The Chicago Botanic Garden's exhibition on American gardening history closes Sunday, Sept. 27. North Shore residents can visit through the end of the week.
"America Grows: 250 Years of Garden Stories" fills the Lenhardt Library in the Regenstein Center with displays tracing how gardens have shaped American communities. Visitors can page through what the Garden describes as the first known American cookbook, explore cultural connections to plants brought from other continents, and learn about the role of community gardening across the country.
The exhibition is open Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 4 p.m., and is free with Garden admission or membership. A LEGO brick garden-building activity runs on the same schedule through closing day.
Outside the Regenstein Center, the Heritage Garden offers a companion walk through plants that arrived in North America from other continents. The Garden encouraged visitors on X on Monday, Sept. 21, to walk through the Heritage Garden and then visit the Regenstein Center to learn about community gardening and share a recipe.
The exhibition is part of Illinois's statewide 250th anniversary programming. Guided walking tours, which ran weekdays at 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., end Friday, Sept. 25, two days before the exhibition itself closes.
What stays and what comes next
Not everything at the Regenstein Center closes with "America Grows." A landscape photography exhibition by Miles Lowry continues in the Joutras Gallery through Sunday, Oct. 4.
The Garden's next major event follows shortly after. Night of 1,000 Jack-o'-Lanterns opens Wednesday, Oct. 7, and runs 15 evenings through Sunday, Oct. 25. The event features more than 1,000 real pumpkins lit with LED lights, including 75 giant pumpkins weighing up to 150 pounds each.
New this year is a glowing 20-foot inflatable Monarch Skull sculpture by artist Alyse Gamson. Jodi Zombolo, the Garden's associate vice president of Visitor Events and Programs, said in an August press release that the sculpture "invites attendees to reflect on the transformation and beauty of nature."
Tickets are required. Adult tickets start at $20 for members and $24 for nonmembers. Child tickets, ages 3 to 12, start at $13 for members and $17 for nonmembers.
The Chicago Botanic Garden is at 1000 Lake Cook Road in Glencoe. General hours include public access from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with early entry for members starting at 8 a.m.
