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.

How To Make A Bee Condo

Native bees are critically important in pollinating our plants. This video provides easy-to-follow instructions on how to build a home for bees in your garden so they can continue to pollinate your plants all season long. This is just one of the many environmentally-friendly gardening practices that you can learn during World Environment Day at the Garden on Saturday, June 4, 2011. Visit www.chicagobotanic.org/wed2011 for more information.

How to Plant a Hanging Basket

Tim Pollak, outdoor floriculturist, shows us how to plant a side-planted moss-lined hanging basket for shade to enjoy this summer. You can find plants for your hanging basket at A Bloomin’ Festival on May 14-16 or you can buy them already planted at the sale. Visit chicagobotanic.org/bloomin for more information.