Garden News – Page 18 – My Chicago Botanic Garden

Feminine Perspective: Women Artists and Illustrators

As I compiled the latest rare book exhibition at the Lenhardt Library, I got to know several fascinating women from the past. They were among the first women to be recognized as botanical illustrators, and their work opened doors for generations of women to follow. The exhibition, Feminine Perspective: Women Artists and Illustrators, running through November 10, traces the development of women in the field of botanical illustration from at-home hobbyists to professional artists who were published under their own names, with their works represented in the respectable journals, displayed in galleries and art shows, and accepted professionally.

ILLUSTRATION: Rigid-leaved Gorteria (Gorteria rigens). — Rigid-leaved gorteria (*Gorteria rigens*) by Henrietta Moriarty from the Rare Book Collection of the Lenhardt Library of the Chicago Botanic Garden.

For Henrietta Moriarty who published in 1807 London, botany was a moral dilemma. The renowned botanical theory of plant classification by Carl Linnaeus discusses plant reproduction and reproductive plant parts; the material was decidedly not appropriate for a proper Victorian woman and outright dangerous for a young girl. Moriarty solves this moral dilemma by writing and illustrating her own book, Fifty Plates of Green-House Plants, Drawn and Coloured from Nature, with concise descriptions and rules for their culture. Intended for the improvement of young ladies in the art of drawing, second edition, 1807.

Her 50 botanical illustrations are each hand-colored and focused on the beautiful flower with a botanical description but lack any discussion or representation of plant reproductive processes. Moriarty, a widow with children, needed to support her family and found writing and illustrating a botany book to be productive. She presold 180 copies by subscription. View each page of this lovely book online at the Illinois Digital Archives.

ILLUSTRATION: Italian pimpernel (Anagallis monellis). — Italian pimpernel (*Anagallis monellis*) by Henrietta Moriarty from the Rare Book Collection of the Lenhardt Library of the Chicago Botanic Garden

To hear more stories on the personal circumstances and the success of women in botanical illustration, come into the library! We’d love to share more about these illustrators and more:

Henriette Antoinette Vincent (1786 – 1830)
Ellen Robbins (1828 – 1905)
Lady Harriet Ann Thiselton-Dyer (1854 – 1945)

For a schedule of upcoming exhibitions and library talks, click here.

Notes from the 5th Global Botanic Gardens Congress

I’ve just touched down at home after five days in New Zealand at the 5^th Global Botanic Gardens Congress; 329 delegates from botanic gardens and arboreta from 45 countries gathered together in Dunedin, New Zealand, to learn how to strengthen our horticulture displays and plant collections, education and visitor programs, and plant conservation science. Our Chicago Botanic Garden motto is “Save the Plants, Save the Planet,” and what an amazing experience it is to spend time with people—mostly brilliant plant scientists—who share this passion and mission, and who will travel from every corner of the globe to help realize it.

Here are two particularly good slides that show some of the big-picture goals presented by Peter Wyse Jackson, Ph.D., president of the Missouri Botanical Garden and chairman of the Global Partnership for Plant Conservation (GPPC).

Drivers of Biodiversity Loss by Peter Wyse Jackson. — Drivers of biodiversity loss by Dr. Peter Wyse Jackson

Grand challenges for botanic gardens by Peter Wyse Jackson. — Grand challenges for botanic gardens by Dr. Peter Wyse Jackson

I had the honor of representing our garden in Chicago four times throughout the Congress, organized by Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI). I presented at a symposium with colleagues from England, Austria, and Jordan about botanic gardens’ role in social change; chaired a panel of compelling speakers from Jordan, Mexico, Australia, and the U.S. who shared examples of how to engage communities in conservation; was challenged by the audience at an open forum with Stephen Blackmore, Ph.D. (Edinburgh), Dr. Tim Entwistle, Ph.D. (Melbourne), and Jack Hobbs (Auckland); and delivered a plenary address. If you want to see the range of topics and gardens represented, take a look at the BGCI Congress site; the Twitter comments #BGCI2013 also give highlights.

PHOTO: Group shot standing in front of ocean. — Kayri Havens-Young, Greg Mueller, and Sophia Siskel at Larnachs Castle, Otago, New Zealand

My Chicago Botanic Garden colleagues Greg Mueller, Ph.D., and Kayri Havens-Young, Ph.D., also attended and presented their work (and we had a lot of fun, too).

