Visitors to the Chicago Botanic Garden will discover unusual forms of mums this fall. They’ll be wowed from the start with groupings of bronze “mum ball” containers outside the Visitor Center, cascading mum hayracks over the bridge to the main island, a sea of 2,100 yellow, orange, bronze and red mums in The Crescent and three shades of red “mum ball” containers under trees lining the Esplanade.
Japanese-style mums lend their unusual style to the perennial border outside the English Walled Garden and cascading yellow mums brighten up stone walls in the Elizabeth Hubert Malott Japanese Garden.
Large containers of pink and purple asters in the Heritage Garden show visitors another good option for fall flowers. In the Circle Garden, unusual giant salvias, with red stems and yellow flowers, appropriately named Salvia madrensis ‘Red Neck Girl,’ are sure to delight. Dark purple violas planted around giant pumpkins at the entrance to the Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden spark the imagination for annual combinations with great effect.
Besides fall annuals, visitors will also see an array of interesting fall plants, including many golden weeping willows and red sugar maples; brilliantly colored aquatic plants; sweeps of golden grasses and lush perennials on Evening Island; displays of asters, goldenrods and sunflowers in the Dixon Prairie; and blazing red sumacs and orange serviceberries along the lakeshore.
In the Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden
Celebrate the bounty of the season at the Harvest Festival on Saturday, September 15 and Sunday, Sept. 16. Enjoy chef demonstrations and a farmers’ market atmosphere in the Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden, selling such items as fresh bread, fall produce, baked goods, spices, pumpkins, roasted nuts, taffy apples, seasonal beers and more. Navigate the straw bale maze, make fall-themed crafts and guess the weight of the pumpkin. Hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Catch the Garden Chef Series, which features cooking demonstrations with fresh, seasonal ingredients at 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 7 in the Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden. The Garden Chef Series is sponsored by Barilla. The schedule includes:
Sept. 1 David Richards Sweets & Savories/ Barcello, Chicago
Sept. 2 Pedro Martinez Café Central, Highland Park
Sept. 8 Victor DeLeon O’Donovan’s, Chicago
Sept. 9 Mary Ellen Diaz First Slice Pie Café, Chicago
Sept. 15 Janine MacLachlan The Rustic Kitchen, Chicago
Sept. 16 Leslie Jacobsen-Cohen Pear Tree Catering, Buffalo Grove
Sept. 22 John des Rosiers South Gate Café/Bank Lane Bistro, Lake Forest
Sept. 23 Mas Morimoto Kamehachi, Northbrook
Sept. 29 Greg Mistak Omaggio, Evanston
Sept. 30 Brian Wright Rosebud, Highland Park
Oct. 6 Malika Ameen Aigre Doux, Chicago
Oct. 7 Rick Jansen The Tavern, Libertyville
Additional activities in the Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden this fall include plant giveaways on Wednesdays to Sundays through Sept. 30 and family drop-in activities on Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 7.
In honor of the Jewish harvest holiday Sukkot, or “The Festival of Booths,” the National Council of Jewish Women create a sukkah, on display from Sept. 30 through October 3. Families are invited to take part in arts and crafts activities to decorate the sukkah from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 30. -- www.chicagobotanic.org
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