Lurie Garden [Millennium Park]

This is one of my favourite places in Chicago!!
The Lurie Garden at Millennium Park..
It is designed by Gustafson Guthrie Nichol Ltd, Piet Oudolf and Robert Israel.. and pays homage to Chicago's motto, "Urbs in Horto".

The Native Aspect..
Having grown in the sub-tropical regions of India, I had never seen Native Prairie plants.. More than half, about 65%, of the plants in the Lurie Garden are native to North America, some to Illinois, and all are perennials. This is the place I saw many of the native plants for the first time.. like Prairie Smoke, Shooting Star, Virginia Bluebells, Bowman's Root, Blazing Star, Rattlesnake Master, Queen of the Prairie and Hemerocallis "Chicago Apache"... Native plants are drought and disease tolerant, attract butterflies and insects, are hardier than non-native and helps low-maintenance garden..

It was also one of the first places I saw the "New Wave Planting Style"..
with stunning combinations of flowers growing together, but not in the traditional geometric patterns..
# For more on the New Wave Planting Style" click here..

It was much later that I learnt about the landscape of the garden. Flowers interested me much more than the shape of the garden itself, but understanding the landscape of the garden, helps appreciating the nuances of the flowering patterns even more..
The garden is divided into..
- Light Plate
- Dark Plate
- Seam
- Shoulder Hedge..
# For more on the structure of the Lurie Garden.. click here..

For more on ..[click on the link]..
# The New Wave Planting Style [at Lurie Garden]..
# Lurie Garden: Landscape..