… Which five will you pick? Happy New Year, everyone! While January is the month to plan and dream about your yard and garden, smart gardeners know that a wish list … Swap seeds with fellow gardeners at our Seed Swap . Become a volunteer for Plants of Concern . Get to know orchids at the Orchid Show . Build a raised bed. Spring resolutions Plant a fruit … . Invite your kids into the garden. Happy gardening in the new year! Karen Zaworski is a garden writer and photographer who lives and gardens in Oak Park, Illinois . …
Type: Plant Info
… hard—most can live up to a month—as long as you follow some simple rules of evergreen thumb. Get it? Here's how to get the most life out of your tree in a few easy steps. Pick a fresh tree … at a nursery or retail lot, never buy a bagged tree. It’s harder to know whether the tree is fresh if it’s wrapped in netting. The best way to tell which pre-cut tree will last longest is … tree at a location less than 20 minutes from your home, ask for the tree stump to be cut ½ to 1 inch while at the retailer. If you’re commuting more than 20 minutes with tree in tow, make the …
Type: Blog
… Garden. At the Garden, peak fall color emerges around mid-October. This year’s fall color show is not a drastic change, but the colors are a little “off,” according to Boyce Tankersley, … “The progression of species looks about right this year, but the quality of the experience is a little ‘off,’” Tankersley said. “For instance, the cherry [tree] outside my office—in a good year—is a mass of light yellow leaves. This year, some leaves have already dropped, some are the light …
Type: Blog
… and beyond. Find the Perfect Moment for Picking The most important step in drying hydrangeas is knowing when to cut them. “The best time to cut white flowering hydrangeas is when the top or center flowers begin to show a slight green tint,” said Heather Sherwood, … bloom in colors, such as pink, blue, purple, red, green-blushed, or multicolored, the timing is similar. “Wait until the flowers have a papery texture and their color begins to shift—often …
Type: Blog
… to a rich buttery gold. These carefree shrubs will grow in almost any soil type as long as it is not extremely dry. A bonus—deer tend to leave them alone. Meet Some of the Garden's … spring; flowering will take place the following year. To keep the plant looking good, prune 1/3 of the oldest canes at ground level immediately after flowering. Discover the forsythia … Information Deer Resistant Plants Prune Trees and Shrubs Tree and Shrub Care Checklist Get Crafty Forcing Flowering Branches Spring-flowering Branches Indoors So Classy: Spring Wreaths …
Type: Plant Info
… Winter is no stranger to Chicago and can sometimes feel like a less-than-pleasant guest. But as the days get shorter and colder, we set our sights on the gifts of winter and look forward to holidays, … or wrap presents in the comics section of the newspaper. Try out some of these ideas and get inspiration for more on December 15 at our free Gifts from the Garden drop-in. It is from 10 …
Type: Blog
… actually reduce our carbon footprint. For example, watering and mowing less often generally is more beneficial for grass. Tom Tiddens, plant health care supervisor at the Chicago Botanic … grass. First Things First A beautiful lawn starts with the right environment. Enough sunlight is key, as well as at least 8 inches of good, fertile soil. If you don't know your soil's … rainwater in barrels as your first watering resource. When it comes to grass seed, you get what you pay for. Invest in high-quality seeds, but don't limit yourself to one type; lawns …
Type: Plant Info
… Saving your own tomato seeds is an enjoyable and economical way to prepare for the future while preserving a part of the past. … but many seeds come equipped with mechanisms that stall germination until the time is right. Without the inhibitors in the gel sack, nothing would prevent a tomato seed from … cool water over them. Swish them around to allow the gel to run out of the sieve. You won't get all of the gel off, but a thorough rinsing should be sufficient. Let the seeds drip dry, then …
Type: Plant Info
… love to watch spring unfold in gardens everywhere—but at the Chicago Botanic Garden, my heart is in the water. As the Woman’s Board Curator of Aquatics, I like to point out the signs of … a short, curious-looking purple flower. The Budburst plant app would tell you that the plant is a prairie wildflower known as prairie smoke (Geum triflorum) —the flower really does look like … farther downslope, you might see another short flower, this one vibrant yellow. This plant is marsh marigold (Caltha palustris) and should not be confused with the insidious invader lesser …
Type: Blog
… Obenchain describes it as an “I’m-happy-to-see-you-because-I’m-going-to-eat you” look. “I get a lot of, ‘Wow! I could never do that!’” says Obenchain, who’s helped keep the Garden’s … the shape of the pumpkin has the idea. The pumpkin determines what you’re going to carve. How is it going to sit? Is it a “Bert” or an “Ernie”? (A Bert has a more elongated shape, while an … ever carved? An Atlantic Giant squash ( Cucurbita maxima ‘Atlantic Giant’). It topped out at 1,010 pounds. (The record-breaker could cover a small table top. Obenchain needed a hand-pruning …
Type: Blog
