… the garden along the Garden Wall and Berm has been a learning experience. The Garden section in question, located by the big Edens Expressway (northbound lanes) sign. Originally, the design … asters. The chosen replacement was a smooth aster cultivar, Aster laevis ‘Bluebird’, which is new to the Garden’s plant collection. It bears flowers nearly identical in color to ‘Jindai’ … relocated or divided, and these were heeled into a well-mulched bed located immediately at the site, and watered generously. Additional Echinacea , Liatris , and grasses were delivered and …
Type: Blog
… a few great ideas to get your taste buds going: Add a bit of mint to a basil pesto Grow thyme in unexpected flavors: orange, lime, lemon (all are growing in our kitchen herb garden) Dry and mix your own herbes de Provence recipe) Infuse lavender … muddling technique Muddling 101 Here’s the first rule of muddling: Don’t overmuddle. Muddling is the process of gently—repeat, gently—bruising the leaves of herbs. As Kasey said, “If you hear …
Type: Blog
… U.S. Navy veteran Anna Andersen is quick to tell you how the Chicago Botanic Garden’s impact on her life goes beyond the beauty of the plants to the nurturing she found in its Veteran Internship Program (VIP). “I am grateful for the VIP and Garden for providing me direction into the horticulture profession and community. I have reaped the most benefits in a very personal way,” she said, adding that she has been “through a lot of emotional trauma, …
Type: Blog
… Think about this vegetable fact: In 1903, 544 varieties of cabbage were listed by seed houses across the United States. By 1983, just 28 of those varieties were represented in our national seed bank at the National Seed Storage Laboratory (now the National Center for … of lettuce and corn and tomatoes and too many other crops to list. And that, in a nutshell, is why it continues to be important to plant heirloom varieties. Vintage Varieties, Still in …
Type: Blog
… play outside. Outdoor activities encourage creativity and independent thinking. The good news is that outdoor play time has many benefits ; a growing body of research shows that nature play … way to cement knowledge. Nature play abounds at the Chicago Botanic Garden, and can be found in many of our education programs, including Family Drop-In activities, Camp CBG, and the Nature Preschool. Ann Halley , Nature Preschool director, …
Type: Blog
… camera, I zoomed into the Venus fly trap to show him that the plant’s snapping mechanism is smaller than the tip of my finger and not nearly as strong. The fast-closing leaves have … field trips last year as a way to bring the natural world to students who were participating in remote learning at home. In order to do so, we remodeled a classroom and purchased equipment including cameras, computers, …
Type: Blog
… Is there any more welcome sight than daffodils blooming in the spring? Not to me! I’m thrilled by … their colors ranging from the most vivid yellows and oranges to muted pastels to pure white. In the early years of the nineteenth century, daffodils so captivated the poet William Wordsworth …
Type: Blog
… First, remove, clean, and dry the seeds. After scooping the pulp out of the pumpkin, place it in a bowl of water and gently rub the stringy pulp off the seeds. Rinse seeds in a colander and let them drain. Prepare a baking sheet with a layer of parchment paper. Do … of dice you make will depend on the game you want to play, but for all games the basic idea is the same. Players will toss the seeds and the side that lands face up is the number they …
Type: Blog
… conservation of plant species. My dissertation work focused on nonrandom reproductive success in a rare evening primrose ( Oenothera organensis ). I am currently working with a number of … demographic, and pollination studies on a threatened thistle ( Cirsium pitcheri ) that is being negatively impacted by a biocontrol weevil. I am also interested in developing measures of success and best practices for ex situ plant conservation programs, …
Type: Staff bio
… to see how weather changes affect the activity at Butterfly & Blooms. The seasonal exhibition is a photographer’s dream, with hundreds of live butterfly species native to countries around the … conditions are ideal for the butterflies, and you can find them roosting or drying their wings in the post-rain sun—another excellent opportunity to take pictures of their ventral wings. You are also likely to find them flying around and basking in the heavy, humid air. Malachite ( Siproeta stelenes ) drying its wings after a heavy rain …
Type: Blog
