I’ve never met a Botanical Garden I really loved. I’ve visited quite a few and while they were nice to visit, I never felt compelled to go back. That all changed with a visit to the Chicago Botanic Garden and boy was that a shock.
Who would have guessed the arctic north would have such a wonderul place. Just a few miles from my house? And, as our fabulous tour guide said (over and over again) it’s all FREE! And we definitely intend to take advantage of the FREE! Pst, she really was fabulous. Great fun. The right type of attitude and personality for a tour guide. (More Videos of Chicago Botanic Garden, including a bunch of train shots.)
OK it’s only free if you don’t need to park a car. If you do need to park a car, it’s $20 a shot. Or if you don’t want to take one of the trams that carries you around the gardens. But, with a membership, the parking is FREE! And the trams come at a discounted price.
We did in fact buy a membership and we’re looking forward to many more visits this year – maybe even in the winter, when it’s snowy and icy.
The day we took my mom, we were there for hours and hours and we didn’t even make a dent in seeing everything – and we were exhausted. I think TW and I are going to make a spreadsheet and pick one piece of the garden to visit on each trip. That’s the only way to see everything. There’s just so much and it’s such a lovely place to visit.
The cafeteria isn’t great (but it has Wifi.) The library looks interesting but by the time we got there, we just wanted to sit in the air conditioning and rest for a bit. We were there during an orchid show and that was pretty interesting too.
We went back today, just me and TW, for the Farmer’s Market and that was nice. Small, only about 8-10 booths, including the Youth Garden kids who work at the Botanic Garden and sell the stuff they grow. I think we’ll probably sign up for a CSA box this fall… now that will be interesting.
(More photos from the Chicago Botanic Garden.)
When we went we tried to see as much as possible, since we couldn’t exactly hop back and all. Loved their orchards and veggie gardens. But also really, really like the English gardens as far as flowers go.
Lee wants a curry plant. And it’s all the Chicago Botanic Garden’s fault.