The Lurie Garden in Spring

Ballade tulips in the Lurie Garden

Spring has come to the Lurie Garden in its own quiet, subtle way.

There are no tall grasses waving in the wind, no dramatic "rivers" of purple salvia grabbing your attention. You will, however, find a gorgeous Eastern redbud (cercis canadensis) in full flower and thousands of bulbs gradually coming into bloom.

As with many gardens in the Chicago area, the record-breaking heat last month has taken its toll. Some of the bulbs -- including the crocus and Glory-of-the-Snow (chionodoxa) --  have long since come and gone.

Look closely, though, and you'll find purple Grecian Windflower (anemone blanda) and Grape Hyacinth (muscari) nestled among the emerging salvia. There's prairie smoke (geum triflorum) without the "smoke" it will eventually eventually develop.  And scattered all around are Virginia bluebells (mertensia virginica) and several daffodils, including the poet's daffodil (Narcissus poeticus) and angel's tears daffodils (narcissus triandrus).

The white "Spring Green" tulips recently were joined by the colorful "Ballade." "Maureen" tulips also will eventually make an appearance. So there's plenty to see during a stroll through the garden on a warm spring day.

If you decide you need the yellow and red tulips that scream "Spring!" you can easily find that a couple of blocks away in the rest of Millennium Park. Me, I'll take the quiet interplay of colors and textures that seems to occupy the Lurie Garden year round.

An eastern redbud in full bloom



Virginia bluebells and "Lemon Drop" daffodils

Prairie Smoke without the "smoke"

"Spring Green" tulips

Muscari

Narcissus poeticus 'Actea'

By Karen Geisler

Spring Flower Shows

Symptoms: Patient's heart rate elevated while reading plant catalogs. Body temperature rises when passing daffodils in grocery store. Husband reports frequently seeing patient in garden looking under dead leaves for signs of emerging plants. Possible mania suspected.

Diagnosis: Spring fever

Rx: A visit to the Lincoln Park or Garfield Park conservatories in Chicago to see historic azaleas and other plants in bloom. May substitute generic. Repeat as necessary.

The Lincoln Park Conservatory

Yes, Chicago's winter has been among the mildest seen in the past 125 years. Only a few hyacinths have tentatively poked their heads out of the ground in my garden so far. And the buds on my witchhazel are just starting to swell. Somehow, none of this seems to help. I'm as anxious as ever for spring to begin.

I need green and I need it now. So it's time to make a trek to Chicago's conservatories.

The Lincoln Park Conservatory, located on Chicago's north side near Lake Michigan, has its annual spring show until Mother's Day. The Garfield Park Conservatory, on Chicago's west side, has a smaller-than-usual spring display for a few more weeks as it is still recovering from last summer's hailstorm. The blooms in its Horticulture Hall are still a delight.

The Garfield Park Conservatory

Visitors also can enjoy a little bit of horticultural history at both locations. Many of the azaleas now blooming are directly descended from two varieties displayed at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

Actually, the term "azalea" is a bit of a misnomer. The evergreen shrubs technically are rhododendrons -- R. concinnum and R. scabrum 'Phoeniceum.'   Both hail from the Far East and were relatively new "discoveries" at the time of the Columbian Exposition. They probably were displayed in the fair's Horticulture Building as neither is hardy in Chicago.

These aren't the original plants, of course, even though azaleas and rhododendrons are long-lived. They are cuttings that have been taken from the originals. Many have been grown as small trees in pots that can be moved around for various displays.

At the Garfield Park Conservatory

Both varieties have lavender/purple/violet blooms. So the Chicago Park District has added more modern varieties of rhododendrons and azaleas that bloom in complementary colors. The Lincoln Park Conservatory also has mixed in camellias, muscari, tulips, cyclamen and other foliage plants.

The effect is, well, like a spring tonic. Even though a major snow storm is threatening to hit the Chicago area later today, just looking at these pictures has me dreaming of the day I can get out in the garden again. As the prescription says, I'll just have to repeat as necessary.

By Karen Geisler




Rhododendron concinnum



Rhododendron scabrum 'Phoeniceum' at the Garfield Park Conservatory
flanks a fountain from Chicago's sister city of Casablanca, Morocco

 

A Winter Walk in the Lurie Garden

The Chicago skyline from the Lurie Garden

The Lurie Garden, with its New Wave mix of native perennials and ornamental grasses, is a popular attraction on Chicago's lakefront. About 1 million visitors ramble its paths annually. You'll see very few of them in February, though, due to the Windy City's often brutal and unpredictable winters.

This year has been different, with temperatures that have seemed downright balmy, so I decided to take a guided walk offered by the garden this past weekend. While the views might have been improved with a touch of snow or frost, there was still plenty to take in.

 


Wild quinine

Colors ranged from the grey of mountain mint to the red of Moorhexe moor grass to the light tan of prairie dropseed. They were punctuated throughout by the spiky seedheads of cone flowers and rattlesnake master. And when the wind blew, the dried leaves of the European beech trees and the Northern sea oat grasses rustled softly.



Rattlesnake master intertwined with Russian sage

All of this is framed by the Chicago skyline, the Art Institute’s Modern Wing and Lake Michigan. Yet, thanks to its “Shoulders” -- a large hedge of arborvitae, beech and hornbeam-- the site is peaceful and serene. It's a welcome retreat from the hustle and bustle of everyday life as well as the rest of Millenium Park.



Culver's root



Ornamental onion  'Summer Beauty'

There are "communities" here as the various plants intermingle and weave a tapestry of sorts. Some of the subleties now apparent in planting plan by Dutch designer Piet Oudolf actually may have been lost in the snow most winters.



Bottle gentian, Russian sage and Culver's root

Horticulturalist Laura Young, who led Saturday's walk, said the garden is being effected by this year’s warmer-than-usual temperatures. The Lenten roses, for example, have already bloomed -- a couple of months ahead of schedule.  The chickweed (unfortunately) is doing well and needs to be pulled.

The garden, usually mowed during the first week of March, also may get its annual haircut a bit earlier this year as a result. So if you want to see the winter garden in all its glory, you probably should go sooner rather than later.  I hope it will inspire you, as it did me, to add more winter interest to your garden this summer using native plants.
 


Rattlesnake master silhouetted by the
Modern Wing of the Art Institute

The view to the north

Latin names:
Arborvitae                    Thuja occidentalis
Beech, European         Fagus sylvatica
Bottle gentian              Gentiana andrewsii
Cone flower                 Echinacea
Culver's root                Veronicastrum virginicum
Hornbeam                   Carpinus betulus
Lenten rose                  Helleborus orientalis
Moor grass                   Molina caerulea
Mountain mint            Pycnanthemum muticum
Northern sea oats        Chasmanthium latifolium
Ornamental onion      Allium lusitanicum syn A. 'Summer Beauty'
Prairie dropseed           Sporobolis heterolepsis
Rattlesnake master      Eryngium yuccifolium
Russian sage                Perovskia atriplicifolia
Wild quinine                Parthenium integrifolium

For a complete list of plants in the Lurie Garden, click here.

By Karen Geisler