A Spring Visit to the Chicago Botanic Garden

We visited the Chicago Botanic Garden on a cool, windy, rainy day. While the weather was far from ideal, we still found the garden to be very interesting and worth exploring.

The Chicago Botanic Garden is not within the city of Chicago, but at the northern limits of greater Chicago.  The garden is different than any I’ve ever visited in that it is spread across nine islands, with interconnecting trails and bridges.  It’s huge, covering 385-acres and having 27 display gardens. It features more than two million plants of about 10,000 varieties.  The Chicago Botanic Garden was designed by landscape architect John O. Simonds and opened as a public garden in 1972.  It has been recognized and received a number of awards over the years for its “excellence”.  It’s accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and is a member of the American Public Gardens Association.

The Garden is owned by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County and managed by the Chicago Horticultural Society. It offers many specialized classes and training activities, and participates in research and conservation.  It’s one of the most visited botanic gardens in the United States, with more than a million visitors a year.  The garden holds frequent flower shows and special events (e.g. weddings, retreats, celebrations of life)

As our visit was in early spring, we were treated to a large number of spring blooms and plants.  We did not explore every area of the garden, but instead wandered around until we were satisfied with the experience, and were wet and cold enough that we felt it was time to leave.

Even though the sky was quite grey and lighting conditions were not optimal for photography, we still were treated to some very colorful and beautiful blooms….

I’ve always enjoyed how pretty groupings of aspen trees are….

A section of the Chicago Botanic Garden is themed after English Walled Gardens…..

We made a point of visiting the island containing a Japanese Garden, with some highlights of that area in the following series of photos….

Our last main stop of the day was the food garden section of the Botanic Garden.  As you might expect, the cold weather crops were growing well….

Fruit trees, trained and manicured, were just starting to bloom….

Our walk to the visitor center took us past large plantings of daffodils…

I’m sure the garden gets very busy during peak seasons, but it would be nice to see it at another time of the year with different plants in bloom.

The garden has a gift shop and restaurants on site.  Hours of operation and which facilities are open varies depending on the time of year, so check at the garden’s website for more specific information before you visit.