March 14-22, 2015

Navy Pier

Chicago IL

A Garden of Weeping Wonder features numerous trees that have weeping habits, interspersed with rock and boulder groupings. Water trickles down from a crevice in a holey boulder outcropping and disappears into a dry creek bed spanned by a stone bridge. A stunning large pendulous white pine is a commanding presence, and lacy green and red Japanese maples and soft-foliaged larches enhance the motif. A multitude of weeping forms of spruce, fir, beech, pine, ginkgo, and Alaskan false cypress round out this display. Floral works by Tu Bloom Designs highlight the garden tapestry along with colorful rhododendrons and rare variegated conifers. A hint of vanilla fragrance wafts across the garden from the mulch made of ground vanilla bean husks. Garden chairs artfully crafted of stone and wood by Jim Griffin/Enigma Studio Detroit offer a place of respite next to a tree stump retaining wall. This garden   demonstrates the use of natural items such as stone and wood as well as the repurposed vanilla bean husks, and showcases unusual conifers and rare trees for smaller garden spaces. 

2015 "Garden of Weeping Wonder"

Be sure to stop by booth #730 where we'll have hostas for sale to benefit Heifer International. Bolivian handicrafts will also be for sale to benefit Mano a Mano International Partners.  

With weeping conifers taking center stage in our garden at this year's Chicago Flower & Garden Show, we thought we'd share some photos of these wonderful trees. There are so many unique shapes: upright, ground-hugging, broad pendulous. Some look like angels and others more like dragons.

Pinus strobus 'Pendula'

 

Picea omorika 'Pendula Bruns'

Picea pungens 'Hugo's Weeping'

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