Garden News – Page 5 – My Chicago Botanic Garden

It’s a Girl: Flowers Climb the Baby Name Lists

As proud gardeners, we are thrilled to announce the arrival of flower names as a fresh trend on the best baby name lists.

While Lily, Rose, and Daisy have been perennial list favorites, Violet has just cracked the top five on Nameberry.

What’s behind the trend? Celebrities, for starters. When Gwyneth named baby Apple a dozen years ago, some scratched their heads. Fast forward to 2012, and Blue Ivy Carter (Beyoncé’s first) sounded just right.

Media has played a role, too. Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling surely knew her flowers: Harry’s mother was named Lily and his aunt, Petunia—and support characters that pop up are named Pansy, Lavender, and Poppy. And then there was Downton Abbey, with its worldwide audience that sighed with happiness when Lady Edith named the baby Marigold.

Speaking of England, behind today’s trend is an even earlier, Victorian-era trend rooted in the language of flowers. This is a topic near and dear to the Garden’s heart, as an amazing gift of 400 books related to the Language of Flowers was donated to the Lenhardt Library in 2015.

The new exhibition at the Lenhardt Library, Language of Flowers: Floral Art and Poetry, is a great opportunity to examine some of the rarest of those volumes—we’re especially enamored of the 1852 Lexicon of Ladies’ Names, with their Floral Emblems. Modern books are out on one of the library tables for you to browse, too—and that’s where you’ll find these beautiful names for girls (and boys) and their language of flowers meanings.

See Language of Flowers: Floral Art and Poetry at the Lenhardt Library through August 7, 2016.

Angelica (Angelica gigas) — *Angelica gigas*

Angelica: Inspiration

Apple: Temptation

Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) — *Mertensia virginica*

Bluebell: Constancy

Daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum ('Darling Daisy') — *Leucanthemum* × *superbum* (‘Darling Daisy’)

Daisy: Innocence

China rose (Hibiscus 'Mrs. Jimmy Spangler') — *Hibiscus* ‘Mrs. Jimmy Spangler’

Hibiscus: Beauty always new

Holly (Ilex aquifolium 'Monvila') GOLD COAST™ — *Ilex aquifolium* ‘Monvila’ Gold Coast™

Holly: Foresight

Hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis) — *Hyacinthus orientalis*

Hyacinth: Sport, game, play

Iris (Iris 'Superstition') — *Iris* ‘Superstition’

Iris: Message

Ivy (Parthenocissius) — *Parthenocissus*

Ivy: Fidelity, marriage

Jasmine (Jasminum polyanthemum) — *Jasminum polyanthum*

Jasmine: Amiability

Laurel (Laurus nobilis) — *Laurus nobilis*

Laurel: Glory

Lavender: Distrust

Lily (Lilium 'Acapulco') — *Lilium* ‘Acapulco’

Lily: Majesty

Marigold (Tagetes patula 'Janie Deep Orange') — *Tagetes patula* ‘Janie Deep Orange’

Marigold: Grief

Pansy (Viola x wittrockiana 'Matrix') — *Viola* × *wittrockiana* ‘Matrix’

Pansy: Thoughts

Pinks (Dianthus hybrida 'Valda Louise') — *Dianthus hybrida* ‘Valda Louise’

Pinks: Boldness

Poppy: Consolation

Rose (Rosa 'Medallion') — *Rosa* ‘Medallion’

Rose: Love

African violets (Saintpaulia ionantha) — *Saintpaulia ionantha*

Violet: Faithfulness

Don’t like the idea of an associated flower meaning? You can always choose Flora, Fleur, or Blossom. Or just stick with Sweet Pea as a nickname, because, girl or boy, what baby isn’t a “delicate pleasure”?

What About the Boys?

Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) meant “gallantry” and Rocket (Eruca sativa) connoted “rivalry” in the language of flowers, but names for boys are few in the world of blooms. Expand into the wider world of plants and a few more names emerge: Sage, Forest, Ash, Bay, Glen.

What other nature-related names for boys can you think of?

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.

Stinkin’ Cool! New Designer Scents from Botanic Candle

New! Relive the thrill of cheering on Spike and Alice with our creative line of richly scented candles. A great gift for Mother’s Day, anniversaries, birthdays, and all the special people in your life.

Very Titan Berry gives new meaning to “fruit flavored.” It is very, very, very berry. Note, the scent may be too sophisticated for small children and pets.

Eau de Titan Arum is spicy and surprisingly energizing. Recalls the electrifying moment when the titan arum blooms! Deeply organic and powerful enough to scent the whole house.

