Podcasts about Chicago Botanic Garden

Some tips on how to beat this heat this summer from Jacob Burns of the Chicago Botanic Garden

Jacob Burns from the Chicago Botanic Garden tells us how to fight off Japanese beetles in your garden!

For the first time in 27 years, the Global Botanic Gardens Congress is returning to North America—and it's coming right here to Chicagoland.Scheduled for summer 2027, the “Olympics of Conservation” brings together researchers and delegates from around the world to share, discuss, and amplify the work of botanic gardens. As communities face ecological challenges ranging from invasive species to climate change, the 2027 Congress will focus on restoring ecosystems.Two Chicagoland institutions have been selected to host: The Morton Arboretum and the Chicago Botanic Garden. On today's podcast, host Greg Bedalov joins two leaders of these organizations to talk about the Congress, conservation, and how Chicagoland businesses can support the region's natural ecosystem.Special GuestsMurphy Westwood, Vice President of Science and Conservation | The Morton ArboretumKay Havens, Chief Scientist and Negaunee Vice President of Science | Chicago Botanic GardenDive DeeperResources: Want to learn how your business can make a difference? Choose DuPage has partnered with the DuPage County Environmental Division to connect local business leaders to resources that promote sustainable practices. Find incentives, guidelines, and other resources here. Education: Learn how to incorporate eco-friendly practices into your business' green space during our free webinar on August 12th, 2025.Hosted by Jim Kleinwachter, program director at The Conversation Foundation, this seminar will explore how you can reduce maintenance costs, enhance your site's visual appeal, and demonstrate your commitment to environmental stewardship. Learn more and sign up here.To keep up with what's happening in DuPage County and the Chicagoland region, follow Choose DuPage on social media or visit ChooseDuPage.com/Ready.

