… Join me in contemplating the sweetness of plants. All sugar comes from plants. All of it. Plants are the … pictured here, and be ready to cover loosely with a piece of paper towel like the glass shown in the middle. Directions First, assemble the hardware. Cut the bamboo skewer to 6 to 8 inches, … into the glass without allowing it to touch the sides. Cut a piece of paper towel with a hole in the center. This will go over the top of your glass to prevent dust from settling on the …
Type: Blog
… The night Spike blooms will thrill us all in the semi-tropical greenhouse, with its breathtaking flower…accompanied by a titanically rotten … with an update on Spike, our still-growing titan arum. Spike continues to get bigger, not only in height, but also in girth! What we’re really curious about, however, is the aroma. The stench is one of the cool …
Type: Blog
… to the natural world for inspiration on how to enjoy the eclipse— here at the Garden , or in your own backyard. On Monday, August 21, 2017, people across the United States witnessed a rare event: the first total solar eclipse to cross over the country from coast to coast in nearly a century. The path of totality—meaning the area of the United States that saw the sun completely blocked by the moon—passes across southern Illinois. In the Chicago area, we experienced roughly 86 percent coverage around 1:19 p.m. This was the …
Type: Blog
… we grow here, half trace their origin to Asia, and more than one-third of all plant cultivars in our collection emanate from the same source. What would the Garden look like without Asian plants? Spring would have no forsythia, crabapple, daffodils or tulips. In summer, eight out of every ten kinds of rose we grow—gone, along with daylilies, hostas, and … of people of Japanese ancestry—most of whom were American citizens—are shameful chapters of U.S. history. And we see now in our country and on our doorstep the increase in hate speech and …
Type: Blog
… fall asters, many of them blooming throughout October. Look for bottle and cream gentians in the Garden’s Dixon Prairie or elsewhere. Buried beneath the riot of asters, sunflowers, … time when its grassland habitat has reached its peak height. Prairie gentian can only be found in remnant prairies of high quality, of which very few have survived. To find this rare gem is a … is its cousin, fringed gentian (Gentianopsis crinita) . Fringed gentians can be found in greater concentrations in sand prairies, its preferred habitat. Although it is also short in …
Type: Blog
… as gifts around the holidays. Unfortunately, many of these trees don’t survive very long. In this blog, I will cover some of the dos and don’ts about purchasing a bonsai as a gift, tell … bonsai for sale at a large garden center During the holiday season, little areas pop up in megastores and mall kiosks to sell bonsai (or “mall-sai,” as I call them). These bonsai are … avoid that tree. It is also a good idea to feel the soil. If a tree is bone dry or standing in water, that should be a concern. Many of these trees are mass produced this time of the year. …
Type: Blog
… given Spike and its fellow titan arums—our collection of nine Amorphophallus titanum growing in our production greenhouses—is very specific! Yes, the cultivation requirements for these … conditions of high humidity and high temperature—similar to their natural conditions in the tropical rainforests of Sumatra. Therefore, the cultivation is not particularly suitable for most beginners or homeowners with minimal greenhouse facilities. A hygrometer in Spike’s planter measures relative humidity in the greenhouse. Watering the bloom During …
Type: Blog
… go dormant for the winter. Just like animals that hibernate, trees slow their processes down in order to conserve energy. What we can see of this process can be beautiful: leaves change from … to vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows. Then trees drop their leaves and wait out the winter. In a regular year, trees aren’t in a rush to go dormant. The process that we see takes several weeks. The production of …
Type: Blog
… Show of hands: Who’s ready for spring? We are, too. Thankfully, the bright, blooming containers in the Heritage Garden at the Chicago Botanic Garden were planted this week, welcoming spring and … past 15 years—it’s one of his favorite things to do each spring. The bright, colorful troughs in the Heritage Garden welcome visitors every spring. “After a long, drawn-out winter, it’s nice … Tom Soulsby uses small, visually interesting plants that would otherwise get lost in a mass planting in the Garden. People look forward to these 41 containers each spring, which …
Type: Blog
… this past May that 15 veterans from the Thresholds Veterans Project began a journey to be well in the Buehler Enabling Garden. Inspirations: “Keep Going” planter, with a side of coffee. We … herbs to cook with, as well as a message of encouragement they could reference for inspiration in their daily life. After the first retreat was done, I thought to myself, “Wow! That was a … the course of the summer, these vets returned to the Garden five more times to participate in various retreats all focused on wellness and using nature to heal. To date, more than 2.7 …
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