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1. Spider Island

Photo taken 6/11/07
7:50 a.m.

Blue spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis) and white foxglove beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis) are native perennials that are tolerant of occasional flooding and often are found growing close to lakes and rivers. They were included in the comprehensive shoreline restoration near Spider Island, which includes both wet-edge emergent plants as well as upslope plants, which prefer drier conditions. Native shoreline plants are particularly well adapted to fluctuating water levels, and many have fibrous root systems that help anchor shoreline soils. The Chicago Botanic Garden has restored 3.1 miles of its 5.7 miles of lake shoreline.

2. Rose Garden

Photo taken 6/14/07
5:32 p.m.

The Rose Garden at the Chicago Botanic Garden is a great place to learn about the different classes of roses, from hardy shrub roses to floribundas and hybrid teas. Of the hybrid teas, Love & Peace™  rose (Rosa 'Baipeace') is a favorite, with its large 4 to 6 inch multicolored blooms that are soft yellow, blush and pink. It does not drop its lower leaves as many hybrid tea roses do, which means it will not have the "leggy" look. The Rose Garden consists of mostly roses, contrasted with silver and green foliage to create multiple seasons of interest. Love & Peace™ rose is set off by Kallay's compact juniper (Juniperus x pfitzeriana 'Kallay's Compact') and a hedge of little leaf linden trees (Tilia cordata 'Greenspire'), known as the Linden Alleé. Blue Wonder catmint (Nepeta racemosa 'Blue Wonder') has silver/gray foliage contrasting with the glossy green from the roses. It is cut back twice a year to keep it under control and encourage a new flush of blooms on sturdy stems.

3. Heritage Garden

Photo taken 7/13/07
7:03 a.m.

The Heritage Garden is divided into four quadrants, displaying plants according to their geographic origin. Three aquatic pools contain water lilies, lotus and other tropical water plants. Canna glauca 'Erebus' and Thalia geniculata var. ruminoides are seen here. They require water temperatures of around 85 degrees and spend the winter in the greenhouse. In the background is the central round "Physic Bed" whose main focus is on plants that have been used medicinally in the past as well as today. Juniperus communis 'Repanda' is a good low growing evergreen, with a height of only 12 to 16 inches and a horizontal spread of around 5 feet. Surrounding the Juniper are Pentas lanceolata 'Deep Rose' with its star-shaped pink flowers and Salvia purpurea with its interesting purple/green foliage. Some of the taller plants in this bed include New England aster (Aster novae-angliae )with its purple flowers, black cohosh (Actaea racemosa) with its aromatic white flower spikes, and Inula helenium with its bright yellow flowers. Behind everything, you see the hedge of Shawnee Brave® baldcypress (Taxodium distichum 'Mickleson' ) which, along with the statue of Carl Linnaeus, is a defining feature of the Heritage Garden.

4. Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden

Photo taken 7/18/07
12:13 p.m.

The Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden features a "Backyard Garden" with many types of herbs growing in separate beds. Four varieties of basil with different habits and flavors grow in the basil bed. From left to right are Ocimum basilicum 'Sweet Genovese,' one of the most common and often used for pesto; 'Magical Michael,' an All-America Selection (AAS) winner, rich in essential oils for cooking; 'Finissimo Verde a Palla,' with small leaves and perfect globe shape without pruning; and 'Purple Ruffles,' which holds its purple color all season and has a licorice and cinnamon flavor.

All basils need full sun and well-drained soil. Pinch basil plants before the flower buds open to promote branching in the plant and provide fresh herbs for cooking. Do not allow basil to flower or the flavor will be bitter. When there are buds, there are also more oils, which brings a stronger flavor.

5. Crescent Garden

Photo taken 8/6/07
3:03 p.m.

The Crescent is a full sun garden that greets visitors to the Chicago Botanic Garden just as they walk onto the main island. Each season annuals are combined with boxwood hedges to create vast sweeps of color. Dahlia 'Bitsy,' a pink variety, and Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff,' a red heirloom variety with dark purple foliage, both need to be staked to keep them from flopping. Interesting foliage was a goal with this design as seen in Alternanthera 'Ruby Trailer,' with purple foliage, and Euphorbia cotinifolia, with red foliage. Plants were also combined for their cultural requirements, as all of these needed the same amount of watering.