Cassie Petoskey: Hi, everyone. Thanks for being here. I'm Cassie Petoskey. I use she or they pronouns. And I'm the Director of the Waldron Student Alumni Connections Program, where our goal really is to help Weinberg College students explore career options through connecting with alumni. So thank you so much for our alumni for being here with us today. And we're going to spend some time. Amelia is going to take us through some prepared questions for our speakers. We'll get into it. Are you okay? I feel like I always talk at the worst time too. So no worries. And then we're going to save plenty of time for questions at the end. And Shai is going to moderate questions from you all. So please, we'll save plenty of time for that as you all are writing [inaudible 00:00:44] down throughout. And I think that's it without... And of course, thank you to Geoclub for partnering with us on this event. Very excited to have you all bring this idea forward and work with you all on this. So thank you. And without further ado, I'll pass to Amelia and Shai. Why don't you introduce yourselves first and then we'll go to our alumni speakers? [inaudible 00:01:06]. Amelia: Hi, everyone. Thank you so much for coming. I'm Amelia. I'm a second year. I'm a Bio and Earth Science... Technically, Earth Science minor, but whatever. And I'm the president of Geoclub. And I'm so grateful that you all attended this event. We really wanted to be able to show people what Earth and Environmental Sciences can do for you in the future and expand the idea of there are [inaudible 00:01:29]. Shai: Hi, guys. I'm Shai. I use he/him pronouns. I'm a senior majoring in Earth and Planetary Science. I'm education chair of Geoclub. So also very glad to see so many [inaudible 00:01:40] here, and I'm excited to hear all the wisdom that our alumni have to offer. Thank you guys. Amelia: Yeah. So to start us off with some questions, can you share with us more about your industry and current job function and introduce yourselves while you're at it? And if you could speak to the microphone, that would be wonderful. Cassie Petoskey: Yeah. We're recording it. Sorry. Seems silly. Max Jones: Sure. Yeah. My name is Max Jones. And speaking of the future of your careers, I'm the near future because I graduated in June actually. So I am a class of 2024. I'm currently a Master's student at the Chicago Botanic Garden and I'm working as a conservation biologist and wildlife biologist. And so right now I've just returned from seven months of fieldwork in Panama doing work on forest fragmentation and animal movements. And I'm super excited to talk about all that and then also how I've kind of gotten to this point, especially so fresh out of undergrad. And then moving forward, I'm also going to be moving to Germany this summer to work with some scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior to keep working there. And so I'm going to be talking mostly I guess about my time networking at Northwestern and then how Earth and Planetary Science and Environmental Science has led me to the strange position I'm in right now. Margaret Isaacson: Hey, everyone. So my name's Margaret Isaacson. I graduated in 2015. It's been a minute. I'm a graduate of the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department, and currently I am a conservation and outdoors division manager at the Parks and Rec department in Evanston. So I'm pretty local. My position title is a long way of saying that I oversee our local nature center and all the programs that we run out of that facility along with the park services team that oversees the maintenance of the public restrooms around town and the athletic fields around town and picnic areas. So happy and excited to be here and talk to you all. And I think what I'll focus on, but happy to answer any questions, is how my experience in the department brought me to maybe an unusual career path and sector of the workplace, which is parks and recreation. Amelia: Thank you. So what were some of the impactful classes or experiences for you in your undergrad at Northwestern that led you to pursue your career path? Margaret Isaacson: Max, I feel like yours is in more recent memory, but I'll dig back. Max Jones: Okay. For mine, I think I'd probably start with saying ironically Spanish. Spanish led me down a snowball into this world of Latin American conservation that I've found myself in. And it was really that triggered the start, but then also I had everyone in the Environmental Science Department urging me to branch out and try new things, which was something super interesting. And so then specifically which classes, I'd say the GIS class with Elsa Anderson that I took was incredibly impactful in my senior year. That's been a skill that I've used all the time going forward. And just knowing these different kinds of programs like that have made it really easy for me to quickly pick up new kinds of analysis or feel comfortable going into different fields that I might not have experience with at the time. There was that, and then I'd also say my community ecology class from... That one's with the Biology Department, although I think Environmental Science students often take that too. That one just exposed me to a lot of different kind of paper readings. And so at first I thought those classes were very unfocused, but then I realized the goal is to expose you to so many different kinds of scientific thought that then you can... You find that one paper that you get really, really into for some reason and then that ends up being the rabbit hole that you follow down into the career that you want. Margaret Isaacson: The first thing that I'm thinking about back 10 years ago is some of the field experiences that I went on with the various classes, everything from Earth 201, that [inaudible 00:05:45] like trip, which hopefully is still around, to doing lake sediment coring up in Wisconsin on a frozen lake in the middle of February. That's right. Maggie remembers that hopefully. It was very cold. It was very, very cold that day. A lot of dancing on the ice to keep warm. So these experiences in the outdoors, they built on my passion for camping, my passion for spending time in the outdoors, but I got to be doing important science while I was out there. And now as a parks and recreation professional, my job is primarily outdoors and the goal of our Ecology Center here in Evanston is to inspire families, young kids, adults, people of all ages to spend time outdoors, whether that's through a quick class, through a whole summer of summer camp. But really it was those experiences doing science outside that showed me what can I do to inspire other people. "My professors are inspiring me now. Is there something more local, maybe less academic that I can have an impact on a broad range of people?" So I think those experiential moments were really important for me and really didn't guide me directly to parks and rec, but reinforced my passion for the outdoors and for inspiring that in others. Amelia: Max, you mentioned a bit about how your connections and networking that you had here are important. I don't know if that's applicable to you, but if you'd share a bit more about that, I'd love to hear. Max Jones: Yeah. Sorry. Give me just a second. You guys, it really was like... It's a funny thing on how you get started in these things because it's never the path you originally take that ends up to where you end up in the end. Because I think I started with one of the professors who was teaching an introductory climate change course my freshman year. I worked with her on processing photos of trees for a while and then that slowly led me to meet the people at the Chicago Botanic Garden. And then even though my research interests don't perfectly align with them, I did a thesis with Trish, with Patricia Betos, as my undergrad thesis advisor. And Trish is a mover. She loves pushing people to go do more and more and more. So I ended up going and doing a thesis in Costa Rica for my undergrad field work. And this is what I mean by the snowballs because I started taking photos of trees and then I ended up in Costa Rica doing sea turtle work with Trish and then from there I met the people that I worked with on this project as well. So that's the number one thing that I always recommend is don't be afraid to follow a lead, even if you don't know exactly where it's going to lead you to in that moment. Margaret Isaacson: Yeah. I could add a little bit to that. Not so much networking here on campus, but just post-grad when you start out at an opportunity. My first job was a part-time... My first job after post-grad was a part-time position with the Ecology Center. It was limited hours. I was learning on the job how to lead programs, completely new in the environmental education field, but I then left and came back two times and in four different positions leading to the one that I'm in now. So I think, like you said, following a lead, even if you don't know necessarily where it's going to take you, building relationships with the folks that you work with, the folks that... Whether it's academic or professional or just a summer experience, those are connections that you're going to take with you along the way. They might be people that you meet again. They might not. But like you said, Max, it's going to take you somewhere. And I think I wouldn't be where I was now if I didn't have the Ecology Center, for example, in the back of my mind and just building back towards that in some ways once I found something that I was excited about. Amelia: That's great. Thank you. What has surprised you about what you learned or did during your school days that helped you in your work today? I hope something you learned helps today. Margaret Isaacson: I can speak to that a little bit. So when I was an undergrad, I had two majors. I studied French all the way at the south end of campus, and then I was up here at the north end of campus doing Earth and Planetary Sciences. And having those two degrees really helped me flex some of my critical thinking skills. I wasn't always focused on data and reading scientific papers. I was also reading French literature and writing papers about French literature. I'm not fluent in French. I'm not using that skill very much. But that flexibility between two different majors or two different ways of using your brain has really served me well in how I organize my time at work, how I manage my staff, how we think critically about designing a new program in Evanston or figuring out how to make the bathrooms clean. Somebody's got to do it, so figuring out an efficient way to do that. I think the work ethic that you learn and practice at Northwestern is going to serve you no matter what. Maybe, Max, you have more data analyst that you use in your day-to-day than I do necessarily, but I think it's those soft skills and those hard skills that are going to come into play. Max Jones: No. I 100% agree with the soft skills part because so many of the random little things you do day-to-day as a college student end up translating in very strange ways to you being in a post-grad experience. For example, I never played soccer before, but then I played IM Leagues here and then all of a sudden, I felt very comfortable going and playing IM Leagues in Panama and that was my resource to going to meet people. And so you do just learn very good social skills in college, I'd say, that then translate very well to being outside. And I think that's especially true at Northwestern when you're surrounded by people who generally like to have conversations because sometimes you come across someone that might not want to engage with you in a way that you want to engage with them and so you have now this kind of depth of experience of having good productive conversations with people and that you can use going forward. And that's something that I always found super useful. I also took a drawing class that I found really productive here. Yeah. Amelia: So sort of going back to the networking question, what advice might you have for networking within your individual industries? Max Jones: Do not be afraid to cold call people. That's the number one thing I think, is the worst that can happen is... Honestly the worst that can happen is that they remember your name and that's a best case scenario in most fields because then a few years down the line you can meet them again and be like, "Oh, hi. Do you remember me?" They say yes, then you've won technically. Yeah, because I've also talked to friends about this because they say... Especially in science, people love to collaborate in science. You'll have people wanting to collaborate even when you don't really want to. And so if you just email them and you just express your genuine interest, not just trying to find a job out of it, then I've only had people respond very positively in these scenarios. And so even if you get told, "No, we don't have an option," a friend of mine once told me that every interview or every kind of reaching out is a networking opportunity, so even if you don't get it, you've done your job for that day at least because then you've met one more person who maybe five years down the line is going to help you out. Margaret Isaacson: I would add that more than likely you're going to end up in... You potentially end up in some kind of professional sphere that has conference opportunities, whether that's something that you're attending now or looking to in the future. I was surprised. I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was surprised when I got into parks and rec that there's a parks and rec conference. There's an Illinois parks and rec conference. There's a national parks and rec conference. There's so many people in this industry that I can learn from and skills that I never thought I'd even touch. So like Max said, don't be afraid to reach out to people. They're excited to talk about what they do and how they got there and what they want to do. So I think if you don't hear from people right away, it's probably because they're busy, but hopefully they get back to you. It doesn't hurt to email them again. Yeah. Just keep a positive attitude when you're reaching out to folks. Amelia: [inaudible 00:14:20] question, what is your favorite thing about your job? Margaret Isaacson: Oh, man. There's so many things. I also thought of my least favorite things, but... Well, you guys know I'm in charge of bathrooms now. It's not so glamorous. Gosh. There's so many fun things about parks and recreation. Being able to be outside a lot of the time is pretty great. I do spend a lot of hours behind a desk like anyone, but having our seasonal special events that we get the community out for, building new opportunities too for folks to experience the outdoors. Is really powerful to see the Evanston Environmental Association and the Ecology Center are working on trying to build a new canoe launch so that we can access the canal more easily. It's going to have a really big local impact. And it's just an inspiring process to watch. There's other parts of my job, like I said, that I never thought I'd be doing, where our building is under construction right now. And I studied Earth and science. I didn't study construction or architecture, but I get to see that whole process play out. And I think you can really see a lot of variety in most professions and learn from each of those experiences. And yeah. Right now, the construction is actually really fun to see play out. Max Jones: Yeah. For me, I'd say the collaborative element is something that I really love in my profession. It's the fact that no science is ever done in a bottle, and so you're constantly just meeting with people. It feels like a very creative process as you go through it. So it's always evolving, always adapting. Even the things you think are going to be boring, like sitting on your computer all day, just coding in R, then ends up being like something's going on there. And then you just dive down the rabbit hole and then you text all the other people you're collaborating with. It's like, "Hold on. Am I seeing this correctly?" Hey, I find it very enjoyable the fact that the process is iterative and I always get a chance to learn from other people. And then, like I said earlier, people love to collaborate. So then I've had really brief meetings where they're just throwing out ideas left and right at me. And the concept of just putting together all of these people's collective knowledge and interests and passion into the project is something that really speaks to me. And then the other thing I'd say is definitely I have a very fieldwork heavy field, and I think that that is something that's I personally enjoy a lot is this balance of I get to do work outside and then I also get to do this collaborative, creative element and bring this... Synthesize it all into a living, breathing work that I can put out into the world afterwards. Amelia: Thank you so much. Not to be presumptuous, but I'm seeing some themes between the both of you, which you said you like to be outside and you like to be creative, which I think is awesome. I think that's a thing that a lot of us in the room can relate to. How have your work or how have your values and beliefs influenced how you approach your professional workplace? Margaret Isaacson: Oh. Max Jones: It's funny. I prepped for this question and I'm still not ready for it. Margaret Isaacson: So I spoke to a little bit my passion for the outdoors, passion for outdoor rec, whether that's camping, hiking, backpacking, canoeing. A lot of those things I don't do here in Chicago. There's not too many backpacking routes in Chicago, so I try to get out of town and state for those. But those core values, just spending time outside really inform my day-to-day work, like you said, Amelia. I think even just taking a little break during the workday to get some [inaudible 00:18:04] or planning a professional development program for the Ecology Center staff or the parks and rec department as a whole that gets everyone outside and gets them rejuvenated goes a long way to staff's mental health, having fun in the workplace, being inspired in the workplace, even when we have these boring administrative tasks that we have to do every day. So I think that outdoor passion is really something that's just stuck with me along the way. And then were it not for the Ecology Center existing in this parks and rec department in Evanston, I wouldn't be able to bring my passion for sustainability to work either. I think sustainability would inform a lot of the things that the department does and that the City of Evanston does. The city has its own sustainability staff. We've got a sustainable waste manager. So I would say the town is progressive in that aspect, but having a center that's dedicated to promoting sustainability and educating folks on sustainability in a fun way, not in like a, "Here's how you recycle. And here's a DIY workshop on how to," I don't know, "Swap your clothes or something with other folks." I think having that focus of a center dedicated to this brings the fun into the Department of Sustainability, and that's been really nice to take from my work in paleo-climatology to, "Okay. What are we doing now and here and in this time to help Earth?" Max Jones: I really like what Margaret said about passion driving a lot of the work because I think that's really prominent in this field, especially where passion for the subject matter is really what gets us out of bed in the morning and then gets us to go because not a lot of people choose what we do based on the money or it's not like a career path that's recommended. It's like, "Oh, you should go into Earth and Environmental Sciences because that's a high income field." It's like, "No. We're doing this because we love it." And I do think that that is something that's like... It helps motivate a lot of the work you do and a lot of the challenges you might face along the way. It's like you think that, "At the very least I'm doing this because I love it and not because anyone is telling me I should." Amelia: I totally agree. I'm guessing a lot of people in this room also have a passion that leads them to come here. I think I'm out of my questions. Does anyone else have questions that they want to ask the speakers? I mean, I have [inaudible 00:20:42] my paper. Yeah. Rose: Yeah. Thank you guys for both being here. My name is Rose. I'm [inaudible 00:20:49] major. I'm a sophomore. I'm kind of curious, when you both were juniors, seniors, what did you think you were going to do and what was the plan that you had in your mind and what were the factors, like, "Oh, grad school. Oh, this, that."