Coming soon: Our 27th Garden

Meet our new Nature Play Garden, a place of whimsy and self-discovery, for learning and fun. You will be able to dabble in the water (try the boulder bubbler) or daydream on the grassy rolling hills. Experience the new garden at the free Opening Celebration of the Regenstein Learning Campus at the Chicago Botanic Garden on September 10 and 11.

 

See the complete schedule for our Opening Celebration events on our website.

Horticulturists selected the garden’s flowers and trees for qualities such as color, scent, texture, and even sound (the sweet gums trees have seed pods that rattle); more than half of the perennials are new to the Chicago Botanic Garden.

“Adults will enjoy the fragrance of summer sweet and northern dropseed grass, smile at the large hibiscus flowers, be transfixed by the patterns of sunlight in the coursing water of the runnel, learn which plants do well in a swale to catch excess water runoff, and exclaim the usual ‘oh wow’ when the long sweep of redbuds flower in spring,” said Kris Jarantoski, executive vice president and director of the Chicago Botanic Garden.

The Nature Play Garden is part of the Regenstein Learning Campus, a new home base for the Chicago Botanic Garden’s plant-based, immersive nature experiences and classes. (Our last two new gardens, the Grunsfeld Children’s Growing Garden and Kleinman Family Cove, opened in 2012 as part of the initial phases of the Learning Campus.)

Here are a few of our favorite features in the new garden:

PHOTO: A little girls jumps on the rolling hills at the Nature Play Garden.
Jump, roll, run, relax on the rolling hills

The hills are alive…

The big, grassy rolling hills are yours for interpretation. Lie down and read a book. Take a power walk. Here’s how we roll; show us how you roll (tag us on Twitter or Instagram, @chicagobotanic).

PHOTO: A young visitor discovers the boulder bubbler at the Nature Play Garden.
A young visitor discovers the boulder bubbler.

Make a splash

Dip fingers and toes into the 2-inch-deep waters of the runnel. A boulder bubbler will allow people in wheelchairs to reach out and touch the cascading water at arm’s length.

PHOTO: The Nature Play Garden amphitheater and runnel.
The Nature Play Garden amphitheater and runnel

The can’t-miss view

“Probably most of all, people will marvel at the topography of the (natural) amphitheater,” Jarantoski said. “As one of our catering staff members said (and the catering staff doesn’t often comment on the gardens), ‘The landscape is so kinetic and exciting!’ Standing on top of one of the hills provides an exhilarating feeling as the landscape falls away from you to the lawn. You’ll never think of topography the same way again.”

PHOTO: The hollow tulip tree log in the Nature Play Garden.
Kids enjoy going around, over, and through the hollow log—all afternoon long.

Unwind

Jump off a boulder (wood chips on the ground make for a soft landing) or hide in a hollow tulip tree log (tulip trees, Liriodendron tulipifera, are also growing in the Nature Play Garden)—experts say it’s good for you to spend time outside.

Come one, come all

The garden was designed as a vibrant gathering place, for people of all ages and abilities. Check our website for evening programs that might call for stargazing or roasting marshmallows in the fire pit. Or pack a sack lunch and people watch in the picnic grove. Don’t feel like company? Duck into the hornbeam room or another sheltering thicket of trees.

Explore the Nature Play Garden at the Learning Campus’s free Opening Celebration, September 10 and 11, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; parking fees apply. Enjoy live music and Family Drop-in Activities, take home a free plant, and more. Members can stop by the lounge for light refreshments and a commemorative gift. While you’re here, make time to visit any of our 26 other distinct gardens and four natural areas.


©2016 Chicago Botanic Garden and my.chicagobotanic.org

Go Outside: It’s Good for You

Interested in a healthier, happier life? Try connecting with the natural world. A new, technologically advanced body of research shows that spending time in nature can provide protection against cancer, high blood pressure, depression, stress, and more.

Take a walk in nature to improve your mood and your health.
Take a walk in nature to improve your mood and your health.

A recent National Geographic article noted that advances in neuroscience and psychology have provided scientists with more tools to look at the way nature affects our brains and bodies. According to the article, “These measurements—of everything from stress hormones to heart rate to brain waves to protein markers—indicate that when we spend time in green space, ‘there is something profound going on,’” said University of Utah cognitive psychologist David Strayer.

University of Illinois environment and behavior researcher Ming Kuo found that nature has the ability to enhance the functioning of the body’s immune system. “Nature doesn’t just have one or two active ingredients,” she told the university’s College News. “It’s more like a multivitamin that provides us with all sorts of the nutrients we need. That’s how nature can protect us from all these different kinds of diseases—cardiovascular, respiratory, mental health, musculoskeletal, etc.—simultaneously.”

