… grower for the Plant Production department. She was promoted to supervisor of specialty areas in 2003 and then moved into her current position in 2005. Sherwood shares her passion for and knowledge of gardening with the public by leading … regularly on the "Keeping It Green" television segment on ABC 7. Sherwood has been involved in horticulture since, at age 12, she started working at a cut-flower farm was across from her …
Type: Staff bio
… These are just some of the questions I’m studying as a master’s of science candidate in the Plant Biology and Conservation graduate program run by Northwestern University and the … However, these early individuals are at higher risk of exposure to extreme weather events. In contrast, later flowering individuals risk flowering in an environment with less sunlight due to the developing forest canopy. Because of this natural …
Type: Blog
… It starts with a summer filled with scientific observation at the Nativars Research Plot in the Bernice E. Lavin Plant Evaluation Garden . The observer was Christian Acevedo, a Garden … provide the same resources for pollinators as their wild cousins. Understanding variation in pollinator attraction between natives and cultivars is critical to designing effective … (Penstemon digitalis) , a striking prairie plant and popular ornamental that blooms in the height of the summer (June to July). He worked with mentor Imeña Valdes, a master’s degree …
Type: Blog
… after being contacted by editors at Midwest Living magazine. Polling a number of experts in the Midwest, the editors asked for recommendations of award-worthy plants and then came up … with crazy beautiful flowers and one that’s so easy to grow that you basically just plant it in the right spot and water it. Best for Sun ‘Joanna Reed’ catmint ( Nepeta ‘Joanna Reed’) is one of the tidiest catmints I’ve ever grown, an attribute that cinched a top rating in our trial. The strong stems never flopped and new shoots grow quickly to conceal the declining …
Type: Blog
… Fruit & Vegetable Garden There, basil is king. (Of course it is—the word basil is rooted in the Greek basilikos , meaning royalty.) The bed is planted with seven very different basil varieties, laid out in a pinwheel design, and all grown from seed. It’s enough to make a gardener’s—or a … basilicum : ‘Dwarf Fine Bush’ The neat round globes that divide the pinwheel pack a big punch in those tiny leaves. This basil is highly aromatic, rich with cinnamon/anise/clove flavors. …
Type: Blog
… they are passing through. The good news is that there are a few warblers that actually nest in our area, so if you miss them during migration you can often find the nesting birds later in the summer. A great place to look for warblers, like this palm warbler (Setophaga palmarum) , is in all the willow trees around the Garden. A less common warbler is this beautiful Cape May …
Type: Blog
… vividly the first time I visited the Chicago Botanic Garden. I was silent (unusual for me) and in awe. Everywhere I looked, I saw plant labels, and looking at them provided me some kind of … Botanic gardens are living museums, and when you go to a museum, you want to know what is in front of you. A display plant’s name on the label is the first interaction between you, the … Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP). Only scientific names—written in Latin—are universal worldwide. The scientific name of a plant usually consists of its generic …
Type: Blog
… On a bright, sunny Saturday in June, more than 1,500 people came to see just what was happening inside the renovated paint store along Ogden Avenue in the North Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago. It was the opening weekend for the Farm on Ogden , … and jobs together under one roof. Visitors explored the 7,300-square-foot greenhouse, marveled in the blue-purple glow of the 50,000-gallon aquaponics system, and picked up vegetables grown in …
Type: Blog
… 22 at the Chicago Botanic Garden, the creative team started by squinting at squares of color in the slant of the afternoon sun. The colors had to pop in daylight and for Orchids After Hours , an evening look at the Show with cocktails and light … That’s a hard no—too dance party-ish. Finally, for the space under the two-story skylight in Nichols Hall, we settled on translucent squares of mostly leafy green, sunny yellow, sky blue, …
Type: Blog
… has returned to the Chicago Botanic Garden this spring. Its bold blooms draw pollinators in as well as Garden visitors. What is it, you ask? Some of the most unusual plants our … become the epic plants you see throughout the Garden. You won’t find these Dr. Seussian plants in many other gardens in the Midwest (if you do, please let us know). Echium are native to the Canary Islands, regions …
Type: Blog