? Max Jones: Do you want me to start because more recent? Margaret Isaacson: Yeah. Max Jones: Okay. My journey as an undergrad was pretty funny because I came in as an engineering student. I originally wanted to be an environmental engineer because I come from Kentucky and so then back home you're just pushed to be either a doctor, an engineer or a lawyer. And I was like, "Well, engineer sounds fun." And then I got here and then I was just surrounded by people who were following passions instead of then just what they wanted to do. And so then I began to explore this career as an ambiguous just environmental researcher in my mind, but I didn't know exactly what that was going to look like and I really didn't know what it was going to look like until very recently. I only started all of my work abroad and then all of my work as a biologist specifically late in my junior year. And so it's one of those things where it's like I feel like a lot of it will take shape in very sudden and dramatic ways. So even if you don't know exactly where you're going, there's going to be some kind of event that triggers it and it all starts moving into place in that way. At least that's how it happened for me. Margaret Isaacson: I remember my advisor asking, "What is your dream job?" And I didn't really have a good answer. I wasn't ready, like, "Oh, I want to be teacher," or like, "I want to get a PhD and go into academia," or, "I want to do this type of research forever because I'm super excited about." And I was like, "Well, I like to spend time outside. Maybe a park ranger." I literally oversee staff called park rangers now. So I made it. But I think that brought me to, "Hmm. How can I take..." I really like reading about all this research. I really like digging into it myself. I like looking at under the microscope and making that into a paper. But I didn't see myself necessarily going to grad school. It wasn't like a for sure thing. And it wasn't a certainty for me. It didn't quite set in as that's what I definitely want to do. But I saw all this cool research and wanted to know, "Well, how do we take all this amazing but very specific research and take it and communicate it to the general public? What are they getting out of all the great things that we do here on campus and elsewhere?" And that took me down the path of environmental education and science communication. I think for a little while I thought, "Oh, I'm going to maybe go and figure how to write and become a science communicator." I found local part-time jobs that were environmental education related because that was going to be how I took my expertise and my knowledge, build on that knowledge in other ways, and then inspire other people to maybe they end up getting a PhD. Maybe it's not me, but it might be them, or they're just excited about being outside and learning a new fact about local wildlife. So yeah, it was kind of circuitous. And over the last 10 years or so since finding science communication, I've gone more towards the administrative and managerial side, which is also really exciting. I like flexing those muscles and figuring out how to get a team to work all together and put on that science communication. I'm not in front of the campfire group leading the program anymore, and that's kind of a bummer sometimes, but we make it happen as a team. So you discover different talents along the way as well. Amelia: That was an awesome answer. Thank you so much. I did realize there's one more question on my paper that Rose's kind of leaned into, which is what do you wish you could tell yourself when you were in student's shoes? Margaret Isaacson: Do you wish you could tell yourself last year? Max Jones: I know, right? I do wish that... Because it's very natural that while you're wondering if what you're doing is going to work out, then you put a lot of pressure on yourself. It's like, "Why haven't I figured out what I'm going to do next right now?" And over the process of I guess the last year and a half for me, it's very much like a process of it happens. Progress happens very slowly until it just jumps forward. So you're going to feel like you're stuck and then you're repeating the same patterns a lot. It's like, "Why haven't I gotten this next connection yet? Why haven't I figured it out?" And then it really snaps into place when you least expect it. And so then you finally get that motion forwards and then things start rushing and then life moves faster again, but then it'll slowly trickle back down and then you have to ride the waves of sometimes it moves fast in terms of you're making these good connections and you're moving forward in your projects or in your career, and then other times you have to be very calm and weather the storm a little bit. So I'd say I tell myself to calm down and chill out. Margaret Isaacson: I would second that. "Just relax. It's going to work out. Okay?" I think that I was kind of similar in putting a lot of pressure on myself to do well academically. Again, not really thinking about what I wanted to do post-grad until I was in it. But I think just give yourself some grace and be patient with what you do. Work hard, but you can also be patient and not expect that you're going to do the same thing as your colleague or your friend who is in the same department. Your paths could look completely different. Clearly. Ours are completely different. So talk to your colleagues. Talk to your advisors. See what their experiences are. Ask alumni what their experiences are. But don't think that that is the experience that you have to do or take or follow. There's a lot of options and you can also pivot later. You might get into something right after graduation and then you might find out, "Oh, I'm really good at this one piece of that job and I'm going to pursue that." It's not a straight path. It's not one thing. You can always switch it up. I may switch it up. You never know. Max Jones: Yeah. If I can bounce back off that again, it's not comparing yourself to the people around you [inaudible 00:27:34] critical because then you end up in cycles where the person next to you gets a fellowship and instead of being happy for them and interested in it, you're just like, "Oh, damn. Why don't I have a fellowship yet?" And it really is like, yeah, everyone has a different path that they're going to take throughout this and it just feeds into an imposter syndrome if you let yourself make those comparisons. Margaret Isaacson: A lot of the staff who come and work at the Ecology Center are recent grads. They come and they do part-time work as program instructors. That's what I started out as. And I think I see in them bringing just so much positivity and excitement about their work. I think that's a really great thing to grab on when you're just starting out after graduating in your career. You're going to feel great about yourself if you're doing something you're excited about. You're going to meet people and learn what they do. And the staff that I work with, they work so hard, they cobble together multiple part-time jobs. They're pulling experience from multiple places and it's getting them where they need to be. Not to say that that's the path for everyone, but I think it's just important to keep a positive attitude while you're in it and know that you're not stuck when you start one thing. You don't have to do that for the rest of time. Max Jones: That was beautiful. Amelia: That was beautiful. Thank you. Shai, you want to keep taking questions? Shai: Yeah. For sure. Did anybody have any other questions they want to ask alumni? Sure. Speaker 7: Do you guys feel like your identity ties into what you do? Or do you guys feel like you found parts of yourself doing your work? Even like you said, you kind of trialed a little bit. Do you feel like that kind of connected you more to who you are and even to [inaudible 00:29:27] up to what you do? Max Jones: Yeah. It kind of radically changed how I viewed myself in a way because, yeah, so I'm from Kentucky. I'm from a low-middle-income family. And so coming here I was very out of my elements it felt like a lot of times, surrounded by very elite academic institutions. So I went through a lot of my first second year with a chip on my shoulder. But then I go start working in Latin America where scientists there have to work twice as hard as I do just because they don't speak the same language. And then all of a sudden all of that feelings of angst, I guess, flooded away because I was like everything that I've been angry about or anxious about has just been minuscule on a larger scale. Yeah. I say working in international communities like that has very much changed my perception on life and science and as an industry as a whole. Margaret Isaacson: I would add the industry that I'm in, parks and rec, is very service oriented and I've learned so much about customer service, not from a restaurant job, but from answering 311s and... So. I don't know if everyone knows what 311. You guys know what 311 is, right? Okay. Maybe. Yes. That's Maggie, right? Are you sending me the 311s? No. But I think I've found that it makes me happy to provide a service for a community and you feel fulfilled when you... Even if it's something unglamorous, like cleaning bathrooms, you still feel like, "Oh, I'm impacting people on a regular basis, on a daily basis. And with my small work or local work, it's still important." So I think finding your impact is really a powerful thing, Speaker 7: [inaudible 00:31:29] but they take... Not take away from your [inaudible 00:31:31], but like you said, having that chip on your shoulder when you look back and now that you fulfilled almost in what you're doing, [inaudible 00:31:38]. Margaret Isaacson: I was so stressed back then. You don't need to be stressed. It's okay though. You can be stressed. College is a stressful time. There's a lot going on. You guys have a lot on your plate. You're managing a lot of learning. You're managing a lot of growth. And that's just going to continue. But you're able to take that on. And this is just one experience that's going to teach... College is just one experience that's going to teach you that you're capable of taking that on. You're just going to keep taking on new things. Shai: [inaudible 00:32:13] question? Yeah. Sure. Speaker 8: How do you guys feel about your work-life balance or just your outdoorsy hobbies come [inaudible 00:32:25]? Max Jones: Do you want to say? Margaret Isaacson: Sure. My work-life, so... Okay. Speaker 8: Your balance is [inaudible 00:32:36] by [inaudible 00:32:37] having outdoorsy hobbies and also that in a job. Margaret Isaacson: Oh, I see what you're saying. Interesting. No. Work is still work, even when it's outside, but it's nice when it's outside because you get a little break from your desk. No. I think work-life balance is probably something that you all are learning even now. And it's one of those things that you're going to get into the work world and it's going to look a little bit different. You're going to be tired. But I think if you find the right gig or the right job that's going to be able to build that in and still make time for yourself. And it's important to make time for yourself even in your work. I'm not sure if that was your question, but... Yeah. Do you want to? Max Jones: Yeah. I think I understand exactly what your worry is here because I love outdoors. I love all things nature related. But I have been surrounded by people sometimes when I'm working where it's like we're in the field 10 hours a day and then they come back, they're like, "Wow. That was great, wasn't it?" And I was like, "I'm tired. I want to go home," even though I love what I've done, but then you do come across a lot of... Not a lot, but sometimes you do find scenarios where the people you're with don't view what they're doing necessarily as work. They also view it as very fun. And so then you have to set your own boundaries there where you have to be like, "Yes, I enjoy this work a lot, but this is not what I want to be doing in my free time right now. I don't want to give up another afternoon of my time to go work, even though I enjoy my work." So I have found myself in those dilemmas before where it's like you really enjoy being outside, but also after your 15th hour of it, you're just like, "Okay. Let me go read a book or something." Shai: Good question. Do you have any more question? Cassie Petoskey: I think [inaudible 00:34:28] question about the goal day-to-day. I'm guessing every day is different, but what are you doing in [inaudible 00:34:36]? What are you doing in your outside? What are the activities? And how often? Like 15 hour a day you're outside? That's [inaudible 00:34:47]. What does that look like a day? Walk us through a day. Max Jones: Okay. For me, well, my day-to-day has just changed dramatically because I finished up my field season, but when I was in the field, it would be we're up at 5:45, quick breakfast, and then we go out into the forest, and then... I was setting up camera traps and so we were specifically looking at arboreal cameras and arboreal species, like monkeys and stuff. And so we would set up cameras in the trees. And so to do that, we would have to climb trees. I'd be climbing trees myself. And so that sometimes could entail... If one tree could take almost six hours sometimes just because you'd have to take a slingshot and then put a line up in the tree. I don't want to get too into it, but... Cassie Petoskey: [inaudible 00:35:32]. Max Jones: "Get into it. Get into it." Okay. Do we want the break- Cassie Petoskey: We want to know how you climb. Max Jones: Okay. So you take a big slingshot, and then you shoot a weight with a string on it over a branch that you think can support your weight. And then you... I say think because you test it. And then you tie a climbing rope. You pull the climbing rope over. And then I just hook into a harness and then a few climbing equipments. And then I go up. And then sometimes, depending on if the tree is difficult, if there's ants in it or something, it can take me a few hours up there too. Then I took my data and then I'd come back down. And the idea was always we would do two a day. Sometimes we would push for three a day. And so that could take like... We could be working from sunrise right up until sunset. There was a few times when I was still up in a tree and I'd had to use a headlamp to finish up up there because we were just pushing so hard by the end of the day. Margaret Isaacson: Very cool. Max Jones: Now- Margaret Isaacson: Can you teach a tree climbing program for the Ecology Center, please? Max Jones: I'd love to. Margaret Isaacson: Perfect. We'll talk later. I want to tell you what my day-to-day looked like when I first started out and then where I am now because it's very different. When I was first starting on as a program instructor, so post-grad, I would come to work, I would write a lesson plan or write up a program, decide what materials I needed, gathered them. I took care of animals on a daily basis that we had for educational purposes. And then often I would be going out and leading that program. Sometimes it was a family campfire. Sometimes it was a critter visit, where I'm holding up animals and showing them to kids and letting them pet them. Super fun. Now my work is a little bit more behind the scenes. So I do a lot of emailing and a lot of administrative tasks. I coordinate with a lot of different departments, whether that's greenways, to make sure that the athletic fields are ready for the sports season, or touching base with my seasonal staff to make sure that they're doing their rounds on the lakefront bathrooms, or planning, budgeting and meeting with the program coordinators who are actually planning programs. So it's a lot of, like I said, more backend work and making sure that when we present these programs through the program instructors, the position that I used to do, to the public or through summer camp, that it's kind of ready to go, we're using taxpayer money wisely and well, and that the city has services that are meeting their needs and expectations. So it's a lot of email and payroll and some unglamorous things, but we also get outside occasionally. Shai: Do other people have question? Speaker 9: Well, with the... Thank you so much for being here for answering all our questions, but with the summer coming around, I'm sure many of us in this room are looking for internships and jobs and any experience in the field. Where do you recommend we look? And then a follow-up that would be how do you prepare for interviews? Margaret Isaacson: If you're local, Chicago Environmental Network has a ton of opportunities, wide-ranging, seasonal, full-time, part-time. That's a great site. Yeah. Of course. Chicago Environmental Network. And they have a job board. I think they also have volunteer postings. We always post our positions there and all of the area nature science adjacent companies and organizations post on there as well. Shai: We'll find that [inaudible 00:39:22] a follow-up. Speaker 9: Thank you. Max Jones: I'd say it depends a lot on what kind of work you want to get into, but I know that there's a really good job listing board. It's like UT Austin or something. I'm sure Maggie or Trish know it. But it really kind of depends on what you want to get into. Historically, the Scientists in the Parks have been a very competitive but credible internship. I don't know if they're operating this summer because of everything happening. The Shedd Aquarium I've also heard has some pretty interesting opportunities for research assistants over the summer. I had a friend who did actually like scuba diving with them and then went to found mussels in one of the Chicago rivers or something. It was pretty cool. And then I've also heard some good things about the Audubon Society. Sometimes they periodically have stuff around here. Besides that, I'd cold call or cold email professors because a lot of them have... Either they directly have a project that they might want you to work on or sometimes they'll redirect you to Master's students or PhDs. Right now in the listserv that I'm on in the Chicago Botanic Garden, we get emails forwarded to us from students at Northwestern being like, "Hi. Is anybody looking for help this summer? I'd love to work." Margaret Isaacson: I think I was on some environmental listserv of some kind. I'll try to track it down and send it to Cassie. And this was a while ago. But I remember... Gosh. Anyway. It took me to Great Basin Institute, which is out west, but they do all kinds of research and experiential education in the western states. I did that for a summer. One year I was basically a camp counselor, but they also have a lot of research positions as well that are seasonal. Max Jones: Lincoln Park Zoo also has some really cool stuff down there. The Urban Wildlife Division is... I wanted to work with them every single year I was an undergrad. It just never worked out. Yeah. Shai: [inaudible 00:41:16]. Do they have any other questions [inaudible 00:41:16]? Amelia: How do we take care of the internship [inaudible 00:41:19]? Speaker 11: When was your last interview? Margaret Isaacson: What was that? Speaker 11: [inaudible 00:41:27]. Margaret Isaacson: My last interview was two years ago, a year and a half. Yeah. So pretty recent. The way I prepared for that interview, I had a little insight being already in the department and the division that I was applying for a promotion. So I kind of knew some of the questions that they might ask me, but you can... The way that I did it is I like to think of questions that I might be asked, go ahead and answer them and just write down ideas and thoughts. For my most recent position, I also thought about what I would want as a manager. So I was applying for the position that had been overseeing what I... That's so confusing. I was a program coordinator and I applied for a promotion. So I thought, "As a program coordinator, what would I want to see in a manager? And what projects would I want to prioritize?" And I brainstormed those. But yeah, just thinking through questions that they might ask. Most interviews will ask some of those classic questions. They're always going to start out with, "Why are you applying to this job?" So your elevator pitch is really important and can speak to your passion and also experience. Yeah. Just jotting down some notes. That works for me. Maybe it doesn't work for everyone, but that's what I did. Max Jones: I haven't been in a lot of interviews at this stage of my career, honestly. Most of my interviews have been very informal conversations. And so I think that's just by luck how I've moved forward. Right now, I just haven't had any interviews, to be honest. So think Margaret's advice is sage. Margaret Isaacson: I guess I could add more. Yeah. I also have done a lot of interviews where I didn't get the job too. So sometimes you just don't know exactly what they're looking for, and that's okay. It doesn't mean that you're not experienced and that you're not knowledgeable of what you do. It just might not be what they're looking for for that position, or someone has just a little bit more in a particular area that they're excited about. I've also been on the other side of interviews where I get to see all the candidates and hear what they have to offer and see what does it look like for our department if we hire this person instead of this person and they have different experience and we're not really sure how to staff this new position, and the interviewees inform the position. So that can happen as well, where it's not necessarily just... Sometimes it's based on a feeling a little bit, which sounds kind of crazy, but... Yeah. Been on both sides. I think you can practice a lot for an interview. You can hone your speaking skills. You can keep your answers brief but interesting and show your passion, and then just know that you're going to do interviews and some of them are going to work out and some of them aren't. And that's okay. Amelia: [inaudible 00:44:31] just kind of silly. Do people ever reference the TV show in your workplace? Margaret Isaacson: All the time. One of my co-workers has Leslie Knope on her desktop. Yeah. For sure. Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. Amelia: [inaudible 00:44:46]. Margaret Isaacson: No. There are moments where we have situations we're like, "This could be a Parks and Rec episode. We should just start our own show." Yeah. Cassie Petoskey: Thank you both so much for being here. And I know we have a few more minutes, so students, if you all have the questions or just want to make connections, we'll share out LinkedIn profiles after, but I encourage you to come up and chat with the alumni for a few minutes here. But really thank you all so much for coming out. Thanks, Geoclub, for bringing forward this idea. And thanks to Max and Margaret for being here. So... Amelia: Thanks again. Shai: Thanks [inaudible 00:45:28]. Cassie Petoskey: [inaudible 00:45:28].  

