Behind the Scenes – Page 4 – My Chicago Botanic Garden

10 Cool Plants in the Nature Play Garden

The opening celebration of the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Regenstein Learning Campus on September 10 and 11 is just the beginning of the fun at the Nature Play Garden. How about splashing in the runnel or running up and down the rolling hills?

Beyond those charms, the Nature Play Garden has another wonderful element: plants that were chosen specifically for this garden. There are plants that appeal to all five senses, and plants with funny names or those that exhibit extreme contrasts. One of the best ways to explore the new Learning Campus and its Nature Play Garden is through plants.

In the Garden’s 26 other gardens, plants are chosen, tended, and laid out to enhance the visitor experience. In this, the Garden’s 27^th garden, plants are meant to be touched, smelled, and examined up close.

Plants that appeal to the senses:

PHOTO: Stachys byzantina 'Big Ears' — *Stachys byzantina* ‘Big Ears’

Sensory plants like lamb’s ear (Stachys byzantina ‘Big Ears’) feel soft to the touch.

PHOTO: Physostegia virginiana 'Miss Manners' — *Physostegia virginiana* ‘Miss Manners’

Obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana ‘Miss Manners’) has tubular flowers that remain in place if you move them.

PHOTO: Polemonium reptans 'Heaven Scent' — *Polemonium reptans* ‘Heaven Scent’
Photo courtesy of Intrinsic Perennial Gardens

Heaven Scent Jacob’s ladder (Polemonium reptans ‘Heaven Scent’) was chosen for its fragrance. Enjoy its bright bloom in the spring.

PHOTO: Bergenia cordifolia 'Winterglut' — *Bergenia cordifolia* ‘Winterglut’

Pigsqueak (Bergenia cordifolia ‘Winterglut’) has big, fleshy leaves that squeak when rubbing fingers over them.

PHOTO: Liquidambar styraciflua — *Liquidambar styraciflua*

Moraine American sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Moraine’) has star-shaped leaves and seedpods that are spiky; when dry, the seedpods are a great percussion instrument when shaken.

Plants that look cool:

PHOTO: Sedum 'T. Rex' — *Sedum* ‘T. Rex’

Autumn stonecrop (Sedum ‘T Rex’) was a cultivar we didn’t yet have in the Garden. The education staff likes these leaves because they can be filled with air.

PHOTO: Cercis canadensis 'Columbus Strain' — *Cercis canadensis* ‘Columbus Strain’

Columbus Strain redbud (Cercis Canadensis ‘Columbus Strain’) promise to put on a glorious color show each fall. You won’t have to look far to find these: more than 60 surround the McCormick Entry Plaza.

PHOTO: Carpinus caroliniana 'JN Select' — *Carpinus caroliniana* ‘JN Select’

Johnson’s Select American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana ‘JN Select’), a cultivar of hornbeam that is recognized for its unusually smaller and upright stature, is ideal for smaller urban gardens with red and orange fall color. These create the Hornbeam Room in the Nature Play Garden.

PHOTO: Chelone obliqua 'Tiny Tortuga' — *Chelone obliqua* ‘Tiny Tortuga’

Tiny Tortuga turtlehead (Chelone obliqua ‘Tiny Tortuga’) has flower heads that look like turtles.

PHOTO: Alchemilla mollis 'Thriller' — *Alchemilla mollis* ‘Thriller’

Lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis ‘Thriller’) is best when it rains because the raindrops stay on the leaves.

And a few bonus plants with fun names:

Milk and Cookies common boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum ‘Milk and Cookies’) is unusually dark-leafed.

There’s also a mythical hero — Hercules coral bells (Heuchera ‘Hercules’) — and a princess — Cinderella anemone (Anemone × hybrida ‘Cinderella’).

