… 115 degrees Fahrenheit in the drought-stricken Mojave desert, you’ll forgive our botanists for hoping against hope for a bit of rain for the plants. Botanists Monica Depies and Rebecca … season. The Garden is an active partner in SOS, led by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, to collect seeds for conservation, research, and ecosystem restoration. Under contracts with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the Garden hires crews of two-to- four early career botanists in the West. Teams scout for potential populations and collect …
Type: Blog
… It’s a big week for cooking, for getting out the china, crystal, and silver, and for setting a holiday-worthy … yet? A cornucopia, or horn of plenty, is a classically beautiful, easy, and crowd-pleasing way to pull together a centerpiece without a lot of fuss or expense. I taught a fall cornucopia … is basically the same. Once your supplies are gathered, it should take less than an hour to put together. Essential tools include pruners, floral foam, and a hot-glue gun. Gather the …
Type: Blog
… my head when they’re in bloom in my home garden from June through October. Recently, I decided to revisit an old goal and bugaboo of mine—learning to overwinter the tubers so I can plant them again and enjoy the blooms next year. Sarah Nolimal, … to show us the process. Note that you should wait until a hard frost before digging them up for storage. Dahlias , which grow from small tubers planted in the spring, are one of my favorite …
Type: Blog
… Add a little brightness to your family's day—play with food, make rainbow dough—and get in some nature play, too. Ready to turn ☹️ into☺? Nature Rainbow Scavenger Hunt Lace up your hiking boots, grab a camera, and … and subtract the blah by turning food into art. Use what you have in the fridge, and look for fruits or veggies in a fun variety of colors, which is not too hard to do since they are …
Type: Blog
… For the past week, the big forklifts and trucks with their whimsical cargo have been rolling in … of color, imagination, and sound, a night out for families, couples, and friends who want to get in on something new. This is a holiday lights event for a new generation, jolly with the …
Type: Blog
… or staring angrily at the purslane popping up in your vegetable garden, I have a suggestion for you: make a salad. You may be familiar with the concept of foraging for weeds. I first became … in the subject in college, when I realized that free food was everywhere once you knew where to look. (The reality soon set in that most of this “free” food was actually growing on lawns and private property.) Whenever you forage weeds and wild plants you have to be careful that what you take isn’t getting sprayed with herbicides—which is why I recommend …
Type: Blog
… On a walk through the Chicago Botanic Garden, you are likely to encounter dozens of woody plants—short, tall, flowering, or simply lending structural beauty to a landscape. It’s OK to have a favorite. Phillip Douglas, the Garden’s new curator of woody … on the southeast corner of the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center—for smaller landscapes. He describes Regal Prince as a hybrid oak that is columnar in shape. …
Type: Blog
… noticed more garlic mustard in your garden, yard, or alley this year. The ecologists who tend to the Chicago Botanic Garden’s natural areas have, too. We had not seen much garlic mustard in our natural areas in recent years, and its reemergence is a reminder for all of us that controlling and managing invasive species is an ongoing challenge. Our natural … Botanic Garden’s 385 acres, and these woods, prairie, river, shorelines, and lakes are home to a remarkably diverse collection of plants. In most of our natural areas, we allow natural …
Type: Blog
… like something a scarecrow might wear. His bushy black eyebrows dance when he talks, bringing to mind the woolly bear caterpillars abundant in the fall. A playfulness—tinged with the macabre—also shows in the jack-o-lantern characters Obenchain created for HallowFest, the Garden’s former celebration of Halloween. Riley Obenchain poses with some … smile on another jack-o-lantern gives a mixed message. Obenchain describes it as an “I’m-happy-to-see-you-because-I’m-going-to-eat you” look. “I get a lot of, ‘Wow! I could never do that!’” …
Type: Blog
… What’s not to love about a Shrek-like sprout head? This DIY project connects young kids to plants and the magic of sprouting seeds. In camps and youth classes at the Chicago Botanic … ones to get their hands dirty as they explore the natural world. We’ve got lots of ideas for projects you can do at home to get kids thinking about plants and how they grow. Here’s how …
Type: Blog
