… 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 … art form; a properly arranged bouquet could convey quite a complex message. Naturally, books on the subject often had lavishly decorated or illustrated covers. An amazing collection of books … in Chicago, the collection includes more than 400 volumes from his extensive personal library on floral design. Moretz taught the floral arts for 45 years, traveled the world in pursuit of …
Type: Blog
… Jamie Berlin is the horticulturist for the Lavin Evaluation Garden and Green Roof Gardens at the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant … green roofs. Berlin has been cultivating her passion for plants since she was a child and went on camping trips with her father. She received a bachelor of science in forestry from Michigan … has been with the Garden since 2013. Previously, she interned at the Morris Arboretum, worked on restoration projects for the National Audubon Society, and collected native seed for the Seeds …
Type: Staff bio
… 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. … to see how these plants are related. When you’re in the garden, take a look at the flowers on these plants. You will see the similarities that characterize plants in the nightshade family. … petals fused together, so it is like one continuous petal? You’ll find the same bloom design on tomato and other nightshade flowers. The naranjilla won’t bloom until much later in the …
Type: Blog
… Perfect gardening days are sometimes followed by colder temperatures that can wreak havoc on your newly installed containers or new plants. Here are some of the things that the home … 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 … or your seedlings. You can also water vegetables that you may have planted. The ice will form on the outside of the leaf, rather than on the plant tissue itself. Not all containers are easy …
Type: Blog
… Chicago area and droughts happening across the country. Those kinds of changes have an impact on trees everywhere, including the Garden. At the Garden, peak fall color emerges around … 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 … a topic of conversation among the horticulture staff for the last couple of weeks and in the news,” said Tankersley. “The diminished [fall] displays are caused, in part, by the drought and …
Type: Blog
… turn to romance. Over the years, the Garden has been the site of many a romantic story for both staff and visitors. With summer in full swing—and romance in the air—here are a few more of our favorites. 2013: It Takes a Flash Mob Early on a 2013 summer evening, a seemingly random group of visitors slowly gathered at the lovely … Elizabeth Hubert Malott Japanese Garden. As a young couple approached, a few people walked out on the grass, took their places, cued the music, and began to dance. Popping up from benches and …
Type: Blog
… roses say, “I love you,” but 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 …
Type: Blog
… and festive way to show friends and relatives that you care about them. It’s a great project for kids who need something to do. (It’s also a way to use up some of those 20-year-old spices … a piece of stiff paper (construction paper or card stock) in half. Draw a design with glue on the front of the card. Try to use glue sparingly, because the paper will warp if the glue is too thick or wet. Sprinkle the herbs or spices of your choice on the wet glue. You can apply the spices by gently tapping them out of the jar onto the page, or …
Type: Blog
… of Chicago and in Lake County. The Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden has inspired visitors for decades to grow their own vegetables. The COVID-19 health crisis has changed how we get our … the concept of “social distancing” in harvesting crews and packing plants is not feasible on the scale needed to feed our population. That presents challenges for those on the front lines of our food chain. In addition, supply chains and other economic factors may …
Type: Blog
… the Chicago Botanic Garden. (Java, the taller of our Titan Twins, began blooming at 8:28 p.m. on May 30.) We never really considered the possibility that we might have two plants developing … inflorescences at the same time. But it did not take too long to brainstorm some ideas on what we hope to learn from this rare possibility. The plants have been named Java and Sumatra, … two of the major islands in the nation of Indonesia. Amorphophallus titanum , the Latin name for the titan arum species, is native to the island of Sumatra. The corms of the Titan Twins were …
Type: Blog
