take some time. One approach is to find …
Type: Blog
… look at the Show with cocktails and light bites for purchase. We tried out color combinations one by one. The comments were brutal. No, too senior prom-ish. Nope, too Barbie DreamHouse-ish. That’s a … be beautiful or mesmerizing. But the color isn’t there for us. Wild orchids have color for one reason only: to attract bees, hummingbirds, and other pollinators, which help the plants …
Type: Blog
… Another wildflower from out of state is the beloved Texas bluebonnet ( Lupinus texensis ), one of six species of lupines that represent the state flowers of Texas. Their clusters of dark …
Type: Walks
… Garden encompass a broad expanse of white land and white water, with no indication of where one form ends and the other begins. Framing it all, on the distant horizon, are the massive trees …
Type: Walks
