… Tom Tiddens has worked at the Chicago Botanic Garden in the Plant Health Care department for 25 years. In 1994, Tiddens was promoted to supervisor of the department. Since then, the … lead arborist in managing tree care and risk assessment. He is also the containment director for the Butterflies & Blooms exhibition and is responsible for butterfly health and management as … Plant Network, which unifies botanic gardens in an effort to monitor for and provide education on high consequence pest and pathogens that threaten the nation's flora, agricultural crops, and …
Type: Staff bio
… David Cantwell is the assistant horticulturist for the Garden Wall and Berm—the exterior plantings at the Chicago Botanic Garden's signature … he was promoted to Grounds department crew leader and then in 2008 to assistant horticulturist for the Garden Wall and Berm. He also teaches for the Joseph Regenstein, Jr. School of the … in the garden, where he developed an appreciation for plants and hardscapes. He has served on the village of Wheeling's Plan Commission for landscape design review. He has designed gardens …
Type: Staff bio
… Garden Graham Bulb Garden, Aquatic Garden Viburnum Walk Liz Rex is the horticulturist for the Crescent, which welcomes visitors entering the Garden from the Visitor Center; and the … area where music events such as Dancin' Sprouts and Hot Summer Nights are held. Rex also cares for the Native Plant Garden, which showcases plants native to Illinois, and the Landscape Garden, … became responsible for maintaining the Landscape Garden in 2013.Rexenjoys teaching hands-on gardening classes such as Gardening Techniques and Holiday Centerpiece Arranging. She also …
Type: Staff bio
… orioles nest about 20 to 40 feet high at the end of a branch. Their preferred locations are on cottonwoods, American elms, and maples. In his Life Histories of North American Birds … 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 … a series of chatters and scolding notes, which can alert you to their presence. As summer goes on, the orioles seem to disappear, spending most of their time feeding young and less time …
Type: Blog
… crumbling or dripping water. Roll all of the mixture into balls; then let the balls dry on newspaper or waxed paper for two or three days. Don’t worry about smoothness—rustic-looking seed balls are as interesting … of potting soil (sink it down just a bit into the soil), or placed, randomly or intentionally, on bare soil in the garden. A rainy day is the perfect day to “plant” seed balls—rain helps to …
Type: Blog
… Dye-ing for nature-based fun? Forgo the food coloring and kits, and go for naturally safe, naturally kid-friendly, and naturally beautiful “homemade” egg dyes instead. Dyes can be used on hard-boiled or fancy blown-out eggs. Most of what you need is probably already in your own … and secure with rubber bands for marbled looks after coloring. Write names, etc. in wax crayon on eggs before dyeing: magic! Step 4: Embrace the imperfect! Naturally dyed eggs sometimes …
Type: Blog
… Chester Jankowski, Jr., is the senior horticulturist for the Grunsfeld Children’s Growing Garden and the Kleinman Family Cove at the Chicago Botanic Garden. He is responsible for designing and maintaining the gardens, and working with the education staff to make all the … an outdoor classroom filled with nature for children to observe and study. He also rotates on weekend duty to water gardens during the growing season, and to indoor displays for Wonderland …
Type: Staff bio
… that remain green through the winter, like pine, spruce, fir, and Douglas fir. Conifers , on the other hand, are a classification of trees that produce seeds inside cones. These trees … in the Heritage Garden have been pruned at the top and look like candelabras.) The needles on these trees change color in fall—the same way deciduous trees like maples and oaks do—and drop … found in many places around the Garden. Bald cypress ( Taxodium distichum ) is called “bald” for a reason—its needles change color and fall in autumn just like deciduous trees such as maples …
Type: Blog
… As the Curator at the Chicago Botanic Garden, Jess Goehler is responsible for the acquisition, development, use, research, and interpretation of the Garden’s … trials and new releases from Chicagoland Grows® Plant Introduction . Jess has a focus on building and managing the nationally accredited collections of Baptisia, Geranium, Spiraea , and Quercus (multi-site) and displaying non-hardy plant collections for public enjoyment. Originally, a native of northeast Ohio, Jess has earned a BA in Plant …
Type: Staff bio
… fact, it occurs abundantly in high-quality remnants of natural prairie. Yet, it is legendary for putting up a fight for those of us who try to establish it into new prairie plantings. Not … L. canescens . To be incompatible means a stigma will not accept pollen produced from stamens on the same plant. Only pollen from stamens of a different plant will fertilize the stigma, which … association the roots of L. canescens have with mycorrhizal fungi. The majority of plants on earth engage in this beneficial relationship. A special group of fungi called mycorrhizae …
Type: Blog
