Organic Garden Center

04/11/2022

Organic Garden Center updated their address.

Organic Garden Center updated their address.

01/26/2020

All good things must come to an end: the Organic Garden Center has closed but we still have a large selection of additives and other hydroponic essentials in its successor- OOA SECOND HAND OUTLET! If you have any questions about what we have left in stock or want to check out our selection of used aquarium equipment make sure to visit on Facebook or better yet stop by!

12/30/2017

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 🎆
We will be open both New Year's Eve and New Year's Day - Please contact the shop for business hours, and have a safe and happy start to 2018!

11/29/2017

Gertrude Jekyll: The Queen of Gardens

Google celebrates the Queen of Gardens today!

Described as "a woman of innumerable talents," Jekyll has created over 400 gardens in the UK, Europe and the US.

10/09/2017

Happy Columbus Day!! Come discover something new today at the shop! We are open!!

09/04/2017

Happy Labor Day! We will be closing at 3pm today due to the holiday

08/16/2017

We got into a little fender-bender this Monday afternoon, but everyone is fine, and we're still OPEN FOR BUSINESS. Please enter through our sister store, the Old Orchard Aquarium. Stay safe!!

07/10/2017

Chicago Botanic Garden

Chicago Botanic Garden

Learn more about the history of Brazilian flora in the Garden this summer during Flora Brasil—a special collections exhibition.

http://my.chicagobotanic.org/events/flora-brasil/

05/29/2017

Happy Memorial Day everyone! We will be open until 3:00pm today in honor of the holiday.

02/13/2017

Everyone gets their sweetheart flowers for St. Valentine's Day, so why not try something different? Give your love the ability to grow their own flowers or start an herb or vegetable garden in the comfort of their own home!

01/20/2017

Come check out our awesome new grow cabinet in the store! It's perfect for small, indoor growing and is sleek and efficient.

01/13/2017

Chicago Botanic Garden

What exactly are heirloom seeds? Find out more in this article.

Food historian William Woys Weaver shares the stories held within the heirloom in the Roughwood Seed Collection.

http://my.chicagobotanic.org/events/william-woys-weaver-seed-swap/

01/02/2017

Happy New Year everyone!! We are open today from 11am-7pm

10/17/2016

'Like it’s been nuked': Millions of bees dead after state sprays for Zika mosquitoes

Save the bees!! Find out more in this article, and sign the petition!

Bees across South Carolina are dying by the truckload as the state attempts to control mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus.

10/14/2016

E.O. Wilson explains why parks and nature are really good for your brain

Powerful words about conservation in the world we live in today...

The originator of the concept of "biophilia" — 30 years ago — reflects on its modern resonance.

10/13/2016

Black GoldRehab Raised Beds Inside and Out for Better Garden Yields

Check out this article on raised beds by Black Gold Soils:
http://blackgold.bz/rehab-raised-beds-inside/?utm_source=OKD&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2016

Rehab Raised Beds Inside and Out September 29, 2016 4:55 pmBy: Maureen Gilmer Raised-bed hoops and row covers can help you protect crops from harsh growing conditions and winter cold. Second gardens are always better than first gardens. When those first gardens were your raised beds, then maybe it’...

10/07/2016

Ode to Milkweed: Seemingly Everywhere, Yet Overlooked

How much do you know about Milkweed?

The plant, which performs free urban renewal, is considered a wild edible, and can even be used as insulation, deserves more attention.

10/06/2016

Old Orchard Aquarium

Old Orchard Aquarium

This amazing new facility just opened up today!

10/06/2016

In Their Own Words: The People of Plants of Concern

Looking for ways to promote plant sustainability in Illinois? Look no further! Read about this volunteer opportunity and then sign up to be a Plants of Concern Volunteer!

Plants of Concern volunteers come from many backgrounds, but all share a common denominator: not surprisingly, they are concerned about plants. So concerned are these citizen scientists, in fact, t…

10/03/2016

Drought Tolerant Succulent Superstars | Birds & Blooms Magazine

Let's take a minute to learn about succulents!

Discover what makes these drought-tolerant beauties the hottest thing in horticulture.

10/02/2016

The Sustainable Garden

Very cool article on an amazing garden in Seattle. Start planning your own sustainable garden, and see how we can help!

A homeowner turns her humble backyard into a sustainable garden filled with food, flowers, and a few farmland friends

09/28/2016

Repotting Alice the Amorphophallus

Update on the Garden's co**se flower...

I have an update on Alice the Amorphophallus: Alice has been repotted and has a leaf sprout. Yes, Alice is alive and well, happily growing in the production greenhouses here at the Chicago Botanic …

09/28/2016

Old Orchard Aquarium

Old Orchard Aquarium

Want to help out at a local beach cleanup? One of our employees is hosting an event, and you're welcome to join! Check out the link below to get more information and sign up for the event.