6. Evening Island

Photo taken 8/16/07
11:25 a.m.

Late panicle hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata 'Tardiva') are first to catch your eye with their white blooms. To keep this naturalistic look, cut them back each year to no less than three feet above the ground at varying heights. On either side of the hydrangea are ornamental grasses. On the right, clumps of feather reed grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster') stand proud displaying masses of wonderful hay-colored stems. Cut these back to about 3 inches above the soil in late winter/early spring. Grasses need to be divided every 4-5 years to maintain good vigor. The vibrant pink flowers behind the hydrangea are Flower Carpet® Pink groundcover roses (Rosa 'Noatraum') that are enjoying their late season flush of blooms. To encourage this second flush, deadhead all spent blooms after the first bloom has finished. Interplanted with the roses are gayfeathers (Liatris spicata 'Kobold'), which are showing their dark brown sturdy stems after flowering. These stems can be left standing through the winter months for winter interest and then cut back to the ground in early spring. The foamy mass of long-lasting purple color, directly behind the feather reed grass, is Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia). This can also be left through the winter months, as their white stems add a silvery touch to the garden.

7. English Walled Garden

Photo taken 8/30/07
1:32 p.m.

The English Walled Garden was designed by the world-famous designer, John Brookes. English gardens mix many annuals with perennials as seen in these annuals, dwarf Mexican sage (Salvia leucantha 'Santa Barbara') and pinks (Dianthus barbatus 'Dynasty Rose Lace') with a David Austin rose (Rosa 'Auscrim'), which blooms all summer long. The yew shrub (Taxus cuspidata 'Capitata') is an anchor or backbone in the garden, which is trimmed in summer to keep it neat. Pruning is done after the new growth has pushed out and before the end of August, when pruning should halt. English gardens are also known for an appeal to the senses, with the sound of water playing an important role. The Sadder fountains provide tranquil sounds and are surrounded by climbing hydrangea vines (Hydrangea anomala ssp. petiolaris), low maintenance plants that grow well in shade and adhere to brick and mortar without damaging it. Climbing hydrangeas take about three years to establish and do not like to be moved, but once established, they grow quickly. Lightly prune them once a year to keep them in bounds.

8. Waterfall Garden

Photo taken 9/1/07
8:08 a.m.

The Waterfall Garden provides a unique setting to demonstrate the seasonal adaptation of nearly 26,000 plants and trees. Grape leaf anemone (Anemone tomentosa 'Robustissima') is a great, nearly maintenance-free plant. It prefers sun to part shade and evenly moist soil conditions. With time and the right conditions, this plant will creep around and fill in large areas of your garden. It is very floriferous with beautiful pink flowers covering the plant from late summer through mid-fall. Just behind it is a big-leaved hosta (Hosta 'Blue Umbrellas'), valued for its large heart-shaped, corrugated, blue leaves, which are less attractive to slugs. It likes part to full shade and even moisture and tends to burn in full sun. Little maintenance is required other than dividing every few years when the plant gets thick and starts to crowd itself out.

9. Elizabeth Hubert Malott
    Japanese Garden

Photo taken 9/4/07
7:52 a.m.

The Elizabeth Hubert Malott Japanese Garden is designed in the Japanese style with over 280 types of plants conducive to gardens in the Midwest. Grefsheim spirea (Spiraea x cinerea 'Grefsheim') is a dense shrub with silvery green leaves that takes well to pruning. The downside to pruning this shrub in the Japanese style is that the loss of the white flowers that would appear in spring. When new growth appears, hedge shears are skillfully used to maintain a mounded shape, known as a "tamamono" shrub in Japanese gardening terms. Just behind the spirea is a Yukimi, or "snow-viewing" lantern. Its design allows for the collection of snow on the roof of the lantern in the winter months. In the background is an Arched Bridge, which are commonly seen in Japanese gardens. Traditionally they were used in areas with boating traffic, but now are often used for purely aesthetic reasons.