Italian street artist Greg Goya joins John Williams to talk about when he decided to become an artist, the type of art he makes, why he calls his work ‘fast art,’ how people can interact with his work, why love is the most important aspect of his art, and his interactive art installations at the […]

Italian street artist Greg Goya joins John Williams to talk about when he decided to become an artist, the type of art he makes, why he calls his work ‘fast art,’ how people can interact with his work, why love is the most important aspect of his art, and his interactive art installations at the […]

In this episode, we welcomed Andrew Bunting, Vice President of Horticulture at the Philadelphia Horticultural Society. With over 27 years of experience at leading institutions like the Chicago Botanic Garden and Chanticleer, Andrew shared his expertise on magnolias, public garden design, and sustainable gardening. He's the author of The Plant Lover's Guide to Magnolias, and his work has been featured in The New York Times, Fine Gardening, Real Simple, and more. Catch the replay for an inspiring conversation filled with expert horticultural insight. Join our gardening podcast and radio show Garden America LIVE every Saturday from 8-10 AM Pacific Time on Facebook. Tune in to ask questions, converse with fellow gardeners, or just enjoy the show.Listen to all of our gardening podcasts here: https://www.gardeningpodcasts.comWEBSITE: https://www.gardenamerica.com/ FACEBOOK:   / gardenamericashow   INSTAGRAM:   / gardenamericaradioshow   TWITTER:   / gardenliferadio   TIKTOK:   / gardenamerica  Garden America goes beyond basic gardening advice, diving into the science and culture that create truly rewarding growing experiences. Have gardening questions? Reach out to us or tune in daily for practical tips, innovative breakthroughs, and reliable product recommendations from our expert gardening team.Discover the ultimate gardening experience with Garden America. Stay updated on current trends, explore must-have tools and accessories, and find one-of-a-kind plants that will transform your garden into something extraordinary.Gardening website design provided by https://sandiegowebdesignco.com/

In this episode of The Chicagoland Guide, host Aaron Masliansky sky introduces Inside the Skev listeners to the Chicagoland Guide,  reconnects with longtime friend, scientist, and conservationist Dr. Becky Barak of the Chicago Botanic Garden to explore how native plants can play a key role in the future of urban and suburban living across the region.Becky will be speaking at Skokie Public Library on April 24, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. in an event titled “Rethinking Lawns: Incorporating Native Plants into Home Landscapes.” In this conversation, we go in-depth on what native plants are, why they matter for our local ecosystems, how they can help with flood prevention, and how homeowners, HOAs, and municipalities can shift their approach to landscaping.Aaron and Becky also discuss practical advice for how to:Introduce native plants into townhome communities like College HillTalk to landscaping professionals about transitioning away from traditional turf grassSelect beginner-friendly native species for home gardens or rain basinsAvoid common mistakes in native lawn conversionIf you care about water management, storm resilience, biodiversity, and beautiful, low-maintenance alternatives to traditional lawns — this episode is for you.

As Chicagoans hunker down for what feels like the coldest stretch of a long Midwest winter, local indoor gardens are providing an escape and a taste of warmer days to come. Reset checks in with the Chicago Botanic Garden's associate vice president Jodi Zombolo and their orchid flori-culturist Johanna Hutchins for what's on the docket for February. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

On this edition of The Arts Section, host Gary Zidek catches up with celebrated opera singer Sondra Radvanovsky to talk about returning home to the Chicago-area and a series of concerts at Lyric Opera. The Dueling Critics, Kelly Kleiman and Jonathan Abarbanel, join Gary to review the Chicago premiere of a Hamlet-inspired play titled FAT HAM. Later in the show, Gary visits the North Shore-based Marriott Theater as it begins to celebrate it's 50th anniversary season. And we'll check out the Chicago Botanic Garden as it opens the 11th edition of its annual Orchid Show.

Steve Grzanich has the business news of the day with the Wintrust Business Minute. Chicago-based Levy has been contracted to revamp the food offerings at The Chicago Botanic Garden. The hospitality group will revamp the menu at Garden View Cafe first before moving on to other menus. The company has been tasked with creating menus […]

Shout out this episode to Quiote Mezcaleria!And when in Chicago go visit the desert house at the Chicago Botanic Garden. It's as close to Mexico as anything 1,800 miles north of Mexico!

