… The moss ornament is almost complete with charcoal, soil, moss, and reindeer! Seal the moss in a closed terrarium ornament. The moss can live inside this globe indefinitely. The moss just … that splits into two halves (available at craft stores) Live moss that you find growing in a shady place in your yard (or you can buy it from a garden store that sells terrarium supplies) Activated charcoal (sold in garden and …
Type: Blog
… into my personal green space, where I can de-stress and enjoy my little piece of “Horto in Urbs.” Although there are more than 400,000 plant species worldwide, I know only a subset will survive in Chicago, especially over winter. But I also know there are more options than the common … and later tried steel and concrete, which I don’t recommend for balconies unless you want to test your weight limits. Deeper pots are better—mine are at least 16 inches deep—and I always try …
Type: Blog
… Titan Arum—FAQ Frequently Asked Questions About the Titan Arum (Amorphophallus titanum) In 1878, an Italian botanist named Odoardo Beccari “discovered” the titan arum in the dense equatorial rainforests of the island of Sumatra. Although the tubers that he sent to … Titan arum leaves can grow 8 to 15 feet tall. Q. Did the Garden grow these plants from seed or buy the corms? Where did the Garden get them? A. The Garden's titan arums came from a variety of …
Type: Page
… are quite sun and heat tolerant. Newer, sun-loving strains were selected from plants growing in Indonesia and have been tested in Florida, Texas, and Georgia for their resistance to heat wilt and sun scorch. When supplied with adequate moisture and planted in very well-draining soil, these plants survived southern summers with no major problems. This …
Type: Plant Info
… What’s the oldest thing in your refrigerator? Chances are that it’s the almost-but-not-quite-empty jar of mustard. … colored squeeze bottles, and grab-’em-by-the-handful packets, Americans are at last tuning in to the taste of homemade condiments. The time has come for homemade mustard—and you won’t … allow the spice’s heat to mellow to the degree desired. Sample out of one jar periodically to test the heat level as you wait. It takes about two weeks for mustard to reach “mild.” (*Local to …
Type: Blog
… lithophytes) and the resulting puzzle of how best to cultivate them. I first got interested in orchids in the 1970s, both from seeing some in the greenhouses at the University of Michigan, and also … to modern DNA technology being used to revise their nomenclature. Just figuring out where to buy plants was an adventure, as most of the orchid nurseries I knew were long gone. Slc. …
Type: Blog
… Stand still and close your eyes in the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Dixon Prairie on a warm day in August and you’ll likely hear the hum of countless bees and the chirping of crickets and other … through this part of the Garden, late summer is a good time to do so. There are more than 250 species of native plants on this open, rolling landscape. Many of the tall, late-blooming …
Type: Plant Info
… The holidays will soon be upon us. When it comes to the gardeners in your life, there are plenty of gift-giving ideas. An avid gardener can never have too many … the new Fresh from the Garden: An Organic Guide to Growing Vegetables, Berries, and Herbs in Cold Climates, by John Whitman (University of Minnesota Press). How about a magazine … off. Most gardeners could use a spare watering can, too. Wind Chimes Give the gift of sound in the garden with a set of wind chimes. With each breeze, chimes provide tinkling bell-like …
Type: Plant Info
… At Windy City Harvest Youth Farm, our young workers are exposed to nutrition in ways that relate directly to their work. As the season progresses, new crops are harvested and … they have never eaten or seen before. They also are surprised at the nutritional benefits in some of these vegetables. Here are three vegetables we are harvesting at Windy City Harvest … It was the first time my mom cooked with scallions. We liked them so much that we went to buy more from the store. We had never had them before.” Shekinah Price Windy City Harvest Youth …
Type: Blog
… Compared to photographing flowers outside, photographing in the Greenhouses is much more challenging and darker than you think. With a limited depth of field, I chose to focus on the "face" I saw in this orchid. Photo ©Carol Freeman Note the distracting window in the background. Photo ©Carol … let you increase the ISO and still get clean images with little noise. I like to do an ISO test before going out to shoot to see just how far I can push the ISO and still get images I find …
Type: Blog
