The Chicago Botanic Garden, 2026 photo is from left to right, the student gardeners for this summer: Maggie McCullough, Issac Thompson, and MJ Smith – location is the main entry into the Chicago Botanic Garden.
Maggie McCullough, Isaac Thompson, and MJ Smith, student gardeners, along with Karen Sullivan, Head Gardener, recently visited the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, Illinois.
The 385-acre garden showcases a diverse collection of landscapes, including native prairies and woodlands, the Japanese Garden, the English Walled Garden, evaluation displays, and a Roof Garden. The trip provided students with an opportunity to observe horticultural and landscape design concepts in a world-renowned public garden while gaining inspiration for future projects.
The student gardeners standing in front of a suspended bridge located in the Model Railroad Garden. The garden consists of more than 5,000 plants scaled down to create surroundings for the trains which are 1/29th the size of actual trains. It also includes past replicas of American landmarks made of natural materials such as twigs, bark , leaves, and acorns. It also has tunnels and bridges created for the variations of topography replicating many locations throughout the country.
The water feature is located in the Circle Garden at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
Art plays an integral part of the Chicago Botanical Gardens. “Evanescent” is a temporary sculpture representing the bubble form and was created by artists Atelier Sisu and Renzo B. Larriviere.
In the 2800 sq. ft. mesh enclosure of the display of Butterflies and Blooms displays many colorful species. Pictured is the Malachite butterfly.