Destination Chicago Botanic Garden: Splendor in Vivid Color and Monchrome

It is the sign of a civilized society to devote time to horticulture. Each time I visit a botanic garden, I think just this. That someone took the time to build all of this, and were even encouraged to do so, is remarkable.

Yesterday I found myself in the company of several good friends (HK, BK, RE, BP) on a cycling journey up the North Branch Trail to the Chicago Botanic Garden. Since this was our first jaunt, and bowing to a friend's ankle injury, we began at Dempster Street in Morton Grove. For those of you familiar with the trail, it begins at Caldwell Woods on Devon. The garden is accessible by several trails from the city, and from several directions.

Think of the garden not so much as a visual display of well tended flora, which it is. But it is also living display of horticulture's influence across cultures. It seems since the dawn of recorded civilization, admirers have taken refuge in gardens. To admire the visual applications- both in the variety of color but also the beauty of monochrome- partake of the fragrant, seasonal blooms is a hallmark of an adult culture. Let me emphasize on a note above that the varying shades of green can be intense. The camera really fails to capture that texture.

Another, maybe not altogether fully appreciated, aspect of the garden is the effort in execution. Not simply the tending of the garden, but of the museum, and of tracking all the plant varietals. Did you realize that people are employed to document the plants? Yes, all of them- it is a museum. And yes, someone must do this, and do it well, for us to enjoy.

My advice, if you want it, is to visit. Admission is free- but parking will cost you. An added bonus is Summer Concerts (Monday through Thursday). Getting there is part of the fun, and the oxygen is intoxicating added value!