Global Thinking in the USA #3: Chicago Botanic Garden's Japanese Garden

Chicago Botanic Garden, Photo by Krenda

Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, Illinois (Chicago suburb) is a great place for kids to learn about horticulture.  Look on their website for special events.  I've been to the garden multiple times, but I most enjoyed a Girl Scout event that included dividing houseplants and planting the new plant to help earn a badge.  At the end of the event, we had a private tour of the garden including the Elizabeth Hubert Malott Japanese Garden and greenhouses.  The Chicago Botanic Garden is huge with over 27 gardens within 385 acres.  It's no wonder over 1 million people visit annually.  With approximately 50,000 members, it's the largest membership of any U.S. public garden.  Considering the size and diversity, I'll focus on how kids can learn about horticulture and the Japanese culture in the same place.

To get the lay of the land, the Japanese garden has 17 acres and includes three islands:  1) Seifuto (Island of Clear, Pure Breezes), 2) Keiunto (Island of the Auspicious Cloud), and 3) Horaijima (Island of Everlasting Happiness).  The first two island has public accessibility.  You most likely won't have a guide, so I suggest downloading the garden app, so you and your kids can learn the meanings of the sites.  I've taken a short snapshot of the descriptions provided on the website for you:

Stop 1:  The Ken - viewing point where all three islands can be seen at one spot

Stop 2:  The "Waterfall" - plants create nature scene (boxwoods = stones, cotoneaster flowing downhill = flowing water)

Stop 3:  Kasugastone Lantern - name from Kasuga Shrine where there are nearly 1,000 lanterns

Stop 4: Japanese Garden Bridge - link between this world + paradise with an arch representing the difficulty of the path

Stop 5:  Keiunto - most formal of the gardens

Stop 6:  Dry Landscape Garden - smooth gravel represents calm matter, raked rippled patterns represent waves breaking on a shore; peek into the garden from the house

Stop 7:  Arbor - house adapted from a building at Kodai-jiya Koyota temple, built in Japan and assembled in Chicago

Stop 8:  Crouching Basin - tradition to wash hands and rinse mouth before entering teahouse

Stop 9:  Zig Zag Bridge - legend tells story that people can avoid evil spirits by crossing a zigzag bridge because evil spirits believed to move only in a straight line

Stop 10:  Seifuto - stone lantern and grouping of boulders; rocks are thought to be the bones of the earth

Stop 11:  Boat Landing Stones - 2 large granite slabs for an ornamental boat landing

Stop 12:  Dry Garden and Arbor House - smaller dry garden than on Keiunto; notice the water basin and lantern

Stop 13:  Willow - uneven pathway of stones to make you step more deliberate; notice the pruned willow

Stop 14:  Pine Tres - symbols of long life in Japanese culture

Stop 15:  Shoin House:  Recreated garden retreat of an Edo-period feudal lord built in Japan

Stop 16:  Water basin at the Shoin House

Stop 17:  Snow-Viewing Lantern - yukimi lantern built with sturdy legs and broad umbrella, enabling it to bear the snow

Stop 18:  Puryear Point - bridge views and sculptures

The Forest Preserve District of Cook County owns the garden and the Chicago Horticultural Society manages the garden.  There's an agreement for free admission (beyond the $25-$30 parking fee per day) until 2022, so visit now.