… I taught a fall cornucopia class at the Garden, and I had the pleasure of appearing on WGN-TV with tips for making an edible fruit-and-vegetable cornucopia. This week, I thought I’d share a … artichoke, green apples, stems of hypericum, a small bunch of long-stemmed mums, sunflowers with long stems, baby corn, dried yarrow, sweetgum leaves on a twig with seedpods, and a variety of nuts. For an edible cornucopia, your ingredient list might be: an …
Type: Blog
… line along a stem are from an ash—boo yah! OK, now do it without any leaves. And yes, you can…with a little help from Jim Jabcon, assistant ecologist for natural areas. The other day, Jabcon … Still, there are some distinctive shapes. Does the tree have thick branches, even at its top with a fearsome, gnarly look worthy of a horror movie? Jabcon nodded at a towering behemoth that could have played a role in The Exorcist : it was an oak. But let’s start with a major clue: bark. Jabcon cast a practiced eye—an artist’s eye, in fact, for his degree is …
Type: Blog
… 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 orchids will do just about anything to attract a pollinator…along with a few soundtrack suggestions. A spray of Brassia rex “spider” blooms await pollinating … (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
… How well do you know the Chicago Botanic Garden? Find out with our mystery photo challenge! Guess these objects and where to find them with our close-up snapshots. Click on the picture to reveal the answer to each clue below. Clue: Right past here, you’ll find six unique rooms filled with flowers, herbs, and more. A nostalgic sense of romance and beauty washes all around. Within, …
Type: Blog
… could be difficult to reverse. Cheatgrass, which is an aggressive, invasive plant with a dense root system, is in the lead and spreading quickly across the west. Native plants are … a leg (or root) up. She hypothesizes that a carefully assembled team of native plant seedlings with just the right root traits may be able to work together to outpace their competition. Alicia … the more robust the root system was in a native grass, the better it was at competing with cheatgrass. Now, “I’m looking more at how native plants behave in a community, as opposed to …
Type: Blog
… plant collection’s database to include 37 new information fields that would work well with the app, from soil type to bloom time to sun requirements. Many of the fields were added as check boxes, to make them easier to sort through with the app. It was then that he recruited another 80 volunteers to help gather and enter all of … the radar, was the smallest group of volunteers who handled the intricacies of GIS mapping with guidance from Veronica Harry-Jackson, a Garden GIS specialist. “We wouldn’t be able to pull …
Type: Blog
… tool for your kids, as well as a great source of fresh eggs. But what do chickens have to do with the environment? There are a number of ways that having hens in your backyard can be environmentally beneficial. Poultry Pest Patrol Jennifer Murtoff of Home to Roost, LLC with one of her pullets Forget those nasty pesticides! Chickens are omnivores by nature and … amount of organic waste. A mother hen teaches her chicks to forage. By fir0002 | flagstaffotos.com.au [ GFDL 1.2 ], via Wikimedia Commons An adult chicken eats around 9 pounds of food per …
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… season can follow these guidelines: As long as the plant looks healthy, continue to provide it with even moisture and warm temperatures in a bright location, out of direct sun. In six to eight … and place the plant in a south-facing window. Begin to fertilize the plant twice a month with a dilute 20-20-20 or 10-10-10 mix. New growth should begin. Begin pinching new stems back … By the end of September, the plant must be placed in a completely dark closet or covered with a box every night from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m.—with no exceptions. After 7 a.m., it can be placed …
Type: Blog
… orientalis ‘Elegantisima’ and Thuja occidentalis ‘Golden Globe’ provide a burst of color with Picea pungens ‘Montgomery’ and other evergreens providing a calming backdrop. Arborvitae ( … varieties turn shades of bronze or deep green. Pines ( Pinus sp.) also provide a winter show with species such as Pinus sosnowskyi and Pinus sylvestris showcasing powder blue needles and … and giving the plant a clean, tidy appearance. They also grow into a classic pyramid shape with little to no pruning, making them great for low-maintenance settings. Other firs have long, …
Type: Blog
… an inch from the top edge and spaced evenly around the circumference. (Some people do this with four strings, but I find that using three strings makes it easier to balance the fruit.) Push a piece of yarn through each hole and tie it off. Hold the grapefruit firmly with one hand while you poke the skewer through the rind. Be careful not to poke your finger! … from the top. (The ends will probably be uneven, and that is all right.) Make a loop knot with those top ends, so you will be able to hang it from a branch. Finally, fill the fruit with …
Type: Blog
