Saturday, January 24, 2026

Special Hours: The Garden is open until 4 p.m.
Regenstein Center

Hear from experts, explore behind-the-scenes, swap seeds with gardeners

13th Annual Seed Swap
2 – 4 p.m. | Burnstein Hall & Krehbiel Gallery

Gardeners can come together to share/swap seeds and to learn more about starting seeds, saving seeds, and related topics. (Guests are not required to bring seeds to share/swap. ) Chicago Botanic Garden staff and volunteers will have displays and will be available to answer questions.

Programs
10 – 11 a.m. | The Dixon National Tallgrass Prairie Seed Tour
Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center

Did you know the Chicago Botanic Garden has a Seed Bank? Take a rare behind-the-scenes tour of the Dixon National Tallgrass Prairie Seed Bank located in the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center with Dave Sollenberger, Seed Bank Manager, and learn more about this crucial work. See the state-of-the-art lab – including all the unique seed prep equipment – and learn the multiple steps to seed banking from their arrival to long-term storage.

Seeds of Yesteryear: Selections from the Rare Book Collection
11 a.m.- Noon | Lenhardt Library

Presented by: Dona Herendeen, Lenhardt Library Manager of Public Services. Go back in time through this viewing of seed catalog selections from the Lenhardt Library’s Rare Book Collection. See a variety of colorful seed catalogs from the late 1800s-early 1900s.

Presentation: Low-Water, High-Yield Gardening for Any Space with Peg Davis 
Peg Davis, founder and owner, Snow Spring Farm, is a farmer, educator, and poet who celebrates the stories behind heirloom tomatoes. From ‘Mortgage Lifter’ to ‘Paul Robeson,’ she treasures these varieties as living heritage and takes pride in preserving them.