… about the coming bloom from the docents posted there, one of the most frequently ask questions is, “How could you tell this time that Spike was a flower?” How could we tell that Spike was … Even the most experienced botanists have a hard time determining whether a titan arum shoot is a flower or a leaf at first. But soon enough, the clues start to add up. An Amorphophallus … titanum plant looks leafy, unlike the smooth spadix that emerges from a flower bud. Spike is 12 years old. We know from other botanic gardens and conservatories that titan arums take a …
Type: Blog
… Sunshine is the latest corpse flower at the Chicago Botanic Garden to bloom. A member of the Aroid plant … ( Arisaema triphyllum ) Skunk cabbage ( Symplocarpus foetidus ) Photo by Jacob Burns Not only is it widespread, the members are also adapted to a number of environments from hot, humid … forests; temperate and tropical wetlands; Mediterranean climates; and deserts. The Araceae is one of the larger plant families, containing 117 different genera. The Garden features 27 of …
Type: Blog
… made of sugars. Even plant cell walls are composed of a substance called cellulose , which is a compound sugar. Sugars from plants are the basis of our food chain. Our favorite dietary … from, let’s use some sucrose to make a treat. The common sugar beet, Beta vulgaris (this one is cultivar ‘Bull’s Blood’), is the source of our refined white sugar—not sugarcane! Rock candy is pure, crystallized sucrose, …
Type: Blog
… grown. Here are some tips for growing these beautiful plants in the garden. Selecting a site Pick a sunny spot where, optimally, the plants will receive at least six hours of sunlight. … get their “feet” wet, the area should not accumulate water and should drain well. If the soil is clay-like, it should be amended with leaf mulch, compost, or peat moss. Since dahlias should be planted about 18 inches apart, it is easy to determine the number of plants the area will accommodate. Planting You can plant your …
Type: Blog
… ever before, and discover vital information. “One of the problems we have with soil science is that you can’t see into it so you really depend on a lot of techniques and methods to work out … for “fungus” and “root.” If climate change results in more intense rainfall and drought—as is predicted by climate change scientists—mycorrhizal fungi will also play an important role in … helping to filter gases and air that move through the system. Of growing interest, is also the fact that fungi could have a major role in soil carbon sequestration . Soil carbon …
Type: Blog
… The flowers are gone, the trees are bare, now what to photograph? Birds, of course! Winter is a great time to get some fabulous shots of winter birds. One huge bonus is that there are no leaves on the trees and the birds are much easier to see! There are the … this species!” birds, like crossbills, snowy owls, bald eagles, and bohemian waxwings. That is the fun part—you never know what you will find on any given day. That is why I go out every …
Type: Blog
… and made recommendations for improvement to the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL). BHL is a group of natural history and botanical libraries that work together to digitize books and … Alicia Esquivel, Pamela McClanahan, Marissa Kings, and Katie Mika My particular project is to define how much biodiversity literature is in the public domain and how much of it still needs to be added to BHL. This content analysis …
Type: Blog
… love fresh grapefruit—and birds. So we decided to keep the rind and make a bird feeder. This is a fun, easy project. The grapefruit sections have been cut and eaten; the rind is ready to become our bird feeder. To make a grapefruit bird feeder, you will need the … Hold the grapefruit up by all three strings and adjust the length of the strands so the fruit is not tipping. When it is balanced, knot the strings together about 4 or 5 inches from the top. …
Type: Blog
… Even when snow is falling and temperatures plummet, I’m working on my backyard vegetable garden. I might not be … planning, you can harvest something from your garden from April through October. The trick is to gather what you need now and start dreaming so you can get a jump on things as soon as the weather warms. That’s what our experts do at the Chicago Botanic Garden. “Timing is everything," says Lisa Hilgenberg, horticulturist, Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden. Now is …
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… No rain, then too much rain, then...this is a challenging year for gardening. For those who garden in northeastern Illinois, Here are some … the soil. One of the most important things a gardener can do to address both of these extremes is to routinely add organic matter to planting beds. This helps condition and loosen the soil so … on hot, sunny days to help reduce evaporation, but they perk back up at night. When the soil is so saturated with water that it displaces tiny air pockets that roots require, the plant may …
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