Being relatively new to the field of plant conservation, I set as one of my Congress goals the memorization of international conservation acronyms. To effectively make our way in any land we need to learn to speak the language!

PHOTO: Powerpoint slide — This is a PowerPoint slide of inside-baseball acronyms from one of the presentations.

So now, after writing down and decoding (i.e., asking the nice person next to me for help or drawing on the seemingly endless patience of my colleague Greg Mueller), the acronyms I heard, I am now semifluent (in that college French kind of way). Below, I offer a plant-conservation-centered sample of what I’ve learned—hopefully this primer will be helpful as you get involved in plant conservation. If you catch a mistake, please let me know!

A superb, professional explanation of UN environmental conventions, and how botanic gardens can support international goals (and more acronyms), may be found in the International Agenda for Botanic Gardens in Conservation, 2^nd edition.

CBD	Convention on Biological Diversity
COP	Conference of the Parties
SPB	Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its 20 Aichi Targets, adopted by the COP to the CBD in Nagoya, Japan, 2010
GSPC	Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, adopted by CBD at COP 2002
GPPC	Global Partnership for Plant Conservation
CITES	Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
SBSTTA	Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice
ABS	Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-Sharing Procedures
GBO	Global Biodiversity Outlook
NBSAPS	National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans
NFP	National Focal Point
UNCED	United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Rio, 1992)
UNFCCC	United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Rio, 1992, updated and strengthened by Kyoto Protocol, 2005)
MDG	Millennium Development Goals (2000)
UNEP	United Nations Environmental Programme
FAO	Food Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
REDD	Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries
REDD+	A Climate Change Mitigation Solution Related to REDD
IPBES	Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
IPCC	Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IUCN	International Union for Conservation of Nature
SSC	IUCN Species Survival Commission
TEEB	The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity
GBIF	Global Biodiversity Information Facility
GTI	Global Taxonomic Initiative
ISPN	International Sentinel Plant Network
IPEN	International Plant Exchange Network
EOL	Encyclopedia of Life
TDWG	Taxonomic Database Working Group (Pronounced “tadwig”— this one is my favorite because even after the group changed its name to Biodiversity Information Standards, it kept TDWG as its acronym! Keeping us on our toes.)
MSBP	Millennium Seed Bank Partnership
SOS	Seeds of Success and also Save our Species (through IUCN)
CWR	Crop Wild Relatives
GCDT	Global Crop Diversity Trust
ENSCONET	European Seed Conservation Network
NGO	Non-Governmental Organization
APGA	American Public Gardens Association
AZA	Association of Zoos & Aquariums
BGCI	Botanic Gardens Conservation International
BSA	Botanical Society of America
ERA	Ecological Restoration Alliance
GCA	Garden Clubs of America
CPC	Center for Plant Conservation
NSCA	Natural Science Collections Alliance
PCA	Plant Conservation Alliance
MIPN	Midwest Invasive Plant Network
NIPP	Northeastern Illinois Invasive Plant Partnerships
BLM	Bureau of Land Management
NSF	National Science Foundation
USFWS	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
LCC	Landscape Conservation Cooperative
USDA NIFA	United States Department of Agriculture National Institute for Food and Agriculture

PHOTO: Peony bush. — Peonies at Larnachs Castle, New Zealand—October!

PHOTO: Wild echium. — Echium along roadside in New Zealand

PHOTO: Rhododendron shrub. — Rhododendrons at Dunedin Botanic Garden, New Zealand

Chicago experienced its first autumn frost while we were away, but spring in the southern hemisphere was in full bloom. Enjoying the remarkable flowers and landscapes of the South Island of New Zealand only intensified our passion for plants and the joy of gardens and nature.

Thank you BGCI, colleagues, the Dunedin Botanic Garden (and Shane the amazing bus #3 driver) for your leadership, friendship, and hospitality. Until Geneva 2017!

Working toward a new harvest—on top of McCormick Place

Earlier this summer I stood on the rooftop of the McCormick Place convention center along Chicago’s lakefront and looked around. In front of me were vast rectangular trays of a monoculture of low yellow sedum and bare soil.

