… An old friend is back in front of the Visitor Center. The Bloom Cart shows you a curated selection of what’s in … of where to find the five featured bouquets. But there’s more to it than that. The Bloom Cart is meant to introduce you to the Garden–to start conversations, to steer you to unexpected places, to introduce you to new plants (or reintroduce you to old ones). It is an old-school signpost of sorts, made of pine by the Garden’s carpenters, with handwritten …
Type: Blog
… crack clay pots.) Mint needs at least four hours of sunlight per day, so pick a sunny spot. It is tolerant of most soils and weather conditions—just be sure it gets some water every week to … julep, but it’s also perfect for any mint sauce or jelly. Banana mint (Mentha arvensis) is part of the spearmint family, but grown mostly for its incredible smell. It still maintains a good flavor in cooking, though. Peppermint (Mentha piperita) is most often used for its peppermint oil. Peppermint family plants are strong flavored and best …
Type: Blog
… framework. Asian plants enrich our tables as well. The list of culinary vegetables from Asia is exhaustive. Wheat and barley originated in western Asia, and rice in the east. Fruits include … domesticated apples trace back to central Asian species. One of the Garden’s core values is the belief that beautiful gardens and natural environments are fundamentally important to the … from genetic resources. The ethical collection and propagation of plants from other places is a form of what’s termed ex situ conservation that many public gardens, including the Chicago …
Type: Blog
… Plant Garden Farwell Landscape Garden Graham Bulb Garden, Aquatic Garden Viburnum Walk Liz Rex is the horticulturist for the Crescent, which welcomes visitors entering the Garden from the Visitor Center; and the Esplanade, which is the lawn area where music events such as Dancin' Sprouts and Hot Summer Nights are held. Rex … Plant Garden, which showcases plants native to Illinois, and the Landscape Garden, which is a designed at a smaller scale to be relevant to the typical homeowner. She is also responsible …
Type: Staff bio
… Pondering the Prairie Series A weevil is a type of beetle. It typically has an elongated head that appears as a snout. In fact, its other name is snout beetle. Weevils, or snout beetles, make up what many believe to be the largest family of … weevils in a blog that features prairie plants? The relationship between plants and insects is a very close one. Insects can be very beneficial to plants, as pollinators, or very …
Type: Blog
… As an active leader in international research collaborations, the Chicago Botanic Garden is participating in an initiative to set the stage for new partnerships. Patrick Herendeen, Ph.D. … from both countries together to explore research techniques and opportunities. (Systematics is the branch of biology that aims to understand the diversity of life and relationships among … Ph.D. , chief scientist at the Garden, also attended and spoke at the workshop. “There is an ongoing and increased interest in collaboration,” he said. “Chinese science is very …
Type: Blog
… Sunshine is the latest corpse flower at the Chicago Botanic Garden to bloom. A member of the Aroid plant … ( Arisaema triphyllum ) Skunk cabbage ( Symplocarpus foetidus ) Photo by Jacob Burns Not only is it widespread, the members are also adapted to a number of environments from hot, humid … forests; temperate and tropical wetlands; Mediterranean climates; and deserts. The Araceae is one of the larger plant families, containing 117 different genera. The Garden features 27 of …
Type: Blog
… love fresh grapefruit—and birds. So we decided to keep the rind and make a bird feeder. This is a fun, easy project. The grapefruit sections have been cut and eaten; the rind is ready to become our bird feeder. To make a grapefruit bird feeder, you will need the … Hold the grapefruit up by all three strings and adjust the length of the strands so the fruit is not tipping. When it is balanced, knot the strings together about 4 or 5 inches from the top. …
Type: Blog
… No rain, then too much rain, then...this is a challenging year for gardening. For those who garden in northeastern Illinois, Here are some … the soil. One of the most important things a gardener can do to address both of these extremes is to routinely add organic matter to planting beds. This helps condition and loosen the soil so … on hot, sunny days to help reduce evaporation, but they perk back up at night. When the soil is so saturated with water that it displaces tiny air pockets that roots require, the plant may …
Type: Blog
… gathered stories about the most famous orchid of them all: the genus Vanilla. (Yes, vanilla is an orchid.) One unusual story comes from Ph.D. student Lynnaun Johnson, whose work in our … in Mexico, including those of Madagascar and Tahiti. Vanilla cultivation Tahitian vanilla is a hybrid of V. planifolia (shown) and V. odorata . Photo by H. Zell CC-BY-SA-3.0 While in … and hard. At the farms that were in the forest, the soil appeared rich and softer. There is no way to quantify the terrestrial root growth, but I did note that the roots in the organic …
Type: Blog
