… For many people, lilacs are a sentimental flower. My mother planted many lilacs on our farm in Kansas. The scent carried across the yard as I played. When my husband and I started our family, planting a lilac in our garden was a priority so our children will have the same heavenly memory of the fragrance … failed. The flowers would droop within an hour of bringing them inside, even though I had them in a clean vase full of fresh water. Through trial and error I found the trick to help the blooms …
Type: Blog
… environment and so involved with environmental issues. Her example inspired me to write Earth in the Balance. . . . Her picture hangs on my office wall among those of political leaders... … It all began with the book Silent Spring . My mother read about chemicals used in farming post-World War II and the decline of birds, and that was it; she had to take action. … yard, spraying DDT without protection, as his grandchildren played. He had a big bottle of DDT in the garage that had gone unnoticed until then. My mother could not believe what was happening …
Type: Blog
… popular orchid with collectors: it prefers high humidity and indirect light, faring best in eastern early morning light. But how do you ensure early success? Just as we learned in our first video, Repotting Orchids, Part 1: Phalaenopsis , it’s always best to repot your orchids shortly after purchasing them—the sphagnum moss in which they are sold provides too much constant moisture for the plant, and can damage the …
Type: Blog
… conservation of plant species. My dissertation work focused on nonrandom reproductive success in a rare evening primrose ( Oenothera organensis ). I am currently working with a number of … pitcheri ) that is being negatively impacted by a biocontrol weevil. I am also interested in developing measures of success and best practices for ex situ plant conservation programs, … A more recent area of focus involves adapting zoo conservation approaches for plants. In restoration ecology, much of my work has focused on defining seed transfer zones, determining …
Type: Staff bio
… We all remember first learning about haiku in grade school with the familiar pattern of three phrases written in five, seven, and five syllables. As I developed this year’s Words in Bloom: A Year of Haiku program, I learned that the world of haiku is an expansive one with …
Type: Blog
… these snapshots of the early morning visitors to the rare phenomenon of a corpse flower in full bloom. We chatted with the early birds and met some “regulars”—visitors who had come by … last August, and Alice, the corpse flower that bloomed last September. Maxwell and Lexi (in her Alice T-shirt) Kirchen visit Sprout early this morning before school. Harper, 14 months … on the Internet. The Internet knows everything. Lexi: It’s very stinky. Maxwell: It is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see it. And it is very stinky. Carrie: I happened to see the Facebook …
Type: Blog
… An old friend is back in front of the Visitor Center. The Bloom Cart shows you a curated selection of what’s in bloom across the Chicago Botanic Garden—and more. At first glance, it looks like the Bloom … the Cart between a grandmother and granddaughter. The grandmother pointed out a vial of blooms in the Cart and recalled that the child’s great-great grandmother had grown the same flowers in …
Type: Blog
… to make a board game for them. The main message of this game was a really important one: in Chicago, all of our water for drinking, cleaning, and recreation comes from Lake Michigan. If … this game was created for Chicago residents, but the same principles apply everywhere, in every community. The game could be adapted for another location by replacing the image of the … have lots of experience pushing virtual buttons on a screen and competing against friends in cyberspace, but tossing a die and moving a token around a board with actual friends? Not so …
Type: Blog
… Blog followers will remember that in the first “How to Train Your Plant” post, we demonstrated how plants respond to the … for constructing the maze. Stand the box on its side. Then cut two pieces of cardboard to fit in the box and make divisions. You’ll want these to fit as snugly as possible inside the box, but they don’t have to be perfect. The tape will fix that. Cut a large window in each divider. Cut a window on one end of the box. Tape the dividers in place as shown in the …
Type: Blog
… is truly amazing! I had the pleasure of photographing butterflies at Butterflies & Blooms in the summer. I had a wonderful time, and was just thrilled with the variety of butterflies and … When photographing butterflies, I like to look for fresh specimens on pretty perches in a well-lighted area. Even though there are a lot of butterflies there, finding one you like … ahead of time. First, set up your camera. Then, make sure there is nothing distracting in the background, and wait. Usually within just a few minutes, a butterfly or two will land in …
Type: Blog
