At long last, spring is just around the corner. The days are getting longer and even though the blooms aren’t out just yet, there’s one place in Chicago you won’t have to wait to see Mother Nature in all her glory.
Lush landscapes teeming with tens of thousands of roses, tulips, hyacinths, forsythia, green plants and so much more fill the air with the sweet scents of spring at the Chicago Flower & Garden Show, presented by Mariano’s, March 12-20 at Navy Pier. Stroll through more than 20 life-sized gardens by some of the top designers in the country.
More than just a showplace for gorgeous plants, this event is packed with ideas and designs to enhance your garden, your home, and even your health. Learn gardening techniques in hands-on sessions, gain that extra confidence to spruce up your yard and find special items to beautify your home, then head home to reap the amazing health benefits gardening has to offer. Here are eight great reasons experienced gardeners and newbies alike won’t want to miss the Chicago Flower & Garden Show.
1. Learn how to add a low-maintenance centerpiece to your garden that requires no watering, weeding or fertilizing. No, we don’t mean fake plants! Try incorporating sculpture to highlight another garden feature or be the garden focus. In our sculpture garden, six pieces from Chicago Sculpture Exhibit will inspire you to integrate art into your garden. The sculptures will sit amid a bed of more than 500 Weeks roses, bringing you a rare opportunity to see two 2017 introductions, and the entire “Downton Abbey” collection celebrating the famous TV show of the same name.
2. Fun, fantasy and fabulous topiaries. Brookfield Zoo showcases a huge butterfly with a 14-foot wingspan, a 33-foot-long snake and an 11-foot-tall peacock. These eye-popping creatures are floral topiaries surrounding a large floral fountain centerpiece that represents the zoo’s own Roosevelt Fountain. A great spot for a photo op with family and friends.
3. Discover how small spaces can still be big on beauty. Aquascape will have a circular garden divided into six small, pie-shaped “pieces.” Each is landscaped differently to show variety and incorporates unique water features, proving that smaller urban yards or beds can be garden stars just like their bigger cousins.
4. Kids rule. In the newly expanded Kids Activity Garden, designed by Bailey Nurseries, there are more educational programs than ever before. Children can build biodegradable pots, dissect flowers and take part in a community art project, then let their green thumbs soar on the swing set in the play area.
5. Try it, you’ll like it! Roll up your sleeves and discover easy ways to create beautiful containers. In the How-To Garden, attend Potting Parties or STEM Studio sessions where you pot up a container just like the pros. Want to learn more? Gardening Live features nationally recognized presenters on a variety of how-to topics, and the popular Seminar Series goes deeper on subjects such as growing edibles, gardening in difficult spaces, and the newest plants coming into the market this growing season.
6. You can never have too many roses. Like Weeks, Star Roses and Plants/Conard-Pyle has created “next generation” roses that are more disease-resistant than ever and are easier to grow than your grandmother’s varieties. New arrivals to the market this year are Sultry Sangria™ ‘Sprosul,’ with a unique purple-to-pink color, and Polynesian Punch™ ‘Meidoscope,’ a compact floribunda that brings orange, pink and yellow together in one bloom.
Sharing this garden is another lovely art exhibit: “Umbrellas: Open to Ideas.” Women’s Journeys in Fiber, a group of weavers and quilters, created umbrellas and parasols from bare metal frames and decorated them uniquely to express personal observations or thoughts on social issues.
7. Safety first. NPL’s Damage Prevention Garden shows us how close those gas, electric or other underground utility lines can be to our garden surface. One wrong plunge of the shovel can put you right in touch with those lines. Solution? Simply call 8-1-1 in the city and suburbs to get your property’s underground lines marked before you dig. It’s free and it’s the law. While strolling through this amazing garden designed by Christy Webber Landscaping, check out the creative “outdoor living room” with TV, fireplace, table and couch.
8. There’s something for everyone. Some of the best-known chefs in Chicagoland dish up secrets to turning your garden’s bounty into sumptuous creations in Garden Gourmet cooking demos. Visitors even get to taste these creations! On Sunday, March 20, some of the best bakers in the Windy City go spatula to spatula with over-the-top amazing designs in a cake-decorating contest. The Marketplace is a shopper’s paradise with nearly 100 vendors of fine garden tools, plants and even lovely jewelry. A garden of highly imaginative Tablescapes brings creativity to a whole new level. And when you’re done touring the gardens, shopping, sampling food and attending a hands-on session, just kick back with a glass of wine and continue to enjoy the delightful aromas of the Chicago Flower & Garden Show.
