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Inspirational. Visually Exciting. Dreamy. These are just a few of the words that begin to describe the gardens at the 2010 Chicago Flower & Garden Show.
Created and designed by acclaimed landscapers and horticultural professionals, the gardens will be exquisite, lush and, quite simply, make visitors say Wow! Whether a suburban yard or a smaller urban plot, you'll be stimulated with a wide range of gardens and landscape styles. From exotic flowers and plants to more common foliage ... paving stones ... decks ... ponds ... and more, the gardens will be about variety blended with fantasy, yet practicality. Visitors will experience sleek, lush and creative as well as -- with a little imagination -- the affordable. In the end, you'll leave the Chicago Flower & Garden Show inspired with phenomenal garden and landscaping ideas! |
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| Entry Garden - Cultivating Great Performances Garden |
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Imagine a fantasy green "lobby" that
welcomes visitors before they take
their seats inside the theater. This
garden's perimeter is framed by a
"wall" of regal conifers including
pines, spruces and evergreens. Inside
are jumping jet streams of water as
well as a hanging organic chandelier
and a sculpture by Jeffrey Breslow.
The main attraction, the 2010 Chicago
Flower & Garden Show with its
"Cultivating Great Performances"
theme, is just beyond the "lobby"
door! |
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Garden Collaborators Laughing Waters, Inc www.laughingwatersinc.com |
Jeffrey Breslow www.jeffreybreslow.com |
Anthony Gowder Design www.anthonygowder.com |
| Garden #1 - Houseplants & Window Boxes |
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Personal passion and creativity are on
display at this garden, which is one of
two show gardens showcasing
winners of the 2010 Horticulture
Competitions (reintroduced this year!)
that have been popular at shows past.
(Also see "Photography Garden")
Individuals, garden clubs, florists and
others took time to build and fill
Window Boxes as well as grow and
nurture Houseplants that you'll see on
display. Shortly before the show's
opening, a blue ribbon panel of jurors
picked the best-of-the-best that appear
in this garden. |
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Garden Collaborators Chicago Botanic Garden www.chicagobotanic.com |
Chicago Historical Society www.chicagohs.org |
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Orion Land-Water-Snow, Inc. www.OrionLWS.com |
Jeffrey Breslow www.breslowsculpture.com |
| Garden #2 - Shakespeare in the Garden |
William Shakespeare was a man who
knew plants. Throughout his writings,
he refers to 180 different herbs,
flowers, vegetables, fruits, trees, and
even weeds. As you stroll through
Shakespeare's landscape, you'll see
manicured boxwoods recalling the
formality of royal court in his plays,
then walk past gardens filled with
herbs and flowers he mentions so
often, until you're in the natural world
of trees and rolling hills of his
comedies and romances. |
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Designer Moore Landscapes Inc. www.moorelandscapes.com |
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Collaborators Chicago Shakespeare Theater www.chicagoshakes.com |
Lurvey Garden Centers www.lurveys.com |
Midwest Groundcovers www.midwestgroundcovers.com |
| Garden #3 - Sun and Moon -- Miss Saigon & A garden for the day and night |
The largest display in the show, this garden space recreates a suburban backyard complete with deck, play area, fire pit, outdoor kitchen and multiple water features, including a meandering stream. Incorporating various water reclamation technologies, the garden also demonstrates how exterior lighting and the proper choice of plant material can make a garden as satisfying at night as it.3 Points of Interest:
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Designer Brian Helfrich |
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Collaborators Aquascape www.aquascapeinc.com |
J&E Nursery www.je-nursery.com |
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Collegiate Landscape www.collegiatelandscape.com DGS Consulting |
West End Florist & Garden Center www.westendflorist.com The Deck Yard |
| Garden #4 - Master Garden |
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University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners share their knowledge during three guided tours of the show by pros each day. Visitors are encouraged to stop by with plant samples in a baggie or to ask any questions they may have about plants they currently grow or are looking to plant. With laptops, Web access and impressive experience at your disposal, these experts can to tackle any query.
3 Points of Interest:
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Designer Nancy Kreith, Master Gardner Collaborators Walpole Woodworkers www.walpolewoodworkers.com |
University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners |
| Garden #5 - Best in Show |
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Covered by a replica of a traditional conservatory pavilion, this garden houses a microcosm of seasonal exhibits -- the holiday, spring and tropical shows -- the Chicago Park District mounts each year in its Garfield Park and Lincoln Park conservatories. Step from the blue and silver holiday palette to the hydrangeas and azaleas of spring before relishing the banana plants, alocasia and other exotic foliage of the tropical show.
