Pictures from the Chicago Botanic Gardens

It has been a hectic week here among the leaves. Our golden retriever, Laces, had to have some unplanned surgery, as a benign growth in her ear ruptured. She's fine now, back home and pretty much herself, but travel and anesthesia always exacerbate her mobility issues, so we were a bit worried. And I didn't have a lot of time for blogging.

So I thought I'd share some pictures I took last summer at the Chicago Botanic Gardens, mostly in their greenhouses.

A beautiful specimen of Begonia 'Looking Glass.' Since it is a favorite of mine, I've tried to grow Looking Glass a couple of times, only to have it succumb to powdery mildew.


Silvery fan palms. I neglected to copy the name from the tag, but I think they are Bismarckia nobilis

A tree of epiphytes, most notably Phalaenopsis orchids, Tillandsia usneoides (Spanish moss) and other orchid and Tillandsia species.


Nepenthes (Pitcher plants) in a bed of Selaginella

A couple of outdoor shots:

Rudbeckia hirta 'Autumn Colors' and Rubeckia hirta 'Prairie Sun' in the English Walled Garden at the CBG. I already grow Prairie Sun in my own garden and love them. I'm going to try the 'Autumn Colors' as well.

Whenever I visit the CBG during the warm months, I alway stop at the water garden and say hello to the ducks. As far as I can ascertain, these are American Black Ducks, Anas rubripes

As always, a click will enlarge the pictures. I especially recommend the Begonia and Rudbeckias in their large versions.