… People sometimes walk right by the brick pillars of the Enabling Garden, thinking it’s not for them, said Alicia Green, who maintains and designs the horticulture therapy garden. She likes … flowers; blooms start to take off in May. Here are a few of her spring design touches to look for in the Enabling Garden: Think Beatrix Potter storybook You might not find Peter Rabbit in the … “It looks fanciful and just a little wild and crazy,” without being overgrown, she said. Look for a special botanical tulip called Tulipa ‘Nora’. The small, deep pink tulip looks more like a …
Type: Blog
… know about taking pictures at Lightscape at the Chicago Botanic Garden. It’s a great chance for photographers of all abilities to practice shooting after dark. And with a little time and … are not allowed at Lightscape. Instead, raise your ISO. Newer cameras have improved technology for low-light situations, and the old rules of thumb don’t always hold true. Pick a setting … to photo editing, try a class at the Garden in Photoshop or Lightroom. There is no replacement for a solid tripod, but these easy hacks will help improve your odds of getting a sharp picture: …
Type: Blog
… degree in horticulture from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1984. He worked as a foreman for Campbell's Garden Center, installing and maintaining landscapes. During summer breaks from … Regenstein, Jr. School of the Chicago Botanic Garden. He writes a weekly gardening column for the Chicago Tribune and a weekly gardening tips column for the Daily Herald , and responds to other media request. He is a regular speaker at the …
Type: Staff bio
… Valentine’s Day has special meaning for us at the Chicago Botanic Garden. With that in mind, we’ve gathered a few stories about how … scientists think that the orchid attracts a wasp that hunts the spider as potential food for its own larvae. Thus the wasp is fooled into landing on the flower—and picking up its … (Check out more on orchids fooling mating bees with this famous video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-h8I3cqpgnA .) Oncidium Sharry Baby ‘Sweet Fragrance’ has dancing skirts and …
Type: Blog
… question, located by the big Edens Expressway (northbound lanes) sign. Originally, the design for the perennial border—which you can see trailing up and down the hill behind the big Chicago … Manual removal of the asters was only part of the solution; we needed to find a replacement for these bad boys. In the process, we revisited the vision for this border, and decided to mix drifts of purple coneflower ( Echinacea ), blazing star ( …
Type: Blog
… a shoe box, cardboard dividers, seeds, a pot with soil medium, and of course scissors and tape for constructing the maze. Stand the box on its side. Then cut two pieces of cardboard to fit in … in place as shown in the picture. Pardon the crude appearance of this maze. I wasn’t going for style points. Plant the seeds in the soil and put the container on the side opposite of the hole you cut. Just for fun, I used several different seeds from a bean soup mix to see if one kind would get through …
Type: Blog
… when you consider how many different species of turtles there are. There is a turtle species for just about every kind of wetland environment that exists, from sea turtles to bog turtles to … the mucus membranes and tiny capillaries of their throat and cloaca (the common opening for defecation and egg laying). They also use some fascinating chemistry, part of which involves … first real breath of air since descending to the bottom of the lakes in fall. Hoop trap for aquatic turtles Several years ago, I initiated a turtle project with one of the summer …
Type: Blog
… restoration in the tallgrass prairie. My post-doctoral research is focused on seed mix design for restoration from both a social and ecological perspective. Using social science methods, I am studying the factors that drive seed mix design for prairie restoration managers. Using ecological data collected though observation and …
Type: Staff bio
… says about putting my plants outside: Be careful about sunburn. Sunburn isn’t a concern just for us humans. Plants can get scorched, too. Don’t put them in blazing sunlight. Porches with shade are prime locations for orchids and birds of paradise plants. The outdoors makes your plants happy. A lot of plants … swing in temperature that only the outdoors can provide, said Sherwood. If you have the space for it, and moderate sunlight, your indoor houseplants would love to feel the extended daylight. …
Type: Blog
… attract their mates to their strategically chosen nesting location in the spring. In order for a nest to be successful, it must be located near water (their diet consists exclusively of … the nest pole and attacking the young. FOCR and the FPCC sought out the Garden as a partner for an installation site, in large part owing to the Garden’s strong conservation messaging and … few years, a migrating male will select the site and pair with a female. Osprey generally mate for life, though they’re together only during the breeding and rearing seasons. L earn more …
Type: Blog
