The other day I rode to the Alfred Caldwell Lilly Pool just north of the Lincoln Park Zoo. This is one of my favorite places in the city.
I also stopped in the Conservatory and was stunned to see the incredibly full–bloomed Great Garden at Stockton Dr. & Webster St. Here’s some info on the Garden that I was not aware of:
This is one of Chicago’s oldest existing gardens. Designed and planted in the late 1870s, it was one of several landscape improvements made when the park was expanded from its original sixty acres to new boundaries between Diversey Pkwy. and North Ave. (Today, the park stretches from Ardmore St. to Ohio St.) The garden originally surrounded the park’s first greenhouse, which dated to the same period. Flowers propagated in the greenhouse were planted in the garden. The formal design of this “French style” garden was considered especially appropriate as the setting of a horticultural facility. The garden remained after the greenhouse was demolished in 1890 and replaced with the impressive Victorian conservatory, which still stands today. It is noteworthy that this formal French garden is adjacent to the historic Grandmother’s Garden, an English style cottage garden located on the west side of Stockton Drive.
I tried to get detail shots of every different species of plant represented on each of the 12 flower beds, like this:
Awesome stuff. Thanks to the Chicago Park District employees who maintain this stuff– not an easy task!