3 Points of Interest:
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Collaborators Chicago Park District www.chicagoparkdistrict.com Rich's Foxwillow Pines Nursery www.richsfoxwillowpines.com |
Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance www.garfield-conservatory.org Columbia College www.colum.edu |
Lincoln Park Conservancy www.lincolnparkconservancy.org Limered Studios www.limeredstudio.com |
| Garden #6 - Broadway in Bloom: Four Season of Gardening |
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The boulevard of the show is adorned
with four large installations
highlighting the ways container
gardens can be made appealing all
year long. In "Spring" we see
hyacinths and tulips. "Summer"
sports the warm earth tones of grasses
and variegated ivy. With "Fall" its
mums, kale and ornamental cabbages.
And "Winter" -- a constellation of
evergreens, gold mop cypress and
eucalyptus -- reminds us gardening
doesn't end with the first snowfall.
3 Points of Interest:
Tu Bloom Designs, Inc. www.tublooms.com Collaborator Pacific Arts and Crafts www.copperglassplanters.com |
| Garden #7 - Alice's Wonderland |
An homage to Lookingglass Theatre's
popular Lookingglass Alice, this
garden references both of Lewis
Carroll's beloved books: "Alice's
Adventures in Wonderland" and
"Through the Looking-glass." A
whimsical fantasy capturing the
essence of Carroll's hypnotic tale, the
garden evokes such key features as the
Mad Hatter's tea party, the chess
game, the Queen of Hearts' croquet
court and, of course, the all-important
mirror.
3 Points of Interest:
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Collaborators Christy Webber Landscapes www.christywebber.com |
Lookingglass Theatre www.lookingglasstheatre.org |
| Garden #8 - Great Performances: The Art of Bonsai |
This elegant and contemplative garden features 15 trees from the Chicago Botanic Garden's world-renowned bonsai collection. Displayed on traditionally-styled "monkey poles," these exquisite specimens of evergreens take center stage. Learn more about the spirit and philosophy of the art of bonsai. Handmade stone-like containers accent the display.
3 Points of Interest:
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Collaborators Scott Byron & Co. www.scottbyron.com |
Chicago Botanic Garden www.chicagobotanicgaraden.org |
| Garden #9 - Good vs. Evil |
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Taking its cue from 'Wicked,' one of the most popular musicals of all time, this garden honors the beloved characters Glinda and Elphaba, two very distinctive witches who form a relationship in spite of their differences. A fanciful combination of props and plant material, the garden follows our heroines from their earliest days, reminding us that accepting others is one of life's great lessons.
3 Points of Interest:
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Designer District 8 Garden Clubs of Illinois Collaborators District 8 Garden Clubs |
Laughing Waters www.laughingwatersamerica.com |
| Garden #10 - Lanie's World |
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Welcome to American Girl® Lanie
Holland's backyard. Lanie™ is the
2010 Girl of the Year®, a thoughtful,
energetic girl who discovers the
wonders of the natural world in her
own backyard. Her story is about
getting outside and exploring nature --
no matter where you live. You'll be
greeted by a white picket fence, then
wander along a winding path
surrounded by colorful spring flowers
in containers and various annuals in
the ground. And be sure to notice
Lanie;s "Pizza Garden," where she
grows all the toppings of her sister's
favorite dish.
3 Points of Interest:
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Designer Kemora Landscape Design kemoralandscapes.com Collaborators American Girl www.americangirl.com |
Gethsemane Garden Center www.gethsemanegardens.com |
The Fence Store www.thefencestore.com |
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Garden #11 - Our Town: Your Garden Arthritis Foundation Enabling Garden |
Enter into this beautifully landscaped
back yard, complete with a handsome
Victorian porch, that represents many
of "Our Town's" residents. Enjoy
relaxing with your friends and
neighbors among the flowering
crabapples, river birch, a variety of
flowering shrubs, pachysandra and
many colorful perennials and annuals.
Focusing on container gardens, raised
beds and vertical gardens, "our"
garden demonstrates how those
managing with arthritis need not give
up their favorite pastime. Learn about
the latest and greatest ergonomic tools
which help everyone in "town" garden
with ease. Arthritis Foundation
representatives will be on hand to
answer your questions.
3 Points of Interest:
Arthritis Foundation www.arthritis.org James Martin Associates www.jamesmartinassociates.com |
| Garden #12 - Music Man |
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The good folks of River City would feel
right at home in this homey garden,
brilliantly adorned with seemingly
countless annuals and perennials.
Anchored by a luxury cedar gazebo
and graced with a brick patio and
retaining walls, the space is
whimsically decorated with old
musical instruments.
3 Points of Interest:
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Collaborators Leisure Woods, Inc. www.leisure-woods.com |
Cypress Group, Inc. www.cypressgroupinc.com |
| Garden #13 - Playbill by Design: Theatrical Tablescapes |
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Three different areas and themes showcase the Midwest's top creative talents in this spectacular homage to theater in Chicago. Mixing flowers, crystal, silver and china with other inventive touches, they bedazzle with a wonderment of tabletops in three categories.
