Chicago Brochure.pub - Carlson Wagonlit Travel

Chicago: Millennium Park and
Gardens of Chicagoland
September 7-12, 2016
Hosted by C. Colston Burrell
Join the Minnesota State Horticultural Society and C. Colston Burrell for six spectacular days to enjoy the
best of the “Windy City”. Chicago is truly a garden city—when incorporated in 1837, it chose the motto Urbs
in Horto, a Latin phrase which means “City in a Garden”. Today, the Chicago Park District consists of more
than 570 parks with over 8,000 acres (3,200 ha) of municipal parkland. Chicago gardens combine the best of
the native Midwestern flora with plants from around the world adapted to cold climates. Waves of colorful
prairie wildflowers sweep across 24 acres of Millennium Park on the shores of Lake Michigan in downtown
Chicago. Our tour includes a visit with designer Craig Bergmann, private North Shore gardens, town gardens
and the Chicago Botanic Garden.
Tour Highlights—Millennium Park & Gardens of Chicagoland
Chicago is one of the most exciting cities in the U.S. Poised on the western shore of Lake Michigan in Illinois,
the city is steeped in culture and history. Famed for its bold architecture, it has a skyline bristling with
skyscrapers such as the iconic John Hancock Center, the sleek Willis Tower, and the neo-gothic Tribune Tower.
The city is also renowned for its museums, such as the Art Institute and its expansive collections including
noted Impressionist works. In addition, Chicago and its suburbs, branded collectively as Chicagoland, are
known for opulent private gardens, spectacular parks, and excellence in public horticulture. The name Chicago
has botanical significance, being derived from a French rendering of the Native American word shikaakwa,
translated as wild leek, wild onion or wild garlic, from the Miami-Illinois language.
Our home base is the Hotel Monaco Chicago, overlooking the Chicago River in the Downtown Loop, perfectly
centered for all you want to do and see in the Windy City. From the stunning, high-rise office buildings to
groundbreaking theatres, from sporting events at Soldier Field to Michigan Avenue shopping, the Hotel Monaco
is ideally located for pleasure. Join us for a total immersion into the best of public and private
horticulture Chicago has to offer.
Land-Only Tour Package From $2,995* per person
*Price is per person, land-only, based on double occupancy and a minimum of 22 participants. Additional cost for single accommodations quoted upon request. Airfare is additional. Carlson Wagonlit Travel air coordinators can assist you with flight reservations.
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Five nights accommodations at the Hotel Monaco
Deluxe private motor coach transportation
One breakfast, four lunches and two dinners, including lunch at
Cindy’s rooftop restaurant overlooking Millennium Park and a
private dinner at Frontera Grill, Rick Bayless’ flagship restaurant
Private tour of Rick Bayless Organic Garden
Walking tour of The 606, Chicago’s newest urban greenway
Guided tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio
All-day tour of the Lurie Garden and other public perennial gardens
with horticulturist Roy Diblik
Twilight Architecture boat tour featuring 50 buildings along the river
All day tour of historic parks and gardens with Chicago historian
Julia Bachrach
Private tour of display gardens and research collections at Chicago
Botanic Garden with Richard Hawke, Plant Evaluation Manager
Visits to twelve outstanding private gardens
$100 tax-deductible donation for members of the Minnesota State
Horticultural Society
NOT INCLUDED:
Round-trip airfare, any airline fees for checked luggage, additional nights, optional sightseeing activities, meals not indicated in
the itinerary, travel insurance, other items not specifically mentioned as included in the itinerary.
Registration is subject to availability and is limited to just 22 travelers.
To confirm your space, please contact Carlson Wagonlit Travel at 763-852-8162
or call one of our leisure offices listed below.
Deposit: $1,000 per person due at the time of registration. See the payment and cancellation policy on the registration form.
Tour Host—C. Colston Burrell
Mr. Burrell, an avid gardener and naturalist, has devoted a lifetime to studying
plants in the wild and in gardens. He holds
an MS in Horticulture and an MLA in
Landscape Architecture. He enjoys escorting garden and natural history tours to
introduce people to beautiful places
throughout the United States and abroad.
