… How to relax in nature, even when you can’t get away? Daydream, according to the American Heart Association. Start a bucket list. Even just the thought of escaping into … be rejuvenating and take you away from the stresses of everyday life. We started a bucket list for you, focusing on some of the natural wonders in the plant world. We know, oh, just a few …
Type: Blog
… ...and this year's fall colors It’s hard to think of fall without picturing a mosaic of trees with warm-colored hues. Amber browns, golden … about right this year, but the quality of the experience is a little ‘off,’” Tankersley said. “For instance, the cherry [tree] outside my office—in a good year—is a mass of light yellow … a topic of conversation among the horticulture staff for the last couple of weeks and in the news,” said Tankersley. “The diminished [fall] displays are caused, in part, by the drought and …
Type: Blog
… When buckthorn moves in to the ecosystem, it dominates. Imagine a friend invites you to a dinner party, promising a delicious spread of food and libations. You arrive, excited and … While it may be true that one person at the party really likes kale, it’s hardly fair for the preferences of that person to supersede everyone else’s needs. In the case of buckthorn, …
Type: Blog
… the sedges and grasses along side the trail. (This was when my hearing was still acute enough to detect such high-frequency sounds.) It took me a while, but based on the emphatic commotion, I … are technically known as insectivorous mammals. Insectivores are critters that depend, to a large extent, on invertebrates, mostly insects, for their survival. I wasn’t sure which shrew this was, but more than likely, it was one of the …
Type: Blog
… A lot of birds migrate through the area this time of year, but I have to say warblers are my favorites. The other day, when the rain cleared and the sun came out, I … heaven! Yellow-rumped warblers ( Setophaga coronata ) are some of the most common warblers to be seen at the Garden. You can spot them almost anywhere! Photo © Carol Freeman As soon as I … The black-and-white warblers ( Mniotilta varia ) can be seen hopping along branches looking for insects. Photo © Carol Freeman After delighting in the abundance of birds for a few hours, I …
Type: Blog
… Garden. The first significant snowfall of the season gives the Garden a perfect white coat for winter. What better reason for a walk through the Elizabeth Hubert Malott Japanese Garden ? Many consider winter to be the Japanese Garden’s most beautiful season. Its design emphasizes nature’s forms like … lumps of yews and junipers, resemble white boulders or fluffy clouds. Open-pruned pines, wired to maximize long and borrowed views, are natural snow catchers, offering up their own cushions of …
Type: Blog
… plant species. I manage a microproagation lab focusing on developing tissue culture techniques for both rare/exceptional and restoration-relevant plant species. I coordinate the Synthesis Center for Conservation and Restoration at the Negaunee Institute for Plant Conservation Science and Action at the Chicago Botanic Garden. I also work to support data analysis and visualization for projects with collaborators at the Chicago Botanic …
Type: Staff bio
… a fair bit of brewing myself. Despite seemingly endless beer varieties, beer making boils down to just a few basic ingredients. So what’s really happening during the major steps in the brewing … base in beer and scotch. Photo via Finlay McWalter, Wikimedia Commons. GFDL A beautiful vine for the home garden is hops ( Humulus lupulus ), pictured here in flower. Pollinated and fruited … carbohydrates will feed the yeasts during fermentation. The brewer doesn’t want the grain seed to completely germinate, though—if it did, the embryo would “eat” all of the food reserves, …
Type: Blog
… a biocontrol weevil. I am also interested in developing measures of success and best practices for ex situ plant conservation programs, from collecting genetically diverse seed accessions to minimizing genetic change during storage and increasing likelihood of success of restorations. … participated in a national assessment of native seed needs and the capacity of the industry to provide seed with the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. A final area …
Type: Staff bio
… Chicago Botanic Garden. Or in the intimate spaces of our Thomas English Walled Garden . Want to experience a sense of the show’s dreamy romance? Inside the English Walled Garden, past the … hand-pressed brick walls, you’ll feel like you’re stepping back in time—maybe, in fact, back to the Regency period, when most of Bridgerton (along with the Jane Austen novels) takes place. … or passionflower. On Bridgerton , masses of lush wisteria are twining everywhere—a metaphor for all of the romantic entanglements? Artistic license? No judgments. But alas, senior …
Type: Blog
