Chicago Botanic Gardens Autumn

In autumn, the Chicago Botanic Gardens are ablaze with color.  You first cross the

bridge from the Visitors Center to the Gardens.  It is festooned with Yellow Blanket

Mums, and Sunset Yellow Mums are in the side baskets.  I was there two weeks ago.

The baskets on the bridge are filled with Sunset Yellow Mums.

Trees with crimson leaves line the banks around the outside cafe.

A sugar maple in the parking lot.  Blazing trees were found all over the Gartdens.

The Esplanade began with four great beds of mums in various shades of red, leading down

to the lake and the fountain.

These were the darkest red of the four large beds.

Pumpkin Quill Mums were in the Heritage Garden, just to the East,

They varied from pale yellow to deep orange.  Pumpkin Quill Mums.

Pink Ball Mum in Heritage Gardens.  Sections of the Garden are arranged geographically and

botanically.

Coral Dahlia in the Heritage Garden.

Beds of "Aunt Martha's Purple Mums."

"Aztec Gold Mums" in the Heritage Garden.

These were new to me and spectacular - "Saga Nikishi Japanese Mums."

The colors and the form were gorgeous.  Heritage Garden.

"Saga Nikishi Japanese Mums"

Pink Anemone Mum

"Hot Red Firecracker Mums" in Heritage Garden

A large hanging basket of  "Yellow Sunset Mums."  These baskets are prepared

by hanging a large steel lug nut from each branch to pull it down gently for

three months.  Mums can be trained into almost any form; they are very obedient.

A hanging basket of "Lucy Lavender Mums" in the Regenstein Building.

Mounds of "Bolero" mums outside the Regenstein Building

"Blue Milka Asters" were used as contrast in many areas.

"Dusty Rose Grandma's Mums" in a raised bed.

"Lady Astor's White Asters"

The Raised Urn in the English Walled Garden, with Black-Eyed Susans below and

"Himalayan White Mums" in the background.

English Walled Garden with Black-Eyed Susans and Golden Rudbeckia.

A tree with leaves turning bright yellow.

"Clara Curtis Mums" in the English Walled Garden.  They are a delicate pink

with ochre and white centers.

"Dashing Dan" Orange Mums

A sugar maple tree beside the Rose Garden.

"Peach Posey" Coneflowers

Green and white Decorative Kale.  These vegetables come in several colors and sizes,

and were used through the Gardens as contrast and accent to flower.

This is another decorative kale in purple and green.  They are quite large.

This was new - a mini decorative kale.  It was only about six inches across

and used in a flower box.

Decorative Kale with Purple Mums beside a pool in the Enabling Garden

Water Lilies were in full flower and plentiful.  This variety begins as female for one day, 

closes and captures insects overnight, then reopens the next day as a male plant 

and releases the insect to go and fertilize other water lilies.

"Princess Masako Yellow Water Lilies"

"Imperial Prince White Water Lily"

"Pink and White Lisa Water Lily"

"Heavenly Blue Morning Glories" growing on a wall.

"Heavenly Blue Morning Glory"

"Hawaiian Flare Bidens" - new to me.  It worked very nicely growing in a basket.

The Vegetable Garden had several very large pumpkins.

A peek into the Circle Garden.  Coming soon.


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My Sister's Neighborhood in Fall

Last week I visited Chicago and had time to walk around my sister's neighborhood on the
N.W. side.  Chicago was once famous for its majestic elms, but they are all gone now.
But in spring, these streets are now lined with white and pink flowering trees, and in
autumn, they show off maples, oaks, beeches, and other brilliantly colored trees.
These sugar maples are across the street from the Lutheran church.

Many houses in the neighborhood display chrysanthemums, either in planters like this
or in beds in the yard.  This is a beautiful urn with Copper Garden Mums.

One of my sister's neighbors specializes in dahlias, and has more than a dozen special varieties
planted in the back yard and along the fence.  "Siren's Song" is more than a foot in diameter,
high on a tall stalk, and is magnificent.

"Patty's Petticoat" is a beautiful pink and white dahlia.

"Hot Spots" Cactus Dahlia was striking.

"Lucy's Dream" was in pale lavender.

"Mariachi" flowers were about 10 inches in diameter, on tall stalks.

A cluster of "Mariachi" dahlias.

"Icy Frills" was a beautiful white thistle mum.

"Mint Julep" was a two-toned pink dahlia.

"Sassafras" is a bold yellow dahlia.

"Peach Melba" is another giant mum, more than a foot in diameter and on a tall stalk.

"Peppermint Patty" is a red and white dahlia.

"Lillian's Love" is a pale peach thistle mum.

"Firebushes" were in many of the yards and brilliant red.  I was fortunate to see them
before wind and rain knocked all the leaves off.

This area of Chicago is famous for decorating its yards and houses extensively for
Halloween, even more than for Christmas.

Maple trees were in full leaf and ran the gamut from green to yellow to peach to orange
to red.  They were on every block and splendid.

A pot of yellow anemone mums.

Pale orange anemone mums in a pot.

White garden mums.

Pale purple garden mums.

Copper colored garden mums.

Pale pink mums in front of the Lutheran church.

Pale Blue Milka Asters

"Coral Reef" Anemone Mums

Pale Pink Anemone Mums
Some houses have all one color in their flower beds, and others try to show off
as many colors as possible.  These came from a multi-colored bed of flowers.

Red Maples made a beautiful contrast to the sugar maples.

Lawn decorations were colorful.

Pale Orange Sugar Maple

"Antoinette" rose mallow, about 8 inches in diameter.

Pink Geranium

Red Geranium

Autumn "Queen Alexandra" roses.

Autumn "Princess Margaret" roses.

The front stairs of one of my sister's neighbors.  They are very creative.
In spring, they have all different flowers and colors.

Pink and yellow lantana

"White Queen" hydrangeas

One rather large house had only marigolds of many kinds and sizes all along the front.

"Double Ruffled" Yellow Marigold

The street where my mother used to live now has these beautiful maples.

I hope you have enjoyed a virtual stroll through a Chicago neighborhood in autumn.


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