Chicago Botanic Gardens
The Chicago Botanic Gardens are made up of more than 30 different gardens.
This is the "Circle Garden" and was probably the most beautiful it had ever been.
This year the gardens frequently mixed vegetables and flowers because of the
great range of colors and textures. Notice the cabbages and chrysanthemums here.
The Esplanade leads down to the lake. All of the pumpkins and squash were
grown in the Vegetable Gardens.
Take your choice of some of the pumpkins and squash.
All the produce grown in their vegetable gardens is sold to raise money
for the gardens.
Huge beds of chrysanthemums in four different shades of red led from the Heritage
Garden down to the lake. The mums were all in full bloom.
Beds of red and pink mums.
These beautiful mum were described as "Coral Orange," and were the lightest
of the four shades of red = deep wine red to coral-orange.
These are some Coral-Orange Mums close-up.
"White Spoon Mums" were in urns along the path. Notice their petals,
which are long tubes with a spoon form at the end. All of the mums in Chicago
are garden mums growing outdoors and anyone who wanted to could grow them.
In a couple of weeks, I shall go to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania to see the
exotic mums grown in greenhouses, which are very different.
"Letizia." Another Fall favorite is the dahlia, which comes in
an enormous array of colors and forms and grows well outdoors for anyone.
This one is about 8 inches in diameter.
Now we are in the Heritage Garden, which features flowers from all parts of the world,
with sections for Africa and Asia and North America. These are
"Indian Summer Mums."
This is one of the "Viola Pyramids" in the Heritage Garden. This is one of a number of
"vertical flower beds" which the Gardens promote. It is 9 feet high and supported by steel
bars. They were once used for a different display several years ago. Supports inside
hold up the plastic sheets which are dirt filled. Then volunteers inserted 6,400 little
plants into the forms. They grew so fast, they had to pinch off the buds twice to get
them all to bloom at he same time. Now two sides are orange and two sides purple.
The Heritage Gardens also have many beautiful waterlilies and lotuses,
which are quite hardy in Chicago; many grow in the lake.
Beautiful Yellow Waterlilies
Blue Water Lily
Orange Feathered Mums in the Heritage Garden.
Red Spoon Mums in the Heritage Garden.
The "Blue Butterfly Plant" is highly attractive to butterflies.
"African Daisies" or Osteospermum are very popular in Chicago now.
Orange Strawflower
"Pink Strawflower." These flowers can be allowed to dry and will keep
their bright colors all winter in dried bouquets.
"Late Summer Pink Roses." For the most part, the roses have finished blooming,
but a few are still blooming on the stalks.
"Pale Green Decorative Mums." The Heritage Garden is also where they show
new varieties of old favorites which people may want to try in their yards.
This is one of the new experiments.
"Harlequin Snapdragons" made a bright contrast to some of the darker colors.
Next on our itinerary was the "Herb Garden." Here, amongst the ivy groundcover,
was one of my favorite flowers - "The Autumn Crocus." The plant grows in the
spring, but sends up only foliage, and a lot of it, to produce food. Then it dies back
under the ivy. And in late September it sends up shoots with just flowers,
and these magnificent blooms show up above the dark ivy. Gorgeous!
Beautiful cluster of Autumn Crocus. These flowers were planted three years ago,
and there were only two flowers in each clump. But they multiply rapidly, and
this year there were large clumps of the Autumn Crocus in many places.
Next we came to the island with the Vegetable Gardens. Here they grow all sorts
of vegetables that everyone in Chicago enjoys and displays new varieties. These are
new terraces which were built this year and are filled with many vegetables.
In the Vegetable Garden, they have planters and hanging baskets in which they
combine vegetables and flowers. This is a "Green Ball / Dianthus," which is a
member of the carnation family.
Some of their vegetables grow very large; this is a giant pumpkin.
There are a number of sunflowers growing in the Vegetable Garden.
This was a new variety for me - the "Teddy Bear Sunflower."
Pale Peach Dahlias led us over to the Aquatic Gardens.
Coral Dahlias were in the Aquatic Gardens.
_____________
I hope you have enjoyed this virtual walk through the gardens.
