The Chicago Botanic Gardens are filled with thousands of flowers in brilliant bloom.
These beds are along the Esplanade and in their rich colors, they look like
Persian carpets. There are six colors of chrysanthemums here.
There are ten large beds of these Persian Carpet Mums.
The entrance to the Gardens is across a bridge hung with curtains of white mums.
Mums can be trained to grow in almost any shape from single large blossoms to
pyramids, to huge pots, to hanging curtains.
Boxes of white mums also line the bridge.
Pots of brilliantly colored mums are found throughout the Gardens.
These are saffron yellow mums.
This is one of six pots by the entrance with Autumn Bronze Mums.
Close-up of the Autumn Bronze Mums.
The next stop is the Heritage Gardens. This is a North American Sunflower.
It is a new variety which stands only three feet high
Yellow Calendula / Pot Marigold
Calendula / Pot Marigold
Blue Potato Vine. The Potato family of plants includes many decorative varieties.
This is a beautiful blue variety.
Decorative Kale. The Gardens try to plant only specimens which are hardy and
can take a Chicago winter. They also like to mix vegetables and flowers,
and the results are interesting and beautiful. These kale come with purple,
pink, or white centers.
One of the many varieties of Black Eyed Susans / Rudbeckia.
Golden Queen Globeflower
Strawflowers in the English Garden
Pale Blue Waterlily. The waterlily ponds were filled with many colors of flowers.
White Waterlily. Some of these open at night as female plants, get pollinated by bugs
overnight, and the next day they turn male before dying.
It said so on the tag!
Starlet Spoon Korean Mums
This was one of the featured varieties throughout the Gardens this year.
Korean Mums are particularly hardy and prolific bloomers, and they do
very well in Chicago winters, surviving easily outdoors in gardens.
Autumn Crocus - Lavender Lady. What a delight! These bulbs stay quiet and
underground all spring and summer; then in late September, they appear through
the groundcover and bloom prolifically. These are Waterlily Autumn Crocus.
Two clumps of Lavender Lady Autumn Crocus
Giant Multicolored Autumn Crocus
White Waterlily Autumn Crocus
Guernsey Lilies
Blue Floss Flowers / Ageratum
"Cheerleader" Football Mums
"Cheerleader" Football Mums
"Delphine" Pink Rose
"Princess Margaret" red and white rose
White York Rose
"Hot Cocoa" Rose
"Elegance" Rose
Walled English Garden, Urn, and Black-Eyed Susans
Raspberry and Vanilla Panicle Hydrangea
Raspberry Panicle Hydrangea
Sassy Black-Eyed Susans
"Callie Dahlia"
"Bahama Mama" Dahlia in the Bulb Garden
"Diva" deep purple dahlia in Bulb Garden
"Junkyard Dog Dahlia." I don't know where the name came from,
but is on all the ID tags in the garden. But it's beautiful and large.
"Louie Meggos" Dinner Plate Mum - 12 inches across
__________
We discovered three new houses in the Lincoln Park Area of Chicago's Near North Side.
The Parillo Palace at 1932 N. Burling.
The Wilson House at 550 W. Dickens
The Mullins Mansion at 1955 N. Burling.
This one is for sale.
______________________
Day One at the Chicago Botanic Gardens
I hope you enjoyed the flowers.
__