Catalogue descriptions for new plants may grab our attention, but usually provide little useful information about how these up-and-coming cultivars will perform in your garden. Fortunately, comparative trials like those conducted at Chicago Botanic Garden and Mt. Cuba Center put plants to the test, side-by-side, under typical garden conditions. In this episode, Richard Hawke and Sam Hoadley delve into a few of the similarities and differences between their trial programs. They compare notes, trade stories, and dispel a few misconceptions as they prepare for the talk they will give on Thurday, March 6th, 2025 as part of the Know to Grow lecture series at the Philadelphia Flower Show.    See more by going to the show notes at https://www.finegardening.com/podcast  

00:00 Introduction to the Garden Question Podcast00:27 Meet Nina Koziol: Horticulturist Extraordinaire01:16 The Timeless Appeal of White Gardens02:32 Designing and Enhancing White Gardens07:01 Creating Depth and Texture in Shade Gardens08:53 The Importance of Flow in Garden Design15:26 Freestanding Beds and Year-Round Appeal19:01 Insights from Nina's Book on White Gardens22:17 Practical Gardening Tips and Myths28:27 The Mulch Controversy31:53 Early Garden Memories34:27 Pursuing Horticulture Professionally36:39 Eccentric Gardeners and Inspirations41:10 Valuable Garden Mistakes43:01 Recent Learnings in Horticulture48:17 Future Garden Plans49:27 Favorite Plants and Final Thoughts51:34 Connecting with Nina CoziolWelcome to The Garden Question Podcast, where we're all about designing, building, and growing smarter gardens that work. From the beginner to the expert, you'll always discover valuable garden insights. In this episode, we're diving into the magical world of timeless white gardens and their secrets with Nina Koziol. A seasoned horticulturist, garden writer, and educator, Nina brings decades of wisdom and passion to the table. She's penned countless articles for publications like the Chicago Tribune, Chicagoland Gardening, and The American Gardener, and has been sharing her knowledge through classes at the Chicago Botanic Garden and The Morton Arboretum since 1997.Nina's journey began in Chelmsford, Essex, where her grandparents' stunning garden and her mother's encouragement sparked a lifelong love for plants. Today, she tends to her own deer-filled acre near Chicago, channeling her expertise into creating spaces that captivate and connect.In this conversation, Nina reveals the enduring charm of white gardens, their historical roots, and why they've seen a resurgence in recent years. She explores how reflective white flowers and light foliage transform these gardens into mesmerizing moonlit spaces, perfect for enjoying at dusk. You'll hear about the practical benefits of white gardens, tips for shade gardening, and the role of texture and contrast in crafting a visually stunning landscape.But that's not all—Nina shares her favorite plant picks, common pitfalls to avoid, and personal anecdotes, including the gardening lessons that shaped her path. Plus, she introduces her book, White Gardens: Creating Magnificent Moonlight Spaces, and teases her next exciting project on kitchen gardens.Nina's website at beautyandthefeast.net

Join us as Coach Kwan and Younes Ben share his journey from Morocco to the USA, leading to his first full-time job as an Energy Engineer! From balancing studies and cultural integration to securing interviews and navigating the job market, Younes reveals his strategies for success. Timestamps: [00:00:00] Coach Kwan introduces the session from Chicago Botanic Garden [00:00:38] Younes introduces himself [00:01:52] Younes shares why he joined ICAway [00:03:24] Challenges Younes faced as a graduate student [00:05:07] Younes discusses his new job with CLEAResult [00:07:13] Background on Younes' experience before moving to the USA [00:09:31] Younes highlights the ICAway community support [00:10:13] Younes' advice for other international engineering students [00:11:39] Final congratulations and cheers --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/icaway/support

What's better than one jack-o'-lantern? How about 1,000! Exclusively at Chicago Botanic Garden, Night of 1,000 Jack-o'-Lanterns features professionally carved pumpkins hand carved with a whole host of designs, from album covers, to Chicago icons, and even some TBT cartoons like Courage The Cowardly Dog!Jodi Zombolo joins us for her 2nd appearance on Sip with Me to discuss this year's Jack-o'-Lanterns! Find out about how their team chooses designs and carves 1,000 pumpkins, not once, but twice each Halloween!Hear behind the scenes facts and find out what kind of Halloween goodies & cocktails are available each night! We end with, you guessed it, jack-o'-lantern themed rapid fire!The second installment of this event runs October 23-27 from 6:30-10:30pm. Tickets are already selling out so get them NOW!*We also recommend you listen to our 2023 interview with Jodi about Holiday “Lightscape” and buy your tickets now! Both linked below!Event Tickets: https://www.chicagobotanic.org/halloweenCBT: https://www.chicagobotanic.orgSocial: https://www.instagram.com/chicagobotanic/?hl=enHoliday Lightscape Tickets: https://www.chicagobotanic.org/lightscapeQuick Links: https://linktr.ee/sipwithme_2023 Lightscape Holiday Interview with Jodi: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sip-with-me/id1522224564?i=1000634625687

Andrew Bunting is vice president of horticulture at Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS), where he promotes gardening for the greater good. PHS supports healthier neighborhoods through horticulture by cleaning and greening vacant lots, planting and maintaining street trees, partnering with community gardeners to share resources and conserve productive open space, and demonstrating ecologically sound gardening practices in public gardens throughout the greater Philadelphia area. Andrew's extensive public gardening career includes time spent at Chicago Botanic Garden, Chanticleer, and 27 years at the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College. His Fine Gardening articles have covered topics like autumn-flowering trees, shrubs for shade, and selecting trees for structure. In this episode, he discusses the evolution of his home garden, the lessons learned from the many gardens his hands have touched, and the potential for making our shared landscapes more sustainable and inclusive. 

Dr. Rebecca Barak describes the collaboration between the Chicago Botanic Garden, Chicago Park District, Northwestern University, and the University of Michigan–Flint to develop native, biodiverse lawn alternatives that can withstand and moderate the effects of climate change

Fungi are so much more than JUST mushrooms. Dr. Greg Mueller, former Chief Scientist at the Chicago Botanic Garden and current Chair of the IUCN SSC Fungal Conservation Committee, has a lot to say about the "fungus among us." And, spoiler, he's a FUN GUY! In this episode of the Protect Species Podcast, we explore a world beyond pizza toppings. Fungi play a critical role as nature's decomposers. From mycelium bricks to synthetic fungal leather, and even their role in cleaning up environmental disasters through bioremediation, fungi are the unsung heroes of the natural world! Dr. Mueller brings to light the significant conservation challenges fungi face, largely due to habitat loss and climate change. We discuss the intricacies of fungi/plant relationships and how they are crucial for reforestation success, emphasizing the need for a holistic approach to conservation that integrates soil health and forest ecosystems. This episode also unpacks the fascinating process of nutrient and signal exchange between plants and fungi, dispelling myths and highlighting scientific realities.We think you'll agree that Dr. Mueller is a passionate fungi expert, who shares his enthusiasm and insights, leaving us with a playful yet profound appreciation of the fungal kingdom. ---Additional links:Chicago Botanic GardenIUCN SSC Fungal Conservation CommitteeThe Fungus Among Us - Protect Species Blog

Tim Pollak, the Manager of Plant Production at the Chicago Botanic Garden, joins Lisa Dent to talk about the rare Amorphophallus Titanum, also known as “corpse flower,” that bloomed at the garden, and why people flock from miles around to experience the pungent smell of the rare flower. Follow The Lisa Dent Show on Twitter:Follow […]

May is the time to get garden beds ready, and harden off your seedlings so you can get your veggies in the ground now for bountiful summer months. Reset gets tips for getting veggie gardens started and spring veggie recipes from cultural historian and chef Jordan Wimby and the Chicago Botanic Garden's Chester Jankowski. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

It's cicada-mania! For the first time in more than two centuries, two broods of North American cicadas will emerge from the Earth at the same time. One hasn't been up in 13 years and the other has been underground for 17 years, and they are both different from the typical cicadas we hear every summer. “Something Offbeat” host Mike Rogers caught up with Tom Tiddens of the Chicago Botanic Garden to learn more about the broods and explore some of the mystery around cicadas. Mysteries like what they are doing for all those years underground.

Dr. Paul CarraDonna, Northwestern University, Plant Biology & Conservation, Assistant Professor of Instruction, and Chicago Botanic Garden, Research Scientist, joins John Williams to discuss Earth Day, it’s lack of national importance in today’s world, and how people can help the effort taking care of the Earth.

Dr. Paul CarraDonna, Northwestern University, Plant Biology & Conservation, Assistant Professor of Instruction, and Chicago Botanic Garden, Research Scientist, joins John Williams to discuss Earth Day, it’s lack of national importance in today’s world, and how people can help the effort taking care of the Earth.

Dr. Paul CarraDonna, Northwestern University, Plant Biology & Conservation, Assistant Professor of Instruction, and Chicago Botanic Garden, Research Scientist, joins John Williams to discuss Earth Day, it’s lack of national importance in today’s world, and how people can help the effort taking care of the Earth.

Mention that you like gardening, and you'll spark someone's interest. Occupational Horticulturalist, Perla Sofía Curbelo Santiago experiences this with her friends and neighbors on a regular basis. Though gardening can be a solitary practice, it brings people together. Epic Gardening Shop Homepage: https://growepic.co/3U589FxBotanical Interests Shop Homepage: https://growepic.co/3vIeFJ8Book Collection Page: https://growepic.co/3PRAb4OEG Homesteading Book: https://growepic.co/49pZRfOLearn More:Ecotherapy: How Trees Make You HealthConnect With Perla Sofía Curbelo Santiago:Perla Sofía Curbelo-Santiago is a professional garden communicator from Puerto Rico. As the founder of Spanish language gardening platform Agrochic.com, she promotes gardening for wellness. She is the author of the new book ¡Verdura! Living a Garden Life, also in Spanish. After earning degrees in Psychology and Public Relations, Perla was certified in Horticulture Therapy from the Chicago Botanic Garden. She popularized the importance of pausing and relaxing through a #GardenBreak. With this hashtag, she shares how to use nature and gardening-based activities to maintain physical, mental, and emotional well-being.InstagramWebsiteResource  Shop the Store As an exclusive for listeners, use code THEBEET for 5% off your entire order on our store, featuring our flagship Birdies Raised Beds. These are the original metal raised beds, lasting up to 5-10x longer than wooden beds, are ethically made in Australia, and have a customizable modular design.   Shop now and get 5% off your first order.Get Our BooksLooking for a beginner's guide to growing food in small spaces? Kevin's book, Field Guide to Urban Gardening, explains the core, essential information that you'll need to grow plants, no matter where you live!He also wrote Grow Bag Gardening to provide you with specialized knowledge that can bring you success when growing in fabric pots.Preorder Kevin's newest book Epic Homesteading if you are looking to turn your home into a thriving homestead! Order signed copies of Kevin's books, plus more of his favorite titles in our store.More ResourcesLooking for more information? Follow us:Our BlogYouTube (Including The Beet Podcast,  Epic Homesteading and Jacques in the Garden and Botanical Interest )Instagram (Including Epic Homesteading, Jacques)PinterestTikTokFacebookFacebook GroupDiscord Server

