Re: North American Public Gardens
> On the thread of North American Public Gardens; What gardens are available
> in the Chicago IL area?
Where in the Chicago area? If you want to stay real close, I'd recommend
the four following places:
Chicago Botanic Gardens (fee unknown)
http://www.chicago-botanic.org/
Quite a cool place with lots of different garden types -- Japanese,
aquatic, bulb, dwarf conifer, etc. Big test area (in cooperation
with the Morton Arboretum) for the Chicagoland Grows (tm) plant
selections. In Chicago proper.
Morton Arboretum ($7.00/vehicle)
http://www.mortonarb.org/
About 1900 acres in Lisle, Illinois. Founded by Joy Morton
of the Morton Salt Company many years back. Quite a place,
but obviously mostly woody plants.
Cantigny Gardens ($5.00/vehicle)
http://www.rrmtf.org/cantigny/gardens.htm
Great formal gardens chock full of annuals in the Chicago
suburbs. About 15 minutes away from the Morton Arboretum,
and started by Robert McCormick (of the spice company (I
don't know what it is about Chicago and spices)).
There are also war museums and tours of the mansion
available, but I personally find them pretty darned
boring. ;)
Longenecker Gardens (free)
http://wiscinfo.doit.wisc.edu/arboretum/public/VISITOR.HTM
50 acres about 2 hours north of Chicago at the University
of Wisconsin, Madison. Great collection of woody trees
and shrubs, mostly as a testbed for cold hardiness. Used
to be maintained by Ed Hasselkus. You'll find a lot of
surprises like a full-grown Pinus wallichiana in this
zone 4b/5a garden (one of Ed's favorite things to do when
he received his Heronswood catalog each year was to go
through and laugh at their cold hardiness ratings :)
Straying further from home...
Bickelhaupt Arboretum (free)
3 hours from Chicago, this quaint 12-acre private garden
has a lot to offer. Beautifully manicured by full-time
staff, it has quite a selection of dwarf conifers selected
by the Dwarf Conifer Society. Supposedly has more than
2000 plants and is found in Clinton, Iowa.
Boerner Botanical Garden ($3.50/vehicle)
http://www.countyparks.com/horticulture/boerner/
Annuals, woody plants, perennials, rock gardens, and lots
more are at this neat garden. Although I haven't been there
for about five years, they had quite a collection of tulips
in bloom when I visited (well, a good collection for the
Midwest, at least :) Located in Hales Corners, Wisconsin
(near Milwaukee).
If you can swing it, you might be able to get into Klehm's in Rockford --
good place to swing through on your way to Bickelhaupt. :) They also
have an arboretum that they've started there. It was in its infancy
when I visited about five years ago, but I suspect that things have
matured since then. (Klehm's is the famed peony and daylily hybridizer,
started by Roy Klehm who introduced many other varieties of plants into
mainstream cultivation).
Hope this helps!
Chris
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