… 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
… Society when a chance encounter at an open house event with bonsai curator Jack Sustic 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 …
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
… to prepare against winter burn, or scorch . Three simple steps will make a big difference in preventing winter burn. A burlap screen on the Esplanade path protects young boxwoods in this highly-trafficked area. Prepare properly The right plant for your design goals should … perform best when sited so that they are protected from the winter sun and wind. The later in the season an evergreen is planted, the more at risk it is for winter burn. Tree wrap may help …
Type: Blog
… If you ever find yourself grumbling over the dandelions that make their home in your lawn, or staring angrily at the purslane popping up in your vegetable garden, I have a suggestion for you: make a salad. You may be familiar with the concept of foraging for weeds. I first became interested in the subject in college, when I realized that free food was everywhere once you knew where to …
Type: Blog
