… circulation, and good drainage for best performance. And as strong repeat bloomers, it's best to fertilize them both at the beginning of the season and again mid- summer. …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… amphibian enthusiast or just curious, this fun and educational experience will open your eyes to the secret lives of Illinois's incredible cold-blooded residents. Jesse Davis, Metro 4-H …
Type: Item Detail
… To feed, or not to feed, that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of … There are positive and negative things about feeding birds. On the negative side, there is the way feeders concentrate many birds in a small area, making it easier for diseases to …
Type: Blog
… For many bonsai tree species, early spring is the best time for repotting. As the days get longer and the temperatures slowly increase, the … During this time, the energy of the tree that was stored in the roots over the winter begins to move back up into the tree branches. As this happens, the dormant buds begin to swell. This swelling is the first sign that the tree is beginning to break dormancy. Over the …
Type: Blog
… Compared to photographing flowers outside, photographing in the Greenhouses is much more challenging and darker than you think. With a limited depth of field, I chose to … can push the ISO and still get images I find pleasing. It's best to do this before you are on-site, so you will be able to review the images on a large screen and know what will be acceptable …
Type: Blog
… One day at Butterflies & Blooms, I noticed a crepuscular , cosmopolitan imago puddling in order to prepare for an upcoming lek . What did I just say? The vocabulary surrounding Lepidoptera can be very specific—and not so easy to understand. Let’s break it down, and go over some of my favorite butterfly and moth … The very cosmopolitan painted lady (Vanesa cardui) Cosmopolitan— In this case, a cosmopolitan is not a mixed drink or a well-traveled individual—although this term is related to being in many …
Type: Blog
… Fragrance is one of the benefits of a garden that is often overlooked. Lots of thought is given to plants’ … Lonicera flava honeysuckle is a fragrant and hardy variety. Photo via southeasternflora.com. Tuberose, Polianthes tuberosa , is a nonhardy (for us) bulb from northern Mexico with an …
Type: Blog
… One of my signature projects at the Chicago Botanic Garden is designing and building the hypertufa troughs for the Heritage Garden spring display. While our … or concrete. Our trough style, which is rectangular with a distressed finish, is designed to look like vintage livestock feeders that you might imagine aging for generations in the … Line the interior of the frame with heavy-duty plastic sheeting so the concrete does not stick to the frame. STEP 2 Mix 1 part Portland cement, 1/3 part peat moss, and 1/4 part coarse …
Type: Blog
… soil have a relationship just as much as the tree and the pot have a relationship. The tree-to-pot relationship is aesthetic and functional too,” said Chris Baker, curator of bonsai at the Chicago Botanic … tree and container is equally important. It’s all about the discipline of pairing, according to Baker. All images and quotations below, courtesy of Chris Baker. A crabapple tree in the …
Type: Blog
… the changes in projected species distributions between now and 2080. The goal of the research is to help BLM to make informed management decisions regarding rare plants. The research takes them to many …
Type: Blog
