City of Roses: Greenhouses
Did you know that Des Plaines was once famous for growing flowers? It’s true: back around the turn of the century, all kinds of flowers were being grown right here in Des Plaines in greenhouses! Back then, much of Des Plaines was farms and open fields, not buildings and businesses, and Des Plaines farmers built special greenhouses warmed by steam boilers to protect and grow flowers even during the cold winter months, which were then sold all over the Chicago area. The most popular flowers grown were roses and carnations, but florists also grew gardenias, chrysanthemums, calendulas, camellias, orchids, calla lilies, and snapdragons. At one point, we were growing millions of roses every year! Many people in town gave Des Plaines the nickname “the City of Roses” because of that.
How do greenhouses help flowers grow, exactly? Let’s try building our own mini-greenhouses to find out!
You’ll need:
- Large clear plastic cups
- Potting soil
- Flower seeds - you can try some of the flower varieties grown in Des Plaines like snapdragons or marigolds, research native Illinois flowers to grow, or just pick whatever you like best!
- Masking tape or duct tape
- Push pins
First, take one of your plastic cups, turn it over, and carefully use the push pins to create some drainage holes in the bottom of your cup - this will make sure that your flowers won’t get too much water. Next, fill your cup almost to the top with potting soil and gently pat it down.Use your finger or a pencil to make small shallow holes in the top of the dirt, and place one or two seeds in each hole - 3-5 seeds per cup is a good number. Then, gently cover your seeds with a little more soil so that they’re covered up.
Give your seeds a little water, being careful not to overflow your cup, then place a second cup on top of the first one, and use a little tape on the edges to keep everything closed up. Place your cups in a sunny windowsill and wait for them to sprout! If you want, try leaving one cup uncovered - which one sprouts first? Why do you think that is?
Our little greenhouse is much simpler than the ones built in Des Plaines, but it works on the same basic principle. The glass panels of a greenhouse and the clear plastic of the cup lets lots of sunlight in to feed energy to the sprouting seeds and also traps heat to create a warm and moist environment that protects and nurtures the delicate sprouts!
Not a fan of plastics? We’re sure you can come up with ways to use clay pots, ceramic mugs, glass jars, and other reusable items. Be careful since those items break easily.
You can also try growing some vegetables: radishes and many beans sprout quickly! Many other garden vegetables can be transplanted to an outdoor bed later in the spring so you can literally reap what you sowed. Seed packets always have directions and guidance on the back.