… kale in celebration of autumn. Take a stroll through one of our 27 beautiful display gardens for inspiration and ideas. Here are some things to do now before your garden winds down. Time to … trees and shrubs. Cooler days, warm soils, and rain or supplemental watering help woody plants get established before going dormant. Some trees are marginally hardy in the Chicago area and … ask an expert before planting. Think Ahead This is the month to start planning and planting for a spring display. Daffodils, snowdrops, crocuses, tulips, grape hyacinths, and …
Type: Plant Info
… An elegant earth-to-earth closed system What smells like earth, enriches the soil, and is free for the making? Compost! A healthy compost pile is easy to maintain, has no offensive odor, and … few months, they return to your garden to help the next generation of vegetables to grow. Tips for Successful Composting Composting relies on heat, water, air, and the mixture of "greens" … kitchen. Many small types and colors can now be purchased, but a coffee can does nicely, too. Get in the habit of taking out the compost when you take out the garbage. Every few weeks, …
Type: Plant Info
… to talk orchids, yet they're at the top of our minds at the Garden this month, as we prepare for the Orchid Show. This got us thinking: how does a smart gardener care for orchids in the depths of winter? With just a few adjustments to the basics. Today's … is an upside to the short days and lower light of winter: it triggers the flowering process for many orchids. (A caretaking note: stay ahead of long flower stalks by staking them as soon as …
Type: Plant Info
… as echinacea and milkweed, there is an overabundance of blooms, making it a joyful month to visit our gardens. It would be easy to draw parallels between the rainbow of summer colors and … sometimes a moth, fly, or even the wind. The diversity of pollinators might be the very reason for the diversity of flowers; more interactions beget more diversity. Regardless of the cause, … that, like flowers, people also come in all types, forms, and expressions. June was chosen for Pride Month to mark the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in 1969, which happened during a …
Type: Blog
… Garden, mulches and plants nine acres and offers these tips: Purchase the right plant Shopping for a tree? Do not be intimidated; insist upon inspecting the burlapped root ball. Remove the … planted, this root flare should be at least three inches higher than the surrounding soil. Visit Chicagoland Grows for suggestions on trees and plants best suited for the Chicago area. Break the cycle When you …
Type: Plant Info
… Spike brought the nation’s—and even the world’s—attention to the Garden, as we waited for our first-ever flowering titan to open up in all its stinky and colorful glory. The event—and … fans, and “groupies.” He had such a large following, and I often saw some of the same people visit day after day! I heard and received so many positive comments from visitors. People said … they would converse about when he was going to bloom, how tall he was going to get, and so on. Spike had become a household name! Many of you were devoted watchers of the …
Type: Blog
… the corpse flower that bloomed last September. Maxwell and Lexi (in her Alice T-shirt) Kirchen visit Sprout early this morning before school. Harper, 14 months old, waves at #CBGSprout the … And it is very stinky. Carrie: I happened to see the Facebook post. And we were here every day for Spike (a titan arum that previously was on display at the Garden). Jamie Smith of Highland … spathe (modified frilly leaf). It has great textures. Roman Bouchal of the Czech Republic came for the smell this morning, and found it in the window removed from Sprout the corpse flower’s …
Type: Blog
… The Chicago Botanic Garden’s Pollen Bank is a critical tool for advancing our work to prevent plant extinctions, reintroduce species into the wild, and support habitat restoration. Preparing an Amorphophallus perrieri flower for pollen collection. Photo by Jeremy Foster. Storing pollen is an efficient and effective way … diversity of these species. You need to breed plants – Our Pollen Bank is like a sperm bank for plants, storing the genetic material of just one parent. This provides the flexibility to …
Type: Research
… I sat there in front of a group of plants that produce lovely-smelling flowers, waiting for their impressive pollinators to show up. And when they did, I snapped some of my very first … volume and sugar content, floral scent, who pollinates and when (hawkmoths come at dusk and visit overnight; bees generally visit in the morning), how populations grow and shrink over time, which other plant species are …
Type: Blog
… narcissus, gazette—but all are members of the genus Narcissus —the Latin/botanical name for all daffodils. According to the American Daffodil Society, there are between 40 and 200 … 7, so in our climate, they are treated as annuals. Enjoy their intoxicating fragrance indoors for many weeks where their scent can fill a room. When they’re finished blooming you can put them … not getting enough light. To prevent this, grow the bulbs in a cool space where they can get bright, indirect light. Once the buds form, move the pot where you want it displayed, keeping …
Type: Plant Info