Improve learning with time spent in the natural world.
Improve learning with time spent in the natural world.

Other studies show that nature is essential to the well-being of children. Children learn and focus better, and are healthier and more relaxed in green spaces, researchers say. In its national guidelines on encouraging nature play, the National Wildlife Federation says, “Nature play is defined as a learning process, engaging children in working together to develop physical skills, to exercise their imaginations, to stimulate poetic expression, to begin to understand the workings of the world around them.”

At the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Nature Play Garden, visitors of all ages and abilities can roll down hills, splash in water, hide in logs, and more.

The Nature Play Garden is part of the Regenstein Learning Campus.


©2016 Chicago Botanic Garden and my.chicagobotanic.org

Give a Gift to the Planet

We’re not afraid to geek out on all things eco-friendly (looking at you, backyard chickens and organic leafy greens), but World Environment Day gives us an excuse to devote a full day to greening the planet.

Dave Cantwell at World Environment Day
June 4 is your chance to meet Garden scientists and horticulturists, and get all your questions answered about roses, lawn care, composting, and more.

Join the global day of action—with people in more than 70 countries—in a daylong celebration of free events and activities (plenty for the kids) on Saturday, June 4, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Chicago Botanic Garden (parking fees apply). World Environment Day is the United Nation’s principal vehicle for encouraging awareness and action for the environment.

Bonus points if you use the day to recycle, add a pollinator-friendly plant to your garden, or consider your ecological footprint by walking, biking, carpooling, or taking public transportation to the Garden (a trolley will be available from the Glencoe Metra station from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; fee applies). Post a picture of what you did for the planet: #CBGWED and #WED2016.

Here are ten free ways to dig the planet on World Environment Day at the Chicago Botanic Garden:

Tom Skilling.
Tom Skilling

1. Ask Tom Skilling.

Bring questions for WGN-TV chief meteorologist and Garden board member Tom Skilling on climate change and more. Skilling will give his climate and weather update at 1:30 p.m in the Plant Science Center.

2. Go to the movies—on us.

The Living Green movie
Director Carey Lundin introduces her award-winning documentary, Jens Jensen The Living Green. Discussion follows the 10 a.m. film; preregistration required.
Shifting Sands on the Path to Sustainability movie
At 3 p.m., catch a screening of Shifting Sands: On the Path to Sustainability, a documentary on the Indiana Dunes.

3. Get the buzz on pollinators and bugs.

Mason and native bee houses.
Learn how to raise bees from beekeepers, and talk to horticulturists about which insects are good for your garden.

4. Score a planet-friendly freebie

Pick up a free butterfly weed plant to grow in your garden to help attract monarch butterflies.

5. Sing, dance, talk up a scientist.

Get your groove on with live music at the Family Entertainment Stage and enjoy Family Drop-in Activities—but don’t forget to leave time for the kids to talk to Garden scientists about plant conservation.

6. Get fresh with us.

Windy City Harvest farmstand.
Windy City Harvest sells fresh, organic produce harvested from the Garden and its urban agriculture sites. While supplies last, pick up a free Costa Rican sweet pepper plant.

7. Be kind to the landfills.

Bring unused prescription medicines for a “medication take-back” sponsored by NorthShore University HealthSystem.

8. Don’t be chicken.

Two young girls pet a chicken and learn about raising chickens at home.
Learn how to bring chickens to your home roost, and learn the real meaning of “fresh eggs.”

9. Reduce, reuse, recycle.

Recycle plastic plant pots, and bring vases for re-purposing by Random Acts of Flowers, which delivers flower arrangements to people with health challenges.

Sustainable eating.
Sustainable eating

10. Think farmers’ markets

Chef Cleetus Friedman of Caffè Baci shows you how to cook with seasonal, organic, and locally grown produce from the Garden’s Windy City Harvest program.


©2016 Chicago Botanic Garden and my.chicagobotanic.org

Spring It On—Spring Annuals for 2016

Did the striking Silver Fox foxglove make it into “the show” this spring? Who decides which flowers make the cut anyway for the unfurling of 75,000 annuals at the Chicago Botanic Garden?

We’ll show you a few of our spring favorites that made it through the multi-level review process.

Digitalis purpurea ssp. heywoodii ‘Silver Fox’
Digitalis purpurea ssp. heywoodii ‘Silver Fox’ (Sensory Garden)

“Behind all of these beautiful displays, there is a lot more happening than what you may think,” said Tim Johnson, the Garden’s senior director of horticulture. “It can be very complex—different plants have different production times.” Besides considering how long it takes for a plant to grow in our greenhouses, the Garden’s experts also consider the desired size and bloom time.

