Whew – all the hubbub with Spring Fling kept me from posting more photos until now. I kept forgetting my camera, too, so this is yet more iPhone as landscape camera.
What with the bus running late and Rick Bayless‘ garden being “my” event, I didn’t take any pictures there. Other gardeners were more on the ball and took loads of pictures and got the word from Bill Shores about urban organic gardening. Lunch at Andies was delicious, and then we got to poke around Carolyn Gail‘s lovely garden and home. Her goldfish are large and gorgeous – I can only hope my shubunkins look like hers eventually.
Next, we stopped at the Ginkgo community garden to see some more urban organic food gardening. I was enamored with vine-twined shed, along with the healthy gardens and big fruit trees in an open lot in Wrigleyville.
Sunday, a few sturdy souls headed out to Garfield Park Conservatory, a jewel on the West Side. I can’t get enough of Jens Jensen‘s fern room there, although it’s not as compelling now as it is in February. (Jens Jensen also designed the big park straddling the continental divide just a few blocks west of my house. Have I mentioned how much I love living in Oak Park?)
The outdoor gardens there were gorgeous, although the lily pond doesn’t appear to be up and running yet. I was charmed by the beds of chive flowers.
I hope everyone had a good time visiting Chicago. It was exhausting for all of the committee members, but I think it was rewarding too. I’m glad I met so many of you in person, and I have a lot more blogs to follow now!
On the Shores of Lake Chicago 
Posted by Lisa at Greenbow on June 1, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Way to go girl. We had such a good time at the Spring Fling. Thanks so much for all your hard work.
I love seeing all the photos that others are posting. It just reminds me of how I want to go back to Chicago, especially to the Botanic Garden. It is amazing. I missed way too much.
Posted by lakechicagoshores on June 1, 2009 at 6:52 pm
I’m glad you enjoyed your trip here! I’m kicking myself now: could you believe that was my first visit to the Botanic Garden in over 12 years of living in Chicago?
Posted by Mr. McGregor's Daughter on June 1, 2009 at 7:38 pm
Thanks for thinking up the tour of Rick Bayless’s garden. It was great. I loved seeing all the work areas there, as well as the attractive ornamental features.
Posted by MrBrownThumb on June 1, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Thank you for all the hard work you did on organizing the Rick Bayless tour and all the other behind the scenes stuff. It has been a pleasure working with you.
Posted by lakechicagoshores on June 2, 2009 at 8:19 am
I’m glad people enjoyed the Bayless garden tour. I only wish there had been some way to include Frontera’s Saturday brunch with it, but that probably would have cut into the number of gardens we saw.
Posted by Carol, May Dreams Gardens on June 2, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Thank you for all you did to make this spring fling a memorable and enjoyable weekend. Every garden was a treat to see, special in its own way. You all did a great job of picking out a good variety of both public and private gardens so we were able to see what urban gardening is all about in the Windy City. Thank you!!
Posted by Gail on June 2, 2009 at 9:32 pm
I had a perfectly wonderful time! Thank you! I kept hoping Rick would step out and wave to us as we viewed his garden;) gail
Posted by lakechicagoshores on June 3, 2009 at 8:14 am
I’m glad you all enjoyed yourselves! I was sorta hoping that Rick would pop out as well with some ceviche samples, but alas, he must have been elsewhere when we were there.
Posted by linda on June 3, 2009 at 7:46 pm
Great job organizing the Bayless visit. I was hoping he’d pop out too. I’d have probably passed on the ceviche though! Thanks again for all you did to help with SF during the planning and during the event. We were a good team!
p.s. last year when Monica invited me to join her at the CBG was the first time I’d been there since I was a kid.
Posted by lakechicagoshores on June 4, 2009 at 12:14 pm
We were a fabulous team! Who knew how much work this was going to be…