… It’s that time of year when the sun finally comes out and temperatures go up, allowing you to get some outdoor planting done. But beware the fickle Chicago spring. Perfect gardening days … containers or new plants. Here are some of the things that the home gardener may want to do to protect plants. Move containers inside. If you’ve started to create containers for your … the temperatures drop too low, the covering can freeze to the plant and damage it. Circulation is always good, so give your plants “breathing room” if you cover them. Leave some plants alone. …
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 … 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 … paths that people walk, but instead ran closer to trees. This makes sense for an animal that is trying to stay hidden from other animals. I also found a spot where the coyote seemed to run …
Type: Blog
… Just when the hostas, lilies, and other garden perennials are going to bed for the season, these bulbs are waking up. Arum Arum italicum ‘Jet Black Wonder’ has … be planted where they won’t tempt any children or pets to eat them. If located in an ideal site, they will reseed and form a ground cover. There are dozens of varieties, each with its own … shady spot that doesn’t stay wet; otherwise the bulb will rot. A great place to plant cyclamen is under deciduous trees, where the leaf canopy will protect the dormant tubers from excess rain. …
Type: Blog
… Garden and Kasey Bersett Eaves, owner of Vivant Gardening Services in Chicago, teamed up to create delicious mixers for cocktails. You can easily make these cocktails at home. What makes a cocktail botanical? Mainly, herbs. Just about any herb in your garden can be used to flavor drinks. Herbs + fresh fruit = a delicious base for all sorts of beverages. Grab what’s … it was originally used as a way to preserve food. It’s also helpful to know what muddling is. The process of gently bruising the leaves of herbs releases the fresh, green taste and aroma …
Type: Blog
… we onlookers stop in our tracks, smile goofily, gawk unabashedly…and let our thoughts turn to romance. Over the years, the Garden has been the site of many a romantic story for both staff and visitors. With summer in full swing—and romance … Garden that bears the dedication “Will you marry me?” (Scott asked Laura; she said yes) is still called the “marry me tree” by our staff. (Curious romantic? Find this unusual maple …
Type: Blog
… Helen Bartlett is the horticulturist for Evening Island, which was designed in the New American Garden style of …
Type: Staff bio
… dyes instead. Dyes can be used on hard-boiled or fancy blown-out eggs. Most of what you need is probably already in your own kitchen and pantry. The tools you’ll need to create your own egg dyes Step 1: Gather your supplies. Stainless steel utensils and glass containers won’t stain; always rinse utensils as you go from color to color, so there’s no contamination. Pint and half-pint Ball jars or heat-safe glass bowls (the …
Type: Blog
… On the virtually treeless plains of Nebraska almost 150 years, ago a day was set aside to celebrate and appreciate trees—Arbor Day. This year we have selected the genus Quercus , the oaks, as an exemplar of why trees are important to us and our environment. Quercus rubra standing tall at the Garden There are 461 species of … oaks of China have diverged over very long time periods into several related genera. Quercus is the largest tree genus in the flora of North America (north of Mexico) with more than 90 …
Type: Blog
… of the environment and so involved with environmental issues. Her example inspired me to write Earth in the Balance. . . . Her picture hangs on my office wall among those of … chemicals used in farming post-World War II and the decline of birds, and that was it; she had to take action. She remembers going to her parents’ house, and my grandfather was going around … Robert Frost’s familiar poem, they are not equally fair. The road we have long been traveling is deceptively easy, a smooth superhighway on which we progress with great speed, but at its end …
Type: Blog
… You don’t have to be Martha Stewart to fashion this charming star-shaped wreath from branches, raffia, zip ties, and a little duct … side of each star point. Next, position and secure shorter bundles of twigs until the base is completely covered. Cover the zip ties with raffia or ribbon. Knot in back. Add lights! You …
Type: Blog