MINNESOTA
Minneapolis
763-852-8164
Burnsville
763-852-8161
Southdale
763-852-8169
Maplewood
763-852-8163
Rosedale
763-852-8167
St. Cloud
320-345-9680
Southland
MICHIGAN
734-288-5660
TOLL-FREE
800-533-0324
Itinerary
Day 1, Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Arrival and Welcome to Chicago
Welcome to Chicago. Upon arrival, transfer to the centrally located Hotel
Monaco, in the Downtown Loop. After dropping our luggage and a quick
chance to freshen up, we head out for an afternoon of discovery. Our first
stop is the private garden of designer Carol Heffernan, designed as a
showcase to emulate a client's yard in scale and complexity. Geometry is
a strong driver in the design of this comfortable space, which has a
modern feel while still acknowledging the Craftsman facade of the
cottage.
Next journey to Chicago’s newest greenway, the 606, which was a
decade in the making. This linear urban park, reminiscent of New York’s
High Line, brings together arts; history; design; trails for bikers, runners,
and walkers; event spaces; alternative transportation avenues, and
verdant, open space. The Trust for Public Land hosted numerous
community meetings which culminated in an unveiling of the final design
plans in June 2013. In 2015, the trail was opened to the public.
After our walk along the 606, join us for a very special evening that
includes an exclusive, private tour of Rick Bayless' magnificent backyard,
organic garden.
The garden tour is guided by Bill Shores, Rick Bayless' master gardener.
Located on three adjacent city lots in Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood,
the garden is completely organic and serves as a model for urban food
production. You'll be inspired by the stunning mix of traditional beds,
raised beds, containers, vertical and indoor garden spaces, composting
systems and much more.
After our garden tour, we travel to Frontera Grill to enjoy cocktails and a
special tasting dinner menu in The Library Room, lined with over 2,000 of
Rick’s personal cookbooks. Here, our own personal chef will pamper us
for the entire night. We can watch as our meal is cooked for us in the
adjacent, newly-renovated test kitchen. You may choose to hop in and do
some chopping yourself, if you want to. If you’d rather stay seated, enjoy
your multi-course meal and wine pairings straight from Topolobampo. D
Day 2, Thursday, September 8, 2016
Gardens and Estates of the North Shore
Today we visit some spectacular private gardens north of the city.
Thornewood was built around a residence that was originally the head
gardener's cottage of a larger estate. Visitors meander through a series
of garden rooms, each with its own unique theme. There is a rain garden,
a woodland garden featuring native plants, a shade garden featuring
ornamental plantings, and a formal lily pond flanked by two mini-bogs
with pitcher plants. There is also a vegetable garden, a rose garden, and
more than sixty varieties of woody plants.
The serene front landscape and vibrant back garden with a commanding
view of Lake Michigan are the hallmarks of this 1928 Italian-style home,
reimagined by Mariani Landscape using sustainable practices. To improve
an obscured driveway, a brick wall was expanded to make the entrance
clear. A palette of greens and whites softens the bright yellow color of
the home. The back garden celebrates an unobstructed view to the lake,
employing three levels to eliminate the need for railings. Each bluestone
terrace-back patio, pool terrace, and lake overlook are separated by
formal plantings of boxwood and barberry to create parterres. Large urns
with boxwood and ivy anchor the corners of the pool terrace, and a grand
pergola was created on the south side of that level. The pool doubles as a
water feature with the introduction of arching water jets.
Day 2, Thursday, September 8, 2016 Continued
The urban "secret garden" at the office of well-known garden designer
Craig Bergmann is a favorite stop for garden tours. This intimate
garden is filled with many unusual herbaceous and woody plants,
including a sixty-year-old Magnolia x soulangiana, garden antiques, and
containerized tender plants. The garden has been featured in Rosemary
Verey's book The American Man's Garden, HGTV, and various garden
publications.
Old Mill Farm, home of landscape architect Frank Miriani, was once a
working dairy farm. The property consisted of a 1929 English Tudorstyle house and several outbuildings that were demolished by the
original owner. Jens Jensen designed the original master plan for the
entire property. John Mariani, collaborating with horticulturist Jim
Osborne and the Mariani Landscape design team, has created a truly
magical garden. Old Mill Farm focuses on the potager garden of
boxwood parterres filled spring to fall with bulbs and annuals for flower
arranging and herbs and vegetables for cooking. Next to this garden is
a berry patch, unusual for this northern climate, a bed of Italian figs,
and two perennial borders adjacent to the potager. Additional garden
features include an orchard, a woodland garden, and a prairie
restoration.
