Mom and I took off last Saturday morning to attend the Chicago Flower & Garden Show for the very first time. We were looking forward to it for so many reasons, one of which was that we had to miss the Central Ohio Home & Garden Show the week before due to weather and my work schedule.As we drove the 3½ hours west on US30, we were chatting away, when all of a sudden I saw something out of the corner of my eye, sitting atop some roadside weeds. It took several seconds for it to register that what I'd seen was a red-winged blackbird! Here, they are the official harbinger of spring. It's not the robin, as some think, because robins will spend the winter here if they can find enough food. We see those in the winter on a pretty regular basis.
By the time we arrived at Navy Pier, which juts out from downtown Chicago into Lake Michigan, we'd lost count of how many red-winged blackbirds we'd seen. But it was enough to make our hearts instantly lighter, knowing that spring truly was springing!
We went to the Press Room, where we got our badges that admitted us to the show, then headed off to see the sights. The theme was "Cultivating Great Performances," which each display garden creator interpreted in an individually unique way.
Entry Garden: The Lobby
Louise Hartwig
Garden #1 - Houseplants and Window Boxes
Garden #2 - Shakespeare in the Garden
Garden #3 - Sun and Moon - Miss Saigon and A garden for the day and night
Garden #4 - Master Garden
Garden #5 - Best in Show
Garden #6 - Broadway in Bloom: Four Seasons of Gardening
Garden #7 - Alice's Wonderland
Garden #8 - Great Performances: The Art of Bonsai
Garden #9 - Good vs. Evil
Garden #10 - Lanie's World
Garden #11 - Our Town: Your Garden
Garden #12 - Music Man
Garden #13 - Playbill by Design: Theatrical Tablescapes
Garden #14 - Spring Awakening
Garden #15 - Food Among the Flowers
Garden #16 - The Teaching Garden
Garden #17 - "State Fair" - Kids Activity Garden
Garden #18 - The Drama of Design
Take a close look at what these are made of!
Garden #19 - Great Performances Through the Eyes of a Child
Garden #20 - Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Garden #21 - Container Gardens
Garden #22 - Bye Bye Birdie
Garden #23 - Jeckyl and Hyde - Prairie Restoration
"The ultimate test of man's conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard." ~Gaylord Nelson
Garden #24 - On the Street Where You Live
Garden #25 - A Fantasea in Bloom
Garden #26 - I'd Like to Thank the Academy
Garden #27 - The Photography Garden
I didn't make it a point to photograph each garden. When something caught my eye, I stopped and snapped a photo, so some of the gardens listed here are not depicted in this blog.Below, I've listed other sites that feature photos of the show, in case you want to see other attendees' perspectives.
- BGgarden
- Chicago Garden
- Garden Faerie's Musings
- Garden Girl
- Gardening Nude
- Mr. McGregor's Daughter
- My Skinny Garden
- On the Shores of Lake Chicago
- Ramble On Rose
- Sweet Home & Garden Chicago
- The Garden of Live Flowers
Next: Who did I see and hear? And what did I buy?
"Bejeweled"
15 comments:
There are some great displays here. That frog almost made me spit my coffee out!
I can see how you came home with loads of inspiration. It is such fun to see so many plants ablooom this time of year.
That's a lot to take in! There are some truly interesting and different ideas.
Too bad you didn't come on Sunday. I was volunteering at the Master Gardener Information Booth that day. However that day not quite as beautiful to be sure. Lots of rain.
Hope you had fun :-)
Cool pics. Like Darla, that frog fountain makes me laugh.
Thank you so much for this awesome tour, Kylee. On this rainy/chilly day, I'm energized with thoughts of spring!
Hi Kylee. Now that was a garden show. Loads of flowers, lite up for pictures and many displays. So much to take in. Thanks for sharing your visit.
Thanks for the link love! It was great to see you guys, and these pictures are lovely!
Hey, you saw Alice! And through the mirror, no less! You have some great photos - that container garden with the bromeliad is really eye-catching. I remember the frog fountain was there last year, too. It was like seeing an old, vaguely obscene, friend again :)
Thanks for the pics! I didn't make it up this year despite my proximity. Your post was almost like being there.
Darla ~ I LOVED that frog! He's big, too!
Lisa ~ Oh, the smell of the hyacinths was everywhere! It was WONDERFUL!
Cameron ~ Yes, it was a bit overwhelming, and in spite of being there for two days, we still managed to miss some displays!
PrairieGarden-Liane ~ We were there on Sunday! From about 9:00 until 3:00. Somehow we missed you! We attended a couple presentations and revisited the marketplace, so we weren't in the area where you were, except to pass by. :-(
MrBrownThumb ~ I know...I love that frog! I'd love to have a smaller version for my little pond.
joey ~ Wish I were surrounded by all those flowers NOW! We're having a gloomy, chilly day here, too.
Lona ~ You bet it was! Even two days didn't quite seem like enough. We managed to miss some things.
Rose ~ How fun to run into you and Barbara! Mom and I went over to see the vendor you mentioned and you guys were right. Stuff to drool over!
Diane ~ Funny thing about that photo...I stopped to take it and Mom kept rushing me because we were trying to chase down Shawna right then. I told her, "Alice isn't going to be in that swing all day! I'm taking her picture NOW!" LOL.
Chris ~ I'm glad you enjoyed my photos, Chris. You should have gone for the show! I'm sure I'll go back again next year. I was impressed.
Cannot begin to tell you of the disappointment I felt at the Denver show. Thank you for taking photos and taking me with you via your blog to the Chicago show! You went to much work! Some of the subjects gave me a few ideas.
Hi Kylee, It's so fun seeing other people's perspectives on the show. A few things you showed I don't remember seeing at all, for instance. :)
Hey Kylee,
Great coverage of the CFGS. Sorry I missed you and your Mom. Friday was the only day I had off and even then I had to rush.
Glad you enjoyed your visit.
There is just so much STUFF to see at the this show! I love your presentation. I think the best part is MR. BROWN Thumb. LOL Great editing job!
The number one cool thing about this show was the care they took of the flowers. The blooms pretty much looked the same here ( the first days) and when I was there ( the last day!).
Thanks for stopping by my new Garden blog. I sure do miss everyone from blogger.
BGgarden Blog
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