The number of women in science is pretty dismal. Despite earning about half the doctorates in science, only 21 percent of full science professors in the United States are women,* but I feel very fortunate to work at an institution committed to inclusiveness and diversity. At the Chicago Botanic Garden, 25 of our 47 scientific staff are … Continue reading Spotlighting Women in Science at the Garden
Pokémon hunting in the Garden can be a great way to stop and take a closer look at some of the gardens while connecting with other visitors. Ordinarily, we love our visitors to enjoy our gardens with their senses, not their phones, but with the new Pokémon GO app, you can do both. Essentially an app that lets you run … Continue reading Catch Summer and Pokémon at the Chicago Botanic Garden
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. “Behind all of these beautiful displays, there … Continue reading Spring It On—Spring Annuals for 2016
When the Green Roof Garden was first planted in 2009, everything we knew about long-term rooftop gardening was theoretical. Which plants would live more than one year on the roof? No one knew for sure. Were native plants better to plant than non-natives? Unknown. What about soil depth, extreme weather, pests, diseases? The list of … Continue reading The Sky’s the Limit
Do you ever feel like trying to understand plant science research can be as daunting as deciphering a passage written in a foreign language? As a budding plant scientist in the joint Chicago Botanic Garden/Northwestern University Ph.D. program, I find it exciting to pick through dense scientific text. Uncovering the meaning of a new acronym … Continue reading Speaking Science: Bringing Plant-Based Research to All Ages
