ROTHKO INSPIRED GARDENS ON DISPLAY IN GRANT PARK
THEMATIC GARDENS ON DISPLAY THROUGHOUT CHICAGO PARKS 2008 SEASON
Release Date: 05/08/08
With close to 75-acres of gardens currently enhancing Chicago’s Parks, this year visitors will get a special treat with Grant Park’s gardens reflecting the art of abstract expression artist Mark Rothko and pansies planting design inspired by Peter Max.
“Gardens are already natural works of art, but this year the Park District and Moore Landscapes, Inc take it a step further by designing the garden displays in Grant Park to emulate the works of Mark Rothko and Peter Max,” said Adam Schwerner, the director of natural resources. “By having the work of these artists depicted in our garden beds throughout the city, it will add extra beauty, excitement and depth to the city’s gardens.”
In fall 2007, the Chicago Park District and Moore Landscapes, Inc. began planning their masterpieces, designing the planting beds for the 2008 season throughout Chicago Parks. This year’s unique garden designs will pay tribune to Mark Rothko and Peter Max in Grant Park with a spectacular pansy display that pays homage the sixties.
Each year, approximately 143,000 tulips and pansies are planted for the spring in parks along Michigan Ave. and Lake Shore Drive. Over 12 acres of annuals, perennials, trees and shrubs are planted in Chicago’s gardens throughout the city. In May and June, all the spring flowers and bulbs are removed for the summer annual flower installation. Summer annual beds are intricately redesigned every year using more than 375different varieties of flowers and tropical plants to provide a unique blend of color and texture for maximum visual impact with close to 500,000 summer annuals installed each year.
Since the development of Chicago’s earliest parks, gardens have been an integral part of the Chicago Park District and are a top tourist attraction. Chicago’s front yard is a spectacular site to see beginning late April and throughout the summer and early fall. Visit the following outdoor gardens display thousands of flowers surrounded by sculptures and waterfalls:
Douglas Park
•Formal Gardens, Corner of Sacramento Ave. & Ogden Ave.
•South Entrance, Corner of Sacramento and 19th Street
Grant Park
•Buckingham Fountain Flower Gardens, 500 S. Lake Shore Dr.
•Cancer Survivors Garden, Upper Randloph St. just east of of Daley Bicentennial Park Fieldhouse
•Congress Median Garden, Center Median off of Congress Pkwy., between Columbus Dr. & Michigan Ave.
•Congress Plaza Gardens, Michigan Ave. & Congress Pkwy.
•Congress Triangle Garden, Center triangle on Congress Pkwy. & Michigan Ave.
•Logan Monument Formal Gardens, Corner of Balbo Ave. & Michigan Ave. - across from the Hilton Towers Hotel
•Art Institute Gardens, on Michigan Ave. and Jackson
•North President’s Court, Columbus Dr. & Congress Pkwy. – just north of Congress Pkwy.
•South President’s Court, Columbus Dr. & Congress Pkwy. – just south of Congress Pkwy.
•Spirit of Music Gardens, Corner of Balbo Ave. & Michigan Ave. – just north of Balbo Ave.
Humboldt Park
•Formal Gardens, Corner of Humboldt Blvd. & Division St.
Jackson Park
•Perennial Garden, South of the Museum of Science and Industry between Cornell Dr. & Lake Shore Dr.
Lincoln Park
•Grandma’s Garden, Corner of Stockton Dr. & Webster Ave. (3 blocks long)
•Great Garden, West of Lincoln Park Zoo off of Stockton Dr.
•Rowing Lagoon Flower Garden, West of Lake Shore Dr., north of North Ave., at south end of the lagoon
Marquette Park
•Demonstration Gardens, 6743 S. Kedzie Ave. – along circle drive thru park
South Shore Cultural Center
•Formal & Herb Garden, 7059 S. South Shore Dr.
Washington Park
•DuSable Museum Flower Gardens, 740 65th Pl. – at the DuSable Museum
Washington Square Park
•Fountain Garden, 901 N. Clark St.
- Contact Phone: 312 742 7529