… decorative flowers shade towards cream in their centers. This cultivar blooms from July up to the first hard frosts - typically around mid-October. The sturdy stems may need staking in high-wind impact areas of the garden as the weight of the blooms starts to pull the plants in one direction or another. Despite dahlia's lack of fragrance, the flowers attract a number of insect pollinators and hummingbirds to the garden to feast upon nectar and pollen grains. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Bees & Beyond thematic programming at the Chicago Botanic Garden inspired Windy City Harvest to offer this special course for gardeners to learn about the pollinators in their backyards and gardening techniques to support them. Rachel Kimpton, Windy City Harvest coordinator Farm on Ogden, 3555 Ogden Avenue, …
Type: Item Detail
… bromeliad that thrives in direct sunlight, heat, and high humidity. Use distilled or rainwater to when replenishing the water in the cup to avoid leaf burn due to chlorine and fluoride. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Large orange-apricot double flowers gracefully age to pink on this disease resistant rose with dark glossy green leaves. The flowers have a very light tea rose scent and bloom virtually continuously from mid-June to the first hard frost. Insects and hummingbirds are drawn to the flowers. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Royal Robe Sweet Violet, a perennial, grows to a height of 12 inches with full sun to partial or full shade and moderate moisture conditions. From March to June, it has white, lavender, or purple blooms that attract butterflies. It belongs in a …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… Massive dinnerplate sized pure white flowers appear in late September and extend up to the first hard frosts of winter. The flowers are said to glow in the moonlight, bringing an oft-overlooked time to enjoy gardens. Insects and hummingbirds find the pollen and nectar irresistible. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… A Phalaenopsis, or moth orchid, is called the “gateway orchid” for beginning collectors: it requires very little care, and yields great rewards with blooms that last up to three months! Early success with a moth orchid leads growers to try other species and, finally, to orchid addiction. But how do you ensure early success? As a …
Type: Blog
… work? Let’s look at those roots from a different angle Most orchids are epiphytes. An epiphyte is a plant that grows on another plant (not in soil), but is not parasitic. They’re Called Aerial … roots. The keiki growing at the top of this Phalaenopsis floral stem has grown large enough to be transplanted. The White Stuff Is Velamen An aerial root should look fleshy and green; the … rather papery, but spongy and protective, it’s a one-way water barrier that allows moisture to soak in—and keeps it from oozing out. If the velamen appears dried or rotted, it should be …
Type: Blog
… when I had discovered the male-female lacewing, butterfly visitors had been waiting for me to release butterflies from the pupae chamber. So I packed up the lacewing, with all of the other … saving our special discovery for last. I got everyone’s attention and announced, “This is extremely rare! As a butterfly wrangler, I have released many thousands of butterflies, but … of an eye. Luckily, one of our volunteers snapped some beautiful photos. Later, it occurred to me that this specimen could actually be a valuable contribution to science, and if nothing …
Type: Blog
… Long-eared owls are nomadic birds, found abundantly some years and difficult or impossible to find others. Choosing their locations based on prey abundance (small mammals, like mice and … groups in winter roosts where a dozen or more birds can be found together. They are also known to perform a broken-wing act in order to draw predators away from the nest sites, not unlike the behavior many people associate with …
Type: Birding
