… the trees have dropped their leaves, the scenery appears brown and boring UNLESS you know what to look for. I’m talking about tree bark. Learning to identify trees by their bark can be a fun winter challenge. For starters, I’d like to share …
Type: Blog
… the fall, and we get vague quickly. Colder temperatures? Shorter days? True, but there’s more to the story. American smoke tree (Cotinus obovatus) turns a brilliant yellow late in the … in the leaves. As sugar decomposes, it creates chemicals called anthocyanins. According to Boyce Tankersley, director of living plant documentation, “Plant physiologists have understood the environmental factors that lead to fall color for many years. However, each of the 1,391 different taxa of trees and 2,319 taxa of shrubs here …
Type: Blog
… When a coyote pirouettes in the snow, you start to wonder. Where was it going? And what made it turn? After a big snow, I love looking for wildlife tracks and the stories they tell. The paw prints and other tracks in the snow are … Garden , where I’m director of youth education. One winter, after a snowstorm, I decided to look for evidence of wildlife near the Garden’s Regenstein Learning Campus. My first sighting …
Type: Blog
… roots. The keiki growing at the top of this Phalaenopsis floral stem has grown large enough to be transplanted. The White Stuff Is Velamen An aerial root should look fleshy and green; the … rather papery, but spongy and protective, it’s a one-way water barrier that allows moisture to soak in—and keeps it from oozing out. If the velamen appears dried or rotted, it should be … be contained in its pot. Roots growing out of and over the edge of a pot signal that it’s time for re-potting—which gives you the opportunity to examine your plant for overall root health. …
Type: Blog
… Ground was broken in 1965 and the Garden opened in 1972, but its underpinnings can be traced to 1890, when the Chicago Horticultural Society was founded. To celebrate the Society’s 125th anniversary, the Garden is featuring two special exhibitions, … “Wealthy individuals would send floral specimens by railroad from as far away as New York. For people in the Chicago area, that was astounding.” One fall flower show in 1899 drew more than …
Type: Blog
… In other seasons, people tend to breeze right by conifers in favor of, say, roses that scent summer evenings or crabapple trees … the plants that shine. Recently, we ran a blog about cultivating awe on winter walks, on how to shift your energy and attention outward instead of inward for emotional well-being. One easy way to do that at the Chicago Botanic Garden or anywhere you …
Type: Blog
… Simone Gore is an assistant grower for outdoor floriculture in the Plant Production department. Her job includes producing high-quality plants for the Garden's seasonal displays, working with many of the annuals and tender perennials that … garden. Also, growing up near the Chain O'Lakes, she visited local nature preserves and grew to love the outdoors. …
Type: Staff bio
… ‘Tis the season for the harvest bounty at Windy City Harvest! Our staff and program participants are busy … staff, and local chefs. Windy City Harvest Youth Farm participants Our program has been lucky to develop wonderful partnerships with local chefs and restaurants. Many of these chefs, … is an essential component of the Windy City Harvest program. Program participants learn how to cook with produce grown on the farms, sometimes using fruits and vegetables that may be …
Type: Blog
… Sometimes spring just doesn’t want to arrive. Sometimes it can’t wait to burst forth with flowers and foliage and make everything look fresh and new. A delayed spring, … way out of the ground in the Farwell Landscape Garden. Cooler temperatures may slow growth for most plants, but they also allow for richer colors to develop. These peony stems have a deep …
Type: Blog
… flower reflects onto the shadowed water below. Doctoral student Lynnaun Johnson wades over for a closer look. Habitat is shrinking for this reclusive orchid, and he is using a unique approach to better understand the species’ uncommon lifestyle. During March 2016 fieldwork in the Florida … deeper every day—even when it meant paddling his canoe within 10 feet of a sunstruck alligator to reach the widely dispersed plants. Each time he located an orchid, he looked past the plant …
Type: Blog
