Summer in the City

Nina A. Koziol

By about June, everyone in the green industry is probably wondering, “When can I slip away, even if it’s just for a day?” Nearly 100 attendees at ILCA’s Summer Design Tour were able to slip away to Chicago’s lake front on June 16 — even though they might have felt a bit guilty. “I shouldn’t be here, I’m so busy,” said Agnes Pradel Stafford, owner of Pradel Garden Design in Chicago. “I live in the city but I never get to come downtown and leisurely see all these beautiful gardens.” She was just one of many attendees who felt inspired and renewed by the day-long tours.

Planning for the design tour began in 2019, but the pandemic put things on hold. It was worth the wait. The tour of eight iconic public gardens along Chicago’s lake front focused on the design, plants, installation and maintenance of these special places. Several “interpreters” were on hand to talk about each of the gardens, and a walking tour app allowed participants to listen to stories about each site. “This event was four years in the making,” said Scott Grams, ILCA’s executive director. “We were so excited to pull this off. There’s so much to see here.”

Where to begin

The day kicked off with breakfast under the tent at the Harris Rooftop. From there, participants strolled through Lakeshore East Park, Maggie Daley Park, Lurie Garden, the Art Institute’s Sculpture and Dan Kiley Gardens, Grant Park Rose Garden, the Art Institute’s Arch

Executive Director Scott Grams

Scott Stewart explains Lakeshore East Park’s design philosophy

Garden and Millennium Park. It was educational and entertaining.

“This is my first ILCA design tour,” said landscape designer Althea Adams of Stuber Landscape Design in central Illinois who came with coworkers. “I’d never been to any gardens in downtown Chicago and I wanted to get us up here. The gardens are beautiful and I love the more natural look. What is it about walking through the gardens and seeing skyscrapers?” The spectacular views of sweeping gardens and stunning architecture were enhanced by the exquisite sounds of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra rehearsing in Millennium Park.

“The location for this year’s design tour holds a very special place in my heart,” said Scott Stewart, honorary tour guide and former executive director of Millennium Park Foundation. Stewart came from his job as executive director of Frisco Park Foundation in Texas to help guide and answer questions. “He was so instrumental in helping us put this tour together,” Grams said. “Without him, it would be like having a wedding without the bride.”

Stewart assisted the ILCA Design Committee in identifying and securing the sites. “The gardens we toured are among the most visited and iconic public landscapes in the United States,” he said. “They are truly public—no gate charge—and everyone is welcome to visit, tour, enjoy and be inspired.”

In to the parks

Daniel Gerdes and John Alexander of Christy Webber Landscapes were on hand to discuss maintenance and challenges of public outdoor spaces. “We have the great honor of maintaining many public places in Chicago including Maggie Daley Park,” Gerdes said. “The park is basically a giant green roof over the parking garage. There are no straight lines—it’s a very dynamic park that does away with the ‘monument’ park.”

Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates transformed the roof of a 4,000-car parking garage into the 27-acre Maggie Daley Park. Designed to complement nearby Millennium Park, it offers a three-acre Play Garden, a quarter-mile loop of the Skating Ribbon, and the 40-foot-high Climbing Wall. The park also features a Cancer Survivor’s Garden (continued on page 12)

(continued from page 11) completed in 1996. The garden was designed to celebrate life and give hope. A combination of soil engineering and extensive native plantings helps mitigate the city’s heat-island effect and enables the park to manage significant rainfall.

Unlike highly maintained public spaces with rows of annuals, Maggie Daley Park features some wild, some might call “untidy” spots. “The children’s playground is unmatched anywhere in the city,” Gerdes said. “There are areas of nonmaintenance that you don’t usually see in Chicago Parks but it’s intentional. It allows for human and wildlife traffic and it’s a unique design for a park. The raw spaces are minimally maintained to keep out invasive species—it’s low touch.”

Another unusual element is the park’s topography. “It’s built on giant mounds of Styrofoam—Geofoam—with gravel topped with soil. It’s a beautiful landscape but artificial. Everything runs on a deep irrigation system.” Honey locust trees harvested from the site during construction were transformed into benches. Nearby, the lawn panels occasionally get a beating and need repairs because of the large numbers of visitors and corporate-sponsored events by Google and other companies. “There are four large lawn spaces and they are used for yoga and various events,” Alexander said. Like other parts of the garden, the turf is inspected regularly during the growing season and repaired as needed.

It was the first design tour for Zachary Abear of Bartlett Tree Experts. “I’ve enjoyed other ILCA events—meeting and seeing other people—and the knowledge you get at these events is wonderful.”

Sweeping beds of annuals and spools of water create a soothing summertime ambiance in Lakeshore East Park (continued on page 14)

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A rare treat

A highlight for many was meeting Joe Karr, the renowned Landscape Architect who worked with Dan Kiley on the Art Institute garden 56 years ago. Standing on a seat wall, Karr was surrounded by landscape industry fans who wanted to hear his story. “This is so stunning,” said Landscape Architect James Differding of Chicago as he stood in the garden’s dappled shade listening to Karr talk about the design process. Many attendees lined up to have their photos taken with the iconic Karr. “It’s a great honor to have you,” Robert Milani of Bertog told Karr. “We’ve learned a lot from you as designers.” (continued on page 16)

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“The Art Institute’s Sculpture Garden is a favorite summertime lunch escape for the local office workers thanks to the shade of some of the most majestic American elm trees in the region,” Stewart said. “I’m a bit biased, but the public landscapes of Millennium Park are not to be missed. This garden set a new standard by which all other public gardens in the U.S. are measured.”

Kathryn Deery of Lurie Garden, Austin Eischeid, Austin Eischeid Garden Design and Patrick Thomas of the Art Institute of Chicago also provided tours and answered questions about the designs, plants and (continued on page 20)

Daniel Gerdes discusses the plants, soils and maintenance of Maggie Daley Park

Landscape architect Joe Karr was the project manager for the South garden

Joe Karr wowed attendees with his first-hand knowledge of the garden

Austin Eischeid of Austin Eischeid Garden Design LLC explains the design and plantings as the tour wrapped up. (continued from page 16) maintenance issues. ILCA Board Member Kim Hartmann came for inspiration. “I’m looking for more solutions to design problems—plants that can tolerate more environmental conditions like heat, salt and public use. I liked hearing how public spaces can coexist with wildlife.” “I’d never seen the Lakeshore East Park,” said Scott Jamieson of Bartlett Tree Service. “This was fun. I don’t get down here enough and I think it’s awesome that ILCA is doing things not only around design but maintenance.”

Chicago’s “front yard” gardens are ever-changing and they are worth a few visits throughout the year. “I encourage you to come back in the autumn,” Stewart said. “The color and textural display is just phenomenal. Come enjoy, learn and be inspired.”

See more:

Maggie Daley Park: www.maggiedaleypark.com/things-to-do-see/play-garden/ Lurie Garden: https://www.luriegarden.org Art Institute of Chicago, South Garden: www.tclf.org/landscapes/art-institute-chicago-south-garden

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