Skunk Cabbage No 5 is a mysterious and musky scent. Guarantees that guests will flock to your candle like flies.

Can you order online? Of corpse!
BUY NOW.

Tap into the power of plants, you will love these
titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) inspired scents.

Viburnum Leaf Beetle Update – Winter Scouting

Last year we discovered Viburnum leaf beetle (VLB) here at the Chicago Botanic Garden for the very first time. As I said then, “I strongly suggest you begin monitoring your viburnums for this critter” as once they move in, they become a perennial pest, just like Japanese beetles.

In early March, we monitored many of the Garden’s viburnums for signs of VLB egg laying and focused on areas where we observed VLB activity last summer. I had read recommendations for pruning out these twigs (with eggs) in the winter as a management technique and wanted to give it a go. To assist with this project, I called in our Plant Health Care Volunteer Monitoring Team; the more eyes the better. The six of us (all armed with hand pruners, sample bags, and motivation) began a close inspection with a focus on last season’s new twig growth for the signs of the distinctive straight line egg-laying sites. In less than five minutes, we found our first infested twig, pruned it out, and put it in a sample bag. After about three hours, we had collected about 20 twigs with eggs.

Truly, I was expecting to find a lot more. This was somewhat disappointing, as I had created a challenge to see which volunteer would fill his or her sample bag and collect the most. This turned out to be more like a needle in a haystack search, as it was a lot more difficult than I had thought. I also feel that the egg-laying sites would have been easier to see if we had done this in early winter, as the egg-laying locations had darkened with time.

Back at our lab, I dissected some of our samples under the microscope. When I removed the cover cap (created by the female after egg laying) material of a few of the egg-laying locations, I found about six orange, gelatinous balls (the overwintering eggs). These eggs were about a month or two from hatching.

For background on this new, exotic insect pest, please see my June 5, 2015, blog on the Viburnum leaf beetle.

The favored viburnums are the following:
Arrowwood viburnum (V. dentatum)
European and American cranberrybush viburnum (V. opulus, formerly V. trilobum)
Wayfaringtree viburnum (V. lantana)
Sargent viburnum (V. sargentii)

When to monitor and for what:
In early summer, you would look for the distinctive larva and signs of leaf damage from the larva feeding.
In mid- to late summer, you would look for the adult beetle and leaf damage from the beetle feeding.
In the winter, you would look for signs of overwintering egg-laying sites on small twigs.

Life cycle, quick review:
In early May, eggs hatch and larva feed on viburnum leaves.
In mid-June, the larva migrate to the ground and pupate in the soil.
In early July, the adult beetles emerge and begin to feed on viburnum leaves again, and mate.
In late summer, the adult female beetle lays eggs on current season twig growth in a visually distinctive straight line.

Hopefully our efforts will lessen the VLB numbers for this coming season. We will see when we monitor the shrubs for leaf damage and larva activity in late May. If nothing else, it was a great learning experience with this very new, exotic insect.

Special thanks to the Plant Health Care Volunteer Monitoring Team: Beth, Fred, Tom (x3), and Chris.

Windy City Harvest teens get star turns

“Lights, camera…veggies!” In fall 2014, farmers at the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Windy City Harvest Youth Farm had an amazing opportunity.

PHOTO: Kids from Dyett High School Windy City Youth Farm 2015. — Kids from Windy City Youth Farm 2015 have fun washing vegetables to sell in their farm stand.

Filmmakers from New York came to Washington Park to meet the teens and record their experiences on the farm for a new documentary that seeks to uncover how we as a nation can make an impact on childhood obesity through creative education and empowerment.

The resulting film, The Kids Menu, will be shown at 6:45 p.m. on March 8 at Century Centre Cinema, 2828 North Clark Street, Chicago. The showing will be followed by a question-and-answer session with filmmaker Joe Cross. Get your tickets here.

The Windy City Harvest teens worked side-by-side with the producer, director, and cameraman to capture moving footage of their work at the farm and how plants have positively impacted their lives. One teen wrote the following:

And tell about it they do in this film. The Windy City Harvest farmers tell just some of the inspirational stories about how kids are choosing a healthier path in The Kids Menu, which is from the same team behind Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead. You’ve heard what’s not working when it comes to nourishing a healthier, happier next generation—now, it’s time to find out what does work.

Click here to view the trailer on YouTube.

The Reboot team selected Chicago as one of its exclusive screening locations. So come see Windy City Harvest in The Kids Menu at 6:45 p.m. March 8 at Century Centre Cinema.