Every season, each horticulturist proposes a color scheme and submits plans to Johnson. About ten months before spring or the start of the other seasons, the proposals are reviewed by experts, including Kris Jarantoski, executive vice president and director; Tim Pollak, outdoor floriculturist; Brian Clark, manager of plant production; Andrew Bunting, assistant director of the Garden and director of plant collections, and Johnson. The team also considers how each proposed plant fits into a garden’s design and color scheme, along with its habit, culture, and cost. “They all need to be looked at globally to make sure there are different plants, varieties, and color schemes throughout the entire Garden,” Johnson said. “Each garden should have a unique look to it.”

Viola 'Fizzy Grape' by Ball Seed
Viola × wittrockiana ‘Fizzy Grape’ (Lake Cook Road entrance and gatehouse)
Primula vulgaris ‘Primlet Golden Shade' by Panam Seed
Primula vulgaris ‘Primlet Golden Shade’ (Heritage Garden troughs)
Hyacinthoides hispanica 'Excelsior' by Brent & Becky's Bulbs
Hyacinthoides hispanica ‘Excelsior’ (Heritage Garden troughs)
Ranunculus asiaticus Maché 'Purple' by Ball Seed
Ranunculus asiaticus ‘Maché Purple’ (Green Roof)
Linaria maroccana 'Licilia Peach'
Linaria maroccana ‘Licilia Peach’ (Circle Garden)
Calendula officinalis 'Neon'
Calendula officinalis ‘Neon’ (Sensory Garden)
Dianthus barbatus ‘Sweet Purple’ by Panam Seed
Dianthus barbatus ‘Sweet Purple’ (Sensory Garden)
Tulipa 'Amazone'
Tulipa ‘Amazone’ (Crescent Garden)

Before spring slips away, come see what’s in bloom at the Garden and look for the annuals that made the final cut, including—you guessed it—an unusual foxglove known as ‘Silver Fox’. Before you visit, download our free GardenGuide app to help you find plants.


©2016 Chicago Botanic Garden and my.chicagobotanic.org

Ooooh-ooh That Smell…

On Tuesday, April 24, #CBGSprout raised a big stink at the Chicago Botanic Garden! Our day included these snapshots of the early morning visitors to the rare phenomenon of a corpse flower in full bloom.

We chatted with the early birds and met some “regulars”—visitors who had come by to meet Spike, the Garden’s first titan arum on display last August, and Alice, the corpse flower that bloomed last September.

Kids visiting corpse flower bloom, wearing a corpse flower t-shirt.
Maxwell and Lexi (in her Alice T-shirt) Kirchen visit Sprout early this morning before school.
Baby visiting corpse flower bloom at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
Harper, 14 months old, waves at #CBGSprout the corpse flower.

Carrie Kirchen of Deerfield visited this morning, along with Maxwell, age 9, and Lexi, age 6.

Lexi: It smells horrible.

Maxwell: We found out on the Internet. The Internet knows everything.

Lexi: It’s very stinky.

Maxwell: It is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see it. 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 Park was here with Harper, 14 months old, as well as Susan and Jim Osiol of Mt. Prospect.

Jamie: We keep coming! Third time is the charm.

Susan: I’m obsessed. Our daughter called first thing this morning: ‘Mom, Sprout is blooming!’

Jim: It is vibrant. It’s a piece of nature that’s fascinating.

Visitors to titan arum Sprout at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
Megan and Daniel Ladror of Chicago
The first visitor to Sprout the titan arum on the morning after the bloom opened.
Emily Rosenberg of Highland Park was here when the doors opened at 6 a.m.

Megan and Daniel Ladror of Chicago analyzed the smell:

Daniel: This smells like our garbage at home after two days.

Megan: It’s such a rare event. I’m excited to see one without waiting in line.

Emily Rosenberg of Highland Park loved the bloom:

Emily: Beautiful. It is so interesting with the spathe (modified frilly leaf). It has great textures.

A visitor from the Czech Republic sniffs the window removed from the spathe for Sprout the corpse flower's pollination.
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 spathe for pollination.
Schoolteacher Jody Schatz reacts to Sprout the titan arum's smell.
Schoolteacher Jody Schatz will have something to share with her class at Reinberg Elementary School in Chicago.

Michelle and Haley Nordstrom, who live five minutes from the Garden:

Michelle (who was watching the livestream at the school bus stop with her daughter when she realized that Sprout was blooming; they jumped in the car): I took a photo of Sprout and sent it to my daughter’s school and said, “We’re going to be late.”

Visitors Roberta Stack, Joanna Wozniak, and Apple, age 7:

Roberta: I’ve been watching it in the camera and saw it open. I ran right down.

Apple: Pretty smelly.

Joanna: I’m catching a cheesey whiff. A bit of Parmesan.

Apple: It does kind of smell like cheese.


©2016 Chicago Botanic Garden and my.chicagobotanic.org