GardenBook

 Travel season continued for me with a short trip to Chicago , business related and tightly scheduled. Every time I go to Chicago I tell my self that the next time I will take an extra day and do some touristy stuff, but it was not to be this year. Still, I always find a way to pay another visit to the Lurie Garden in Millennium park.I've blogged about this garden previously here , and here . Designed by a world class triumvirate of Piet Oudolf, Robert Israel and the Seattle firm Gustafson,Guthrie and Nicol, the garden was completed in 2004. I've visited several times and taken vast quantities of photos--this is a garden I never tire of. It remains in the top tier of gardens for me ; a space that presents a stylized version of the North American prairie .   There are several routes that will take you into the garden, but access through the 'shoulders hedge is my favorite.  Looking  thorough gives  you a tantalizing peek at what lies ahead.  ...

  How fortunate  the citizens of Chicago are to have this masterpiece in their city . This trip, I cleverly booked myself into a hotel that was under a 10 minute walk to the garden. I cleared my pre-breakfast calendar , packed for my flight to Boston that afternoon, downed a cup of in-room swill and headed out to Millenium Park. You'd have to work at it to find a climate more dissimilar to mine, and yet this garden continues to inspire me every time I visit . Design is design; habitat is habitat. This is a living garden, surrounded by concrete and skyscrapers.Finches swayed on the seed heads, bees were industrious. I even saw a bunny.What a gift to us all.

 My first visit to Chicago was in 1988, business related and when there was free time it was spent gawking at the stunning architecture and eating really outstanding steaks. For many years I went once or twice a year, and continued to gawk and consume beef. The Art Institute was a frequent destination, as was the cocktail lounge on the 96th floor of the John Hancock building for a couple of 10 dollar drinks -well worth it for the spectacular views.    At some point , a plant related transformation took place in this already beautiful city , and now when I go the camera comes with me. This past Friday I put off  business for a spell and walked several blocks in the stifling heat and humidity (7:30am mind you ) to the Lurie Garden. Only steps from the cacophony of rush hour Michigan Avenue , the city noise mysteriously falls away and the sounds of bees, crickets , birds and insects that have probably never set a wing in California bring this wonderfully designed pra...