Rotary Botanical Gardens

Today was an exhausting day of field trips. The bus didn’t depart until 10 am so I spent another two hours touring the gardens and continue to accumulate fun/interesting photos of plants and scenery. Above is the maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba ‘Magyar’) which is an upright form (found in NJ) and well placed along the pond. To the left is ‘Victoria’ rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum ‘Victoria’) and to the right is a nice shot of the leaf of ‘Burgundy’ Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris). These are “ornamental edibles” in the truest sense. I toured the vegetable garden and enabling garden again and continue to find neat things (like finding Easter eggs after Easter, a pleasant surprise, usually). With the exception of one sick student, 27 of us travelled with three instructors and “Red”, the bus driver, to Friendship Village (a fancy retirement community), Shriner Hospital and Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital to view gardens at each destination. It was a fun but a long day. Below are more CBG treasures from this morning. These are both Grecian windflowers (Anemone coronaria) and are certainly not hardy. My guess is that they were planted simply for spring interest. Below are the varieties ‘The Admiral’ (double pink) and ‘Mona Lisa Bicolor Blue Shades’ at the bottom. Two more days to go and starting to rain in Chicago. Loving the experience but missing family, friend and coworkers.

It was a beautiful day at CBG today and the masses really poured in for Mother’s Day. It was sunny and in the low sixties, just perfect for a stroll. I was able to spend more time taking photos and our program today included some outdoor projects. Tomorrow is a field trip. I was able to spend a couple of hours at The Morton Arboretum (Lisle, IL) today too and was glad I made it as I observed (and photographed) all sorts of neat spring plants. The Morton Arboretum is a wonderful institution and a great place to visit. The “Mother’s Day Masses” thought the same thing as well as it was very crowded. I don’t have much time for text so have included a photo montage from CBG from the past two days. Do note the bottom photo as it is the “green roof” (the picture shows only half) on their new Plant Sciences Center. These low plantings are literally part of the roof structure and are meant to help cool the building and utilize rainfall. Look in to “green roof” technology as it is no longer a new thing and was quite well done at CBG. The RBG gang has to deal with incoming plant sale items tomorrow and prep for our looming plant sale.

The drive to CBG was again a real treat (insert sarcasm). I’m not sure how people can deal with the “daily commute” every week. I’ve been pampered with a 5-10 minute commute to all my jobs but in growing up in the Chicago suburbs, I watched my dad drive a very similar route for 30 years and have a greater appreciation for the trek after the last three days. I arrived at CBG with a heavy drizzle occurring. I was able to take photos all day though as the rain stopped and it was pretty much overcast, cool and breezy all day. I took quick cover upon arrival in the conservatories and enjoyed seeing lots of plants that were mysteries to me. Above is the Bismarck palm (Bismarckia nobilis) that I thought was quite striking. I took many shots in this space and again aroused CBG staff suspicion by being a very early visitor. Below is a neat azalea (Rhododendron mucronatum) that I couldn’t quite see the varietal name (Narcissifolia?) as the blooms really did look like little daffodils (Narcissus).

Our presenters were very good today. We had Clare Cooper Marcus start out the day and she is really in tune with user needs in restorative gardens and had much advice on what to do but more importantly, what not to do. Jack Carmen (NJ) gave some good case studies followed by two horticultural therapists from the Rusk Institute (NY, NY) that work with children in a child-based therapy garden (very interesting). At the end of the day was Dr. Joanne Westphal from Michigan State University who gave us some great information on how to quantify the value of a garden for a healthcare institution or related facility. She is very accomplished with all sorts of degrees including her recent medical training (MD). A very long day but lots of good stuff. I’m looking forward to some of the upcoming tours and field trips over the next three days. Below are some other CBG features including the bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) hedge that is just foliating. It is quite impressive in summer but I thought the branching architecture (certainly influenced) was neat too. The bottom photos are of prairie smoke (Geum triflorum) seed heads with some raindrops on them and a really neat Wisteria bonsai. CBG has a world class bonsai collection that is quite impressive. I hope it doesn’t get too cold tonight and wish the best for our people and plants at RBG.

Great day at the Chicago Botanic Garden (CBG) today. It was day 1 (of for the Healthcare Garden Design Certificate Program. I left Janesville early so I could avoid rush hour traffic but did manage to catch the tail end of it just before arriving at the gardens (Glencoe, IL). I grew up in the Chicago suburbs but have lost the knack for aggressive driving with no signals or regard for others. I’m sure I’ll pick it back up again soon enough. My program started at 9 am but I had a good hour to take some photos around the gardens after arriving at 8 am and actually tallied up over 400 photos over the course of the day. Above is a wisteria (Wisteria sinensis ‘Prolific’) that was in the vegetable garden and caught my eye although we haven’t had much luck with wisteria at RBG.

The symposium was great and was a nice kick off to this program. Today was a general symposium that included those in the eight day program and those that were just there for the day. There were about 60 people or so although I don’t know how many are part of the “eight day crew”. I met a lady from San Francisco and guys from Kansas City and Washington, D.C. This program is apparently quite well known. We got to hear Roger Ulrich (Texas A&M) who has pioneered lots of research regarding the benefits of providing access to nature for hospital patients. He spoke on “Evidence Based Design Practices.” We also heard Clare Cooper Marcus (UC-Berkeley), Teresia Hazen (from Oregon) and Jack Carman (from NJ). All the speakers were very knowledgeable and it was an informative day. I’m looking forward to the rest of the program. Above and to the left is the wild hyacinth (Camassia leichtlinii ‘Blue Danube’) artfully combined with ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris). CBG has always done a nice job with their plantings and I’ve visited a dozen times or so in the past and always been impressed. I’m looking forward to spending all my free time out in the gardens. To the right is ‘Marshall’ lettuce (Lactuca sativa) in the vegetable garden. Looks good to me and I also enjoyed all the spring containers around the gardens.

It was interesting to see the “tower of jewels” (Echium wildpretii) to the left out in the gardens (two locations). These are tropicals (from the Canary Islands) that were brought out from the greenhouses for impact and they certainly do catch the eye. In the foyer of the education building where the program was being held were some very nice arrangements of painted tongue (Salpiglossis sinuata) and I caught a sweet shot to the right. We’ve used this as a bedding plant at RBG in the past but it sure looked happy in these interior arrangements too. I’m sure they have staff devoted to these fresh displays and short-lived arrangements.

It was tough to pick out just a few shots of the gardens to share but below are two shots of the Japanese garden at CBG and a shot in their Enabling Garden. We’ll be getting a formal tour of the Enabling Garden tomorrow afternoon.

I’m enjoying the experience thus far but am already looking forward to getting back next week. I’m sure everything is in good hands with Larry, Marv, Terry, Marianne, Janice, Jerry, John and Jenny keeping everyone in line.

Save the date for a special Friends-only bus trip to the Chicago Botanic Garden. 

• Thursday, August 12, 2010
• 7am to 7pm
• At Chicago Botanic Garden board a tram for a beautiful overview of the Gardens’ 385 acres.  Includes views of the Elizabeth Hubert Malott Japanese Garden, 100-acre oak woodland and the native prairie.  Wheelchair accessible. Time will be allowed after the tram tour for exploration on your own.
• Lunch and treats provided.
• Special detour to Northwind Perennial Farm and receive 20% off purchases made this day!
• Download registration materials (PDF)