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  • … Botanic Garden's Rainwater Glen is a good way to see how the process works and to gather ideas for your own rain garden. DIY Rain Garden Storm watch Observe your landscape during a heavy rainfall. For best results, rain gardens should be planted between the source of stormwater runoff (roof, … (or about 10 x 10 to 15 x 20 feet). A small area can be transformed into a lush eco-garden for just a few dollars per square foot. Choose the best plants for the project The key to a …
    Type: Plant Info
  • … with Beatrix Potter, the creator of  The Tale of Peter Rabbit.  I remember wanting to visit Hill Top Farm, Potter’s home, after finding a photo of children reading by the fireplace in … mother, Helen Leech Potter, who was also interested in drawing and painting—common pastimes for upper-middle-class Victorian women. Beatrix used a paint box inscribed with her mother’s … Trust. Many of her illustrations are directly drawn from the Lake District countryside. If you visit the Lake District, consider ordering  Walking With Beatrix Potter: Fifteen Walks in Beatrix …
    Type: Blog
  • … Tour the Malott Japanese Garden Learning the Language Download the GardenGuide App when you visit to use this tour on your phone Distance: .165 miles  Time: 25-35 mins Stop 1: The Ken A … the visitor walks a path of discovery, as if on a journey. This 17th-century style is known for carefully composed views that are glimpsed…concealed…and revealed…to the alert observer.   … grand. The roof tiles are called ichimonji because they are shaped like the Japanese character for the number one. Beyond the gate is a dry garden, an abstraction of nature: smooth gravel …
    Type: Page
  • … notoriously dry in winter, so indoor herbs will need extra humidity to thrive. A few solutions for increasing moisture in the air around your plants: Set pots of herbs on a boot tray filled … then add water to the tray. Use a humidifier in the room. Mist herb plants regularly—except for rosemary, which is prone to mildew. Group similar plants together, so they create their own little micro-climate in the room. First-time herb grower Visit to a nursery will yield baby herb plants that are perfect for a container, indoor window …
    Type: Plant Info
  • … Garden. We only visited six of the 25 distinct gardens, so come out to see them all this fall! Visit chicagobotanic.org/inbloom/  for more information on what’s in bloom. …
    Type: Blog
  • … to rainforests, plants stole the spotlight in 2025. Here are the stories that made us fall for them all over again. Grassy plumage is the new black. Made from hand-dyed plant material, … “ Ovicula’s white fuzz isn’t the same thing, since it’s not a cactus, but it likely evolved for a similar purpose: surviving life in the desert.”  Wooly devil, by Debra L. Manley, Public … our own: “Back in 1991, Princess Margaret dedicated the English Walled Garden during a royal visit,” said Senior Horticulturist Heather Sherwood. “There’s another Princess here, too: a …
    Type: Blog
  • … so it’s a super fun addition to our butterfly family. You’re sure to see some on your next visit to Butterflies & Blooms. Zebra longwings rest together on their favorite branch. A trio of …
    Type: Blog
  • … look at your own yard. Is it time to plant a tree or shrub? If so, what kind might be right for your yard, and what fall color would be a smart addition for your home, your yard, and your neighborhood? Often, the talk turns to red. But a visit to the Garden during October reveals the diversity of colors in nature's crayon box—yellow, …
    Type: Plant Info
  • … splendens.  Native to the mountains of western Mexico, this plant is extinct in the wild. Visit our  What’s in Bloom highlight page  each week—twice a week during the summer bloom … season—to learn more about the different plants in bloom. Then, come out to see them in person for their fragrance and the humidity of the warmer greenhouse climates. …
    Type: Blog
  • … relished the time being in parks and found it captivating when I’d get the rare opportunity to visit our local forest preserves. These short trips outside city limits spurred my interest in …
    Type: Staff bio