Chicago Botanic Garden

Explore the Garden

PHOTO: evening island

Evening Island

Five acres of hillside, woodland and meadow gardens, surrounded by lakes, reflect ever-changing highlights throughout the year.

The garden is accessible by two bridges, the Arch or the Serpentine, which provide two entirely different approaches to the garden.

From the stone pathways and terraces of this garden, visitors can enjoy sweeping vistas of other gardens never seen before, as well as views of the most spectacular summer sunsets. Each season is celebrated with a unique combination of horticultural treasures that peak at designated times.

PHOTO: bridge on evening island

Evening Island is an example of the New American Garden style of landscape design, which features vast naturalistic sweeps of low-maintenance grasses, perennials and roses to create a living tapestry. The garden is sited, appropriately, between the formality of the English Walled Garden and the wildness of the native Prairie.

Special features of this garden are the Nautilus terrace, a Jens Jensen-inspired council ring and the Butz Memorial Carillon.

Find out what's in bloom now.

Download a guide for Evening Island. (PDF 328K)