… Garden, the Dixon Prairie boasts more than 250 species of native plants. You don’t have to go far to find plants that have something interesting or unique about their life story. Something that … a pretty face. Dodecatheon meadia : A Must-see of the Prairie Question: Which one of these is NOT a common name for this handsome spring ephemeral? Shooting star Prairie pointer Prairie …
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… The fourth of July is upon us, and while many beautiful flowers can be found in patriotic shades of red and white, the color blue is very difficult to find at the Garden. In fact, blue is a rare sight in the entire natural world. Less than ten … the plant kingdom features blue flowers, which is extraordinary, since pollinators don’t seem to have a problem with them. Scientists have been investigating the origins of blue flowers for a …
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… Like so many things in tending bonsai, how you overwinter your trees is specific to the tree species and the region in which you live. Bonsai in fall color, before … being prepped for storage. The same bonsai prepped for winter storage; tags indicate tasks to do in spring on this tree. Here in the Chicago area, we need to take special care to protect …
Type: Blog
… might be a gall, or an injury that had healed-over. On closer inspection, the lump turned out to be a ruby-throated hummingbird nest from last summer. Although I see hummingbirds regularly … of avian architecture. Not much larger in diameter than a quarter, they are just large enough to hold the one to three navy bean-sized eggs of the hummer. For the pint-sized bird to be able … much larger than her body. Not much larger than a quarter, the ruby-throated hummingbird nest is an engineering marvel. This is all well and good until the eggs hatch. Growing young …
Type: Blog
… looking at them provided me some kind of familiarity—like when you meet someone new, you want to know their name, what they do, what they like, right? Well, the same with plants. One important aspect of visiting a botanic garden is acknowledging its plant collection. Botanic gardens are living museums, and when you go to a museum, you want to know what is in front of you. A display plant’s name on the label is the …
Type: Blog
… Pondering the Prairie Series Graminoid is a term created to encompass all of those grass-like plants with narrow leaves and barely noticeable flowers. Yes, grasses and grass look-alikes do have flowers! All plants need to reproduce and they do so primarily by producing flowers. Unfortunately, the graminoid has a …
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… We gathered around a table at the Garden View Café the other day to taste something that only one of us had ever tasted before: powdered orchid roots. A traditional winter drink in the cafés and restaurants of Turkey, salep is made from the tuberous roots of orchids—specifically, terrestrial orchids in the genus Orchis … and “I’ll have another glass,” were three answers; the flavor is hard for American taste buds to define. Sweet and savory and spicy all at once, there’s a note of bark or tree in it—Ayse …
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… Want to help monarch butterflies? Be careful when selecting your milkweed. Not all plants that go by the common name of "milkweed" are the food that these butterflies need. Milkweed is both a food source and a host plant on which the monarch butterflies lay their eggs. Monarchs … the following milkweed species (Asclepias) are native: Asclepias amplexicaulis is native to our prairies and is suitable for planting in sunny perennial flower gardens. The flowers are …
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… 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 … So we asked some of them: What plant would you most like to see in the wild? The common thread is that there is no common thread. These are not your garden-variety plant lovers. These are …
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… The Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden is the place to explore small-space gardening. Seven Basil Types Planted at the Regenstein … different basil varieties, laid out in a pinwheel design, and all grown from seed. It’s enough to make a gardener’s—or a foodie’s—head spin with plans for dinner…and for your own herb garden. …
Type: Blog
