… Mycelium—a network of tiny “threads” that links plants together to share water and nutrients—is an irresistible metaphor for connection and harmony. Designer Stella McCartney is making pants and other clothes out of mycelium . Adidas recently unveiled the Stan Smith Mylo … material that reportedly looks and feels like leather. And French fashion house Hermès is collaborating with a biotechnology company called MycoWorks to create a bag using material …
Type: Blog
… Gabriela Rocha Alvarez is the plant recorder at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Gabriela started working at the Garden as a … data analysis form the basis for curating and evaluating the plant collection that Gabriela is aiming to project. Gabriela is a social justice advocate, and she was part of the inaugural … and monitored the technical and financial aspects of the projects; she performed technical on-site verification, conducted interviews with scientists, researchers, farmers, suppliers, …
Type: Staff bio
… it as “the ugliest orchid in the world.” The not-so-pretty Gastrodia agnicellus orchid is just one of the new discoveries and developments I’ve tracked recently, as curator of the … anywhere in its range—and has not disappeared like so many others. Platanthera cristata is endangered in Illinois, found in only a few northern counties. Graceful as a butterfly In … singular orchids become targets of poachers as quickly as they are discovered. The Garden is collecting Paphiopedilum species, but only cultivated orchids that have often been bred for …
Type: Blog
… supervisor, and grounds manager—before he became the director of horticulture in 1996. Johnson is an instructor at the Joseph Regenstein, Jr. School of the Chicago Botanic Garden. He writes a … a weekly gardening tips column for the Daily Herald , and responds to other media request. He is a regular speaker at the American Public Garden Association's annual meetings. Johnson's … his grandfather maintain two large vegetable gardens each summer. Johnson's garden at home is low maintenance and consists primarily of mixed shrub and herbaceous borders. …
Type: Staff bio
… chunks of meat onto rosemary skewers for a delicious infused kabob. Genius! A sage brush is perfect for sweeping marinades onto grilled chicken. After the meat is cooked, snip the herb into softened butter to create sage butter to serve along with it at the table. A beautiful plant in the garden, sage is most familiar as the flavoring in stuffing—but it makes a great grill brush, too! After using …
Type: Blog
… I study biodiversity and restoration in the tallgrass prairie. My post-doctoral research is focused on seed mix design for restoration from both a social and ecological perspective. … though observation and experimentation, I am determining how seed mixes become prairies, that is, which planted seeds and species are likely to germinate, emerge and establish in restored …
Type: Staff bio
… Wolfsbane is a beautiful—and poisonous—fall-blooming perennial. It also has a colorful history associated … at unsuspecting enemies. One thing both Hollywood and horticulturists can agree on: wolfsbane is a potent plant. Ingesting wolfsbane is typically fatal. Arends azure monkshood ( Aconitum carmichaelii ‘Arendsii’) Lamarck …
Type: Blog
… primrose, and listen to the water trickle into an eighteenth-century lead cistern—the feeling is as timeless as the tiny thyme plants growing between the hand-pressed bricks. So how do we … sure the Helen and Richard Thomas English Walled Garden withstands the rigors of time? Work is underway to enhance the English Walled Garden’s magestical tapestry. Dedicated in 1991 by … Garden features a formal study of contrast in texture and color. Like all gardens, this one is subject to constant change. Some plants overgrow their space and need pruning. Trees cast …
Type: Blog
… Why Pumpkins Are Fruits and Other Cool Botany Think you know what a fruit is? Most people think of fruit as being sweet or tart, juicy or crunchy, or peel-able like a … Yep. Feeling groovy on the fruit-or-not question now? Take the Fruit Pursuit quiz below. Is This a Fruit? Click on each picture for the answer. × Yes, bell peppers are fruits. Fun fact: … × No, rhubarbs are not fruits. Fun fact: We treat a lot of fruits like vegetables, but rhubarb is a vegetable that we treat like a fruit. Close × Yes, maple samaras are fruits. Fun fact: Maple …
Type: Blog
… Care Department Landscape Waste Program As manager of horticulture services, Cindy Baker is responsible for the care and maintenance of more than 100 acres of ornamental landscaping. She … Baker has been involved with many projects, events, and classes at the Garden since 1988. She is a regular guest on the WGN-TV Morning News "Botanic Backyard" segments. Baker is also a frequent speaker at the American Public Garden Association's annual meetings and has …
Type: Staff bio
