As you walk near McGinley Pavilion this winter, you may notice that the white stems of the birch trees are especially clean and bright. That's thanks to six Chicago Botanic Garden volunteers who rolled up their sleeves and gently scrubbed the lower limbs of 30 whitespire birch trees to reveal their brilliant stems. While it's not necessary for the health of the trees, the task does make the trees …
Type: Plant Info
… some background. Most perennials are deciduous. They go dormant when their above-ground parts die in the fall and then rely on the energy and nutrient reserves stored in underground roots …
Type: Blog
… to do its thing. Since it’s a tropical plant, consider this as an annual in Chicago; it will die off once the cold fall air sweeps in. Lemongrass Ginger Tea This recipe is the one I make …
Type: Blog
… to build a bat house? Construction details can be found at the Bat Conservation International website at batcon.org . Another local flier, this very tame flying squirrel enjoyed a snack of …
Type: Blog
Summer is just around the corner, and summer is the time for color. This class presents the many ways plants can be combined and mixed to enhance the color in your garden beds and container gardens. Learn how plants provide color not only from their flowers, but from foliage as well. Discover how to use the trendy black, gold, silver, variegated, and other colored plants available, and which ones …
Type: Item Detail
New! Small space gardens can be highly productive and attractive spaces. This class will cover successful practices and systems that dramatically increase garden productivity. In addition to better known topics such as season extension and succession planting, we will cover lesser known topics such as choosing the best cultivars for small space gardens, setting up a proper soil/fertility program, …
Type: Item Detail
Gardeners with heavy, clay, or even tainted soil might consider constructing a raised bed outlined with durable, untreated lumber. The boxed bed is then filled with a perfect, lightweight mix of topsoil, compost, and leaf mold. Other small-space gardeners who choose containers to grow their veggies and herbs can use this same mix for their pots. Any gardener who suspects the soil is contaminated …
Type: Plant Info
Growing to 20 or 30 feet in height, paperbark maple has an upright oval habit. It makes a wonderful specimen plant. Its flowers are not very showy, but it does have good fall color varying from orange to bronze, russet-red,or red. This small ornamental maple is highly valued for its lovely dense growth habit, interesting trifoliate leaves, and cinnamon-brown bark. The peeling bark, one of the …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
Snow-in-summer is a diminutive creeping plant that works best along the edge of a flower bed or in a rock garden, where it will not be shaded by other plants. With small, densely growing silver leaves creeping along the ground, it is attractive even when it isn't covered with glistening white 5-petalled flowers in late spring to early summer. It is very cold hardy and tolerant of poor soils. This …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
SOMBRERO® Tres Amigos Mix Coneflowers The flowers on this cultivar change color as they age on stocky, well-branched plants. The flowers open a coral-peachy color, mature to a rosy pink, and fade to burgundy. No need to mix and match cultivars to get that perfect blend of compatible colors in the flower bed. Plant in full sun and well-drained soils, and protect the young foliage from rabbits for …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
