… Holiday plants and flowers make great gifts for everyone on your shopping lists. They are perfect gifts for family members, the host and hostess of the holiday parties you attend, and of course, are … Mist the plant regularly, or rinse the plants in a sink to keep the foliage clean and free of spider mites. As new growth emerges, train the new growth to the desired form. Take the …
Type: Blog
… a woodlot. I was traveling between nature preserves in this area of the state collecting seeds for the Dixon National Tallgrass Prairie Seed Bank , so my mind was already tuned in for interesting native flora that might produce a collection for the seed bank. It was impossible … gave me plenty of time to contemplate whether or not to make the collection. Since my first visit to the woodland, I have made several seed collections of many quality native woodland …
Type: Blog
… is anything around them at all. This reminds me, once again, of the mission I have defined for myself as a professor of botany: In order to help them understand and appreciate the nature … down electronic devices and experiencing nature firsthand. “Plant blindness” (an incapacity for many people to recognize the green world around them) has been bemoaned by modern botanists … are institutions like the Chicago Botanic Garden in cities around the world where people can visit, learn about, and come to love real plants. Botanic gardens are thus critical players in …
Type: Blog
… in foliage, often yellowing, with no blooms. When grown in the wild, the yellow lotus has free run of whatever waterway it inhabits. It is extremely aggressive, and its many runners will … in size and dries to a hard brown finish. Then the pods are often harvested to be dried for floral arrangements. Because it is such a vigorous grower, lotus requires regular …
Type: Plant Info
… we can also experience negative engineering effects of plants on their environments when we visit natural areas throughout the Chicago region and beyond that have been heavily invaded by … common or European buckthorn ( Rhamnus cathartica ). Buckthorn was brought to the Midwest for ornamental use—it’s great at making hedges—but escaped from human control and is now one of … where it contributes to global climate change and instead locking it away harmlessly for potentially hundreds of years—is one such service. Steffen’s more than two decades of work …
Type: Blog
… says Joan O’Shaughnessy, the Garden’s prairie and river senior ecologist. It’s challenging for her to suggest the “best” time to visit the prairie because it’s constantly changing—every week, every month, there’s something … The Dixon Prairie is a recreated prairie. “The soils and the hydrology are the foundations for the different habitats,” she explained. “These different types of prairies are communities of …
Type: Blog
… Chicago area. These gardens come in all shapes and sizes and fall on a wide spectrum of costs. For today, we’re focusing on how to create your very own home horticultural therapy garden—or … Garden, as well as off-site gardens, horticultural therapists utilize raised, round containers for planting. We recommend that you purchase a planter of decent size (24 to 28 inches in … at the Chicago Botanic Garden to instruct you on fun and simple gardening basics; just come visit us and ask! Happy gardening! …
Type: Blog
… gone forever. Then there were those species that had reached such critically low numbers that, for all practical purposes, they were functionally extinct for me. Birds like the prairie chickens, barely holding on in postage stamp-sized grasslands that … eyes to the sky and you may be rewarded with a glimpse of our national symbol. Next time you visit, don't forget your zoom lens and binoculars to catch a glimpse of the Garden’s cast of …
Type: Blog
… November is a great month to tuck your lawn and garden to bed for the season. Nighttime temperatures are dipping below freezing, frosts are more frequent, and … they’re still viable. Clean ceramic, cement, and/or terra-cotta containers; store in a frost-free space. Soil from containers can be stored in a pile outside and combined with equal parts fresh mix for next year’s containers. Potting soil from window boxes can be discarded or stored for later …
Type: Plant Info
… Volunteer Opportunities Thank you for your interest in joining our Volunteer team at the Chicago Botanic Garden! Our new volunteer intake has paused for the season. We will be sending an email to schedule phone interviews sometime after January … they are received. We ask that you please refrain from using our volunteer login, as it is for current volunteers only and not an application. Please note that the Chicago Botanic Garden …
Type: Page
