Military Appreciation Day

250 family members attended the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Military Appreciation Day with USO Discovery Kids on August 6. We’d like to thank the Tawani Foundation for their support and the USO of Illinois for their partnership. Visit http://www.chicagobotanic.org/therapy/military for more information.

Rockin’ and Rollin’ through the Model Railroad Garden

Watch as the trains twist and turn through the Model Railroad Garden: Landmarks of America exhibition to the beat of an old rock n’ roll hit. Chief Engineer Dave Rodelius and his team of volunteers set up the trains each morning. Rodelius designed a train car and rig so that we could film from the train’s eye view. Thanks to him and his crew, we get to experience the sights of the garden as if we were passengers on the model trains! Visit the Model Railroad Garden before it closes for the season on Oct. 30. For more information on the railroad, visit http://www.chicagobotanic.org/railroad.

Installation of Kraft Foods Garden

Yesterday, we unveiled our collaboration with Kraft Foods to build a corporate garden that provides fresh produce to area food banks. Angela Mason, Director of Community Gardening, tells us how the Kraft Foods Garden in Northfield, IL came to be in such a short period of time. Windy City Harvest and Cook County Boot Camp graduates will maintain the garden. Fourteen thousand pounds of produce will be given away to area food banks. For additional information on the program, visit http://chicagobotanic.org/windycityharvest.

What’s in Bloom on June 1

Boyce Tankersley, Director of Plant Documentation, tells us about some of the flowers we saw blooming on the first meteorological day of summer at the Chicago Botanic Garden. We saw echium in the Heritage Garden, a very rare jade vine in the Tropical Greenhouse, allium in the West Flower Walk and poppies in the English Oak Meadow. Come see us soon or visit http://www.chicagobotanic.org/inbloom for updates on what’s in bloom.

Spring Woodland Wildflower Walk

What’s a spring ephemeral? Ecologist Jim Steffen tells us about a few of the spring blooming wildflowers you can see blooming in McDonald Woods right now. As Jim says, there is always something in bloom in the woods, but spring is one of the showiest in this area, so don’t miss it! Visit http://www.chicagobotanic.org/walk/mcdonald_woods.php for more information on the woods.