… supervisor, and grounds manager—before he became the director of horticulture in 1996. Johnson is an instructor at the Joseph Regenstein, Jr. School of the Chicago Botanic Garden. He writes a … a weekly gardening tips column for the Daily Herald , and responds to other media request. He is a regular speaker at the American Public Garden Association's annual meetings. Johnson's … his grandfather maintain two large vegetable gardens each summer. Johnson's garden at home is low maintenance and consists primarily of mixed shrub and herbaceous borders. …
Type: Staff bio
… chunks of meat onto rosemary skewers for a delicious infused kabob. Genius! A sage brush is perfect for sweeping marinades onto grilled chicken. After the meat is cooked, snip the herb into softened butter to create sage butter to serve along with it at the table. A beautiful plant in the garden, sage is most familiar as the flavoring in stuffing—but it makes a great grill brush, too! After using …
Type: Blog
… garden or borders and occasionally fills a vase or two in the kitchen. The name Helianthus is derived from the Greek helios for sun and anthus for a flower. Vincent van Gogh paid tribute … turn their heads toward the sun, tracking it as it moves across the sky. This unusual behavior is called heliotropism, and it is almost magical. Later, as the flowers grow heavy with maturing seeds, they face east and …
Type: Blog
… the seed germinates, the bacteria grows and infects the young seedling. Don’t worry! There is a way to save your seeds from this cruel fate. We use two methods to help prevent disease in … heat treatment. Bleach treatment Pumpkin seeds (top), tomato seeds (below). Bleach treatment is easy. If you’re working with squash or melon family members, asparagus, or zinnia seeds, you … and lettuce. A few common household supplies make this an easy task. Your first step is to collect your materials. You will need a work space with bleach, water, measuring cups or …
Type: Blog
… I study biodiversity and restoration in the tallgrass prairie. My post-doctoral research is focused on seed mix design for restoration from both a social and ecological perspective. … though observation and experimentation, I am determining how seed mixes become prairies, that is, which planted seeds and species are likely to germinate, emerge and establish in restored …
Type: Staff bio
… Wolfsbane is a beautiful—and poisonous—fall-blooming perennial. It also has a colorful history associated … at unsuspecting enemies. One thing both Hollywood and horticulturists can agree on: wolfsbane is a potent plant. Ingesting wolfsbane is typically fatal. Arends azure monkshood ( Aconitum carmichaelii ‘Arendsii’) Lamarck …
Type: Blog
… [insulated] jeans.” She’ll pull on a tank top and place two long-sleeved tops over it. “One is thermal and tight—the other is a Garden work shirt. Next, my work hoodie and my [insulated] jacket are the outer layer.” (I’m feeling toasty already.) Ayse Pogue, senior horticulturist Covering the neck is a no-brainer. “Scarves are a must. I also cover whatever hat I’m wearing with a hood to …
Type: Blog
… unity while remaining personally meaningful to each viewer.” How they found their inspiration is as varied as the artists. Michael Young's Night Birds Matthew Hoffman’s Joy sculpture Tanner … challenge? Choosing joy over hope. “I love both words. But hope only has one “p” stem and joy is really nice because it had two big feet at the ends of it and joy won out.” Based on Hoffman’s … & Promise tree design Tree topper design The tree, topped with a 5-foot-tall Chicago star, is made of stacked rows of mirrored and matte-finished stars. Each row is affixed to a circle of …
Type: Blog
… primrose, and listen to the water trickle into an eighteenth-century lead cistern—the feeling is as timeless as the tiny thyme plants growing between the hand-pressed bricks. So how do we … sure the Helen and Richard Thomas English Walled Garden withstands the rigors of time? Work is underway to enhance the English Walled Garden’s magestical tapestry. Dedicated in 1991 by … Garden features a formal study of contrast in texture and color. Like all gardens, this one is subject to constant change. Some plants overgrow their space and need pruning. Trees cast …
Type: Blog
… the hottest year since global temperature tracking began in 1880. If that sounds familiar, it is: It was the third record-breaking warm year in a row. And the warmth continued into 2017. “Is it hot outside?” Many of us in the United States experienced unseasonably warm winters with … on any of our target species. If you want to make more of a commitment, you can create a site location—your backyard, for example—that will allow you make observations on the same plants …
Type: Blog
