… Wolfsbane is a beautiful—and poisonous—fall-blooming perennial. It also has a colorful history associated with werewolves, vampires, and witches. The plant has been a familiar plot element in horror movies, television shows, and novels. In the Harry Potter series, Remus Lupin, a tormented werewolf, drinks a potion of wolfsbane …
Type: Blog
… yourself back from buying every type you see on the shelf, you also know that this feeling is fleeting. Those beautiful colors and unusual varieties are in their prime now, when the hot summer days and good strong rains are perfect support for a fruiting pepper plant. In just a month or two, the number of varieties will start to dwindle and your hot spicy recipes …
Type: Blog
… it all: lackluster moods, low energy, and even mild depression. Seasonal Affective Disorder is defined as depression associated with late autumn and winter, thought to be caused by a lack of light. Most people with seasonal affective disorder have symptoms that start in the fall and continue through the winter months, which in the Midwest, can seem endless. Lucky enough, there are many ways to remedy this SAD state of …
Type: Blog
… Spring is here, and the birds are returning from their winter homes. Some birds fly through the Chicago area to their nesting habitats up north, while others return and stay in the area. Spring is the season for laying eggs, because it gives the juvenile birds all summer to mature and become strong before they need to migrate in the fall. Also, as spring turns to summer, the growing chicks require more food. The trees …
Type: Blog
… Leaves are green. There are very few exceptions in healthy living plants, and most of the exceptions are partially green with red, yellow, … color are essential for the plant’s ability to harness energy from the sun and make sugars in the process we know as photosynthesis. But every once in a while, a completely white seedling … any chlorophyll—the green pigment necessary for photosynthesis—this seedling was doomed. That is the case with all albino plants. The gene mutation that gives rise to albino plants is fatal …
Type: Blog
… Tim Pollak is the Manager, Plant Production at the Garden, where he has worked since 2001. As part of his … that the Garden displays to create excitement for plants. He has a bachelor of science degree in landscape horticulture, with a concentration in nursery and greenhouse management, from Colorado State University. Pollak writes for …
Type: Staff bio
… Step past the sleepy stone lion, breathe in the cowslip primrose, and listen to the water trickle into an eighteenth-century lead cistern—the feeling is as timeless as the tiny thyme plants growing between the hand-pressed bricks. So how do we … time? Work is underway to enhance the English Walled Garden’s magestical tapestry. Dedicated in 1991 by Princess Margaret, the younger sister of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, the English …
Type: Blog
… How do I reseed my lawn? Reseeding, or overseeding, turf grass every five years in late summer or early autumn improves the overall health, disease resistance, and appearance of …
Type: Plant Info
… turning to the earthy aesthetics and healing powers of mushrooms and other kinds of fungi. In particular, the underground part of mushrooms known as mycelium has captured the imagination … Mycelium—a network of tiny “threads” that links plants together to share water and nutrients—is an irresistible metaphor for connection and harmony. Designer Stella McCartney is making … designer James Frost sketched this garden party-vibed headpiece, made of a Laccaria species in a summery shade of lilac. These fungi form a partnership with forest trees—they help tree …
Type: Blog
… or plants around them. Fungal infections are common because spores can travel on the wind or in water droplets and may land on seeds, sometimes penetrating the outer layers of the seed coat … the seed germinates, the bacteria grows and infects the young seedling. Don’t worry! There is a way to save your seeds from this cruel fate. We use two methods to help prevent disease in seedlings: bleach treatment and heat treatment. Bleach treatment Pumpkin seeds (top), tomato …
Type: Blog
