… Bright blooms never last long enough for me—but I’ve found an easy way to preserve the color and beauty of favorites. Lately, I’ve … or even Harry Potter books, work well Flowers (see note below) Spatula Optional: card stock for homemade cards, gift tags, etc. 1. Gather your favorite flowers If the blooms come from your own garden, all the better for gift purposes. Choose bright ones without blemishes. The best ones lie flat easily. Disc …
Type: Blog
… on what to do if you receive one of these wonderful trees as a gift yourself. Juniper bonsai for sale at a large garden center During the holiday season, little areas pop up in … as I call them). These bonsai are reasonably priced, cute, and seem to be a perfect gift for the horticulture enthusiast on your list. But before buying that little tree, there are a few … tree is healthy and actively growing. Dull, spotted, or damaged leaves are things to look out for. These may be indications a tree is unhealthy or stressed. Be sure to gently feel the …
Type: Blog
… As we are all adapting to new ways of connecting for work and play, students in Windy City Harvest’s Youth Farm program have learned to adapt too. … “We built community by coming together despite the pandemic and produced vegetables for the community during it.” “I’m glad to have been able to work on the Farm another year.” “I was glad to come back to familiar faces.” “If it wasn’t for this opportunity, I would have had more anxiety about the situation. It really does take my …
Type: Blog
… Tom Tiddens has worked at the Chicago Botanic Garden in the Plant Health Care department for 25 years. In 1994, Tiddens was promoted to supervisor of the department. Since then, the … lead arborist in managing tree care and risk assessment. He is also the containment director for the Butterflies & Blooms exhibition and is responsible for butterfly health and management as well as the permitting process through USDA. Tiddens is …
Type: Staff bio
… Americans are at last tuning in to the taste of homemade condiments. The time has come for homemade mustard—and you won’t believe how easy and tasty it is. Start with the Basics As … horticulturist Nancy Clifton to learn the how-to’s. Within five minutes of starting her demo for us, she had the first batch of mustard whipped up: Nancy Clifton’s Basic Mustard Recipe ½ cup … Whisk ingredients together. Pour into clean Mason or Ball jars and set aside on a pantry shelf for two weeks, to allow the spice’s heat to mellow to the degree desired. Sample out of one jar …
Type: Blog
… woodlands, and fish are a part of this shadowed world that has long been entrenched in mystery for local residents and scientists alike. As urbanization, erosion, increasingly intense weather … plants begin to peel away at the perimeter of the ravines, it has become increasingly urgent for us to unwrap those mysteries and help protect the system that has long protected us. “The … challenges have not deterred Goad and a team of citizen scientists from digging in to look for solutions. For 15 years, the many contributors to Plants of Concern have been collecting …
Type: Blog
… plant and send it into shock, which can be hard to recover from indoors. 3. Check thoroughly for pests, and treat as needed. One of the biggest ways to set yourself up for success is to start with clean plants. There are several pests that can cause problems … mites, scale, and aphids. Insecticidal soap is a lower toxicity insecticide that is safe for most houseplants and will take care of nearly any pest problem you might have. As with any …
Type: Blog
… Botanical Garden, and the Chicago Botanic Garden) and we all researched best practices for digital libraries and made recommendations for improvement to the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL). BHL is a group of natural history … the past ten years, BHL has uploaded more than 50 million pages of biodiversity literature for public use. (Left to right) 2017 BHL residents Ariadne Rehbein, Alicia Esquivel, Pamela …
Type: Blog
… April, that blanket can be especially welcome. If you are like me, though, you just can’t wait for that first day when you lose the covers and open the windows. It is that breath of fresh air … the corner. Roses under a warm winter blanket of mulch. Our Krasberg Rose Garden is ready for its breath of fresh air, too. All winter, many of our roses have been under their warm … increase and daytime temperatures get warmer, however, we need to start inspecting our roses for signs that it is time to remove the compost and prepare the roses for the beauty yet to come. …
Type: Blog
… with the macabre—also shows in the jack-o-lantern characters Obenchain created for HallowFest, the Garden’s former celebration of Halloween. Riley Obenchain poses with some … who’s helped keep the Garden’s trams, lawnmowers, and other machinery running smoothly for 35 years, “but in actuality, anyone can do this.” Here are a few of Obenchain’s tricks and … them sharp. He taps them into very thick pumpkins using an old hickory log that he’s kept for years. Toothpicks, bamboo skewers, or even the occasional nail can be used to patch mistakes. …
Type: Blog
