Love is in the air at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe. Connections of all kinds — from the human connection with nature to the interdependence between plants and their ecosystems — are being celebrated during “Love in Bloom,” through Sept. 24.
“People can come and experience the plant-people connection and how to thrive in a world that cuts across generations and cultures,” said Jodi Zombolo, associate vice president of visitor events and programs.
Visitors will enjoy a wide variety of activities and displays related to this summer’s theme. You can share a romantic moment or just enjoy the view from one of eight love seats.
“It’s a play off the style of tête-a-tête benches, which is French for head-to-head,” Zombolo said. “Those benches have site-specific poetry on them. That poetry is specific to nature and love.”
There are also four science displays, a couple of which are interactive, “showcasing how plants connect with each other and their ecosystems,” Zombolo noted.
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You can also read “Love Letters to the Garden,” that are located throughout the Garden. These were created when longtime volunteers were interviewed about what they love about the Chicago Botanic Garden and why they have been volunteering for so long.
The large number of classes scheduled for the summer include some that are inspired by love, including “Hands-on Cooking: Baby & Wedding Showers,” “Wedding Flowers 101,” and “Marriage of the Written and Painted Word.” For details on these classes and others, visit chicagobotanic.org/education/adulted.
On two Saturdays — July 8 and Aug. 5, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. — you can have an original poem created for you at “Poems While You Wait.”
“We have been around since 2011,” said Kathleen Rooney, one of the founders of the organization and its organizer. “The reason I love it so much is that a lot of people, because of how poetry is taught or because of how it’s not taught, are intimidated by it. This is a great way for people to encounter poetry in a totally fun and unpretentious and unexpected way.”
Several of the around two dozen poets in the organization will bring manual typewriters to the Chicago Botanic Garden. The poets will ask people who come to their table what topic they would like the poets to write about. Sometimes they will ask follow-up questions to get to know what the people might like in their poem.
“Sometimes people are lighthearted and other times they’re a little more intense,” Rooney said. “We love that face-to-face interaction. We love to see how people want to present themselves to us.”
There will also be five cocktail events called “After Hours Buzz,” a Thursday night series from 6-8 p.m., featuring Garden scientists and experts.
“You can hear scientists speak about the work they’re doing here at the Garden and then you can ask questions,” Zombolo said.
On July 13, Rory Schiafo will speak about plant relationships in the Thomas English Walled Garden. Mariana Herrera will talk about the mycorrhizal network at the Esplanade on July 27. On Aug. 10, in the Runnels Courtyard, Chris Baker will discuss Bonsai craft and care. The Aug. 24 event in the Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden will feature Paul CaraDonna speaking on pollinators and plant nutrition. The final event in the series, on Sept. 14 in Searle Courtyard, will feature Nyree Zerega on the Osage orange and giant ground sloth.
Tickets are $60 for members and $65 for nonmembers in advance; $68 and $73 for day of tickets.
Wednesday evenings will host “Music on the Esplanade.” Zombolo said the music will include “expressions of love, desire, and hope.” 10 Wednesday nights are planned, including The Teflons, playing vintage jazz and Western swing from 6-7:30 p.m. on July 5.
The Teflon members include Barbara Silverman (guitar and washboard), Aaron Smith (bass), Steve Doyle (mandolin and dobra), Gail Tyler (banjo and ukulele), Eugenia Elliott (guitar), and Rick Veras (fiddle and guitar).
Silverman said that The Teflons fit into the “Love in Bloom” theme because “our songs range from jazz love songs to Western swing songs about when the bloom is on the sage. ‘Rainbow on my Shoulder’ is an old Al Jolson hit. It’s all about love and love blooming.”
Silverman added, “Any songs about the heavens, the moon, plants growing — I consider that all the same universe.”
“Music on the Esplanade” events are free with museum admission and parking fee. There will also be a library exhibit, called “Literature in Bloom.”
Zombolo concluded that visitors to “Love in Bloom” will “fall in love with plants and learn about what’s happening with them here at the Garden.”
For more details, visit chicagobotanic.org/love.
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.