A cool and wet spring/early summer means that everything is very lushly green.
The sunny bed by the bittersweet (more about that later) is full of different green shades and textures. The Proven Winners petunia from Spring Fling provides a bit of color among all the herbs.
The a/c hasn’t been turned on yet this year, so a Celandine poppy is growing in a highly unlikely position. Guess it’s shade tolerant, huh?
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!
The first day of Spring Fling had a couple of glitches (including my forgetting my camera), but it was otherwise a fine day. I met all sorts of interesting people whose name I may not remember and saw some amazing things at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Above is a field of Icelandic poppies near the walled English garden, taken with my phone.
I’m a big fan of Japanese garden design, particularly the concept of making a space look much larger than it actually is (very key for a small yard like mine).
The irises near the zigzag bridge are much more stunning than my phone’s camera reveals. And I think I want to go live in the Shoin building.
Thank you, CBG, for hosting us and thank you, Spring Fling bloggers, for venturing through the streets at rush hour to take the train up there! Tomorrow’s bus ride should involve a lot less schlepping.
Feed
