… tips to help gardeners navigate Chicago’s spring: Wait until the soil dries out to get back in your garden. If the soil can form a sticky ball when you squeeze a handful, it is still too … Clay soil holds more moisture and requires a longer waiting time. Avoid excessive walking in garden beds and on lawns. It can compact and damage your soil. Soil is ready for planting when it crumbles in your hand. Working the soil when it is too wet can increase compaction and break down the …
Type: Blog
… The ootheca was produced by a female praying mantis last fall. She laid her eggs in this foam of protein that hardened around a stick and protected the eggs through the winter. The eggs usually hatch in mid-June to early July. The 1/2-inch-long immature praying mantis nymphs resemble the adult, … mantis nymphs emerge from the ootheca all at one time. During their first hour, they darken in color to blend in with their surroundings. After our praying mantises hatched inside an insect …
Type: Blog
… trees or remove nuisance buckthorn. DON’T prune conifers. Needled evergreens can be pruned in late winter or early spring, before growth begins. Arborvitae should be pruned during spring and early summer. DO water newly planted trees and shrubs that might be in the path of salt spray from salted roads during periods of winter thaw. Consider wrapping … overwater houseplants. Because of shorter days and reduced humidity, most houseplants aren’t in an active growth phase, so they’ll require less water and fertilizer. DO keep houseplants …
Type: Blog
… A couple years ago, in early spring, I got the kind of call that puts a “plant doctor” like me on edge. “Come look at the roses right away,” someone said. In my 25 years at the Chicago Botanic Garden, no one has ever called me to say, “Hey, Tom, come look at the roses; they look great today!” I’m in charge of plant healthcare at the Garden, so when I pick up the phone, there’s usually a …
Type: Blog
… crops: kale, carrots, and cabbage. This harvest season, we unveiled our cookbook, Cooking in Season with Windy City Harvest . This cookbook is a collection of our favorite seasonal … dried ½ cup vegetable oil, divided ½ teaspoon salt, plus more for bread 2 garlic cloves, cut in half ½ loaf of sourdough bread (cut into ¾-inch thick slices) Dressing: 3 large garlic cloves, … cut off the thick end of the stems about 3 inches from the end of the leaf. Compost the stems. In a large bowl or large plastic bag, toss the kale with ⅓ cup of the vegetable oil and salt, …
Type: Blog
… THE MAYFLOWER® represents an important breakthrough in roses. In the course of development in David Austin's test gardens, it remained completely free of disease. disease-free. The flowers are a strong deep …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… then too much rain, then...this is a challenging year for gardening. For those who garden in northeastern Illinois, Here are some tips to keep your garden in shape this summer: What do all of these moisture fluctuations mean for our gardens? The … but many trees and shrubs were stressed by inconsistent moisture, not only this year but in the last several years. Both drought and extreme wet conditions can have a profound impact on …
Type: Blog
… questions asked by visitors this week, our favorite came from 8-year-old Prairie! In the video below, Prairie wants to know, in essence, if she can transport Spike’s malodorous odor from the Chicago Botanic Garden to her …
Type: Blog
… deutzia 'Nancy' features clusters of abundant double white flowers. It is a hybrid developed in the Lemoine nursery in Nancy, France, before 1910. The genus Deutzia consists of medium sized flowering shrubs native … be challenging. The Chicago Botanic Garden's collection includes 20 varieties and more than 300 plants. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… deutzia is a dwarf cultivar with a spreading habit. It produces abundant small white flowers in spring. Unlike many deutzia, Nikko offers burgundy fall foliage color. The genus Deutzia … slender stems and a fine-textured arching habit. The clusters of small flowers that appear in spring or early summer are white on most species, but may be pinkish in a few species and … be challenging. The Chicago Botanic Garden's collection includes 20 varieties and more than 300 plants. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
