Chicago Botanic Garden Spring 2020

80 chicagobotanic.org This season in the Garden Sensory Garden Designer: Geoffrey Rausch of Environ- mental Planning and Design, with finishing touches provided by Scott Byron & Company Defining features: Four areas have distinct looks but create a unified garden that invites visitors to explore all of their senses. One distinctive area is the cool, shady woodland. In the Sensory Garden, plants are celebrated for the many ways they stimulate our ve senses. is spring, treat yourself to the sight of warm tulips and poppies in the color bed, the wafting aromas of stock and fritillaria in the fragrance bed, and the feel of smooth senecio and fuzzy foxgloves in the texture bed. Listen for the rustle of last season’s oak leaves, and the buzz of newly awakened bees on the season’s rst owers. We don’t invite you to taste here, but fennel and sage are piquant reminders of the many avors that plants bring to the table. e four parts of the Sensory Garden add up to a sublime whole. Stunning annuals on the sunny east side of the garden give way to a stylized Wisconsin woodland with groves of gray birch, sugar maple, and bur oak on the shady west; a weeping water wall adds a calming e ect. To the south, a small crabapple orchard springs from a grassy meadow studded with spring wild owers. Above it all, a winding path leads to a secluded hilltop arbor. e route is punctuated with winter honeysuckles, magnolias, witch hazels, and fragrant viburnums to tickle your nose, and the focused view to the Arch Bridge is especially picturesque. Dale Whiting is the horticulturist in this garden, and his seasonal designs are the gold standard. A 35-year Garden veteran, Dale was here when the Sensory Garden was built in 1987, and his artistry can be seen throughout the growing season. With his 45 years of service here, grounds crew leader Francisco Mercado is our longest-serving sta member, and he has guided the Sensory Garden—well, all of our gardens, actually—along the road to graceful maturity. Skilled and dedicated people like Dale and Francisco embody our mission: We cultivate the power of plants to sustain and enrich life. —Fred Spicer, executive vice president and director of the Garden A spring feast: The woodlands of the Sensory Garden are a favorite in the spring, with sweeps of Iris reticulata and other spring blooms. It is also where you can hunt for the first signs of snowdrops and crocus.