"Producers Fest" features products from retail locations or properties (hotel, interior designers) and fresh floral set at a table fit for the producer of any theatrical production. "Theater Theatrics" showcases Chicago's finest professional florists and event planners, who stage a production depicting their favorite theatrical production or Chicago theatre company. "Green Room" is all about recycled or green-friendly items and flowers, as visualized by non-professional groups, clubs and individuals who have created a dinner two. |
| Garden #14 - Spring Awakening |
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From Versailles to the Loire, the grounds of the great French estates always include a potager -- a kitchen garden arranged with geometric formality. Here you see the various traditional techniques adapted for urban living. Spirals, concentric circles, stripes and checkerboard patterns of edible spring greens -- from mesclun and romaine to kale and herbs -- combine beauty and utility, creating an eye-pleasing green space of nutritious plants just steps from the dinner table.
3 Points of Interest:
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Collaborators Growing Power www.growingpower.org |
Laughing Waters www.laughongwatersinc.com |
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D. Landreth Seed Company www.landrethseeds.com |
Arthritis Foundation www.arthritis.org |
| Garden #15 - Food Among the Flowers |
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What better to set the mood--and rest your feet--than a large, picturesque garden where the city's top chefs convene to share some of their secrets to cooking with fresh, natural ingredients? Four times a day, you'll find plenty of suggestions for using your own homegrown produce and you'll even get a delicious taste sampling of what's being demonstrated. Proud Sponsor: 
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| Garden #16 - The Teaching Garden |
Illinois Landscape Contractors Association members discuss the appropriate ways to split perennials, plant and prune shrubs, and other common garden related knowledge. In addition, Belgard Hardscapes demonstrates the correct way to lay pavers and build retaining walls. And you can get free advice on where to dig.
3 Points of Interest:
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Collaborators Belgard Hardscapes www.Belgard.biz |
Illinois Landscape Contractors Assn. www.ilca.net |
| Garden #17 - "State Fair" - Kids Activity Garden |
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Featuring a play area with swing set, slide and sandbox, LIVE CHICKENS as well as educational programming, this is the perfect destination for youngsters. Activities organized by the Chicago High School of Agricultural Sciences, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance and the Illinois Master Gardeners, featuring kids potting parties and a special display of live bugs.
3 Points of Interest:
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Designer Jeff Cox www.cypressgroupinc.com |
Collaborator Cypress Group www.cypressgroupinc.com |
| Garden #18 - The Drama of Design |
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This year, The American Institute of Floral Designers -- leaders in educational and design programs -- offers a stunningly inventive array of strategies for creating highly contemporary arrangements and installations. This definitely represents the artistic side of floral design, often times working on a large scale.
You may not know them by name but AIFD members have a hand in, among other things, all the glittering music, stage and film awards shows we see on television; they're involved in decorating the White House, which is breathtaking in its holiday splendor; and they painstakingly create those awe-inspiring Rose Bowl floats, all made of floral material and many other creative endeavors. Designers Members of the North Central Chapter of The American Institute of Floral Designers www.aifd.org |
| Garden #19 - Great Performances through the Eyes of a Child |
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Surrounded by arbor vities, the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences' offering has three gardens capturing the enduring charm of a trio of fairy tales: The Three Pigs, Hansel and Gretel, and Three Billy Goats Gruff. Combining a water feature, built structures and a landscape of trees, bushes and flowers, the garden is a collaboration of students from various pathways of the school: horticultural, agricultural science, English and special education.
3 Points of Interest:
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Designer Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences students |
Collaborator Laughing Waters www.laughingwatersinc.com |
| Garden #20 - Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat |
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A garden stage showcasing the new varieties for 2010, this energized space features a central medallion of colorful plants framed by a ring of reclaimed, preserved trees painted white. The display also includes an eye-catching dinner table. Made from concrete and recycled barn timbers, it features a trough suitable as a water feature or vessel for potted plants or floral displays.
