What’s up everybody?
A few weeks back our friend Steve invited us to go up to the Chicago Botanic Garden. We kept on making plans to go there with him but something always seemed to come up and prevented us or him from going. Finally the stars aligned just right and we made it up there.
Just a little background on Steve. He attended school for Landscape Design and managed a floral shop for a time. He has a real passion for horticulture. He has a nice little garden of his own in his yard. I’m sure if he had a larger yard he would have a mass garden in it. I’ve tried to grow a little garden myself and failed miserably. So it was nice to have someone, that actually knows what they are doing and has actual knowledge about what they are talking about, show us around the garden.
Chicago Botanic Garden is a 385 acre living plant museum. Owned by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County and is operated by Chicago Horticultural Society. It is located in the village of Glencoe Illinois, about 25 miles North of Chicago. It boasts the largest membership of any U.S. botanical garden. They have over 50,000 members. The garden is free to all visitor, but with that being said you do have to pay for parking. They have to get you somehow. Right?! Parking is about 25 - 30 dollars depending on the day of the week and the size of the car (i.e. large passenger van).
I tend to be the type of person that likes to get to places early. Mostly to beat the crowds that tend to filter in later on in the day. With that being said we headed up there about 10 o’clock and found a decent parking spot relatively close to the front entrance with a little bit of a walk to the gate. Once at the entrance we found nice workers passing out maps of the garden and ready to answer any question that we might of had. Inside of the entrance building lies the shops, eateries and information booths.
As soon as we passed through the entrance our senses were put into overload as we take in the sights and smells of the flora. The Botanic garden is made up of 9 islands, of various sizes, and encompassed by 6 miles of lake shoreline. As a whole the garden is separated in to 27 individual gardens and 4 wilderness areas. Each garden has its own unique theme and flora to match that theme. The two that stuck out the most to me were the Japanese Garden and the Plant Evaluation Garden.
I would have to say that the Japanese Garden was my favorite. Surprisingly it was not overly abundant on flowers. Maybe because of the time of the year. I know that some of the plants that they have in there have a short blooming period. This particular garden is actually made up of three of the nine island. Two of which guest are allowed to traverse, while the third is only for the bird and garden staff. You feel as if you have traveled back in time as you pass over the feudal style bridge into the garden. Once there you are greeted with Japanese buildings and structures. The main focal point is the pagoda, which was design by a famous Japanese architect. It was full built in Japan. Then taken apart and shipped to the U.S. where it was reassembled and put on display. I would have like to have spent more time there but as it was getting later in the day our energy levels were starting to leave us, since we had been exploring the other garden throughout day.
The other garden that I found interesting was the Plant Evaluation Garden. This particular garden is set up in concentric circles filled with flowers of various species. In the middle of the garden lies a really cool sundial. Here as the name implies, is where they grow plant and evaluate how they grow. You can think of it better as a testing or proving ground for the plants. The purpose of this is to test how the plants cope with the stress of growing in the Chicagoland area. It is not a quick evaluation either as they typically grow them for four to six years and sometimes longer. It is nice to know that they go through all this trouble to bring us the highest quality of plants that they can. They don’t just throw them together and see what happens.
One thing I would like to add is that all of the gardens are wheelchair accessible and are fairly easy to navigate. There is also a shuttle tram. For a small fee they will take you on a tour of the gardens. At designated stop they will allow you to get off, but if you get off you will have to wait for the next shuttle to come by to continue the tour. I will let you now that it is not an in-depth tour, but you will get information from the tour guides that you may not get when you are on your own. Of course, the tour guides are what makes the tour. We had a sassy black lady that was pretty entertaining to listen to as she tended to repeat herself throughout the tour. Just don’t get to loud, for she had a tendency to shush those perpetrators who got too vocal.
There is truly a lot that the Chicago Botanic Garden has to offer. If you want to have a serene walk through beautifully designed landscapes or even partake in the many class that are offered. There is something for everyone. There is a reason why over a million people visit the Garden annually. We had a excellent time and appreciate having Steve invite us into his world and showing us around.
As always, thanks for stopping by. Until next time.
Josh
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