At the start of every growing season, I get the same question: what are your thoughts as far as garden pests are concerned? Here are my predictions: First, plants may show signs of cumulative stress from the inconsistent and extreme weather patterns of the past few years: the 2012 drought, followed by the cold winter … Continue reading New Year, New Pests
The start of a new year prompted us to ask experts here at the Chicago Botanic Garden what they expect to see in 2015. Their predictions might help you anticipate problems, promote pollinators, and add interest to your own patch of green. What’s likely to trend? Rainwater management, cumulative stress problems, corresponding color schemes, new compact … Continue reading Top Gardening Trends for 2015
A couple years ago, in early spring, I got the kind of call that puts a “plant doctor” like me on edge. “Come look at the roses right away,” someone said. In my 25 years at the Chicago Botanic Garden, no one has ever called me to say, “Hey, Tom, come look at the roses; … Continue reading The Plant Doctor Is in the House
Step past the sleepy stone lion, breathe in the cowslip primrose, and listen to the water trickle into an eighteenth-century lead cistern—the feeling is as timeless as the tiny thyme plants growing between the hand-pressed bricks. So how do we preserve that timeless feeling while making sure the English Walled Garden withstands the rigors of … Continue reading For the Ages: the English Walled Garden
Tranquil, peaceful, and serene are words often associated with the McDonald Woods, which wrap around the northeastern edge of the Chicago Botanic Garden. But to Jim Steffen, senior ecologist at the Garden, the oak woodland is a bustling center for natural processes and species, and may hold answers to unsolved scientific questions. “Nothing out there … Continue reading Pioneering Woodland Restoration
