… Welcome to high summer at the Chicago Botanic Garden, where color, scent, and the play of light on water … await you at nearly every turn. A perfect way to experience the lush abundance of the season is with a walk around the Garden’s 2.6-mile perimeter. Whether enjoying panoramic scenes or … or, at midday, resting in the shade. Nearby is a service road with a gate that bars all but official Garden vehicles; follow this road as it curves, becoming the Garden’s westernmost road. …
Type: Walks
… it's only March, and yes, there's still snow on the ground. Yet smart gardeners know that now is the time to plan for fall color in your garden. Nurseries and garden centers start receiving and … over grey-green foliage, they give way to peach-colored seedheads. 16 to 18 inches, tall, 26 to 28 inches wide Firecracker sedum ( Sedum 'Firecracker') smolders with intense burgundy-red …
Type: Plant Info
… An edible orchid in an ice sphere adorns a cocktail from chef Daniel Boulud, marthastewart.com Why, yes, that's an orchid in my cocktail Noted French chef Daniel Boulud paired with a mixologist to come up with a white cosmopolitan recipe that calls for elderflower liqueur and a frozen … will register a new orchid hybrid in your name with the Royal Horticultural Society (the official international register) for $1,500. Out-of-sight, out-of-mind... until bloom time. …
Type: Blog
… In very early spring, Abeliophyllum distichum ‘Rosea’ provides a pale pink alternative to the bright yellows and golds of the more commonly seen Forsythia shrubs that bloom at the same time. Not fussy as to soils (as long as they are not bone dry) or aspect (full sun to partial shade) and completely hardy in the Chicago area, this 4’ to 6’ sized fragrant deciduous shrub is a wonderful compliment to the early spring bulbs that bloom at the same time. Best grown as an …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… As we all know, good soils are the key to growing any type of plant well: annuals, perennials, turf, shrubs, and trees. The Chicago … soils are twofold, having positive and negative virtues. On a positive note, our soils tend to be rich in nutrients. But on a negative note, our soils are heavy and do not drain well. The … . Amended terra preta soils created long ago still cover 10 percent of the Amazon Basin. It is important to understand that “slash and char” is different than “slash and burn,” which has …
Type: Blog
… The Chicago Botanic Garden is on #TitanWatch. That’s right: if you visit the Garden’s Semitropical Greenhouse, you will see Sprout , the latest corpse flower from the Garden’s collection of 13 titan arums to begin a bloom cycle. Our corpse flowers ( Amorphophallus titanum ) are now on display in a … in fruit, leaf, and imminent bloom. You might remember Spike and Alice in 2015: Spike failed to bloom but provided so much excitement; and Alice the Amorphophallus brought visitors to the …
Type: Blog
… Anyone who reads the volumes of research can easily see all the reasons why a nature preschool is not just a real preschool, but should be a standard for all preschool environments to aspire to attain. Here are my top five reasons why a nature preschool should be the choice of all …
Type: Blog
… and Brownie Girl Scout troop was working on their Household Elf badge. We needed a fun way to teach about conserving water at home—not a lecture—because let’s face it, after a full day of school, 6- to 9-year-old girls would will not sit still and listen to another lesson. I decided to make a … and recreation comes from Lake Michigan. If we waste water, then we waste the lake. It is that simple. The Water Conservation Game is set up and ready to play. The girls responded …
Type: Blog
… tree lots carry a dazzling array of trees ranging from fragrant balsam firs ( Abies balsamea) to shimmering Colorado blue spruces ( Picea pungens ). With so many choices, how does one choose? … which minimize injuries. They’re among the longest-lived Christmas trees and most resistant to needle drop. The main downside is that some varieties can be very expensive. Colorado blue spruce ( Picea pungens ‘Procumbens’) …
Type: Blog
… Early summer in the Dwarf Conifer Garden is all about the new growth. Everything is bursting forth with fresh new growth in vivid shades … spring, when radiant yellow new growth bursts forth, bringing a welcome dose of sunshine to the garden. Picea pungens ‘Spring Ghost’ Pinus contorta ‘Taylor’s Sunburst’ Pinus cembra … of a ripe cone, but right now, they’re as pretty as any flower. Red can be a difficult color to find in conifers, but Acrocona spruce ( Picea abies ‘Acrocona’) has cones that start out a …
Type: Blog
