Chicago: The Flower City

Chicago is one of the prettiest cities in the World. It is not only pretty because of the stunning location, the city edges Lake Michigan, and the interesting architecture both in the city and along the shoreline; but the city is beautiful because of all the flowers. It is a garden lover’s dream city. Flowers blanket the entire city, the roadways and cover the bridges. There seem to be flowers wherever one looks. Chicago should be renamed The Flower City. I read that as a priority Mayor Daley has a “long standing goal of making Chicago the most environmentally- friendly city in the world.” When taking a boat sightseeing tour we were told that whenever a new building goes up, at least along the waterways, the builder has to be sure to incorporate flowers along the frontage of these waterways. For flower lovers like TheGardenLady,  Chicago has to be the Flower City of the World.

And then there are the parks.  Not only is there the Chicago Botanical Garden, one of the great Botanical gardens of the world. It has 26 different gardens on 385 acres.

There is Northerly Island, a 91 acre park along the lakefront with beautiful  views of the Chicago skyline. Northerly Island is the former Meigs Field airport, which, as part of his greenification plan, Daley tore down and replaced with prairie flowers and grasses.

There is the Lincoln Park Conservatory, which is right next to Chicago’s free Lincoln Park Zoo, which also has some nice gardens.

There is the Garfield Park Conservatory.  The Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago, Illinois is one of the largest and most stunning conservatories in the nation. Often referred to as “landscape art under glass,” the Garfield Park Conservatory occupies approximately 4.5 acres inside and out, and includes cold frames and propagating where thousands of plants are grown each year for displays in City parks and spaces. Garfield Park Conservatory is located in Garfield Park — an 184-acre site located on Chicago’s redeveloping Westside designed as a pleasure ground by William LeBaron Jenney.”

There is Millennium Park located in downtown Chicago on Michigan Avenue between Randolph and Monroe Streets, this 24.5-acre park is a center of landscape design.

Then there is the brilliantly colorful garden of reflecting pools, endless tulips, and high junipers at the Baha’i Temple in Wilmette which is nearby Chicago.

So whenTheGardenLady read that Chicago will be having a Flower and Garden Show on Sat., March 7th through Sun. March 15th 2009, TheGardenLady said to herself that not only does she dream of attending this event but she wants to be sure that her readers know about this flower show so that we all can save our pennies, euros, whatever to try to make sure that we will be in Chicago at the navy pier that week.  Read this.

Readers from the Chicago area, did I miss any of your wonderful garden sites? Please let TheGardenLady and her readers know which other gardens are your favorites.