The Chicago Flower & Garden Show, presented by Mariano's, took place at Navy Pier ( celebrating its 100th anniversary this year ) March 12-20.
To celebrate Chicago, the show had a full slate of garden builders creating gardens interpreting "CHICAGO IS," the show's 2016 theme.
Among the show's offerings in 2016 were "Mariano's Garden," an extension of the horticulture featured daily in Chicago-area Mariano's stores; Brookfield Zoo's garden, with topiary displays; "Electric Garden," from Kehoe Designs, which provided an extremely colorful entrance; the display "Umbrellas: Open to Ideas"; and the Chicago Sculpture Exhibit, which featured large-scale artwork from local artists.
There were also tulip and hyacinth gardens, potting parties ( with instructors such as Tu Bloomstein ), cooking demonstrations, an expanded Kids Activity Garden ( with an inspect petting zoo ) and "Aquascape," among other items.
In discussing the show, publicist Sue Markgraf commented that the flowers used are locally growna fact that seems to escape most attendees.
By the way, springtime blooms will put on a show when "Chicago's Blooming!"the 2017 Chicago Flower & Garden Showunveils the season's brightest styles, colors and textures through two dozen gardens and thousands of florals, March 18-26, 2017, at Navy Pier. Turning 170 next year, the show is one of the country's top three consumer shows of its kind and one of the oldest, with roots that date back to 1847 as the Chicago Fruit and Flower Show.
Photos by Andrew Davis and PR images