What’s in Bloom This Fall

Boyce Tankersley, Director of Plant Collections, takes us on a tour of the Garden to see some fall highlights. We saw the cascading mum hayracks over the Visitor Center Bridge, vibrant color combinations in the Circle Garden, developing colors on the roses in the English Walled Garden and fall color developing on trees throughout the Garden. Visit http://www.chicagobotanic.org/inbloom before your visit for a list of what’s currently in bloom. Also don’t forget to visit the What’s in Bloom Cart outside the Visitor Center for more highlights.

Blue Herons and Other Wading Birds

We visited with Jim Steffen, senior ecologist here at the Chicago Botanic Garden, to learn more about the wildlife you can find here. The Barbara Brown Nature Reserve on the south end of the Chicago Botanic Garden is just one place you can find different wading birds. Visit http://www.chicagobotanic.org/birds/species for more information on birds at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

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.

A Preview of Peter Wirtz Lecture, Antiques & Garden Fair, April 15

Donna LaPietra, Executive Producer of the Antiques & Garden Fair, recently interviewed Peter Wirtz who will be speaking at the Fair this year. Peter is a well-known contemporary landscape designer who has designed private gardens locally and his lecture, “Formal and Informal in Contemporary Landscape Design” shouldn’t be missed.