Winter becomes a distant memory the minute you step inside the Chicago Flower and Garden Show’s annual exhibition at Navy Pier. Yes, we may have been pretty lucky this year with unseasonably high temperatures and snow-free streets, but that doesn’t mean Chicagoans aren’t still looking forward to the warmer seasons ahead.
And if anything is guaranteed to get you in the mood for spring, it’s bound to be the Chicago Flower and Garden Show, which welcomes upwards of 60,000 visitors annually! This year’s festivities, kicking off on Saturday March 10 and wrapping up on Sunday, March 18, center around the theme of “Hort Couture,” a fun play on style and fashion within horticulture.
As in the past, this year’s show will feature garden upon garden of highly colorful, gorgeous blooms; over 25 display gardens will dazzle and inspire spectators to create their own designer plots.
We don’t want to go and spoil everything so here’s just a small taste of the some of the special gardens on hand: La Jardin de la Fleur-de-Lis, a chic space that evokes the old-world mystique of New Orlean’s French Quarter; the White House Let’s Move Garden, a 1100-square foot replica of the South Lawn’s vegetable garden in Washington D.C.; the “Days of Our Lives” home and garden which brings the soap opera to life (original props included); and the Hope and Healing garden, an inspiring spot filled with pink blossoms and, at the very center, a single tree.
2012 Chicago Flower and Garden Show at Navy Pier
For those who consider themselves to be a bit of a Garden Gourmet, there will be more than two dozen Chicago celebrity chefs on hand giving 45-90 minute presentations on how to take what you’ve grown and transform it into an elegant and delicious dish. Kids have the chance to get their hands dirty in their own little garden; every day at 1:30 p.m. there is a children’s Potting Party. And if you’re looking to try something new in your garden this year, why not join in on the Great Chicago Seed Swap!
If you’d like a peek of the show before it officially opens, think about attending the exclusive “Evening in Bloom” on Friday, March 9 at Navy Pier. The party, lasting from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. offers guests the opportunity to walk the grounds first and mill around with cast members from “Days of Our Lives,” while enjoying wine and hors d’ouevres from Harry Caray’s, Dirk’s Fish and Gourmet Shop, Cyrano’s Bistrot Wine Bar & Cabaret, Wildfire, O’Donovan’s Pub & Restaurant, 94 West Steak & Seafood Restaurant, Union Sushi + Barbeque Bar, and W Chicago- City Center. Tickets cost $125 and all proceeds benefit Chicago Gateway Green and Friends of the Parks.
Admission to the 2012 Chicago Flower and Garden Show is $17 on weekdays and $19 on weekends. Tickets purchased online at www.ChicagoFlower.com are discounted and do not include service fees. The show is open Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Sundays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Written by Cecilia Ehlenbach+ 
