Discover how to capture the beauty of the waterlilies and other aquatic plants found at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Learn which camera settings are best for capturing floral colors, soft focus, and water reflections. Begin with classroom instruction and then go out into the Garden to practice these concepts. A tripod and polarizing filter are recommended but not required. Class is limited to DSLR …
Type: Item Detail
This clump-forming ornamental grass grows to a height of about three feet with full sun to partial shade and moderate moisture conditions. Starting in July, fountains of airy, bristly, bottlebrush-type flowers appear, in shades of white, pink or reddish-brown. Native to eastern Asia and Australia, the species is marginally hardy in Illinois, but can become invasive in warmer areas. Fountain grass …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
Rose-coral flowers gracefully age to light pink and then often cream as the semi-double petals open up to display a golden boss of stamens. Fragrant and hardy, this reliable perennial tolerates the challenges of Chicago area climate and soils with panache. For best bloom plant in full sun and water through the first growing season until the plant has re-established a functional root system. Free …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
There's nothing secret about the bright red roses of 'Beauty Secret', even though she is a miniature. The small but very double bright red roses appear in clusters and bloom is prolific...and fragrant. What's more, they come into bloom early, getting a jump start on larger, more traditional garden roses. At just two feet tall or so, she'll fit nicely into a border or container. For best …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
A showy late-summer garden plant, it grows up to 2' tall. Fringed blue ray florets are 4" in diameter and surround the central disk, creating the appearance of an enormous cornflower. Regular deadheading will help provide a long succession of flowers, lasting from July until frost. Illinois gardeners should mulch this plant in winter to protect it from the cold. Stokes' aster, native to the …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
Q. Is there anything that I can do to prepare my trees and shrubs for winter? A. The best thing that can be done to prepare your plants for winter is to make sure they enter the cold winter months with plenty of moisture. It is easy and quite common to forget about woody plant maintenance as we clean up spent annuals and perennials. Established trees and shrubs require approximately one inch …
Type: Plant Info
In the calm and cold of the new year, it's tempting to hibernate and rest up for the tilling and planting to come. But January is prime time for another kind of preparation: learning all you can to make this growing season your best ever. Sure, you could stay home and read books or browse websites. But a winter or spring class or workshop is a better place to start. You can ask questions, get …
Type: Plant Info
Is laughter really the best medicine? Find out during this fun, interactive workshop that combines simulated laughter exercises with breathing techniques to produce a wide range of physical, psychological, and emotional benefits. Medical research provides sufficient data to show that even if a person pretends to laugh or act happy, his/her body responds. Participants experience enhanced mental …
Type: Item Detail
New! This seasonal change comes slowly to the Garden and usually requires the photographer to patiently wait for these small-scale subjects to appear. The quality of light is different in spring, when longer days are accompanied by brighter light. Learn the best perspectives for capturing nature as it reawakens. Macro/close-focusing lens and tripod are helpful but not required. Prerequisite: …
Type: Item Detail
Come on Barbie, let’s go Garden! With her super-busy schedule—plant conservation scientist, florist, farmer—Barbie had the best day ever at the real-world Chicago Botanic Garden recently. On a break from promoting her hit movie, she fell head-over-heels (don’t tell Ken) for our summer blooms and, of course, stopped to smell the perfectly pink roses. 💗 Barbie Visits the Chicago Botanic Garden …
Type: Blog
