The mowing down of the garden in spring used to be straightforward – a crew would ride mulching mowers around the garden to make a clean palette for the anticipated crocus and tulips. While Lurie Garden’s first priority is maintaining the garden’s design beauty and accessibility for visitors, it also strives to increase its ecological […]
The initial vision of a constructed space can be maintained as it evolves if the original creators remain involved to help steer changes. Landscapes in public spaces evolve through multiple influences. A site’s mission, funding, or management can shift this evolution. Community needs may dictate a site’s alteration as well as ever-growing environmental changes and updates […]
Every story of migration starts with an epic journey of how beings get from one place to another. It can be an easy journey or a tough one depending on the obstacles that await them along the way. The symbolism of the monarch butterfly is personal to many because of its unique behavior and migratory […]
When one enters Chicago’s Lurie Garden or New York’s High Line, it is clear these are not traditionally cultivated gardens, nor are they prairies, woodlands, or meadows, where composition is left to the whims of natural forces. Rather, they are composed and curated landscapes that evoke a site’s ecological past, celebrate the best attributes of […]
Weeds are simply plants out of place, and not all need to be removed. When deciding a weed’s fate, a gardener must consider, among other factors, the weed species, its location within the garden, and the weed’s potential function for its location. We are taught a garden should be weed-free and that each weed not pulled […]
Public gardens collaborate with scientists to study how global climate change impacts local plant growth, while also actively displaying the effects climate change. Public gardens have the opportunity to educate and engage the community and moderate an open, honest dialog about climate change. What is the difference between weather and climate change? Weather is impacted by climate and changes […]
Current research indicates that mixing some non-native plants* in a designed native landscape can increase pollinator habitat. Mixed native and non-native plants in a designed landscape (i.e., near-native landscapes) can contain a higher diversity of food resources over longer periods of time for pollinators and, therefore, containing more diverse pollinator communities. Lurie Garden is a […]
Waiting until spring to cut down the garden is not conventional, but the benefits are visual and ecological. We appreciate and understand both the beauty and ecology of perennial plant landscapes, and have chosen to manage the Lurie Garden for the benefit of both aspects. A consideration in the design of and plant selections for […]
Seed left in the garden provides for birds, insects, and animals with nourishment throughout winter and special beauty for us. Gardeners most often associate seeds with the next generation—the “fruits” of this year’s labor and the hope for next year’s plants. We carefully collect seed in the fall for winter storage and in early spring, as […]