… 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
… 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
… My Great Aunt Lila used to say that plants bring out the goodness in people. Her house in the Hudson Valley was full of exotic tropicals and orchids that she cared for meticulously. And yet she was always ready to give them away when anyone showed an interest in one, which for me was every visit. She would … Aloe plant care: Keep your new pups in direct sunlight. Lightly water them once a week for two to four weeks. Plants in a newspaper pot can be transplanted directly into a larger pot full of …
Type: Blog
… this week, our favorite came from 8-year-old Prairie! In the video below, Prairie wants to know, in essence, if she can transport Spike’s malodorous odor from the Chicago Botanic Garden to her classroom. Good question, Prairie! Conservation scientist Dr. Shannon Still has a fascinating response. Dr. Still will attempt to pollinate Spike’s flowers during bloom with pollen shared by our friends from The Huntington …
Type: Blog
… them in urns outside, or in baskets inside. Tuck in berries, dried grasses, and seed pods to add color and texture. Add shallow baskets of chestnuts, acorns, and pine cones. Stack it! … and hydrangea, embellished with ferns and rose hips, poppy pods and nuts. Afix a paper clip to the back of the leaf, and you’ve got a holiday ornament. Pumpkin stack Use a “cheese” pumpkin or other squat squash to create a wide, solid base, and then stack away. Add unexpected tinges of blue with Australian …
Type: Blog
… will have the same heavenly memory of the fragrance and flower. Over the years I have tried to bring the bounty of this flower into my home and have often failed. The flowers would droop … I had them in a clean vase full of fresh water. Through trial and error I found the trick to help the blooms last as long as possible: Fill a bucket Fill a bucket half full of fresh, cool … Place stems in the water. Leave the bucket in a cool, dark place and allow the flowers to take up water for at least an hour. Remove leaves Remove all of the leaves from each stem. …
Type: Blog
… beautiful flowering branches from early-spring flowering shrubs, such as forsythia. Prune 2- to-3-foot lengths, put them in a container filled with water, and place them in a sunny location. … and serve double duty in the summer garden. Tim Pollak likes giving indoor blooming plants to friends and family, because they serve as a lasting reminder. Forsythia (Forsythia ‘Northern Sun’) Want to remember Mom on Valentine’s Day? Fragrant and long-lasting carnations can denote love for a …
Type: Blog
… 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 snow. Even the lanterns are designed to catch and display light snowfall. …
Type: Blog
… When plants are introduced to a new location, either intentionally or accidentally, they can spread prolifically, … dominate the landscape. Biologists are studying the mechanisms underlying a taxon’s ability to become invasive, but it can be difficult to predict whether or not a species will become invasive in a new habitat. With an increased …
Type: Research
