SG549: An Inside Peak Into The Chicago Botanic Garden

Welcome Jodi, why don’t you start off by sharing a bit about yourself?

Time Stamp: 9:50

How many events do you put together in a typical year?

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Who is craving all these pumpkins during the Night of a Thousand Jack O’ Lanterns event?

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What kind of candles did you use and how long did it take you to light them all?

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Can you give us a high-level overview of The Wonderland Express? How did it get started?

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The next event that I wanted to talk to you about is the orchid show. Tell us a little bit about that.

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Do you sell some of the orchids too?

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What’s the event like? Do guests learn how to care for orchids?

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How many people come to the orchid show every year?

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You also have an orchid show photo contest for your visitors?

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How did you end up working at the Chicago Botanic Garden in 2010 – specifically as the lead horticulturalist at the Regenstein Fruit and Vegetable Garden– in charge of over 50,000 vegetable plants?

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Welcome us to the Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden of today. I was thinking your motto could be Fructus Insulam – Island of Fruit (is there Latin word for Vegetable?!)

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The Chicago Botanic Garden traces its origins back to the Chicago Horticultural Society, founded in 1890. You and I were talking in the pre-show chat that there’s this fantastic book that has many images of the Chicago Botanic Garden during this time. Can you tell us a bit more about that?

Time Stamp: 38:40

There was a lovely post by Katje Sabin about meeting you at the garden in wintertime. You shared with her how you work with the cycle of nature to handle challenges in the garden. How can home gardeners adapt the same practice – do you have some insights or advice to get them started down this path?

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What would be an example of what you recently combatted with a more natural approach vs. a spray?

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I loved the photo of the cold frames that your carpenters built. These are deluxe! They have hydraulic lid lifts and heating coils. How do they work?

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You wrote an incredible post called Food for Thought: Celebrating the Vegetables of the 1890s. It was eye-opening for me to read it. Could you share your thoughts on this post and why it’s important for gardeners to know about seed preservation?

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When you’re buying seed for the garden, do you have a specific source to go for seed? And when you do buy the seeds, do you focus on buying heirloom seeds?

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There are a series of some beautiful vertical gardens at Regenstein. What tips do you have for gardeners who want to try this at home?

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Now that the growing season is pretty much done, do you empty out everything?

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You also offer vegetable classes at Regenstein. What are some of the things visitors can learn from your classes?

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How concerned are people about the spreading issue with strawberries? They can take over your garden so quickly.

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You wrote a post about Gardening Gift Book recommendations for the CBG last year. What would make your top ten list for garden books this year?

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All gardens evolve. When you think about the crop plans for next year, what are you excited about as look ahead at the 2017 year in the garden?

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Can you give listeners a quick overview about the seed swap event that the Chicago Botanic Garden hosts every year?

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