Durable Gardening: What's Growing on at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show

Agapanthus sculpture by Jenny Pickford

If you are planning on attending the Chicago Flower and Garden Show this year, you had better get a move on. There is just a few days left and the displays are inspirational. You will be greeted by an etched stone sign and a large sculpture of an Agapanthus made from steel and blown glass by Jenny Pickford, a U.K. artist and blacksmith, with a large green vertical wall as a backdrop. It is gorgeous and welcoming. With 26 gardens there are demonstrations for just about everybody.

Walk around and start looking at the details, and you'll see a lot of up-cycled materials like canning jars turned outdoor lighting. There are large brightly-colored containers used as accent pieces, and vertical gardens too. Outdoor seating displays are always big at the garden shows.

If you're not paying attention, you may be tempted to walk right past Garden 19, but make a point of stopping. It is a small two-part display. The section that really thrilled me, "Celebration of Succulents" by Craig Bergmann, shows a cascading quilt of succulents. A fantastic sight. One of the big trends this year will be increased use of succulents like Echeveria in gardens and containers.

For me, Garden 22 "Made for the Shade" is my kind of plant display. As a residential gardener with large old trees (with all of the shade that they can offer), I want ideas that I can bring home. This garden contained a mix of shade-loving evergreens, perennials, and bulbs that gave endless ideas for an attainable garden. Stop by and you will likely be able to talk to Todd Mohr or Rich Eyre of Rich's Foxwillow Pines Nursery Inc.

Garden 16 - Ribbon of Dancing Waters. Large silver maple trunks were used to build the pergola.

Days of Our Lives, Wedding
Dress of Chloe (Nadia Bjorlin)

In the center of the show room floor, is Garden 16, "A Ribbon of Dancing Waters." This was the best outdoor wooded setting. This demonstration garden had nine ponds, a rain harvesting system collecting and circulating that water, nice use of plants, and huge structures made from maple tree trunks.

If daytime soap operas are what really get you excited, you're in luck. The "Homestyle Drama from Days of Our Lives" is an interpretation of rooms from the show and the wedding gowns worn by your favorite starlets are on display for the duration of the show. Along similar lines were the collection of designs at "Design Over the Tabletop" of Garden 12. Many gorgeous vignettes of place settings, flowers, and vases from 12 different participants.