… hand in hand? A romantic picnic need not be formal or fancy. The secret to making it romantic is a personal touch—something that both reflects your personality and makes the evening more fun. … of our favorite ways to make picnic fare more special—whether it’s homemade or store-bought—is with edible flowers. Gathered from your garden or from a trusted source (no florists or … and dramatic colors (including near-black), and are shaped like little hearts. Their flavor is sweet and perfumed. Conversation starter: the word “pansy” comes from the French “ pensée ,” …
Type: Blog
… Spring is done and we’ve finally moved into summer bulb season! The annual beds have been replanted with … for the shade garden because they provide both structure and color at a time when little else is blooming in the shade. The leaves emerge in a layered whorl, giving the plants a pagoda-like … of those beginning to bloom in bold shades of pink, red, yellow, and orange. Lilium ‘Nepera’ is a vibrant orange martagon hybrid that lights up a shady corner. Pale yellow foxtail lilies ( …
Type: Blog
… Home gardeners can sympathize: not every seed that is planted grows. This truth extends to restored prairies that are grown from seed mixes, … development has left us with less than one-tenth of one percent of prairieland, which is vital part of our ecosystem. Today, the prairie can be found only in small patches, and … to a large swath of acreage in the suburbs, she and her team visited each restored prairie site to compare the plant communities to the mix of seeds that were planted there initially. “I …
Type: Blog
… cabinet. Currently, I am in the second year of my research of the vanilla orchid. Vanilla is an exciting plant to study because it grows as a vine with two different types of roots. These … in the wild can germinate without one or more mycorrhizal fungi. As a scientist, my goal is to study the interactions that the vanilla orchid has with these fungi as they mature. This is important because most vanilla farms are monocultures—it is easier to obtain clones from …
Type: Blog
… attracts a wasp that hunts the spider as potential food for its own larvae. Thus the wasp is fooled into landing on the flower—and picking up its pollen—while hunting. So cheeky! A … (Check out more on orchids fooling mating bees with this famous video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-h8I3cqpgnA .) Oncidium Sharry Baby ‘Sweet Fragrance’ has dancing skirts and chocolate fragrance. I’m Happy Just to Dance with You Before this dance is through I think I’ll love you too. I’m so happy when you dance with me. The most …
Type: Blog
… yourself back from buying every type you see on the shelf, you also know that this feeling is fleeting. Those beautiful colors and unusual varieties are in their prime now, when the hot … couldn’t pick a peck of them. You have to pickle them yourself. Luckily, pickling peppers is perfectly painless. Hot or not: Just how spicy do you want your peppers? Go ahead and take a … is hot. Pour out water just before you fill them with peppers and brine. A basic brine for a 1 pint jar contains the following: 2 cups vinegar (white distilled vinegar preserves the pepper …
Type: Blog
… in Chicago? How many different species? We’ve learned that the short answer to this question is: “Yes, there are wild bees in Chicago, and there are more than 80 species!” But is there anything special about these bees that allow them to persist in harsh urban …
Type: Research
… order to satisfy their chill requirement. Simply defined, the accumulation of chill units (CU) is a cumulative measure of the number of hours trees spend between 32 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit. … meet those requirements, barring extreme fluctuation like last year. Our current cool weather is right on track and looking positive for growers. Knowing a fruit tree’s chill requirement is a tool for choosing the right plants for your garden. Come to the garden for a quiet early …
Type: Blog
… most beloved nature poems in the English language. The poem, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” is a reminder of the ability of the natural world to lift spirits. Wordsworth wrote the poem on … Boyce, the Garden’s director of living plant documentation, even knows where each daffodil is— Narcissus ‘Bittern’, yellow petaled daffodils with orange cups, is under the crabapple trees in the Graham Bulb Garden, masses of large-cupped daffodils are on …
Type: Blog
… Bartram’s Garden, once visited by notables such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, is now a 45-acre National Historic Landmark in Philadelphia. “It’s an amazing place,” said Owen. … the work of artists who created works that included wood from the felled trees. Each piece is meant to celebrate Bartram’s desire to share his passion for trees and other plants. An … the natural world and in collecting and documenting the human species,” said Owen. “Nature is a vast source of that fascination.” …
Type: Blog
