… It’s time for a visit to the Dixon Prairie to savor late spring flowers and the pollinators visiting these plants. A standout plant, looking almost like a small shrub, is white wild indigo (Baptisia alba). This is the white-flowered cousin to blue wild indigo …
Type: Blog
… I love coming home to my quiet, tree-lined Chicago neighborhood, but one thing I miss about urban living is ample outdoor space. The back door of my apartment leads to a wooden fire escape—built after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 as a second means of exit from …
Type: Blog
… When I was 8 years old, I traveled with my family to Przysietnica, Poland, to spend the summer with relatives. My grandparents’ farm was the home base for my adventures … wild and tasted like candy. We often brought some back to share with the family, but there is nothing quite like a strawberry fresh off the plant. Time lapse of a strawberry, …
Type: Blog
… the Grunsfeld Children’s Growing Garden: Naranjilla (pronounced nahr-ahn- HEE -yah). It’s easy to see why. You can find this naranjilla ( Solanum quitoense ) in Bed #10 in the Growing Garden. This attractive plant has large, thick, green leaves, is about 10–12 inches long and 8–10 inches wide, with deeply serrated edges, and is completely … (which are not really hairs—in the botanical world they are called “tricomes” ) . It is native to Ecuador and other South American countries. There is more to notice about this …
Type: Blog
… the years in the Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden, we've seen the way people have reacted to the autumn harvest. Lately, the lovely fall colors at the Chicago Botanic Garden have reminded us how people have reacted to winter squash and pumpkins in past years when they were on display. There was pure joy as our … and squeals of delight, as folks of all ages decided how best to connect with the fruit: Is it real? Should I touch it? Should I sit on it? Hug it? Photograph it? People even talked to …
Type: Blog
… at the Chicago Botanic Garden, there are dragonflies everywhere! The quick, strong fliers seem to love the Garden. Eastern pondhawk dragonfly, female. Most dragonflies have very … field of vision that helps it avoid predators. The most abundant dragonfly I’ve seen is the eastern pondhawk, with blue dasher dragonflies coming in a close second. I’m also seeing … a few damselflies, which are generally smaller and more thin-bodied than dragonflies and tend to hold their wings above their bodies. (See my blog post Damselflies 101 for more information.) …
Type: Blog
… the McDonald Woods, which wrap around the northeastern edge of the Chicago Botanic Garden. But to Jim Steffen , senior ecologist at the Garden, the oak woodland is a bustling center for natural processes and species, and may hold answers to unsolved scientific questions. Purple milkweed ( Asclepias purpurascens ) blooms in the …
Type: Blog
… " The Anna Karenina principle states that “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way” When we talk about rare species we tend to think of them as a collective group that shares similar traits, however, some argue that … in plant conservation" Botanic Gardens collections are playing an important role in helping to slow the extinction of plant species. A well-planned collection will represent the complete …
Type: Staff bio
… Leaves are intriguing—with all their shapes, colors, textures, and their incredible ability to harness the energy of the sun. But when you come to realize that there is a whole world living within them, you can’t help but be amazed. Imagine driving into a parking … America . The details of the publication can be found at Charlie’s website charleyeiseman.com/leafminers. …
Type: Blog
… In gardening, as in life, patience is a virtue. Twelve years ago, the Garden embarked on a mission to bring a rock star of the plant world to the Chicago Botanic Garden. The titan arum ( Amorphophallus titanum ), also known as the …
Type: Blog
