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  • … books she read as a child. Divine has always loved reading and would sometimes get in trouble for it. The books she doesn't want to put down even today are cosmos-related or anything about … get the results that show you what may or may not be the problem. Last year, Alexis’s passion for procedures was ignited in his eighth-grade chemistry class, where he enjoyed doing … he said. “I feel like they can probably help us in the future, such as helping us care for our own environment.” Alexis imagines combining a career in mechanical engineering with his …
    Type: Blog
  • … striking presence. First, the naranjillas in this small garden bed, number 10, were put there for a reason. All but one of the plants in this bed are in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. … spherical like little oranges. Unfortunately, our growing season in Chicago is not long enough for naranjilla plants to produce the sweet fruits, which are juiced for beverages in Ecuador. Another interesting thing about the naranjilla—a detail that separates …
    Type: Blog
  • … want to do to protect plants. Move containers inside. If you’ve started to create containers for your back porch or balcony that contain summer crops, bring them inside. Even an uninsulated … fiberglass and plastic will degrade over time if they’re in direct sunlight, so check these for damage and move inside if you’re unsure of their durability. Your reused containers will last much longer if you have stored them out of the elements over winter. (Make a mental note for next winter.) You can use soil bags to lightly cover container plantings when frost …
    Type: Blog
  • … however, have their growing tissue at the base of the leaf and are, therefore, well suited for landscapes dominated by grazing animals (or lawn mowers). They can tolerate repeated clipping of the leaf tip and continue growing. Click images above for larger view. In addition to grasses, there are other grass-like plants that fall into the … or caryopsis where the ovary (female part of the flower) wall is fused to the seed within. For the Carices , male and female flowers are separate and the female flower is enclosed in a sac …
    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
  • … 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
  • … the word, but after painting with food, our campers are eager to “dig into” their creations. For little ones, this project is easy and fun to do with a grown-up and provides opportunities to … which would add a different texture. Check out this post by fourth-grade teacher Lindsay for  eight great spiralizer ideas . Prepare veggies by shredding in a food processor, and place …
    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