Welcome to Nature Nights, a special series of evening programs designed to share our wonderous nature in Central Texas. Join us one Friday each month in the Fall (September through November) from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. - just $1.00 per person and free for members & EcoExplorers.

Visitors to the Chicago Botanic Garden will discover unusual forms of mums this fall. They’ll be wowed from the start with groupings of bronze “mum ball” containers outside the Visitor Center, cascading mum hayracks over the bridge to the main island, a sea of 2,100 yellow, orange, bronze and red mums in The Crescent and three shades of red “mum ball” containers under trees lining the Esplanade.

Only Brooklyn Botanic Garden could host such a diverse homage to the chile pepper with sizzling musical and dance performances, spicy culinary demonstrations, tantalizing exhibits, and workshops from chile-loving regions around the world. Get a taste of the chilehead lifestyle and see why chiles are all the rage from Brooklyn to Bombay!

Choose from more than 200 varieties of bulbs and get expert planting advice at the Bulb Bazaar on Saturday, Sept. 29 and Sunday, Sept. 30 at Chicago Botanic Garden. This year, experts and horticulturists will point out “Plants We Love” and a large selection of bulbs for indoor forcing will be available.

An exhibition of books authored by Charles Darwin will be on display in the Lenhardt Library located in the Regenstein Center at the Chicago Botanic Garden through Sunday, October 28, 2007. This exhibit presents the background for his book, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection—one of the most influential books in the field of natural sciences.

Visitors can enjoy the color and fragrance of the queen of flowers during Orchid Aloha, the Illinois Orchid Society’s fall orchid show and sale on Saturday and Sunday, October 13-14, at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

With the precision of an Olympic ice skater and the grace of a prima ballerina, brightly colored kites will glide and pirouette through the skies over the West Meadow of the Chicago Botanic Garden from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 11 and Sunday, Aug. 12.

Visitors can learn everything they wanted to know about bonsai at the 30th Anniversary Mid-America Bonsai Exhibit & Sale, sponsored by the Midwest Bonsai Society, on Friday, Aug. 17 through Sunday, Aug. 19. The best in the Midwest and one of the top three in the country, this annual bonsai show and sale draws enthusiasts from all over the United States.

Chicago Botanic Garden Visitors can learn all about growing and using peppers—both hot and sweet—at the All About Peppers Weekend, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 25 and Sunday, Aug. 26, in the Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden.

From April 7 to May 6, Brooklyn Botanic Garden celebrates Hanami, the Japanese cultural tradition of viewing and cherishing each moment of the cherry blossom season-from the first buds to the pink blossoms that fall like snow.

What could be more romantic and sensuous than a single rose? How about tens of thousands of them? Delight the senses with a multitude of blooming roses during June Is Rose Month, a celebration honoring the beauty and history of the rose at Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Cranford Rose Garden. Kick off this monthlong homage to America's favorite flower with Jazz and Roses on Sunday, June 3, Noon-5:30 p.m.