… flower. Storing peony stems allows you to use early and mid-season blossoms together in an arrangement. Here are few tips to extend the bloom of cut peonies indoors. When cutting … buds that have just begun to open and feel similar to a marshmallow. Cut stems can be stored in the refrigerator for two to three weeks, but ... no fruit—such as apples—can be in the refrigerator with your peonies. The ethylene gas emitted by ripening fruit will cause …
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. , senior … of “A Workshop to Explore Enhancing Collaboration Between U.S. and Chinese Researchers in Systematic Biology,” held in late February at the South China Botanical Garden in Guangzhou, …
Type: Blog
… When you lift a rock in your garden and glimpse earthworms and tiny insects hustling for cover, you’ve just … work out what’s happening,” explained Dr. Egerton-Warburton, associate conservation scientist in soil and microbial ecology. She has used high-throughput sequencing (also termed Next Generation Sequencing) to identify more than 120 species of mycorrhizal fungi in a single plant community. In contrast, previous reports suggested there were, at most, about …
Type: Blog
… More than 200 years ago, English poet William Wordsworth came upon the happy sight of daffodils in spring—and was inspired to write one of the most beloved nature poems in the English language. The poem, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” is a reminder of the ability … the natural world to lift spirits. Wordsworth wrote the poem on April 15, 1802, after a walk in the Lake District of rural northwest England. On the walk, along the water’s edge, he spotted …
Type: Blog
… that get significant summer rainfall, this beautiful, wild species has proven amazingly hardy in the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Graham Bulb Garden over the last five years—including a couple of … habitat nominated the gladiolus for trial at the Garden: first, it is a winter-growing bulb in South Africa, which translates to summer growth in North America. Second, this plant thrives in moist soils in grassy areas—it was perfect for …
Type: Blog
… therapy and therapy gardens within health and human service agencies has grown exponentially in recent years. In senior centers, gardening and garden spaces are used to help with fine motor skills, socialization, and ambulatory movement. In veteran’s hospitals, gardening is used for exercise, vocational training, and education. There …
Type: Blog
… From the 2015 archives: It is our pleasure to introduce another titan arum (in bloom!), which we have joyfully named Alice the Amorphophallus. Given the history below, it’s … end up with that name? First, imagine a world where the same plant was called different names in different languages in every town in every valley in every country around the globe. It existed before 1753, when the …
Type: Blog
… Manuel Sanchez joined the Grounds Department in 1987 as a seasonal employee. He was soon promoted to assistant heavy equipment operator with … and Maintenance department. From there, he worked as an assistant electrician for many years. In 1994, he was promoted to foreman in the Grounds department. He also works as a lead heavy equipment operator and on the landscape …
Type: Staff bio
… at the U.S. National Arboretum, Bonsai and Penjing Museum (U.S. National Arboretum) happened in 2010. In that meeting, Baker inquired about a volunteer position—that conversation altered the path of his life. He began volunteering in 2011 and did so on and off until 2014. Thanks to an introduction by Sustic, Baker spent six …
Type: Staff bio
… we scrambled past enormous boulders to an unhappy sight—a small group of beautiful aspens in big trouble. As curator of woody plants at the Chicago Botanic Garden, I'm interested in what's happening to quaking aspen ( Populus tremuloides ) because the trees have become … group that's working to collect root pieces and other genetic material from the aspens in the Chisos Mountains of west Texas; the material will allow us to raise the trees in …
Type: Blog
