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
Sometime around midsummer, we all look at our yards, filled in and blooming, and think about designing something new, dividing plants, or perhaps creating a new hedge. Attractive native shrubs are often overlooked—and occasionally hard to come by in local nurseries and garden centers—but they are well worth the effort to find. Already adapted to our … Continue reading Underutilized Native Shrubs
What if the next plant conservation project wasn’t down the street, or in the neighboring county, or far away in the wilderness? What if it was right above your head, on your roof? In our increasingly urban world, making use of rooftop space might help conserve some of our precious biodiversity in and around cities. Unfortunately, native … Continue reading Plant Conservation Is Happening Right Over Your Head
“A ring speaks of strength and friendship and is one of the great symbols of mankind.” Those are the words of Jens Jensen, the great landscape designer who celebrated the native and the natural and often included circular council rings in his garden plans. At the holidays, we hang wreaths on our doors as … Continue reading A circle, a ring, a wreath
The Chicago Botanic Garden’s urban youth outreach and development program, Green Youth Farm, is celebrating its ten-year anniversary this year! What started as one lone staffer and 13 teens on 1.5 acres in the Lake County Forest Preserve has grown to a program with up to six sites all across Chicago and in Lake County, … Continue reading Youth Farm celebrates double digits!