PHOTO: Heuchera 'Hercules' — *Heuchera* ‘Hercules’

PHOTO: Anemone x hybrida 'Cinderella' — *Anemone* × *hybrida* ‘Cinderella’

The team of horticulturists and landscape designers who worked to choose and plant the elements of the Nature Play Garden looked for four-season interest and plants that would appeal to visitors of all ages and abilities. Our heavy clay soil didn’t work for everything, but the range of options was still enormous. Come to the Nature Play Garden and discover your own favorite plants.

Join us for the opening celebration of the Regenstein Learning Campus, Saturday and Sunday, September 10 & 11, from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Now Blooming: Vanilla

Attention orchid fans: our vanilla orchid is blooming in the Tropical Greenhouse at the Chicago Botanic Garden. It’s a rare occurrence in the wild—and in a greenhouse. Wade Wheatley, assistant horticulturist, seized the moment to hand-pollinate the flower.

Vanilla planifolia before pollination — *Vanilla planifolia* before pollination

Why hand pollinate? In hopes of producing a vanilla bean. Yes, the fruit of a vanilla orchid is used to make pure vanilla extract, which flavors many foods we enjoy.

Vanilla vines typically begin to flower at five years or older. Flowers are produced in clusters, with one flower opening each day in the morning. Stop by the Tropical Greenhouse soon to see what’s in bloom.

Changes to the Garden’s entrance plantings

It is our responsibility as citizens, but especially as practitioners in the fields of horticulture and botanical sciences, to be good stewards of the land and ensure that what we are growing in our backyards and at the Chicago Botanic Garden will not contribute to problems in the future. That is why the Garden recently replaced the callery pears at the entrance to the Visitor Center.

In addition to the callery pear, the Garden also removed winged euonymus (Euonymus alatus) and tamarisk (Tamarix spp.).

Callery pear and euonymus plantings at the Visitor Center entrance in autumn of 2010.

One threat to our natural world is invasive plants. While many of these plants may on the surface appear to be attractive additions to the landscape, they can force out native species. Short of complete destruction of a natural area, I cannot think of anything more unsightly than a natural area that has been completely consumed by an invasive species to the point that it is no longer recognizable and holds very little biodiversity.

The list of invasive plants and potentially invasive plants is not set in stone; it is an evolving list and one that will continue to change as our climate changes. The callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) was not on the invasive species lists for our region a decade ago, but today it is in Illinois, along with Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Most are familiar with the cultivar ‘Bradford’, but there are several others, including ‘Aristocrat’, ‘Autumn Blaze’, and ‘Cleveland Select’.

Garden staff plant non-invasive American yellowwood (Cladrastis kentukea) at the entrance to the Visitor Center.

This spring we replaced all of the Pyrus calleryana ‘Autumn Blaze’ at the front entrance of the Visitor Center with the non-invasive American yellowwood (Cladrastis kentukea). As a result, the front entrance is noticeably more open in appearance, and the low canopy and refreshing shade that existed in years past is now gone; it will return as the plantings grow.

Although both of these species are medium-sized deciduous trees with white flowers, the yellowwood has different ornamental characteristics. The callery pear flowers in the early spring, while the yellowwood flowers in late spring to early summer. The callery pear has unrivaled fall color in shades of red, orange, and yellow, while the yellowwood is one of the best for yellow fall color.

Why is the callery pear called an invasive?

This pear has abundant seeds that can be carried by birds to natural areas. Plants can then become established, thus displacing native species. As land stewards, the Garden is very mindful of prohibiting and eliminating any plants known to be invasive in our region.

The new plantings at the Visitor Center entrance. — The new plantings at the Visitor Center entrance will take time to grow, but will someday provide the shade and fall color of their predecessors.

I have no doubt that some of these recently removed invasive plants were favorites among Garden visitors, our staff included. But sometimes what we like isn’t always good for us, or good for the environment.

New seasonal plantings replace the previous shrubs in the entry beds.

I encourage you to review and continue to consult invasive species lists, including on the invasive.org website, and do your part by removing invasive species from your garden and resist purchasing and adding more. There are so many benign, beautiful options available to gardeners, and the Garden, along with numerous other organizations, has done the work for you by listing alternatives for the invasive plants that we feel we cannot live without. View a list of our recommended alternatives to invasive plant species here.