PHOTO: The roof of McCormick Place West planted with sedum — McCormick Place West planted with sedum

What I saw in my mind’s eye was bed after garden bed bursting with kale, collards, carrots, radishes, lettuces, peppers, beans, beets, tomatoes, and herbs. For in that space, as part of the Chicago Botanic Garden’s ongoing mission to promote sustainable gardening and to train Chicago residents for jobs in urban agriculture and green industries, we had just launched the largest farm-to-fork rooftop garden in the Midwest.

In partnership with SAVOR…Chicago, the food service provider for McCormick Place, the Garden has created a 20,000-square-foot rooftop enterprise that will likely yield about 4,000 pounds of produce this year—its first—and double or triple that amount in subsequent years. Already, we are well on our way to that first half-season harvest.

PHOTO: More of McCormick Place West, this time planted with vegetables — McCormick Place West planted with vegetables

Within this enormous rooftop garden we will expand our urban agriculture capabilities, create more hands-on training and job opportunities for our Windy City Harvest participants, and serve as a local source of fresh produce to this major international convention center. Later this summer, we expect the first of what will be many harvests in years to come—and many lives changed for the better.

The McCormick Place rooftop garden was designed and planted by Angela Mason, the Garden’s director of urban agriculture, and staff from our Windy City Harvest program, which offers the state’s first accredited urban agriculture certificate.

PHOTO: Stacey Kimmons, a crew member of Windy City Harvest, harvesting lettuce from the roof. — Stacey Kimmons, a crew member of Windy City Harvest

Over the past five years, Windy City Harvest has planted and maintained five acres of vegetable gardens at six Chicago locations. This newest rooftop garden, like the other sites, will become one of the program’s living laboratories, offering hands-on experience to Windy City Harvest students.

As I lingered on the rooftop that day, contemplating the garden-to-be in front of me amid the magnificent expanse of Chicago, I felt acutely my place as one of many people, within the Garden and well beyond, committed to the idea of making the world a better place, one step—or one garden bed—at a time.

So many basils, so little time…

The Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden is the place to explore small-space gardening.

PHOTO: seven types of basil planted in a traditional "pie slice" herb bed. — Seven types of basil (listed below) were planted in the basil bed at the Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden.

There, basil is king. (Of course it is—the word basil is rooted in the Greek basilikos, meaning royalty.) The bed is planted with seven very different basil varieties, laid out in a pinwheel design, and all grown from seed. It’s enough to make a gardener’s—or a foodie’s—head spin with plans for dinner…and for your own herb garden. Discover these varieties of Ocimum basilicum:

‘Dwarf Fine Bush’ – The neat round globes that divide the pinwheel pack a big punch in those tiny leaves. This basil is highly aromatic, rich with cinnamon/anise/clove flavors. Although the leaves are too little to pluck for pesto, sprinkle them on hors d’oeuvres, or use them as a garnish on any dish. Really nice for nibbling, too.

‘Crimson King’ – It’s a Genovese-style basil, with big, curvy leaves, colored purple instead of green—the better to stand out in vegetable dishes, layered in a sandwich, or as a revelation with rice.

‘Serata’ – As the name says, this is basil with serrated edges. Big, ruffly, bright green leaves make ‘Serata’ pretty enough for the front of the flower bed. But it’s truly tasty, too, with real basil flavor, so it’s a great choice for pesto.

‘Ararat’ – Showstopping in a pot on a sunny porch or patio, bicolor ‘Ararat’ is green wherever it’s not purple. Its licorice taste immediately challenges your inner foodie: Salads? Tomato dishes? Ice cream?

‘Genovese Compact Improved’ – A relative of the classic Genovese, this is more compact in overall size. With the same big leaves and concentrated, sweet flavor—though more noticeably less anise in taste—this is the perfect basil for pesto.

‘Purple Ruffles’ – The name tells you what you need to know: it’s a beautiful basil, with a more complex cinnamon/spice/mint/anise flavor. Steep it in white wine vinegar for fresh vinaigrettes all summer and fall.

‘Purple Osmin’ – Fruity and sweet, this is one of the darkest of all basils, and delicious in Italian and Thai recipes.

Check out the kitchen garden bed just outside of our demonstration kitchen window.

