Dearborn Garden Walk

Last Sunday I attended the Dearborn Garden Walk in the Gold Coast region of Chicago. It's a lovely neighborhood with gorgeous brick and stone homes; a quiet enclave of calm civility tucked inside the otherwise bustling shiny steely big city. It seemed so much like another world, I hoped I wouldn't need my passport. It was a scorcher day, so hot and steamy I worried I might be cited as a public nuisance for sweating too profusely. In the end, I think it was my uncharacteristically dressy blouse and Liz Claiborne necklace and shiny bracelet that saved me from embarrassing myself.

The ever-patient friend who invited me on the tour covered the event in a style I couldn't hope to match, so I'm mostly just going to show you photos.



This elegant wood structure with copper filials is a tool shed. A shed!...

...and check out this doorknob!

This is also a garden shed...

...I love the bamboo.

Are you seeing this? The garage doors are wood. Real wood!

And look at this classy sidewalk! (Cool shadow patterns thrown in free.)










Can you see the escapist cuke?

We're so not in Kansas any more.








Green roof at the Latin School...

...looks out on a park and Lake Michigan!

Grasses and sedum were interplanted on the roof...

...with veggie containers maintained by students around the edges.

Why, no, I would never lay down on the ground to get a closeup of noogie sedum and to show the edging specifically designed to hold in the green roof soil media. Why do you ask?

Digging the colors in a stairwell at the Latin School.

I wonder how hard it would be for you to guess my favorite photo? I'd be tickled if you tried. Big hints: It's not the glass bowls or the orange bouquet! I'll dig around and see what I can send the winner! Don't hold back now!