Each of us can play an important role in preserving the natural landscapes for future generations.

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.

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.

Ten Things to Know About Corpse Flowers

The Chicago Botanic Garden is on #TitanWatch. That’s right: if you visit the Garden’s Semitropical Greenhouse, you will see Sprout, the latest corpse flower from the Garden’s collection of 13 titan arums to begin a bloom cycle.

PHOTO: Corpse flowers (Amorphophallus titanum) on display in a variety of life stages: in fruit, leaf, and bud. — Our corpse flowers (*Amorphophallus titanum*) are now on display in a variety of life stages: in fruit, leaf, and imminent bloom.

You might remember Spike and Alice in 2015: Spike failed to bloom but provided so much excitement; and Alice the Amorphophallus brought visitors to the Garden at all hours to see, and smell, a corpse flower in bloom. Now we are all watching Sprout to see if the corpse flower—known as a titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum)— will produce a huge, rotten bloom. Follow the progress of #CBGSprout on our corpse flower webcam and check our website for updates.

We learned a lot about corpse flowers in the last few months, and in the Semitropical Greenhouse, there are corpse flowers at three different stages on display: in the middle of a bloom cycle (Sprout); a non-blooming titan arum leaf; and a pollinated and fruiting titan arum (it’s Alice!).

Here’s what you need to know as you watch Sprout grow:

The corpse flower is one of the largest and rarest flowering plants in the world. It takes seven to ten years for a single corpse flower to produce a flowering structure (inflorescence). While other corpse flowers in cultivation have bloomed around the world recently, having more than one plant bloom in such a short time is uncommon. Watch for these signs the titan arum bloom is starting.
Corpse flowers smell bad. Really bad. Peak stink time is usually very late at night.
Speaking of night, that’s when corpse flowers usually bloom. And once they bloom, the bloom lasts 24 to 36 hours. Want a sneak peek? View our last titan arum bloom.
If Sprout blooms, the Garden will stay open until 2 a.m. so visitors can experience the corpse flower bloom up close (last Garden entry will be 1 a.m.). Watch the live corpse flower webcam, check the blog (subscribe today), and follow the Garden on Facebook and #CBGSprout on Twitter to get the latest information.
Corpse flowers are BIG. In their natural habitats, they can reach 10 to 12 feet tall with a bloom diameter of 5 feet. In cultivation, they typically reach 6 to 8 feet in height, but all are different.
Corpse flowers are unpredictable. When the Garden was watching Spike, the first titan arum, even the horticulturists were surprised that the plant did not flower.
Corpse flowers are native to Sumatra, but Sprout was grown here from seed the Garden received in 2008 from the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley. Learn about the titan arum’s native habitat.
The corpse flower includes the corm, which may or may not go on to produce a flower; the spadix, which is the tall flower spike; the spathe, which is a single, frilly, modified leaf that enwraps the spadix; the petiole, which is the leaf stalk; and the branch-like rachis, which supports the many leaflets. Find more diagrams and information in our titan arum educator resources.
Corpse flowers that bloom in the wild attract pollinators like carrion beetles and flesh flies. Once the plant is successfully pollinated, it develops olive-shaped, red-orange berries. Read more about titan arum pollination.
Corpse flowers need protection. The Garden’s conservation work ensures that plants like these survive and thrive. Studying seeds from Sprout, Spike, and Alice enables scientists and horticulturists at universities, conservatories, and other institutions increase the genetic diversity of the species. See how we are studying our titan arum fruit.

PHOTO: The mature fruit of this Amorphophallus titanum is now being collected for seed. — The mature fruit of Alice the *Amorphophallus* is now being collected for seed.

We will be announcing extended viewing hours when #CBGSprout blooms. Spring is here, however—see what else is currently in bloom.