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  • … gardens, we typically plant cabbage, kale, onions, pansies, and mums. This allows the group one more opportunity to work in their outdoor garden before the impending first frost.   … a big hit in horticultural therapy. The supplies needed for this activity are as follows: one small pumpkin (I use pie pumpkins), a spoon for scraping, cut flowers, and floral foam. This … flower, I would recommend using 1-2 cell-pack pansies per pumpkin.) Therapeutic benefits   One of my favorite aspects of this activity is the sheer joy that radiates from our participants …
    Type: Blog
  • … the classroom creates valuable experiences and future scientists. Prairie Pondering is just one of the Garden’s  guided field trips , where students from Chicago area schools can experience … the temperature of the soil? Why do you think it’s different from the temperature in the air?” One girl watches her thermometer fluctuate from 77 to 76 degrees. “The temperature is changing!” … on to the prairie, the children are asked to consider the many different plants they’ve found. One girl counts 100, another 200. One boy points out a milkweed plant that reminds him of the …
    Type: Blog
  • … Diggers. We have learned new things together and have had a lot of fun with the projects. One of our favorite projects was with insects. We got up close and personal with ants, … An egg carton —Cut into strips of three eggs-worth. You can get four insect bodies out of one egg carton, so you can explore and make more than one kind of insect. Coffee filters —Cut these each into six pieces for wings. You can see how to …
    Type: Blog
  • … Gardens are romantic by nature. That’s why one of our most frequently asked questions is, “What’s the most romantic spot at the Garden?” So … arbor and take a deep breath. Then another. Soon you’ll be discussing the bouquet of roses—one smells of musk, another of tea, a third of myrrh—just as you do a fine wine. (Which, by the … Waterfall Garden has it all: rushing water, a sweet arbor, birds chirping in shady trees. It’s one of the best spots at the Garden to sit…very…close. The peaceful hideaway atop the Waterfall …
    Type: Blog
  • … study was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences or PNAS, one of the world’s most-cited and comprehensive scientific journals. “I hope this paper will … and reproduce. We learned that fire is essential for reproduction. A healthy population is one that will be resilient in the face of adversity. Fires keep populations healthy,” said … it nice to look at. The animals that live there need diversity too. Some animals only eat one species of plant, so if that plant is gone, that animal is gone,” said Wagenius.  For …
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  • One of the best things about visiting (and working at!) the Chicago Botanic Garden: you get great ideas for your own garden. I put one of them to work in my new "all vegetable" front yard garden this weekend. Horticulture … copper markers (too small to read from a distance, get stepped on), and rocks (hard to keep in one spot). This approach is simple, recyclable, nice looking, and kind of fun to do—makes a good …
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  • … using heavy clippers, recut the stem ends, then slice vertically up the stem 1-2 inches. Grasp one side of the sliced stem and twist backward. Immediately place the cut stems back into the bucket of water.  Allow the stems to take up more water in a cool, dark place for another one to two hours. The lilacs will then be ready for arranging, and will last three to four days. Slice and twist Grasp one side of the sliced stem and twist backward. Our finished bouquet An arrangement of fragrant …
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  • … the Atlas moth ( Attacus atlas) , which is native to Southeast Asia. The Atlas moth lives for one to two weeks, so its main purpose after emerging from its cocoon is to mate. Most moths do … emergence room, so if you do not see this moth on your visit, you may be lucky enough to see one on a return visit. We encourage you to visit often, as new butterfly species will be emerging …
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  • … to Florence, Italy, but the tubers all perished; a few seeds, however, eventually germinated. One of those seedlings was sent to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in England. There, in 1889, 11 … its discovery, a titan arum plant flowered for the first time outside its tropical home. No one knows how common the titan arum is in the wild. Many suspect it is endangered. Its only known … by learning more about tropical rainforests, and the impact of deforestation in these areas. Support your local botanic gardens, arboreta, and universities where scientists are studying …
    Type: Blog
  • … the whole garden. I have difficulty growing it here in my moss garden, but in Portland, one gardener told me that moss will start to grow if you sit still for ten minutes. The tools I … Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii),  a native of the rocky, windswept coastlines of Japan. One of the two pines species most popular in a Japanese garden, the black pine is symbolic of the … the Chicago Botanic Garden's Elizabeth Hubert Malott Japanese Garden. I had a chance to prune one of the few Scots pines at the Portland Japanese Garden, and noticed how the environmental …
    Type: Blog