__
The Chicago Botanic Gardens are made up of more than 30 different gardens.
This is the "Circle Garden" and was probably the most beautiful it had ever been.
This year the gardens frequently mixed vegetables and flowers because of the
great range of colors and textures. Notice the cabbages and chrysanthemums here.
The Esplanade leads down to the lake. All of the pumpkins and squash were
grown in the Vegetable Gardens.
Take your choice of some of the pumpkins and squash.
All the produce grown in their vegetable gardens is sold to raise money
for the gardens.
Huge beds of chrysanthemums in four different shades of red led from the Heritage
Garden down to the lake. The mums were all in full bloom.
Beds of red and pink mums.
These beautiful mum were described as "Coral Orange," and were the lightest
of the four shades of red = deep wine red to coral-orange.
These are some Coral-Orange Mums close-up.
"White Spoon Mums" were in urns along the path. Notice their petals,
which are long tubes with a spoon form at the end. All of the mums in Chicago
are garden mums growing outdoors and anyone who wanted to could grow them.
In a couple of weeks, I shall go to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania to see the
exotic mums grown in greenhouses, which are very different.
"Letizia." Another Fall favorite is the dahlia, which comes in
an enormous array of colors and forms and grows well outdoors for anyone.
This one is about 8 inches in diameter.
Now we are in the Heritage Garden, which features flowers from all parts of the world,
with sections for Africa and Asia and North America. These are
"Indian Summer Mums."
This is one of the "Viola Pyramids" in the Heritage Garden. This is one of a number of
"vertical flower beds" which the Gardens promote. It is 9 feet high and supported by steel
bars. They were once used for a different display several years ago. Supports inside
hold up the plastic sheets which are dirt filled. Then volunteers inserted 6,400 little
plants into the forms. They grew so fast, they had to pinch off the buds twice to get
them all to bloom at he same time. Now two sides are orange and two sides purple.
The Heritage Gardens also have many beautiful waterlilies and lotuses,
which are quite hardy in Chicago; many grow in the lake.
Beautiful Yellow Waterlilies
Blue Water Lily
Orange Feathered Mums in the Heritage Garden.
Red Spoon Mums in the Heritage Garden.
The "Blue Butterfly Plant" is highly attractive to butterflies.
"African Daisies" or Osteospermum are very popular in Chicago now.
Orange Strawflower
"Pink Strawflower." These flowers can be allowed to dry and will keep
their bright colors all winter in dried bouquets.
"Late Summer Pink Roses." For the most part, the roses have finished blooming,
but a few are still blooming on the stalks.
"Pale Green Decorative Mums." The Heritage Garden is also where they show
new varieties of old favorites which people may want to try in their yards.
This is one of the new experiments.
"Harlequin Snapdragons" made a bright contrast to some of the darker colors.
Next on our itinerary was the "Herb Garden." Here, amongst the ivy groundcover,
was one of my favorite flowers - "The Autumn Crocus." The plant grows in the
spring, but sends up only foliage, and a lot of it, to produce food. Then it dies back
under the ivy. And in late September it sends up shoots with just flowers,
and these magnificent blooms show up above the dark ivy. Gorgeous!
Beautiful cluster of Autumn Crocus. These flowers were planted three years ago,
and there were only two flowers in each clump. But they multiply rapidly, and
this year there were large clumps of the Autumn Crocus in many places.
Next we came to the island with the Vegetable Gardens. Here they grow all sorts
of vegetables that everyone in Chicago enjoys and displays new varieties. These are
new terraces which were built this year and are filled with many vegetables.
In the Vegetable Garden, they have planters and hanging baskets in which they
combine vegetables and flowers. This is a "Green Ball / Dianthus," which is a
member of the carnation family.
Some of their vegetables grow very large; this is a giant pumpkin.
There are a number of sunflowers growing in the Vegetable Garden.
This was a new variety for me - the "Teddy Bear Sunflower."
Pale Peach Dahlias led us over to the Aquatic Gardens.
Coral Dahlias were in the Aquatic Gardens.
_____________
I hope you have enjoyed this virtual walk through the gardens.
__