It is a real treat to visit the well-known House of the Four Winds for the
final garden stop of the day. Howard VanDoren Shaw built this estate in
1909 after visiting the Generalife gardens in Granada, Spain. Inspired
by the Moorish ideal of a paradise-like oasis, he created this garden,
which includes flowing water, sculptured fountains, a waterfall, and a
sunken garden walled in stone. Boston landscape architect Rose
Standish Nichols designed the original plantings. Craig Bergmann
completed replanting the gardens in 2002. Return to the hotel for
dinner on your own.
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Day 3, Friday, September 9, 2016
Downtown Parks and Gardens with Roy Diblik
We have a real treat planned for today. We are joined by Roy Diblik, a
respected perennial plant expert, designer and owner of Northwind
Perennial Farm, for a day of touring contemporary public perennial
gardens around the city.
Combining his 35 years of knowledge of growing traditional and
Midwest native perennials, Roy specializes in highly aesthetic,
sustainable plant communities for all seasons, while reducing
maintenance through design. He believes that gardens should be
thoughtful, ecologically directed, emotionally outreaching and yet very
personal.
Roy has arranged for us to meet with the individual garden managers
in each of the gardens that we visit today. Our stops include the world
famous Lurie Garden, the Chicago Art Institute, the Shedd Aquarium,
and the Gary Comer Youth Center.
The Lurie Garden at Millennium Park was created in collaboration with
designer Piet Oudolf and Terry Guen Design Associates, Landscape
Architects. Roy served as the regional perennial expert, growing and
installing 15,000 plants. Roy continues to be an official grower for the
Lurie Garden.
At the Chicago Art Institute, Roy designed a meadow highlighted with a
mix of hardy geraniums supported by clumping, ornamental grass. In
the background of the planting, lambs ears and ornamental onions
mingle with elegant moor grasses. Tom Wolfe, horticulturalist at the Art
Institute, then filled the planting with 8,000 bulbs.
Day 3, Friday, September 9, 2016 Continued
Christine Nye, Horticulturalist at the Shedd Aquarium, asked Roy to
work with her on a design for the new Oceanarium. The design
objective was to provide food and shelter for migratory birds, engage
people by demonstrating a higher level of beauty, and maintain the
project at a reasonable cost. After Christine selected and located trees
and shrubs, Roy designed multiple patterns of plant combinations using
durable and native perennials.
Roy was the designer and grower for a new contemporary planting
concept around the Gary Comer Youth Center. One of Roy’s favorite
projects, he worked with Margi Hess, horticulturalist at Comer, to help
her re-do the rooftop garden. They worked together and designed
“Vegetable Meadows”, incorporating perennials and vegetables
together, relating seasonal growth rates of perennials to the frequent
cropping of vegetables through the season.
We break our day of touring for an elegant lunch overlooking
Millennium Park at Cindy’s, the jewel in the crown of the Chicago
Athletic Association Hotel. Cindy's rooftop location affords panoramic
views of Millennium Park, the Art Institute, Lake Michigan, and beyond.
Our full and exciting day ends on a high note - a twilight architecture
tour with the Chicago Architecture Foundation aboard Chicago's First
Lady. As we cruise the Chicago River, learn about the architecture and
design of over 50 buildings on this 90-minute tour. Dinner is on your
own this evening.
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Day 4, Saturday, September 10, 2016
Historic Parks and Architecture with Julia Bachrach
We start the day early with breakfast and a tour in the amazing private
garden of Catherine Donovan. Twenty-five years ago, the garden began
as formal and English, but as Catherine’s plantsmanship and design
sense matured, the garden morphed into a sophisticated mix of
classical and avant-garde. An axial spine connects a stunning water
feature and parterre, while the exuberant plantings relax the edges,
creating a seamless whole.