09/26/2016

Expedition to Door County

Here is a short article about a study conducted by the Chicago Botanic Garden. Find out how location might be key for the survival of Pitcher's Thistle on the dunes of Lake Michigan.

Last June, I headed up to Door County, Wisconsin, with Kay Havens, our director of plant science and conservation,  for a 31-day trip to undertake our annual fieldwork. “A month at the beach!” you …

09/22/2016

Night of 1,000 Jack-o’-Lanterns | Chicago Botanic Garden

It's the first day of fall!! Do you have any plans for autumn yet? Perhaps you'd like to light up a night next month at this spooky garden festival...
http://www.chicagobotanic.org/halloween

New Halloween event! At Night of 1,000 Jack-o’-Lanterns, more than 1,000 hand-carved pumpkins—some as large as 150 pounds—will light up the night at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

09/21/2016

Scientists Just Discovered A New Mushroom Species & Named It After Chicago

A new edible mushroom species has been identified & named after the Windy City where it thrives!

A new species, hiding right in the Cook County Forest Preserve.

09/19/2016

Illinois Native Plant Society

"Every time you make a retail purchase in Cook County, you are in effect investing to preserve a natural space within its forest preserves, which are available to you every day of the year." Perhaps these oases could act as an ounce of prevention...

"The Chicago area does not have mountains or what might be considered wilderness, but it does have prairies, savannas, forests, lakes and many species of wildlife. They're all part of our natural spaces, they're nearby and they're accessible."

09/16/2016

Why Leaves Change Color

I've been in Hawaii studying marine biology for the last four years, and while I can't complain about the weather there, I did miss the crisp fall air, the unmistakable smells of autumn and the dazzling harvest colors of the changing leaves. Still, I had enjoyed watching the leaves turn all my life without having any real scientific answers as to why the spectacular color transformation occurred... until now! Check out this short article on why leaves change color and get ready to enjoy the forests' costume changes on a deeper level.
https://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/pubs/leaves/leaves.shtm

f you are lucky, you live in one of those parts of the world where Nature has one last fling before settling down into winter's sleep. In those lucky places, as days shorten and temperatures become crisp, the quiet green palette of summer foliage is transformed into the vivid autumn palette of reds,...

09/16/2016

Illinois Native Plant Society

Illinois Native Plant Society

"Based at the Chicago Botanic Garden, Plants of Concern (POC) was launched in 2001 by the Garden and Audubon–Chicago Region, supported by Chicago Wilderness funding. The program brings together trained volunteers, public and private land managers, and scientists, with the support of federal, state, and local agencies. For more than 15 years, the POC volunteers—a generally mild-mannered but formidable force of citizen scientists—have monitored rare, threatened, and endangered plant populations in our region to assess long-term trends."

09/11/2016

Renewable energy breakthrough: Solar-powered reaction 100 times faster

Good news for those of us trying to go green! A new molecular catalyst of strontium iridium oxide increases the speed of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) 100 times, works well even in acid and uses much less iridium than traditional solar panels, which is both costly and rare. This is a great step in the right direction for solar power!

Researchers have developed a tough new catalyst that carries out a solar-powered reaction 100 times faster than ever before, works better as time goes on and stands up to acid.

09/09/2016

One of the World's Most Unusual Plants Is Disappearing

The Canary in the Duck Factory could spell disaster.

What's happened to the supersize, fluffy balls that once thrived in a northern lake?

09/08/2016

World of botany abuzz as rare orchid takes root on council rooftop

A rare flower blooms in the most unexpected place!

An extremely rare orchid has amazed botanists and environmentalists by taking root in central London for the first time – on the roof of a council rubbish dump. The green-winged orchid, which has purple flowers despite its name, was discovered on the grass-covered green roof of Islington council’s H...

09/07/2016

Changes to the Garden’s entrance plantings

Our own Chicago Botanic Garden is making strides in the right direction to eliminate invasive plant species. Find out more here:

It is our responsibility as citizens, but especially as practitioners in the fields of horticulture and botanical sciences, to be good stewards of the land and ensure that what we are growing in ou…

09/02/2016

USU Extension Sustainability

USU Extension Sustainability

Sometimes understanding (or explaining) how humans effect isn't always simple. Here's a neat graphic to help out!
http://ow.ly/5aLt303LkWk

09/01/2016

A New Book Calls for a Revolution in Garden Design | Architectural Digest

The "Plant Community Approach" may be an excellent way to plant your next garden. It allows populations of plants to use competitive strategies to work to the benefit of the gardener. As an additional bonus, it also allows for less labor over time!

The authors of Planting in a Post-Wild World make the case for breaking with horticultural tradition to create sustainable landscapes that are no less beautiful

08/26/2016

How the Plants Around Your Home May Affect Your Life Span

Here is another study showing how plants can help improve longevity.

Having a lot of green around your home might help you live longer, according to a new study of more than 100,000 U.S. women.