Road Trip!

I had an adventure going to the fair city of Chicago, a little over a week ago. I was all excited about going on this trip with my fellow master gardeners, boy, it was the trip! I was gone from 5:30 am until 11:00pm. I don't know if it was serendipity, divine intervention or just plain dumb luck, but the bus I chose was "the" bus to be on as it did not break down half way to our destination. I made a new friend, who made a comfortable companion. We have many little quirks in common much to our mutual enjoyment.

The weather was hot, humid and sunny with light fluffy clouds--not too bad for a July day. We had haze in the morning and late evening to add a mysterious natural atmosphere to the bus trips. And we ended our trip with a spectacular full harvest moon rising over the open fields of green. What a wonderful day to take photographs!

Despite a lot of unexpected waiting time and subsequent delays, most (if not all) of the 100+ gardeners had a wonderful time learning more about the America in Bloom program while touring the Ball Horticulture Company gardens in West Chicago and the new Millennium Park in downtown Chicago.

I loved visiting both places for different reasons. At Ball it was like being able to browse a large candy store with no limit on how many ideas you could take home with you. So many varieties of the came plants and so many colors! The Ball gardens are large and well organized with lots of labels for the plant-name challenged. The staff at Ball also seemed to be very knowledgeable about the plants there. And as they served us lunch while there, I can honestly say their hospitality was exemplary. Thank you very much Ball!

At Millennium Park it was easy to see the possibilities of large public gardens, provided you can get the monetary support. I would love to go back and explore more. The Cloud Gate (or as I affectionately call it, "the Bean") is beautiful! All that highly polished stainless steel is mesmerizing because of it's parabolic mirror-like reflections. There are stately glass block water fountains for people to play in with their children, and so much more. I thought the pedestrian bridge that leads to the famous Grant Park across the street was a piece of beauty. It begs you enjoy the journey of a walk slowly admiring the gardens and city from a variety of angles. In short, an hour was not nearly enough time to explore that area. And judging from the number of parents with children in strollers, I would hazard a guess that they feel the same way too.