Sunday in the Garfield Park Conservatory with Judy – Part I
Last Sunday Judy and I met Danny for breakfast in Logan Square, then visited the Garfield Park Conservatory for the first time in years. The Conservatory is a Chicago landmark, built in 1906 and designed by Jens Jensen, the great landscape architect of the Prairie Style. We wanted to see some green plants, but also we wanted to see how the Conservatory had recovered from the devastation caused by a hail storm in June, 2011.
The storm shattered half the glass panes over large sections of the conservatory. Through heroic efforts, the conservatory was reconstructed using temporary poly-carbonate sheeting. Starting in April, the Conservatory will be closed so that structural repairs can be made and permanent glass panes installed. It will not re-open until 2014.
Highlights of our visit included Chihuly glass installed with a pond and waterfall. I think I saw an article or blog post entitled “Beyond Chihuly Glass”. Are we supposed to be tired of Chihuly glass? I’ve never seen it anywhere else, so I like it.
We visited the Desert House, where there was a sprawling cactus I didn’t see a name for, but which provided a pretty persuasive argument for keeping your shoes on.
There was also Saguaro Cactus, and a Saguaro Cactus skeleton.
I thought this Century Plant was impressive. They bloom once after 2o or 30 years, then die.
In the Children’s Garden there were tropical fruit trees and plants, including this banana.
We walked through the Palm House, where we visited the Scheelea Palm. This is the Conservatory’s largest and oldest Palm, grown from a seed planted in 1926.
Oh, and there was also some useful horticultural tips. For example, this helpful sign on pruning.
On Friday I will post the strange and beautiful tropical flowers we saw at the Garfield Park Conservatory, in honor of Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – seeing as there is still very little blooming outside in our area.
gardeninacity 
You are lucky to have such a great conservatory nearby. Lots of interesting plants! That huge agave makes me want to move south! Pruned? I have some weeds that need to be “pruned.”
It is lucky, we should make more consistent use if it, but I’m glad I went before they closed down in April.
Lovely pictures – especially the last one! 😉 That cactus skeleton is amazing.
Yes, I was surprised by the cactus skeleton, like the cactus was made of poles bound together by succulent material. Perhaps the poles are bundles of xylem and phloem.
The glass in the water garden is truly lovely…it works for me here, probably because of the reflectivity and transparency of both water and glass. I’m not a fan, however, of glass in the garden in general. I like the chunky stuff–wood, iron, terracotta, concrete, and stone.
I think I like both the chunky stuff and glass, also I like objects that combine glass and metal.
If you’ve seen one Chihuly, you’ve seen them all. And after seeing these pics (great, btw), visiting the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, OH, and visiting our local botanical gardens, I am beginning to think all Midwestern conservatories are the same, too. Do conservatories in desert states and tropical areas feature plants from the northern latitudes? Regardless, conservatories offer a great respite from late winter/early spring blahs. Glad Garfield Park is recovering from the hail damage.
Somehow I doubt that conservatories in the tropics have temperate plants, but maybe.
I’m not sick of Chihuly glass . . .
Good. Then I know I’m not alone.
I am hearing about chihuly glass first time. Need to look up internet about them. That crawling cactus looks amazing. That was some kind of serious hail damage. I hope nothing was damaged.
Remarkably, damage to the plants was kept to a minimum.
Lovely garden, I’m charmed by it
Your photos show its beauty.
I send greetings.
Lucia
Thank you, Lucia.
A little over anxious on that prune job. Funny juxtaposition of the sign. I like the Chihuly glass too.
Over anxious or overzealous. I thought the sign was one of those masterpieces of understatement.
Makes me want to remark…”oh really, did they prune that plant?”
What a beautiful sight that conservatory is…it will be lovely once again when it is finished.
Jen
Yes, the pruning was so subtle one could hardly notice.
The kids and I are frequent visitors to Garfield. They offer a kid project every Saturday, including planting young plants and seedlings. Did you slike down the slide in the kids garden?
I thought the kids’ garden was very nice, though we didn’t take many photos. I did want to slide on the slide, but Judy restrained me.
What a magical place, so glad they repaired the damage! Thanks for this wonderful tour.
Yes, it was a real accomplishment to come back from the storm.
That cactus skeleton has to be one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. So glad they left it standing.
Looks like a really impressive garden! It’s great having days out to places like this. I’m always amazed by the cacti! I just love them!!
ATTENTION JENS JENSEN FANS AND VISITORS OF CHICAGO’S PUBLIC PARKS: JENSEN LANDSCAPED THE CITIES WEST SIDE PARKS IN HIS “PRAIRIE STYLE”, AND HIS SECOND FAVORITE PRAIRIE TREE SPECIES “THE ASH” THAT HE PLANTED THOUSANDS OF ARE NOW DYING FROM THE EMERALD ASH BORER. GO SEE THESE PARKS BEFORE THEY LOSE THEIR 98-130 YEAR OLD ASH TREES IN 2013 BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. I AM WORKING TO PRESERVE AS MANY AS POSSIBLE SINCE THEIR INDIGENOUS LIFESPANS ARE 300-6OO YEARS, AND ARE ONLY TEENAGERS AT 120. PLEASE CHECK OUT MY BLOG ON THIS SAME SITE FOR MORE INFO ON THIS MODERN DAY EXTINCTION OF THE AMERICAN ASH TREE.