There are ways to adjust what you do in the garden to make the practice of gardening safer and more enjoyable. Sometimes it's as small as winding up a hose. Other times it's a matter of moving some of the garden's main features. These minute changes can make so much difference.Epic Gardening Shop Homepage: https://growepic.co/49quSk1Botanical Interests Shop Homepage: https://growepic.co/3PSl9frBook Collection Page: https://growepic.co/3vCUCvJEG Homesteading Book: https://growepic.co/49sVu3ELearn More:Ecotherapy: How Trees Make You HealthConnect With Perla Sofía Curbelo Santiago:Perla Sofía Curbelo-Santiago is a professional garden communicator from Puerto Rico. As the founder of Spanish language gardening platform Agrochic.com, she promotes gardening for wellness. She is the author of the new book ¡Verdura! Living a Garden Life, also in Spanish. After earning degrees in Psychology and Public Relations, Perla was certified in Horticulture Therapy from the Chicago Botanic Garden. She popularized the importance of pausing and relaxing through a #GardenBreak. With this hashtag, she shares how to use nature and gardening-based activities to maintain physical, mental, and emotional well-being.InstagramWebsiteResource  Shop the Store As an exclusive for listeners, use code THEBEET for 5% off your entire order on our store, featuring our flagship Birdies Raised Beds. These are the original metal raised beds, lasting up to 5-10x longer than wooden beds, are ethically made in Australia, and have a customizable modular design.   Shop now and get 5% off your first order.Get Our BooksLooking for a beginner's guide to growing food in small spaces? Kevin's book, Field Guide to Urban Gardening, explains the core, essential information that you'll need to grow plants, no matter where you live!He also wrote Grow Bag Gardening to provide you with specialized knowledge that can bring you success when growing in fabric pots.Preorder Kevin's newest book Epic Homesteading if you are looking to turn your home into a thriving homestead! Order signed copies of Kevin's books, plus more of his favorite titles in our store.More ResourcesLooking for more information? Follow us:Our BlogYouTube (Including The Beet Podcast,  Epic Homesteading and Jacques in the Garden and Botanical Interest )Instagram (Including Epic Homesteading, Jacques)PinterestTikTokFacebookFacebook GroupDiscord Server

There are small ways to make massive gardening projects much easier. Divide your projects into their main parts. Plan out how you're going to work through your project. Ask for help from friends and family. Overall, have fun! That's how it's supposed to be.Epic Gardening Shop Homepage: https://growepic.co/4aA2CfWBotanical Interests Shop Homepage: https://growepic.co/4aENk9xBook Collection Page: https://growepic.co/4aIKmAREG Homesteading Book: https://growepic.co/3VNIi6rLearn More:Ecotherapy: How Trees Make You HealthConnect With Perla Sofía Curbelo Santiago:Perla Sofía Curbelo-Santiago is a professional garden communicator from Puerto Rico. As the founder of Spanish language gardening platform Agrochic.com, she promotes gardening for wellness. She is the author of the new book ¡Verdura! Living a Garden Life, also in Spanish. After earning degrees in Psychology and Public Relations, Perla was certified in Horticulture Therapy from the Chicago Botanic Garden. She popularized the importance of pausing and relaxing through a #GardenBreak. With this hashtag, she shares how to use nature and gardening-based activities to maintain physical, mental, and emotional well-being.InstagramWebsiteResource  Shop the Store As an exclusive for listeners, use code THEBEET for 5% off your entire order on our store, featuring our flagship Birdies Raised Beds. These are the original metal raised beds, lasting up to 5-10x longer than wooden beds, are ethically made in Australia, and have a customizable modular design.   Shop now and get 5% off your first order.Get Our BooksLooking for a beginner's guide to growing food in small spaces? Kevin's book, Field Guide to Urban Gardening, explains the core, essential information that you'll need to grow plants, no matter where you live!He also wrote Grow Bag Gardening to provide you with specialized knowledge that can bring you success when growing in fabric pots.Preorder Kevin's newest book Epic Homesteading if you are looking to turn your home into a thriving homestead! Order signed copies of Kevin's books, plus more of his favorite titles in our store.More ResourcesLooking for more information? Follow us:Our BlogYouTube (Including The Beet Podcast,  Epic Homesteading and Jacques in the Garden and Botanical Interest )Instagram (Including Epic Homesteading, Jacques)PinterestTikTokFacebookFacebook GroupDiscord Server

Sometimes the garden can actually be a source of stress. But there are ways to mitigate your garden stresses with garden joys. The source of this joy is shifting towards a #GardenBreak. Relax, restore, do nothing sometimes, and tackle plant problems as they arise.Epic Gardening Shop Homepage:  https://growepic.co/4cOKq43Botanical Interests Shop Homepage: https://growepic.co/4aoijafBook Collection Page:  https://growepic.co/43L8pwEEG Homesteading Book: https://growepic.co/4aKQoAPLearn More: Ecotherapy: How Trees Make You HealthierConnect With Perla Sofía Curbelo Santiago:Perla Sofía Curbelo-Santiago is a professional garden communicator from Puerto Rico. As the founder of Spanish language gardening platform Agrochic.com, she promotes gardening for wellness. She is the author of the new book ¡Verdura! Living a Garden Life, also in Spanish. After earning degrees in Psychology and Public Relations, Perla was certified in Horticulture Therapy from the Chicago Botanic Garden. She popularized the importance of pausing and relaxing through a #GardenBreak. With this hashtag, she shares how to use nature and gardening-based activities to maintain physical, mental, and emotional well-being.InstagramWebsiteResource  Shop the Store As an exclusive for listeners, use code THEBEET for 5% off your entire order on our store, featuring our flagship Birdies Raised Beds. These are the original metal raised beds, lasting up to 5-10x longer than wooden beds, are ethically made in Australia, and have a customizable modular design.   Shop now and get 5% off your first order.Get Our BooksLooking for a beginner's guide to growing food in small spaces? Kevin's book, Field Guide to Urban Gardening, explains the core, essential information that you'll need to grow plants, no matter where you live!He also wrote Grow Bag Gardening to provide you with specialized knowledge that can bring you success when growing in fabric pots.Preorder Kevin's newest book Epic Homesteading if you are looking to turn your home into a thriving homestead! Order signed copies of Kevin's books, plus more of his favorite titles in our store.More ResourcesLooking for more information? Follow us:Our BlogYouTube (Including The Beet Podcast,  Epic Homesteading and Jacques in the Garden and Botanical Interest )Instagram (Including Epic Homesteading, Jacques)PinterestTikTokFacebookFacebook GroupDiscord Server

Gardening is not just about epic yields. It also benefits your overall well being. This fact is the reason that Perla Sofía Curbelo Santiago decided to pursue a career in Horticultural Therapy. With conscious adjustments, people can glean so much more than great food from their gardens.Epic Gardening Shop Homepage: https://growepic.co/4cMPmpMBotanical Interests Shop Homepage: https://growepic.co/49qt76pBookCollection Page:  https://growepic.co/49rWTHYEGHomesteading Book: https://growepic.co/4cKok2mLearn More:Ecotherapy: How Trees Make You HealthierConnect With Perla Sofía Curbelo Santiago:Perla Sofía Curbelo-Santiago is a professional garden communicator from Puerto Rico. As the founder of Spanish language gardening platform Agrochic.com, she promotes gardening for wellness. She is the author of the new book ¡Verdura! Living a Garden Life, also in Spanish. After earning degrees in Psychology and Public Relations, Perla was certified in Horticulture Therapy from the Chicago Botanic Garden. She popularized the importance of pausing and relaxing through a #GardenBreak. With this hashtag, she shares how to use nature and gardening-based activities to maintain physical, mental, and emotional well-being.InstagramWebsiteResource  Shop the Store As an exclusive for listeners, use code THEBEET for 5% off your entire order on our store, featuring our flagship Birdies Raised Beds. These are the original metal raised beds, lasting up to 5-10x longer than wooden beds, are ethically made in Australia, and have a customizable modular design.   Shop now and get 5% off your first order.Get Our BooksLooking for a beginner's guide to growing food in small spaces? Kevin's book, Field Guide to Urban Gardening, explains the core, essential information that you'll need to grow plants, no matter where you live!He also wrote Grow Bag Gardening to provide you with specialized knowledge that can bring you success when growing in fabric pots.Preorder Kevin's newest book Epic Homesteading if you are looking to turn your home into a thriving homestead! Order signed copies of Kevin's books, plus more of his favorite titles in our store.More ResourcesLooking for more information? Follow us:Our BlogYouTube (Including The Beet Podcast,  Epic Homesteading and Jacques in the Garden and Botanical Interest )Instagram (Including Epic Homesteading, Jacques)PinterestTikTokFacebookFacebook GroupDiscord Server

Tranquility, transformation, and transcendence is what Mary K. Doyle insists you will find when strolling through the 72 poems and photos inspired by the natural treasures found in three Chicago suburban public gardens--Cantigny Park in Wheaton, The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, and Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe. Joining us for this segment is Mary K. Doyle

Richard Hawke is the Director of Ornamental Plant Research at Chicago Botanic Garden, where he oversees comparative evaluations of ornamental plants. The CBG Plant Evaluation Program has included 117 distinct trials over the past four decades, with 26 comparative trials currently underway in three evaluation areas. In 2011, Richard began reporting trial results in Fine Gardening magazine, and has since written dozens of feature articles that can be found by visiting his author page. In this entertaining episode, Richard Hawke discusses his earliest memories of plants and gardening, the education and internships that laid the foundation for his career, and the joys and challenges of developing a world-class plant trial program. He also digs into the day-to-day details of plant evaluation and talks about some trials that yielded surprising results and some that were particular favorites, including evaluations of clematis, baptisias, butterfly bushes, and tender salvias.   Richard joined the staff of the Chicago Botanic Garden in the mid-1980s. CBG's trial of tender salvias identified many vigorous cultivars that do well when grown as annuals. The Chicago Botanic Garden has trialed 198 heucheras since 1995. Find out which cultivars performed better than the classics here. The Chicago Botanic garden was built on a series of islands, and soil conditions are not ideal. The original trial beds were atop a substrate of clay soil compacted by heavy equipment; the water table is very high, and drainage can be problematic. Richard talks about these soil woes, and the solutions that have improved soil structure and drainage in the newest plant evaluation area. The Chicago Botanic Garden was built on a series of islands with heavy clay soil. Field evaluation is a core component of plant trials at Chicago Botanic Garden. The Green Roof Gardens built atop the Plant Conservation Science Center are used to evaluate the suitability of plants for use in green roof assemblies. With 26 trials currently underway, the evaluation areas at the Chicago Botanic Garden are a hub of research activity. Richard now spends much of his time behind a desk, which makes him relish his time in the field even more. The Plant Evaluation Program at Chicago Botanic Garden is one of the largest and most diverse in the nation.

