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  • … of dead plant material, and all those nutrients and minerals would be locked up—unavailable for other plants to use. Many of the shelf fungi differ from other fungi, not only because of … very woody or leathery in nature. ( I can imagine that people mistake some of these fungi for a deformity in the tree when they feel them and realize that they are as hard as a rock. This … trunks to their component nutrients and minerals and make them available to the environment for living plants to use. Although some of the shelf fungi are interesting and quite attractive, …
    Type: Blog
  • … is converted from starch into smaller carbohydrates. This conversion process is important for the brewer, since those carbohydrates will feed the yeasts during fermentation. The brewer …  germinate, though—if it did, the embryo would “eat” all of the food reserves, leaving none for the yeast. Instead, grains are only  partially  germinated, just enough for their starch-converting enzymes to become active. Then the grains are gently heated and …
    Type: Blog
  • … that stoked your curiosity about the natural world. Maybe it’s the first houseplant you cared for, or the first one you kept alive. Maybe it’s the first native species you learned to … the professional leagues, to work at the Garden. Many here at the Garden’s Negaunee Institute for Plant Conservation Science and Action have a Plant Love Story that explains the special … she came to this conclusion, I don’t know, and sadly never asked. Perhaps it was my penchant for dissecting peas before I ate them (“look at that baby plant in there!”) or my ability to name …
    Type: Blog
  • … lucky enough to see an oriole nest will most likely agree. It can take a week to ten days for the female to complete her nest. She’ll then lay three to seven pale eggs blotched with brown, which hatch in 11 to 14 days. The young remain in the nest for another 11 to 14 days, getting fed constantly by their parents, until they’re able to hop out … to early September, the orioles start singing again—often shorter songs—before they leave for winter vacation. …
    Type: Blog
  • … Ever see a tree or even a weed and wonder what kind of plant it is? We’d love for you to stumble across the answer—right in front of you. Inspired by a movement by French botanists, my 5-year-old daughter and I decided to become street botanists for the day. We would identify plants in the neighborhood and write their names in chalk on the … and other organisms. The key gives you a series of choices to help lead you to your choice. For kids who want to learn more, you can order a leaf identification kit. The kits help you …
    Type: Blog
  • … throughout the Dwarf Conifer Garden. Many of the trees feature entirely unexpected colors. For most of the year, Spring Ghost blue spruce ( Picea pungens ‘ Spring Ghost’) looks like your … Sunburst lodgepole pine ( Pinus contorta ‘ Taylor’s Sunburst’) is a handsome green tree for most of the year—until spring, when radiant yellow new growth bursts forth, bringing a … of these colors are a seasonal show that is best appreciated before things start to heat up for the summer, so come see them while the colors are bright! …
    Type: Blog
  • For Earth Day this year, take some time to appreciate the rich soil that covers our planet and … same basic procedure to find out what is living in the soil in your yard or other location. For this variation of the test, your objective is to study the materials that emerge without … want them, and you definitely want everything to grow in your seed bank. The basic directions for a soil seed bank are very simple: dig up a cup of soil, place it in a container, place in a …
    Type: Blog
  • … size, odd shape, and terrible stench (hence its common name, corpse flower). Plants bloom for a single day every seven to ten years, and it is nearly impossible to predict the day it will … in the Regenstein Center. (We have named our titan arum Spike because when you grow a plant for 12 years, you start to think of it as a child.) Spike is growing several inches every day. We …
    Type: Blog
  • … A striking century plant is putting on a show in the final stages of its life—it’s blooming for the first and only time in 27 years. The succulent sends up a tall stalk of blossoms right … stalk grow in a rosette to funnel water to the base of the plant and their waxy coating allows for better water storage. The energy required to push up the flower spike causes the leaves to …
    Type: Blog
  • … herb of the year. “What?” you might be thinking. “What about basil?”  Discover a world of uses for your herb harvest—essential and flavored oils, vinegars, jams and jellies—at Herb Garden … Lisa Hilgenberg, horticulturist at the Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden, who likes dill for both its flavor and growing habits. “It’s my favorite tasting herb, especially with fish, … freshener.  I’d Have the Thyme Versatility—and a pleasing bloom—makes thyme the herb of choice for Celeste Vandermey, supervisor of plant records. “Thyme adds flavor and aroma to any soup or …
    Type: Blog