One of the things that we enjoy seeing in most of the large cities that we visit, are the local Botanic Gardens. They are all very pretty and very unique, but not many compare to the beauty and size of the Chicago Botanic Garden.There are many seperate garden areas that make up this huge place. One photo and one blog post will never do it justice, but here is one shot I took that I will post just as a futile attempt to capture its beauty.
Some of the gardens you can see there are: Aquatic Garden: Here you can see more Waterlilies than you can imagine.
There is also a Bulb Garden: Where there were no less than 100 varieties of bulbs. The Circle Garden: Where there are many violas (Viola 'Penny Citrus Mix', V. 'Sorbet Orange Duet' & V. 'Sorbet Primrose Babyface') and pansies (Viola x wittrockiana 'Bingo Red & Yellow'), tulip (Tulipa kaufmanniana 'Early Harvest').
Dwarf Conifer Garden: Where you can spot Greek anemone (Anemone blanda 'Blue Star'), glory-of-the-snow (Chionodoxa forbesii 'Gigantea'), cyclamineus daffodil (Narcissus 'Mite' & N. 'Golden Bells' – bright yellow, long skinny cup, swept-back petals), cyclamineus narcissus (Narcissus 'Snipe' - pale yellow, long narrow cup, swept-back petals), rock narcissus (Narcissus rupicola).
Enabling Garden: At the entrance are Pansy (Viola x wittrockiana 'Frizzle Sizzle Blue') and many varieties of annuals including Texas bluebells, pansies, pot marigold, forget-me-nots, California poppies and Morocco toadflax. West Flower Walk: Many narcissus starting to bloom, including cyclamineus (Narcissus 'Itzim') & jonquil (Narcissus 'Sweetness'), and periwinkle (Vinca minor 'Dart's Blue').
English Oak Meadow: Japanese spurge (Pachysandra terminalis), Northern Gold forsythia (Forsythia 'Northern Gold') on top of hill. To be planted: Iceland poppies (Papaver nudicaule 'Champagne Bubbles Mix').
English Walled Garden: Which had Dutch hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis 'Delft Blue'), reticulata iris (Iris 'Joyce' & 'Violet Beauty'), Elizabeth magnolia.
Heritage Garden: English daisy (Bellis perennis 'Bellissima Rose'), pot marigold (Calendula officinalis 'Bon Bon Yellow'), glory-of-the-snow (Chionodoxa forbesii 'Pink Giant'), Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas), Morocco toadflax (Linaria maroccana 'Fantasy Yellow'), Japanese pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis), coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara), pansy (Viola 'Bingo Blue w/ Blotch' & V. x wittrockiana 'Delta Watercolor Mix').
Lagoon Garden: Daffodils (Narcissus 'Beersheba', 'Duke of Windsor', 'Ipi Tombi', 'Spellbinder', 'Yellow Cheerfulness' –all in bud), Siberian squill (Scilla siberica).
Lakeside Gardens: 'Spellbinder' -light yellow, cup changes to white as it ages & N. 'Obdam' -double creamy white); large cupped daffodils (Narcissus 'Manon Lescault' -white perianth & N. 'Misty Glen' -late, white), small cupped daffodil (Narcissus 'After All' -white perianth, orange-rimmed yellow cup), jonquil (Narcissus 'Curlew' -long, pale yellow cup, ivory perianth), & cyclamineus daffodil (Narcissus 'Surfside' -yellow-white, swept back petals), Siberian squill (Scilla siberica).
Other gardens were: The Landscape Gardens, Rock Garden, Sensory Garden, Water Gardens, Waterfall Garden and my personal favorite was Elizabeth Hubert Malott Japanese Garden. It was almost like its own little island out there.
By now, I am sure you have gotten the idea on just how huge and beautiful this place is. I hope you have enjoyed this little trip to an unusal part of Chicago, where the beauty of nature downplays the beauty of the city?
"All the pathos and irony of leaving one's youth behind is thus implicit in every joyous moment of travel: one knows that the first joy can never be recovered, and the wise traveller learns not to repeat successes but tries new places all the time." -Paul Fussell
