Saturday, June 17, 2017

Chicago Botanic Garden

Chicago is filled with breathtaking sights, from Lake Michigan to the historical architecture all over the city, but one of my very favorite things about living here is all of the green space. It's quite a change from Los Angeles to have so many public parks and open space in the very heart of the city, and I'm always so charmed by all the flowers planted along the city's streets.


The Chicago Botanic Garden is the very epitome of everything I love about green spaces in Chicago, so you'd better believe that I took my mom there when she visited last month. Somehow, I knew she'd enjoy all the flowers, plants, differently-themed gardens, and gorgeous scenery just as much as I do. Bonus: it was like having my own personal photographer! (Warning: approximately one zillion photos ahead...) I even convinced her to be in a few photos, which is a rare occurrence.


The Garden is up in the northern suburbs of the city, so I opted to drive, though if you're coming from central Chicago, it's pretty easy to take the Metra from Ogilvie Transportation Center. There's a parking fee of $25 on weekdays and $30 on the weekend, but no other admission fee, which makes it quite a bargain if you carpool with a couple of friends or take the Metra. It's a beautiful place to just wander around and enjoy nature, but they also have some wonderful paths if you're looking for a nice place to get some outdoor exercise. I can already tell that I'm going to run out of synonyms for 'beautiful' before I finish this post.

At 385 acres, there's too much at the Garden to see in a single day, but we made a valiant effort! Our first stop after the Visitor Center was the fruit and vegetable gardens. This is a real treat: I always end up seeing veggies I've never heard of or seen in real life, and it's a great way to find out what's in season.

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We wandered through the tree fruit orchard and saw a little exhibit of apple and pear trees that have been trained to grow in small spaces. There are loads of signs scattered throughout with interesting facts about the plants and best practices for cultivating them, and I noticed so many more species of birds than I typically see around my apartment!

The fruits and veggies are located on one of the Garden's many islands, which meant we were also surrounded by gorgeous views the entire time we were exploring them. They had a wonderful mini-exhibit on bees, which are absolutely vital to pollination and thus to all of the food that's grown in the world. I learned that bees only collect pollen from one species of plant per trip from the hive, which absolutely blew my mind!

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Don't let my brooch mislead you: this is where apples come from!

After that, we headed to the Regenstein center to check out the bonsai collections and the winter garden. The winter garden has tons of tropical and semi-tropical plants inside its greenhouses, and I'm told it's at its peak in March, which means I'll have to brave the nasty Chicago weather next year to see it! I was quite impressed at what was blooming in mid-May, though: a cacao plant, lots of palm-tree-adjacent things, and some truly epic flowers!

And so many ferns!

We walked by the lake for a bit before heading into the English walled garden. All I could think of the entire time we were there was that line from 'I am the Walrus' ("sitting in my English garden waiting for the sun/if the sun don't come, you'll get a tan from standing in the English rain.") There were tulips everywhere, so I was delighted, and we experimented with some full-sun photography. (Verdict: challenging, but rewarding.) There were tons of pretty benches beneath the walls, which made it an ideal place to sit and relax.

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So many daffodils!
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Entrance to the English Garden.
Flowerpalooza!

After the English garden, we peeked into the rose garden, but nothing was really blooming, so we snapped a quick photo and moved on.


We ended with one of my favorite places: the Heritage Garden, with its statue of Carl Linnaeus. Linneaus came up with the binomial nomenclature system for classifying living things, and the Heritage garden is a demonstration of his taxonomic principle in action.

linnaeus statue chicago botanic garden

One side of the Heritage Garden has plants arranged by where they grow: plants that are found in the same region are planted together. The other side of the garden has those same plants organized according to the classification system Linnaeus pioneered: plants that are more closely related (e.g. plants in the same genus or family) are grouped together, so you'll see species of ferns from all over the world, then a different type of plant. I think it's a really fantastic way to demonstrate how scientists turn their observations of the world into an orderly system. It's also super pretty!

We had a wonderful time at the Chicago Botanic Garden, and I'm already planning what we'll see during our next trip there! They have some preserved prairie there, which I know my mom would just love, and I'd also like to take her through the Japanese garden and the Plant Science Center. I can't wait till her next visit!