3 Points of Interest:
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Designer Greg Pierceall Landscape Design Instructor, Joliet Junior College |
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Collaborators Krugel Cobbles, Inc. www.krugel.com New Varieties Ball Horticultural Company www.ballhort.com |
Youth Build Lake County Hampshire Farms |
Proven Winners |
| Garden #21 - Container Gardens |
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Headed to the food court or the seminar rooms? Be sure to admire the container arrangements that greet you. One embraces a traditional motif echoing an English estate garden, featuring evergreens, million bells, verbena, ivy -- and the decorative touch of classically draped statues. The other container garden is a prelude to a hot summer, its brightly colored, high gloss vessels holding impatiens, begonia, as well as plants usually associated with the indoors: draezena, sansevaria, bromeliads. 3 Points of Interest:
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Designer Annette Held Landscape Design www.aheldlandscapes.com Collaborators Orlandi Statuary www.orlandicollections.com |
Clesen Wholesale www.clesen.com |
| Garden #22 - Bye Bye Birdie |
Marked by an entrance in the form of an over-scaled birdhouse, this garden combines all the human amenities with consideration for wildlife, particularly our fine feathered friends. Studded with fanciful birdhouses that will be auctioned off to benefit the Lincoln Park Community Shelter, the display includes an array of evergreens 'perfect for nesting birds--colorful annuals and such people-friendly features as a fire pit, seat walls and a 42" weatherproof, wide screen television.
3 Points of Interest:
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Designer Schleifer Unique Landscapes www.uniquelandscaper.com Collaborators Clover's Garden Center www.cloversgardencenter.com Wilson Nurseries & Landscape Supply www.wilsonnurseries.com Brown Jordan www.brownjordan.com |
Midwest Deck-n-Dock www.midwestdecks.com Wireless Outdoor TV www.wirelessoutdoortv.com |
Garden Iron and More www.gardenironandmore.com Western Red Cedar Pergolas www.westernredcedarpergolas.com |
| Garden #23 - Jeckle and Hyde - Prairie Restoration |
After passing through a quagmire of buckthorn, common reed and garlic mustard, visitors to this garden will be introduced to strategies for eradicating invasive species and restoring a landscape with native plants. Tactics include cutting plants down, digging them up, judicious use of herbicides and, finally, effective completion by native plants. The garden also will illustrate the use of controlled burns in restoring landscapes.
3 Points of Interest:
Pizzo & Associates Ltd www.pizzo.info |
| Garden #24 - On the Street Where You Live |
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Think of this garden as a microcosm of
urban and suburban homes. Featuring
four facades each with its own unique
landscaping and horticultural
elements. There's a water-permeable
stone driveway, alternative planting
options, and sensible ideas to
maximize small spaces. There are
small urban yards for residents that
include empty nesters, business
professionals, the new neighbor on the
block, as well as the home of the busy
suburban family. Each is diverse,
yet their commonality is that
they showcase flowers, shrubbery,
landscaping and eco-friendly
initiatives.
3 Points of Interest:
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| Garden #25 - A Fantasea in Bloom |
At Shedd Aquarium, animals are the stars of the show; and this garden celebrates the amazing diversity of life visitors see at Shedd. Wander a twisting path through a fantasy grotto represented by hemlocks and arborvitae; encounter surprising representations of Shedd's animal stars; take in the bright colors of blooming annuals; and enjoy the sounds of a 7-foot tall recycling waterfall.
3 Points of Interest:
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Collaborators Shedd Aquarium www.sheddaquarium.org Aquascape, Inc. www.aquascapeinc.com Charles J. Fiore Nursery www.cjfiore.com |
Midwest Groundcovers www.midwestgroundcovers.com Ron Clesen's Ornamental Plants www.rcopinc.com |
Strictly Stone Inc. www.strictlystone.com Ted's Greenhouse Inc www.tedsgreenhouse.com |
| Garden #26 - I'd Like to Thank the Academy ... |
The year's Excellence in Landscape Awards Garden--directed, produced, and written by Grant & Power Landscaping, Bertog Landscape Co. and The Illinois Landscape Contractors Association, and guest starring The Geneva Underground Playhouse--features professional landscape companies who have submitted and received awards for their design, installation and maintenance in 2010. Get a red carpet preview and a rare behind-the-scenes look at the landscape industry's biggest night. |
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Collaborators Grant & Power Landscaping Inc. www.grantandpower.com |
Bertog Landscape Co. www.bertoglandscape.com |
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The Illinois Landscape Contractors Association www.ilca.net |
The Geneva Underground Playhouse www.genevaundergroundplayhouse.com |
| Garden #27 - Photography Garden |
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Last year's open-to-all photo garden
has been replaced this year with this
year's Photography Garden that
features the top entries in a juried
match-up that was part of this year's
Horticulture Competitions. (See
"Houseplants & Window Boxes
Garden" for the competition's other
two categories.) You'll be inspired by
creative images in seven categories
including people, animals and plants.
In addition, Chicago sculptor Jeffrey
Breslow exhibits a selection of his
large-scale, nature inspired pieces
made from reclaimed maple trees and
granite. |
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Collaborators Chicago Botanic Garden www.chicagobotanic.com Chicago Historical Society www.chicagohs.org |
Jeffrey Breslow www.breslowsculpture.com |
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Click Here for 2009 Feature Gardens! |