… We gathered around a table at the Garden View Café the other day to taste something that only one of us had ever tasted before: powdered orchid roots. A … here courtesy of Ayse’s mother, Figen Ormancioglu, who kindly brought it with her on a recent visit. (The family surname translates as “son of the forester”—Ayse’s love of botany is in her … “Chai,” “junipers,” and “I’ll have another glass,” were three answers; the flavor is hard for American taste buds to define. Sweet and savory and spicy all at once, there’s a note of bark …
Type: Blog
… they relied on pawpaw fruits.” Explorers Lewis and Clark subsisted on pawpaws alone for three days during their explorations. Thomas Jefferson planted the trees at Monticello and sent the seeds to Europe. And, indigenous people from the East Coast to the Midwest relied on the fall fruits as an important part of their diet. The pawpaws’ growing …
Type: Plant Info
… It is hard not to be enamored by the incredible flowering diversity at the Chicago Botanic Garden during Pride … as echinacea and milkweed, there is an overabundance of blooms, making it a joyful month to visit our gardens. It would be easy to draw parallels between the rainbow of summer colors and … sometimes a moth, fly, or even the wind. The diversity of pollinators might be the very reason for the diversity of flowers; more interactions beget more diversity. Regardless of the cause, …
Type: Blog
… My Great Aunt Lila used to say that plants bring out the goodness in people. Her house in the Hudson Valley was full of exotic tropicals and orchids that she cared for meticulously. And yet she was always ready to give them away when anyone showed an interest in one, which for me was every visit. She would carefully divide an established plant that she had nurtured for decades, wrap up …
Type: Blog
… don’t put away your trowel, shovel, hose or clippers just yet. Autumn is another great time for planting and many garden centers have a fresh inventory of trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals … suddenly soar and drought sometimes kicks in. As we ease into fall, night temperatures start to drop, but the soil will stay warm for some time. Planting in fall gives many trees and shrubs … seasons are based on the annual temperature cycle. Take a break from planting and come visit the Garden to see what’s in bloom . Nina Koziol is a garden writer and horticulturist who …
Type: Plant Info
… Here, Garden experts offer some suggestions for the small garden, whether an urban backyard or a rooftop, a border around a townhouse patio, … spaces can be dramatic or charming or meditative. In small urban gardens, your goal may be to block a less desirable view or soften the building next door. In that case, according to Tim … botany, plant conservation, and landscape design, in formats from rare books to e-books. Visit Wednesday through Sunday, from noon to 4 p.m. To learn more about small-space gardening, …
Type: Plant Info
… Tom Soulsby, the horticultural impresario of roses at the Chicago Botanic Garden, would like to debunk the unfair rumors swirling around the Rosaceae family. “Our goal of presenting plants at the Garden is to disabuse everyone of the myths out there that roses are hard,” says Soulsby, senior horticulturist for the Krasberg Rose Garden , Heritage Garden, and Linden Allée. “Over a couple decades ago, the …
Type: Blog
… For many of us, part of the joy of spring is heading out to the forest preserves and seeing the … as threatened or endangered by the state or federal government. All are rare, either due to loss of habitat, removal of fire from the ecosystem, or competition from invasive plants such … them from extinction." For more information on plant conservation science at the Garden, visit chicagobotanic.org/research. …
Type: Plant Info
… An Herbal Fix for Winter Doldrums The winter solstice arrives on December 21. It marks the official start of … the possibility of snow, and cabin fever—the spring seems far away. That’s all the more reason to have a little fun with herbs. Here are some do-it-yourself ideas for using these aromatic … sachets. This traditional craft makes an attractive gift as fresheners for dresser drawers. Buy the small decorative cloth bags to fill and tie with a pretty ribbon; or if you’re crafty, …
Type: Plant Info
… The secret is out; visitors to the Chicago Botanic Garden have unprecedented access to plant information, guides, and tours … keeps the wheels turning? The ability to access this information in real time during a Garden visit is what makes the app so special, according to Boyce Tankersley , the Garden’s director of … that people like to find other things at the Garden, so we created a new second database for the app. It has points of interest at the Garden, like water fountains, classrooms, …
Type: Blog