Also in the news: Chicago Botanic Garden's Orchid Show has begun; Architectural Artifacts to close; Families homeless after fire at South Shore apartments and more.

Also in the news: Chicago Botanic Garden's Orchid Show has begun; Architectural Artifacts to close; Families homeless after fire at South Shore apartments and more.

Also in the news: Chicago Botanic Garden's Orchid Show has begun; Architectural Artifacts to close; Families homeless after fire at South Shore apartments and more.

Do you want to preserve the biodiversity of agaves? Or do you want to preserve agaves in the wild? Because those are two different things, often at odds with one another. And you can't have that conversation without talking about the reasons for the disappearing wild lands in Mexico. But that's exactly what the Washington Post did last week, when they concluded that the biodiversity of agave is disappearing because “[f]oreign mezcal drinkers have adopted a taste for the wildest, scarcest agaves.” I wish foreign drinkers had adopted a taste for the wildest, scarcest agaves. And Mexican drinkers, too. But instead we're all drinking spirits made from monoculture blue weber agave in Jalisco and soon-to-be-monoculture espadin in Oaxaca. And that's the problem the Washington Post should have covered. So we do it here, instead, in this set-the-record-straight episode of Agave Road Trip! Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with special guest Sergio Garnier of Mezcal Ultramundo, with supporting insights from Dr. Hector Ortiz, conservation scientist at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comHeritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Agave Road Trip by becoming a member!Agave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.

Associate VP of Visitor Events & Programs at Chicago Botanic garden, Jodi Zombolo, joins Bob Sirott to talk about their holiday light show, Lightscape. She explains where the light installations come from and what to expect.

The Chicago Botanic Garden is the place to be, especially during their holiday “Lightscape” experience. Their 328 acres of pristine natural beauty in northern Cook County are transformed into an immersive journey that utilizes light, color, and sound to transport guests into realms of holiday beauty. Ioanna and Aaron went and said it gave “Disney nighttime fireworks show meets virtual reality meets North Pole wonder”. With individual installations by artists from around the world, every corner you turn will have a new surprise that will make dance, laugh, or stare in contemplation. We chat with Jodi from the Gardens to learn more about what Lightscape has to offer Chicagoland visitors this year. Plus, she gives us a BTS look into how long it takes to prep for the magnificent show. And, learn more about the Chicago Botanic Garden and all it has to offer year round. Visit www.chicagobotanicgarden.com to see pictures and purchase tickets! It is HIGHLY recommended you book early as some nights are already selling out! The show runs through January 7th and is perfect for families, couples, or friends. They're hot cocoa for the kids and fun holiday cocktails for the adults! Follow them @chicagobotanicgarden and visit our Instagram to see our experience at Lightscape!

Segment 1: Craig Bolanos, Co-Founder and CEO of Wealth Management Group, joins to talk about investors settling down, if he believes there are more interest rate hikes in the future, consumers still spending money, his forecast for holiday spending, the latest consumer sentiment survey showing inflation expectation increasing, and the big takeaways from earnings season. Segment […]

A lot of people believe Friday the 13th is bad luck, and that comes from a lot of legends and traditions. But a guy in 19th Century New York decided to rep this maligned number by flouting superstition and holding regular meals for what he called the Thirteen Club. Plus: the Chicago Botanic Garden is welcoming visitors for the Night of 1,000 Jack-o'-Lanterns. Origins of Friday the 13th: How the Day Got So Spooky (Live Science)  Night of 1,000 Jack-o'-Lanterns (Chicago Botanic Garden) Let's make some good luck together, back our show on Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coolweirdawesome/support

We're nearing our 150th episode mark and for us, that has meant a lot of plants discussed. But it's also meant a lot of great guest appearances. As you know, each episode we ask an expert from the field of horticulture to lend us their brains and weigh-in on some great plant choices for the topic at hand. We've had guests who made us laugh, think twice about a much-maligned perennial, or even come to realize that there are far better options out there for our gardens. Who was our funniest guest? The one that made us seriously reconsider our planting choices? Or the one who made us grip the steering wheel with white knuckles (yes—that did actually happen)? Tune in now to find out and listen to our favorite guest segments. Featured guests: ·       Riz Reyes, a horticulturist and floral designer based in Seattle. ·       Richard Hawke is the director of ornamental plant research at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, Illinois. ·       Irvin Etienne is curator of herbaceous plants and seasonal garden design for The Garden at Newfields in Indianapolis. ·       Sabrena Schweyer and her husband, Samuel Salsbury, own and manage Salsbury-Schweyer Inc., a sustainable landscape design and development group based in Akron, Ohio. Read her latest article here: https://www.finegardening.com/article/replace-a-front-lawn-with-a-beautiful-eco-friendly-garden Irvin Etienne's Upgraded Classics Classic: ‘Flamenco' red-hot poker (Kniphofia uvaria ‘Flamenco', Zones 5–9) Photo: David J. Stang, via Wikimedia Commons Upgrade: ‘Mango Popsicle' red-hot poker (Kniphofia ‘Mango Popsicle', Zones 6–9) Photo: Irvin Etienne Classic: ‘Fireball' hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus ‘Fireball', Zones 5–9) Photo: courtesy of David J. Stang, via Wikimedia Commons Upgrade: ‘Holy Grail' hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus ‘Holy Grail', Zones 4–9) Classic: ‘Storm Cloud' lily of the Nile (Agapanthus ‘Storm Cloud', Zones 7b–10) Photo: ©Armitage/Hip Labels, LLC Upgrade: ‘Galaxy Blue' lily of the Nile (Agapanthus ‘Galaxy Blue', Zones 6–10) Photo: Irvin Etienne Classic: ‘Black Knight' butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii ‘Black Knight', Zones 5–9) Upgrade: ‘Grand Cascade' butterfly bush (Buddleia ‘Grand Cascade', Zones 5–10) Photo: Irvin Etienne Classic: Mimosa (Albizia julibrissin, Zones 6–9) Photo: Simon Garbutt, via Wikimedia Commons Upgrade: ‘Summer Chocolate' mimosa (Albizia julibrissin ‘Summer Chocolate', Zones 6–9)   Richard Hawke's Favorite Vines (original episode #37) 'Guernsey Cream' clematis (Clematis 'Guernsey Cream', Zones 4-9) Rüütel™ clematis (Clematis 'Kiviruut', Zones 4-9) 'Madame Julia Correvon' clematis (Clematis 'Madame Julia Correvon', Zones 4-9) 'Princess Diana' clematis (Clematis 'Princess Diana', Zones 4-8) ‘Prince Charles' clematis (Clematis ‘Prince Charles', Zones 4-8) Variegated kiwi vine (Actinidia kolomikta, Zones 4-8) Climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala petiolaris, Zones 4-8) Japanese hydrangea vine (Schizophragma hydrangeoides, Zones 6-9) Chinese Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus henryana, Zones 7-9) credit: Doreen Wynja American wisteria (Wisteria frutescens, Zones 5-8)   Sabrena Schweyer's Problem-Solving Perennials Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica, Zones 3–8) ‘Eastern Star' white wood aster (Eurybia divaricata ‘Eastern Star', Zones 3–8) Obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana, Zones 3–9) Short-toothed mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum, Zones 4–8)   Riz Reyes' Favorite Container Plants (original episode # 86) 'Kiwi Fern' coleus (Plectranthus scutellarioides ‘Kiwi Fern', Zones 10-11) Aeonium (Aeonium spp. and cvs., Zones 9-11) Shearer's felt fern (Pyrrosia sheareri, Zones 7-10) ‘Dancing Queen' hosta (Hosta 'Dancing Queen', Zones 3-8)

Taran Lichtenberger, the Budburst Community Engagement Manager with the Chicago Botanic Garden, joins Lisa Dent to explain why you might be experiencing allergies longer than expected, and whether climate change is a factor. Follow The Lisa Dent Show on Twitter:Follow @LisaDentSpeaksFollow @SteveBertrand Follow @kpowell720 Follow @maryvandeveldeFollow @LaurenLapka

Angelica Ramirez is a bright new face in the bonsai scene. As Kevin and I learned in our interview, Angelica is a uniquely driven person with expertise in music, helicopter piloting, archery, painting, bonsai ceramics, and more recently she is set on learning bonsai to the highest degree possible. Angelica has been an apprentice at the Chicago Botanic Garden's bonsai collection and this year she is the new National Bonsai Apprentice at the US National Bonsai & Penjing Museum in Washington, DC. It was a pleasure documenting her story and we look forward to watching her bonsai skills and career grow! The video version is available here: Show notes and relevant pictures and links to parts 1 and 3 of the interview will be available here: ⁠https://www.ry2tree2.com/2023/06/the-many-talents-of-angelica-ramirez.html⁠ See you in the next episode! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Guest Info: Angelica has a great website where she documents her many pursuits. You can find it at the link below. https://www.arbonsaiart.com/ Also, Angelica maintains a database of active bonsai ceramicists around the world. You can use it to find local potters in your area at the link below, or contact her through her website/social media to get yourself added! https://www.arbonsaiart.com/discover-potters.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Podcast Info: You can help keep the podcast going by supporting us on Anchor. All donations go back into the podcast such as for our web hosting, recording gear expenses, etc. Even $1/month would be a great help! ⁠⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bonsaitimepodcast/support⁠⁠⁠ The Bonsai Time Podcast is hosted, edited, & produced by Kevin Faris and Ryan Huston. Learn more about the podcast at the links below. We expect to post new interviews and reflections monthly! www.BonsaiTimePodcast.com https://www.instagram.com/bonsaitimepodcast/ https://www.facebook.com/Bonsai-Time-Podcast-104034165522854 Your hosts can be found below: https://www.instagram.com/kevin_farispnw/ https://www.instagram.com/ry2tree2/ Music by MIDICANCER. Find more music by them at the links below. https://soundcloud.com/midicancer https://midicancer.bandcamp.com/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- More Bonsai Projects by Ryan: Read more about Ryan's bonsai blog below. https://www.ry2tree2.com/ Find my bonsai seeds for sale here. Each seed kit sold comes with my full 10-year bonsai-from-seed guide. https://www.ry2tree2.com/p/sales.html#Seeds Find me on Facebook and Instagram as well if you need more bonsai in your feed. https://www.facebook.com/Ry2Tree2/ https://www.instagram.com/ry2tree2/ Also, check out some of my video editing work for the Puget Sound Bonsai Association and Columbus Bonsai Society's demonstration archives below. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtYWnc5qvsHk1UPjcPhalIQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMUxTwUO5Ja2zXIRetMqjPQ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bonsaitimepodcast/support

