… but they quickly spread throughout the world, and a few species have given rise to varieties with a wide range of sizes, shapes, and heats. Like all pepper varieties, red bell peppers … when still green. If left on the plant longer, they all will ripen, usually to become red with more heat. That heat comes from an irritating compound called capsaicin. The body often … tips The key to growing peppers is a long, hot summer—the kind of summer that is pretty much guaranteed in Bolivia, but not in Chicago. You'll need a site in full sun and well-drained, …
Type: Plant Info
… a late-summer stroll through the Dixon Prairie and see golden grasses sparkling like jewels with touches of color, and the lake rippling marvelously in the wind. The black-eyed Susan and … Lake Michigan; wetlands and streambeds; gravel hills; and broad, moist prairies and savanna with scattered groves of tough, fire-resistant oaks. Since then, numerous wetlands have been … Garden, has been reconstructed to include six types of native northeastern Illinois habitat, with plants that fit in those niches, growing the way they naturally do. When you see black-eyed …
Type: Plant Info
… English Walled Garden There’s no doubt about it — England’s long and passionate love affair with gardening has exerted an enormous influence on the way Americans garden today. A walk … gardening. It is also an ideal opportunity for visitors to fill their own gardening dreams with beautifully inspired ideas. A Series of Garden Rooms The noted English landscape architect … your entrance. Before going inside, take the opportunity to study this sunny border, filled with profusely blooming bulbs, perennials, annuals, and shrubs, which grow more colorful and …
Type: Walks
… to the top layers. After a few months, the bottom and center of the piles have decomposed with the help of unseen microorganisms—millions of them. The weeds and scraps are transformed … and the occasional box of expired rice or cereal—that go into the compost. I top it off with weeds, spent flowers, a gangly houseplant or two with potting mix attached to the roots, and other garden debris. And I put a bucket of water on …
Type: Blog
… and no-watering-required LEGO bonsai trees made the list of trending searches, right up there with human dog beds and eye massagers. “Searches for seed starter kits have sprouted every spring … is not on the list, but tall plants are rock stars in our book. Do you name your plants? With plant parenting in vogue, Good Housekeeping updated its list of suggested names for … plant story Twenty-eight percent of Americans have hugged their plants, according to a Trees.com survey—but if the plants don’t respond to touch, does it still count? As it turns out, some …
Type: Blog
… red are the secret divas of woods and gardens. Through September, they may modestly blend in with the crowd. But as nights turn cool, they drop the bashful act and step to center stage. … Of course, it's not forever. The trees have stopped making chlorophyll because they are done with this season's leaves and ready to let them go. The show is a short one. But in a good year, … the Visitor Center parking lot, as well as in the Rose Garden. And of course Japanese maples, with many cultivars carefully bred for spectacular reds, are planted throughout the garden, …
Type: Plant Info
… important way to conserve plant diversity. Climate change occurred naturally over millennia, with most organisms either adapting or migrating in the face of such environmental change. Today, … Seed Bank houses seeds from native plants throughout the Midwest and Great Plains regions, with the goal of banking at least 10,000 seeds from 1,500 native species we have identified. Most … backup. In an effort to extend our seed-banking impact, the Chicago Botanic Garden is working with local urban farmers trained to propagate native plant species and harvest and bank the …
Type: Plant Info
… Conifers are trees or shrubs that bear cones. With a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes, they add color and textural contrast to landscapes … height for their species. True dwarf conifers average about one-twentieth the typical size, with most species growing from 1 to 6 inches annually and reaching less than 6 feet after ten years. An intermediate dwarf conifer will grow 6 to 15 feet tall over the same decade. With their small stature, dwarf conifers can be perfect for a small yard or urban plot. Many …
Type: Plant Info
… Month and the Krasberg Rose Garden puts on quite the show. More than 5,000 roses fill the air with their delicate, sweet scents and countless colors. The three-acre Rose Garden, dedicated in … Hybrid tea roses can be grown to be cut flowers, single specimens, or planted in mixed beds with perennials and shrubs. The American Rose Society classifies modern roses as those that were … Summer sunset in the Rose Garden Rose Care During the summer, Garden staff feed the roses with a water-soluble fertilizer. Removing the spent flowers (deadheading) is also done in summer …
Type: Plant Info
… Q. While spraying a weedy patch with Roundup, I inadvertently exposed some evergreens to the herbicide, and now quite a few of … seriously damage or kill most plant material it contacts. It is also capable of interfering with a plant's ability to generate new growth. Once evergreen needles turn brown, they will not …
Type: Plant Info