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23 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh! These photos are so beautiful. I've never been to the Chicago Botanic Gardens... the last time I was in Chicago we went to the Garfield Park Conservatory, but I've always wanted to see the Chicago Botanic Gardens! So happy you and your mom had a great time. I can't wait until the next time you go - the Japanese garden sounds awesome!

    Also, your outfit is SO cute, Emily!

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    1. Thank you so much, Lindsey! I'm actually hoping to go to the Conservatory later this summer, since I've never been there. It's quite a bit closer to where we live than CBG is!

      The Japanese Garden at CBG is quite beautiful -- it's surrounded by the lake, so you get amazing water views behind the plants.

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  2. Looks like such a beautiful, relaxing place to spend the weekend. I am in love with your polkadot dress. It looks so perfect on you
    Dora
    http://www.adropofindigo.com/

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    1. Thank you so much! I'm always a fan of polka dots. And if you're ever in Chicago, you definitely need to take a day trip up to the Botanic Garden!

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  3. You look like you had fun - but's it's your outfit that puts a big smile on my face. It's so, well, happy! Kx

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    1. Yay, I just love wearing cheery outfits and brightening the world just a little bit! For some reason, I've really been drawn to yellow lately. It seems to be all I've worn in the past couple of weeks!

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  4. I wanna go to Chicago now! Do you think they'd let me climb a tree in the botanic garden?

    x Envy

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    1. It's big enough that I'm not sure anyone would catch you ;). COME VISIT!

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  5. This looks absolutely stunning! And I love your outfit by the way! X
    Morgan // www.justmorgs.com

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    1. Thank you so much! And the Botanic Garden is one of the most beautiful places I've been in Chicago!

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  6. I love botanic gardens! They are also so nice for a walk! We don't have a botanic gardens in Manchester, what a shame. Really nice dress! so colorful! xx corinne

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    1. They really are a lovely place to have a walk and take in the sights! That's too bad that there's no botanic garden in Manchester, but it sounds like there's plenty of exciting things to do there!

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  7. Lovely post, your pictures give me life!!xx

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    1. Aw, thank you so much! We had so much fun taking them.

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  8. What a beautiful place! And you fit right in with that vibrant dress... so summery! If only my hayfever wasn't so bad, I would've loved to go somewhere like this!

    Lizzie Bee // hello lizzie bee

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    1. It's such a beautiful spot, and it looks so different in every season! I wish you could handle places like this with your allergies <3!

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  9. I'd love to go to a botanic garden, but I haven't managed it yet! It sounds like you had an absolutely wonderful time, and I loved the fact about the bees! Lovely photos, and lovely outfit too!

    Charlotte xx

    theassortedwriter.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. They're such lovely places, and perfect for blog photo shoots ;). My mom absolutely loved seeing all the different types of plants, and of course we both thought all the information about bees was just fascinating!

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  10. I had no idea Chicago had lots of green spaces, I guess since I've only seen it on tv shows (that's how I get most of my knowledge about america haha) I thought it was mostly tall buildings! I also had no idea bees only did one type of plant at a time so this post was very educational! :D

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    1. It's really funny -- most of the times that you see Chicago on TV, they're showing the L in downtown Chicago, but that's only a few blocks from a massive park! The Botanic Garden is technically in the suburbs, but it's still accessible by public transit and not that far from the North Side of the city.

      Aren't bees amazing?!?

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  11. Ah! These all look so wonderful. City gardens are a new love of mine since I visited New York. I love the contrast between the urban and natural. I'm loving your dress here. The color, style - I love it. You always look so put together 😍

    Breanna Catharina
    toocuteforlife.com

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    1. Central Park is one of the great wonders of the modern world, in my opinion :). It's so lovely to sit in a massive park and see tall buildings at the edge of all the green!

      Thank you so much, my dear!

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  12. I can't enjoy the Denver Botanic Gardens bc I'm allergic and sneeze too much, ha! You look incredible though; I love the yellow + red on you! It's official: you look good in all of the colors!

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