Chicago Botanic Garden Summer 2019

chicagobotanic.org 25 Plant theater puts Garden’s stars on new stage e plant collections of the Chicago Botanic Garden have a new place to show o in a “theater” designed just for them in the Helen and Richard om- as English Walled Garden. Plant theater is a traditional English presentation of exceptional plants, such as snowdrops and primroses, that are potted and placed on tiers of shelves. “It’s an old-school way of displaying speci c plants and it will highlight some of the Garden’s collections,” said senior horticulturist Heather Sher- wood, who oversees the English Walled Garden. Plant theaters have long been popular in Great Britain as a way to organize and present pots of owering annuals, perennials, and herbs. e “theater” typically has three to ve shelves made of wood or metal, sitting on the ground or attached to a wall. e Garden’s plant theater was crafted by sta and features ornamental wood- en shelves that rest on legs. e plants are grown in clay pots and will be la- beled. e display began in April with grape hyacinths (Muscari) . “We have three shelves with 15 di erent types of Muscari ,” Sherwood said, including those with pale blue, violet, white, or pink owers. e plant theater was a collaboration between the Garden’s curatorial and horticulture sta . “We have all these fascinating plant collections that we’re still building,” Sherwood explained. Soon, pots of annual geraniums (Pelar- gonium) will take the stage in late May. “ ey are species that are also coming from our collections. In general, the ge- raniums on display may have a smaller stature, smaller leaves, some are scent- ed, and some are miniature.” Come August, succulents such as Ech- everia will put on a performance. “ ey are extremely popular right now,” Sher- wood said. “ at’s another collection that we’re growing, and this is one of the di erent ways we can display them. ey have a great range of color—they are low maintenance, but have high visibility. I’m super excited.” Violas will take the display into au- tumn. “ e owers will be smaller than the traditional pansy, but the plants will have more owers,” Sherwood said. e dainty frost-tolerant plants will likely be on display through late October. Getting all of the plants to bloom at certain times requires meticulous plan- ning. “We have a fantastic production department,” Sherwood said, and they will coordinate the best times for the plants to be replaced with new ones, four times a year. e potting soils will vary as well. Echeveria needs very grav- elly soil while the Muscari and gerani- ums will go in regular potting mix. “We’ve been planning this for a year,” Sherwood said. “Seeing it come to frui- tion, as a horticulturist, is wonderful.” Learn more chicagobotanic.org/gardens/englishwalled Artist’s rendering of the plant theater A variety of Muscari opened the plant theater display.