… 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
… 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
… flower was all the rage. A language of flowers emerged. Books appeared that set the standard for flower meanings and guided the sender and the recipient in their floral dialogue. Victorians … volumes from his extensive personal library on floral design. Moretz taught the floral arts for 45 years, traveled the world in pursuit of the history and knowledge of flowers, and authored … rare—those are part of the library’s Rare Book Collection. Librarians aren’t often at a loss for words, yet when I asked Lenhardt Library director Leora Siegel about the importance of the …
Type: Blog
… Immature bald eagles, with their mottled black and white plumage, can easily be mistaken for ospreys. In summer, visitors can watch an osprey (Pandion haliaetus) —with its 6-foot … fiercely defends their territory and brings food to his mate. The young remain in the nest for about two months, begging constantly for food. Then they take their first flights off the platform. Watching an osprey grab a meal can …
Type: Blog
… horticulturists at the Chicago Botanic Garden transcend tradition on Valentine’s Day. Read on for thoughtful, unusual, and homemade floral gift ideas. Spouses can evoke their wedding day by … outdoor floriculturist at the Garden. Tim would use sweet peas, freesias, and delphinium for a nostalgic, sweetly scented gift. Tropical flowers from spots such as Hawaii and Florida can … on it. Flowering plants such as kalanchoe, African violets, cyclamen, and azaleas can bloom for weeks and serve double duty in the summer garden. Tim Pollak likes giving indoor blooming …
Type: Blog
… home.” And Michael Young’s Night Birds, with their neon-lit feathers and abstract style, “aims for a sense of emotional connection—harmony, growth, energy—and simultaneously promotes unity … the people you came with...I love that you’ll be able to see yourself in it.” Woodford, known for murals and exhibitions, said the Pride & Promise tree is a first and “full of hope for the future that we really need right now. It’s also something that’s for Chicago. What’s more …
Type: Blog
