… a science project students can do at home! Try tomato seeds. As I’ve stated before, we in the education department of the Chicago Botanic Garden are committed to helping parents and teachers find great projects that teach students how plants sustain and … the seeds are harvested, because they become easier to handle and store. The natural way to remove the coating is to ferment the seeds in a jar or bowl. It’s a simple procedure. 1. …
Type: Blog
… , commonly known as wild quinine, produces an abundance of white, pearl-like flowers on 2- to 3-foot-tall plants with broad, rough-textured leaves. Native to the tallgrass prairies, it thrives when grown in full sun and moist soils in garden settings. Beetles find the pollen tasty, while a number of …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Wallpaper: Photography Contest 2015 Summer Winners Please select the images you would like by clicking on them below. Each image will open in a new window. ©2015 Ann Lyssenko (Grand Prize) ©2015 Janusz Chwalek (Grand Prize) ©2015 … 2015 Summer Winners Please select the images you would like by clicking on them below. Each image will open in a new window. ©2015 Ann Lyssenko (Grand Prize) ©2015 Janusz Chwalek (Grand Prize) ©2015 …
Type: Page
… This attractive member of the crow family can be seen and heard around the Garden. The blue jay is undisputably a handsome … species has a bad reputation for robbing eggs from other birds' nests, squirrels and crows, in turn, raid the nests of jays. There's much to admire about the blue jay, which belongs to the Corvidae family, one of the most intelligent …
Type: Birding
… Klein's Copper beech is named after plantsman Theodore Klein of Kentucky, who made the selection. The foliage emerges burgundy red and deepens to purple as the season progresses. This beech has a low-branching pyramidal habit. A wide range … Fagus sylvatica or the European beech, accounts for the vast majority of cultivars used in landscaping. The Chicago Botanic Garden's collections contain three species but more than two …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Flowers range in color from pale to deep rosy-purple with orange-yellow anthers on this species native to an area encompassing northern Turkey, Iran, and the Caucasus region. Another characteristic of the species is its hairless leaves (produced in …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Hellebores or Lenten roses are prized for their flowers which appear in late winter or early spring and are often the first flowers to appear in the Chicago garden. Grape Galaxy hellebore grows into a low mound about 2 feet tall …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Create a colorful container garden and attract ruby throated hummingbirds to your sunny deck, patio, or balcony. After a brief discussion about these fascinating little … birds, pot up a selection of plants with tubular and bright flowers that provide nourishment for these hungry summer visitors. All supplies included. Dress for the weather; class will move indoors if needed. Bring gloves if desired. Jill Selinger, …
Type: Item Detail
… Sometimes fragrant, pale yellow flowers on short flowering stems are the featured attraction of this orchid native to lowland forests from Borneo up to Assam. The thickened leaves store water for use during the seasonal dry periods. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… on Monday, I saw something I had never seen before in my five years as a butterfly wrangler at the Chicago Botanic Garden. I noticed that a leopard lacewing's right wings were bright orange, … when I had discovered the male-female lacewing, butterfly visitors had been waiting for me to release butterflies from the pupae chamber. So I packed up the lacewing, with all of the other … be a valuable contribution to science, and if nothing else, something that everyone should get a chance to see. I tried to find and capture it so an expert could take a closer look. A full …
Type: Blog
