Special Feature
Lurie Garden: Maintaining A Naturalistic by Heather Prince
Lurie Garden is a beloved garden space within Millennium Park that has served as an inspiration for visitors since it opened in 2004. It has showcased the naturalistic style of its designer, Piet Oudolf, and enchanted guests with its rich four-season palette of plants. When you go, notice that it is tucked behind the Shoulder Hedge of deciduous and evergreen trees to shield it from heavy pedestrian traffic moving through the exceptionally popular Millennium Park. The Seam is the pedestrian path that bisects the garden into the Light Plate to the west and the Dark Plate to the east and provides a strolling experience. The Light Plate is designed to be bold, dry, and bright and allow for an experience of vistas and views. The plantings are an ever-shifting palette of perennials and bulbs that offer dramatic sweeps of blooms and intertwined textures. The Dark Plate is filled with trees underplanted in
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shrubs and perennials to evoke a feeling of lush coolness and soft, filtered light.
The Landscape Contractor July 2020
Facing the challenge
As a naturalistic planting, Lurie Garden presents both rewards and challenges for the horticulturists, volunteers, and staff who care for it. We spoke with Director & Head Horticulturist Laura Ekasetya about the different strategies they employ. Perhaps the biggest challenge is anticipating and managing the expectations of visitors, city officials, and park district staff. The Lurie Garden staff is in a unique position. Instead of being subject to changing out plantings, “The expectation is to fulfill Oudolf’s vision for the garden; how to have a wild garden without pushing the envelope too far. (continued on page 42)
