… of lettuce and corn and tomatoes and too many other crops to list. And that, in a nutshell, is why it continues to be important to plant heirloom varieties. Vintage Varieties, Still in … paths made with wood chips that would have been straw in earlier centuries. As one crop is harvested, the next crop is planted—a nod to the constant production that was a matter of survival for our forefathers and …
Type: Blog
… camera, I zoomed into the Venus fly trap to show him that the plant’s snapping mechanism is smaller than the tip of my finger and not nearly as strong. The fast-closing leaves have … in action As the Garden’s youth programs director, I wasn’t sure what to expect. What we found is that the field trips gave students a break from remote learning routines and inspired them to think about and get engaged with nature. The hands-on component is key. After a teacher signs up for a field trip, we deliver kits of materials for every …
Type: Blog
… to see how weather changes affect the activity at Butterfly & Blooms. The seasonal exhibition is a photographer’s dream, with hundreds of live butterfly species native to countries around the … chance of viewing a butterfly emerging in our pupa chamber or drying its wings before it is ready to take flight, stop by earlier in the day. Afternoons: Afternoons are typically the … tend to be very active. Watching the butterflies dance all around on a sunny afternoon is sure to raise your spirits. Drop by Butterflies & Bloom daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., on the …
Type: Blog
… Is there any more welcome sight than daffodils blooming in the spring? Not to me! I’m thrilled by … said, “Let him who hath two loaves sell one, and buy the flower of narcissus: for bread is but food for the body, whereas narcissus is food for the soul.” During the Victorian era, when flowers were selected carefully for their …
Type: Blog
… Spring is seed season—and a good time to think about gifting seeds to gardeners, friends, and … cotta as the balls dry. This recipe yields about 24 seed balls. About Your Seed Choice Less is more. You only want a few seeds to sprout from each seed ball. Too many seeds mean too many … into the soil), or placed, randomly or intentionally, on bare soil in the garden. A rainy day is the perfect day to “plant” seed balls—rain helps to break down the clay and compost, giving …
Type: Blog
… demographic, and pollination studies on a threatened thistle ( Cirsium pitcheri ) that is being negatively impacted by a biocontrol weevil. I am also interested in developing measures … Colleagues and I have modeled how fecundity differences among cultivars of invasive species is likely to impact (or not) their invasiveness. Most of these projects are carried out in …
Type: Staff bio
… pollinators react to cultivated varieties of native plants. Budburst's Fall into Phenology is not limited to just leaf color and seed; it is about observing plants in the fall. This will be my second autumn with Budburst and the …
Type: Blog
… not a serious threat to people and will only give you a pinch if you handle them roughly. It is not uncommon to find the large brown stag beetles around buildings near woodlands at night, … If you notice the dark-colored segment that looks distended on the end of the grub, it is the digestive chamber, where the wood the grub consumes is digested with the aid of microorganisms. If you give one of these guys a gentle squeeze, you …
Type: Blog
… moss, ribbon, and little wooden reindeer are what we used to create our ornaments. (Charcoal is not shown.) Use whatever decorative ribbon you like, but make sure it’s narrow enough to fit through the ornament loops and that it’s knotted securely. The moss ornament is almost complete with charcoal, soil, moss, and reindeer! Seal the moss in a closed terrarium … want to add for whimsy (optional) Separate the halves of the DIY ornament. If your ornament is like mine, it has little “loops” for attaching a hook at the top. Start by tying a 12-inch …
Type: Blog
… One of our favorite insects at the Chicago Botanic Garden is the praying mantis. So we were very excited to obtain an egg case earlier this spring. We … hatch, and then release the newly hatched insects into the Garden. A praying mantis egg case is called an ootheca (pronouned oh-uh– THEE -kuh). The plural is oothecae (oh-uh-THEE-see). The ootheca was produced by a female praying mantis last fall. She …
Type: Blog