Angelica Ramirez is a bright new face in the bonsai scene. As Kevin and I learned in our interview, Angelica is a uniquely driven person with expertise in music, helicopter piloting, archery, painting, bonsai ceramics, and more recently she is set on learning bonsai to the highest degree possible. Angelica has been an apprentice at the Chicago Botanic Garden's bonsai collection and this year she is the new National Bonsai Apprentice at the US National Bonsai & Penjing Museum in Washington, DC. It was a pleasure documenting her story and we look forward to watching her bonsai skills and career grow! The video version is available here: https://youtu.be/JAz6BC9OnIo Show notes and relevant pictures and links to parts 2 and 3 of the interview will be available here: https://www.ry2tree2.com/2023/06/the-many-talents-of-angelica-ramirez.html See you in the next episode! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Guest Info: Angelica has a great website where she documents her many pursuits. You can find it at the link below. https://www.arbonsaiart.com/ Also, Angelica maintains a database of active bonsai ceramicists around the world. You can use it to find local potters in your area at the link below, or contact her through her website/social media to get yourself added! https://www.arbonsaiart.com/discover-potters.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Podcast Info: You can help keep the podcast going by supporting us on Anchor. All donations go back into the podcast such as for our web hosting, recording gear expenses, etc. Even $1/month would be a great help! ⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bonsaitimepodcast/support⁠⁠ The Bonsai Time Podcast is hosted, edited, & produced by Kevin Faris and Ryan Huston. Learn more about the podcast at the links below. We expect to post new interviews and reflections monthly! www.BonsaiTimePodcast.com https://www.instagram.com/bonsaitimepodcast/ https://www.facebook.com/Bonsai-Time-Podcast-104034165522854 Your hosts can be found below: https://www.instagram.com/kevin_farispnw/ https://www.instagram.com/ry2tree2/ Music by MIDICANCER. Find more music by them at the links below. https://soundcloud.com/midicancer https://midicancer.bandcamp.com/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- More Bonsai Projects by Ryan: Read more about Ryan's bonsai blog below. https://www.ry2tree2.com/ Find my bonsai seeds for sale here. Each seed kit sold comes with my full 10-year bonsai-from-seed guide. https://www.ry2tree2.com/p/sales.html#Seeds Find me on Facebook and Instagram as well if you need more bonsai in your feed. https://www.facebook.com/Ry2Tree2/ https://www.instagram.com/ry2tree2/ Also, check out some of my video editing work for the Puget Sound Bonsai Association and Columbus Bonsai Society's demonstration archives below. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtYWnc5qvsHk1UPjcPhalIQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMUxTwUO5Ja2zXIRetMqjPQ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bonsaitimepodcast/support

In other news: Chicago City Council committee approves permananent outdoor dining program; Chicago Botanic Garden given $21 million to continue conservation work; Shelter in place order lifted in Joliet following a manhunt for burglary suspects; and much more

Dewayne Gallatin earned his nickname “King of Containers” while overseeing The Sibley Horticultural Center at Callaway Gardens.His primary horticultural focus today is managing and developing future projects for private gardens and estates. A close friend once suggested he enter a container gardening contest that ended up attracting over 1,000 entries. Little did he know a whole TV episode on PBS's “The Southern Gardener” would be produced around his winning entry.He earned Horticulture Associates Degrees in Landscape Design, Ornamental Production, and Commercial Turf Management from ABAC Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.He followed up those studies with internships at Chicago Botanic Garden and Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania.This is a remix of episode 028.Website: TheGardenQuestion.comIt's spring and you're probably deciding which plants to plant in your garden. Would a list of annual and perennial plants bugs don't bother be helpful to you.Jason Reeves has curated a plant list of 57 annual and perennials plants that're not on your bugs menu. Go to today's episode page on the Garden Question Podcast and download the list.You will also receive the Good to Know Newsletter with the list as a bonus.Go now and get the list.

On this edition of The Arts Section, host Gary Zidek visits the Chicago Botanic Garden to check out the annual Orchid Show. Contributor Dennis Polkow sits down with Chicago Symphony Orchestra's music director Riccardo Muti. The CSO recently unveiled its 2023-24 schedule. The Dueling Critics, Kerry Reid and Jonathan Abarbanel, join Gary to review the world premiere play BOULEVARD OF BOLD DREAMS. Later in the show, Gary talks to the director of one of the longest running jazz festivals in the country. And we'll hear about a book that serves up a sweet look back at the history of Chicago bakeries.

This is a long one, but worth it in terms of information gleaned about some of the best perennials you can choose. Richard Hawke runs the famous evaluations at the Chicago Botanic Garden and in this episode he talks about the evaluations and what they mean and how they can help any gardener to know WHICH darned plant to choose. We talk about the process and then I insist that we go over the ones that I was basically forced to buy after hearing him talk at Speaking of Gardening at Asheville last summer. Forced is strong-- how about 'Unable to Resist'? Apropos of nothing other than a little vacation I took in Florida recently, the Plant of the Week is the Banyan Tree (Ficus benghalensis), and in The Play List I talk about seed starting and winter pruning. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/intothegarden/support

This episode of the podcast, Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley, contains a potpourri of interesting topics. Jean Thomas (It's All Greek to Me) returns with a discussion of the Dutch influence on the Hudson Valley, including the wide variety of terms we use today that find their origins to the Netherlands. We all know that bulbs come from Holland, but are you aware of other common vocabulary terms like gherkin, coleslaw and cookie are derived from the Dutch? The Dutch influence on the Hudson Valley continues today. Plant trials are the focus on Tools of the Trade with Tim Kennelty. Have you wondered how botanists evaluate which plant varieties perform best under certain conditions? Which cultivars are pollinator favorites? What one are the most disease resistant? Which native plant species will work best in your garden? On-line resources from the Mount Cuba Center in Delaware and the Chicago Botanic Garden are discussed which provides the answers. Garden maintenance is the focus of this latest episode of the Veggie Patch with Teresa Golden. Watering, weeding and fertilizing are discussed as key elements to keep a vegetable garden thriving. Get answers to: How much water is needed? Does mulch really help to suppress weeds? What's the value of fertilizer? In addition, she'll cover some common garden tools that will make caring for your veggie patch easier. Thanks for listening to Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley. Hosts: Tim Kennelty and Jean Thomas Guests: Jean Thomas, Time Kennelty and Teresa Golden Photo by: Tim Kennelty Production Support: Linda Aydlett, Annie Scibienski, and Teresa Golden Resources

Today on the Mushroom Hour we are honored to be joined by Dr. Andrew Wilson - Assistant Curator of Mycology in the Sam Mitchel Herbarium of Fungi at Denver Botanic Gardens. For Dr. Wilson the discovery of mycology began back in the late 90's at San Francisco State University in taking classes from world renown mushroom taxonomist, Dr. Dennis Desjardin. Working with Dennis, Andrew earned a Masters degree studying the mushroom genus Gymnopus from Java and Bali. He later went on to earn a PhD in the lab of Dr. David Hibbett at Clark University. His project took him back to Southeast Asia, this time to study the ecology and evolution enigmatic puffball genus Calostoma and their relatives. In 2009, Andrew graduated and began a postdoc with Dr. Gregory Mueller at the Chicago Botanic Garden where he explored the systematic evolution of the Cantharellales and the model ectomycorrhizal mushroom genus Laccaria. He also did a one-year postdoc at Purdue University, in the lab of Dr. Cathie Aime, teasing apart the complex evolution of plant pathogenic rust fungi. At Denver Botanic Gardens, Dr. Wilson is working on a regional contribution to the Fungal Diversity Survey (FunDiS) that encompasses the state of Colorado, with a focus on the Southern Rockies. In this effort he is training students on how to study biodiversity using natural history collection and DNA sequence analysis. He is also working on new tools in DNA sequencing to better sample and study fungal diversity.   TOPICS COVERED:   Formed in a Family of Biologists   Intellectual Explorations at San Francisco State University   Genus Gymnopus   Expeditions to Southeast Asia   What are Systematics?   Genus Calostoma   Role of Isotopes in Understanding Fungal Ecologies   Biogeographic Histories of Fungi   Interpreting Ancestry and Evolution in Phylogenetic Data    Gondwana Supercontinent   Finding a Living, Ancient Ancestor on the Lacarria Family Tree    Denver Botanic Gardens & Sam Mitchell Fungi Herbarium   New Methods of High-Throughput DNA Sequencing    Biodiversity & Evolutionary History of Southern Rocky Mountain Fungi   EPISODE RESOURCES:   Dr. Andrew Wilson - Denver Botanic Gardens: https://www.botanicgardens.org/team/profile/andrew-w-wilson-phd   Dr. Dennis Desjardin (Mentor): https://biology.sfsu.edu/faculty/desjardin   Dr. David Hibbet (Mentor): https://www2.clarku.edu/faculty/facultybio.cfm?id=355   Gymnopus (Genus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnopus   Calostoma (Genus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calostoma   Laccaria (Genus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laccaria   Calostoma cinnabarinum: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calostoma_cinnabarinum   Colorado Mycological Society: https://cmsweb.org/   Colorado Mycoflora Project: https://coloradomycoflora.org/