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Chicago in Bloom By Marissa Rainone
The sun is out and the birds are chirping. What better way to spend a spring day than taking time to admire all the bursts of color and textures that Chicago has to offer? Here’s where to discover the city’s colorfully lush gardens and conservatories.
Chicago Botanic Garden Take a short trip north of the city to Glencoe to visit the delightful Chicago Botanic Garden. Every year more than one million people are drawn to the 27 gardens and four natural areas. The Garden is beautifully situated on 385 acres that include nine islands with six miles of shoreline. Visitors will experience greenery from across the world, including a Japanese Garden, an English Walled Garden, and Bonsai collection, while getting better acquainted with plants native to Illinois and the Midwest. The Garden is open every day of the year with hours changing seasonally.
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Garden of the Phoenix On the border of the Hyde Park and South Shore neighborhoods, tucked away inside Jackson Park, lies a traditional Japanese garden. The Garden of Phoenix originated in the 1893 Columbian Exposition when Japan built its pavilion–known as the Ho-o-den (Phoenix Temple)–on Northerly Island, one of the most visited parts of the Fair. Dedicated to the relationship between the United States and Japan, the pavilion included a small garden, illuminated at night with paper lanterns. In the 1930s the Chicago Park District restored the pavilion, created the more extensive Japanese Garden we see today, and dedicated it to Chicago’s Sister City, Osaka. The best time to visit the Garden is in late April to early May when its 160 cherry blossom trees burst into bloom, the spectacle lasting for 6 to 10 days.