‘Sweet Thai’ – The distinctive spicy flavor of anise and clove make this the basil for red and green Thai curries and pho. Its purple flowers mix nicely in container or window box plantings.

‘Mrs. Burns’ Lemon’ – Pluck the lemony leaves for iced teas and lemonades, and use them generously when grilling.

That’s nine basil varieties to add to your summer repertoire. Need a kickstarter recipe? Paul Choi, who served as Garden Café executive chef, shares his lemony pesto recipe below.

PHOTO: Ararat basil. — Ararat basil (*Ocimum basilicum* ‘Ararat’)

Five Tips for Harvesting Basil

Use scissors to clip individual basil leaves from the plant rather than tearing them off—much neater!
Harvest basil branches with a clean cut across the stem, then stand them in cool water ‘til you’re ready to use.
Harvest a whole plant by cutting straight across the main stem, leaving at least one leaf node with two shoots—the plant will rebranch from there.
Start a new batch of seed every month from February (indoors) through September (bring plants in if nighttime temperatures dip below 50° Fahrenheit) for a continuous, fresh supply.
Picked too much basil (is that possible)? Chop extra leaves, layer them into ice cube trays, fill with water or olive oil, and freeze. The individual cubes are great for cooking.

PHOTO: a bowl of freshly made pesto. — Pesto-licious!

Garden-fresh Pesto

8 ounces fresh basil leaves
1-2 lemons, juiced and zested*
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup pine nuts (optional)
3 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 cup Parmesan, grated
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper

*Chef Choi prefers two for a zingier taste.

Place the pine nuts, garlic, and basil in a food processor. Process for about 30 seconds or until everything is chopped. With the processor running, slowly add the oil until the pesto is thoroughly puréed. Add the rest of your ingredients and purée until all are incorporated.

Store the pesto in the refrigerator for up to three days. The pesto must be stored with plastic wrap or another cover to keep air out. Or freeze in ice cube trays—just add a cube to any dish for extra flavor.

Butterflies in Print

PHOTO: hand-colored copper engraving. — Hand-colored copper engraving from *Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium*

The Lenhardt Library hosts remarkable exhibitions throughout the year. These exhibitions highlight parts of the collection that visitors might not otherwise see, and the exhibitions are among the Garden’s best-loved secrets! Stacy Stoldt, public services manager of the Lenhardt Library, curated the current exhibition, Butterflies in Print: Lepidoptera Defined, open now through August 18.

By far, the highlight is Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium (Metamorphosis of Surinam Insects) by Maria Sibylla Merian, published in 1719 in Amsterdam. This volume is on loan from the Owen H. Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine, Bio-Medical Libraries, University of Minnesota.

PHOTO: illustration by Maria Sibylla Merian — An illustrated panel by Maria Sibylla Merian

See Butterflies in Print: Lepidoptera Defined at the Lenhardt Library through August 18, 2013.

Maria Sibylla Merian, from the 500 deutsche mark bank note

Maria Sibylla Merian (1647–1717) was a fascinating woman, artist, and naturalist. While she was known for her watercolor paintings of flowers and insects, embroidery patterns, and copper engravings, she is also credited with being the founder of German entomology. At age 13 she began studying the metamorphoses of silkworms and butterflies. After five years of intense study, Merian found that adult insects actually lay eggs, disproving the earlier theory that caterpillars were born out of spontaneous generation.

Divorced in 1699, she traveled with her daughter Dorothea to the Dutch Colony of Surinam (now known as Suriname) that same year to continue her entomological work and art. Her spectacular artistic abilities and scientifically accurate representations make Metamorphosis of Surinam Insects a monumental tome. Carl Linnaeus consulted Merian’s illustrations in the course of his taxonomic work in the eighteenth century. Nine species of butterflies, six plants, and two beetles were named for her. She is still a well-known historic figure today and is represented on the 500 deutsche mark bank note and a German postage stamp; she was the subject of Google’s Doodle of the day on April 2, 2013, celebrating her 366th birthday.

Butterflies in Print was designed to complement the Butterflies & Blooms exhibition that showcases native and tropical live butterflies; Maria may have even seen some of these species in Suriname 300 years ago!

Want to know more about our rare books? Read Stories from the Rare Book Collection, monthly highlights from our collection written by curator Ed Valauskas.