… garden. If the soil can form a sticky ball when you squeeze a handful, it is still too wet for planting. Soil will take longer to dry after periods of cool weather. Sandy soils can be … walking in garden beds and on lawns. It can compact and damage your soil. Soil is ready for planting when it crumbles in your hand. Working the soil when it is too wet can increase …
Type: Blog
… do not. Add rose petals to salads, ice creams, homemade vinegars; candied, they’ll store for months. Lavender buds are delicious sprinkled on a fruit salad (terrific with berries, … onion flavor goes a long way. Float a few florets on a chilled potato-leek or spring pea soup for all the extra zip you’ll need. …
Type: Blog
… and they can take flight, seeking a nice, cozy place to spend the winter. Can you blame them for wanting to come into our comfortable homes? OK, don’t answer that. They belong to a group of … holding in this photo must have been regretting this fact. Wikipedia lists some other names for boxelder bugs, including “zug.” So when you see these creatures congregating on a sunny spot …
Type: Blog
… with the Huntsville Botanical Garden in Alabama on a Trillium conservation program for the beloved woodland flower . The Huntsville Botanical Garden has one of the most complete … the more alkaline soils across the Midwest. Our goal is to expand the range of growing areas for some species and increase the overall diversity. Urban growth and development over the years …
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… ‘Miss Muffet’ and Begonia × tuberhybrida ‘Illumination White’ make a great pairing for shady areas. On the perennial side of things, we’re moving into lily season. The very first … hybrids (such as Lilium martagon ‘Mrs. R.O. Backhouse’). Martagon lilies are terrific plants for the shade garden because they provide both structure and color at a time when little else is …
Type: Blog
… we midwesterners appreciate giving blooms in February, when our hearts and senses most long for the color and smell of the garden in bloom. From the hearts of everyone at the Garden, we … to put your flowers in a vase, give each stem a fresh cut. Cutting at an angle opens more area for the flower to take up water. If you can, cut the stem ends in water to prevent the cut from …
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… in this area along the Metra line allows us to ask a variety of questions about native bees. For instance: Are there fewer bees in highly urban areas? Are there different bees in natural … the lab at the Garden’s Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center and pinned for future study. In addition to collecting the bees, we also record all of the flowering plants … species level. When we have all of the bees identified, we can then start analyzing the data for my master’s thesis and answer some of the questions we have put forth. We suspect we will see …
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… there are many ways to remedy this SAD state of mind. HT ‘Simmering Spices’ supply list for 15 participants Let’s begin by talking about a few winter-themed Horticultural Therapy (HT) … ornament Another fun, and inexpensive, activity is our ‘ Holiday Greens Ornament ’ project. For this activity, participants get the opportunity to create a beautiful ornament out of fresh, … small acorns and pine cones to add more interest to the ornaments. Most of the craft supplies for the activity can be found at your local craft store. I use clear, plastic ornaments, fake …
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… and if available, pollen from a tree at another botanic garden. They will also reserve pollen for a potential future exchange. Find Wollemia nobilis in the Heritage Garden in the summer … found within the propagated plants, and that their offspring could lead to a stronger future for the species. However, scientists are only mildly optimistic. “In a world where there is so … The Garden’s Wollemia pine spends its summers in the Australia bed of the Heritage Garden. As for the voyage of discovery with this extraordinary plant, he says, it is to be continued… …
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… temperature inside the hood can be 95 degrees hotter than outside. Thermogenesis is the goal for skunk cabbages, titan arums , and other “warm-blooded” plants . The heat creates the … between a skunk (hence the name) and rotting meat. This turns skunk cabbage into a paradise for flies, which seek out rotting meat where they can lay their eggs. “It’s kind of got the … need to come here.’” And flies do come to skunk cabbage. They flit inside the hood looking for rotting meat, then emerge covered with pollen. Then they fly inside another skunk cabbage, …
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