After breakfast, we meet Julia Bachrach, Planning Supervisor for the
Chicago Park District, for a full day of visits to historic gardens within
the Chicago Park System. Julia holds a degree in historic preservation
from Roger Williams University and an MS in Landscape Architecture
and Cultural Resource Preservation from the University of Wisconsin at
Madison. She worked with an architectural historian and an archivist,
setting up the archives, documenting the parks, and nominating them
to the National Register of Historic Places. In 1989, she began
producing National Historic Landmark nominations. Julia will guide us
though a few of the outstanding sites in the park system, including the
Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool in Lincoln Park; Graceland Cemetery, designed
by O.C. Simmons; Jens Jensen’s famous Prairie River in Humboldt
Park; and Garfield Park Conservatory.
We’ll also enjoy a behind the scenes tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s home
and studio. Our lunch stop will be at Pleasant Home, also known as the
John Farson House, a historic, Prairie-style mansion designed by
architect George Washington Maher and completed in 1897.
B, L
Day 5, Sunday, September 11, 2016
Chicago Botanic Garden
After a morning at leisure and lunch on your own, we head north to one
of Chicagoland’s premier attractions, the Chicago Botanic Garden. The
garden opened its gates more than 40 years ago and it has matured
into one of the world's great living museums and conservation science
Day 5, Sunday, September 11, 2016 Continued
centers. In 2014, more than one million people visited Chicago Botanic
Garden’s 26 gardens and four natural areas, uniquely situated on 385
acres on and around nine islands.
The Elizabeth Hubert Malott Japanese Garden, the English Walled
Garden, Evening Island, the Bonsai Collection and the native prairie
restorations are a few of the gardens at the CBG we plan to visit with
Richard Hawke, Plant Evaluation Manager. After touring the public face
of the garden, Richard will take us behind the scenes to explore the
breeding and research programs of the garden, including his own pet
project of perennial plant evaluations.
We end our last night in Chicago with a reception and dinner in the
garden of Harriet and Leonard Klein. The back garden of the Klein’s
suburban home looks like a postcard from some exotic, rock-terraced
hideaway. Harriet, an artist, designed and worked with Chicago
architect David Dotson on a curvy, glass-walled great room, deck and
outdoor living space before she launched into garden making in order
to "maximize the beauty of a small lot." The back yard was soon
transformed into a garden as 24 tons of New York bluestone boulders,
a waterfall, evergreens and flowers were added, along with a pond
filled with fancy goldfish.
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Day 6, Monday, September 12, 2016
Private Gardens and Nurseries
After breakfast and hotel check out, we head to Chalet Nursery for
some shopping. Chalet is rooted in history as a third-generation, family
-owned nursery approaching its 100th year. From its humble
beginnings as a yard-care business, Chalet has grown to incorporate
multiple divisions, constantly striving to find new ways to exceed the
expectations of customers. The nursery offers an excellent gift shop
and a full range of hardy and tender plants to tempt you.
Our next stop is Garden of Many Circles, where a secluded courtyard
welcomes you to a country house originally designed in 1935 by
architect Ralph Huszagh. Don't let the calm entry fool you; a step
through the antique gates and honeysuckle-laced arch marks the fusion
of old and new. Here you'll explore gardens interwoven with the ancient
precision of labyrinth geometry and modern waves of native color.
Moving on, we visit House in the Garden, a magical and classical
garden without barriers, yet with a sense of intimacy. The Hicks yew
garden rooms each create a different experience and microclimate.
From the terrace, hide away in the sixteenth-century–style topiary
garden and pergola with Chinese yew roundels. Note how the
amphitheater is formed with a billowy cushion of boxwood and
crabapple trees. The lawn is highlighted with an American beech tree
and stream.
Our final stop is the garden of Janice Becker. Janice is living, breathing
proof that a little bit of digging can bloom into unstoppable beauty.
Since 1983, her garden has evolved from natural wildness to controlled
wildness. Inspired by over fifteen years of volunteering with the evaluation program at the Chicago Botanic Garden, Janice has created a
collector's garden: a potpourri of common to cutting-edge plants
punctuated with annual pots, eclectic art, and bird-friendly accessories.
After our tour, we will enjoy lunch with Janice before heading to the
airport for our flights home.
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B=Breakfast L=Lunch D=Dinner
Itinerary subject to change