Synopses & Reviews
Once maligned as a swampy outpost, the fledgling city of Chicago brazenly adopted the motto
Urbs in Horto or City in a Garden, in 1837.
Chicago Gardens shows how this upstart town earned its sobriquet over the next century, from the first vegetable plots at Fort Dearborn to innovative garden designs at the 1933 Worldand#8217;s Fair.
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Cathy Jean Maloney has spent decades researching the cityand#8217;s horticultural heritage, and here she reveals the unusual history of Chicagoand#8217;s first gardens. Challenged by the regionand#8217;s clay soil, harsh winters, and fierce winds, Chicagoand#8217;s pioneering horticulturalists, Maloney demonstrates, found imaginative uses for hardy prairie plants. This same creative spirit thrived in the cityand#8217;s local fruit and vegetable markets, encouraging the growth of what would become the nationand#8217;s produce hub. The vast plains that surrounded Chicago, meanwhile, inspired early landscape architects, such as Frederick Law Olmsted, Jens Jensen, and O.C. Simonds, to new heights of grandeur. and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Maloney does not forget the backyard gardeners: immigrants whoand#160;cultivated treasuredand#160;seedsand#160;and pioneers who planted native wildflowers. Maloneyand#8217;s vibrant depictions of Chicagoans like and#8220;Bouquet Mary,and#8221; a flower peddler who built a greenhouse empire, add charming anecdotal evidence to her argumentand#8211;that Chicagoand#8217;s garden history rivals that of New York or London and ensures its status as a world-class capital of horticultural innovation. and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; With exquisite archival photographs, prints, and postcards, as well as field guide descriptions of living legacy gardens for todayand#8217;s visitors, Chicago Gardens will delight green-thumbs from all parts of the world.
Review
“A great resource for Chicago gardeners as well as history buffs [with] fascinating and informative vintage photographs and illustrations.”
Beth Botts - Chicago Tribune
Review
and#8220;ChicagoGardens captures many of the fascinating stories and names associated with Chicagoand#8217;s first hundred years of horticulture. From the boasting by its founders in 1833 that Chicago would be an and#8216;urbs in hortoand#8217; (or and#8216;city in a gardenand#8217;) to the aftermath of the Century of Progress Exposition in 1933and#8211;34, Chicago Gardens traces Chicagoand#8217;s coming of age as a center of horticulture, gardening and conservation.and#8221;
Review
"A great resource for Chicago gardeners as well as history buffs [with] fascinating and informative vintage photographs and illustrations."-Chicago Sun-Times
(Chicago Sun-Times, Nov 2 2008 )
Review
“Maloney has combed through seemingly endless documentary sources from Chicagos first 100 years—newspapers, magazines, garden-club minutes—to produce a book full of fascinating tidbits for any Chicago history buff or gardening geek that includes many maps, photos and old catalog illustrations from her own collection.”
Ann Keating - Chicago History Examiner
Review
"A great resource for Chicago gardeners as well as history buffs [with] fascinating and informative vintage photographs and illustrations."-Chicago Sun-Times
Review
"Chicago Gardens captures many of the fascinating stories and names associated with Chicago's first hundred years of horticulture. From the boasting by its founders in 1833 that Chicago would be an `urbs in horto' (or `city in a garden') to the aftermath of the Century of Progress Exposition in 1933-34, Chicago Gardens traces Chicago's coming of age as a center of horticulture, gardening and conservation."-Robert E. Grese, Director, Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum
Review
and#8220;A new book on historic gardens in one city offers plenty of lessons for what makes a beautiful landscape. Itand#8217;s Chicago Gardens: The Early History, by Cathy Jean Maloney. Of particular interest to planners will be the case studies of landscapes.and#8221;
Review
"As well as wonderful vignettes, Chicago Gardens is filled with beautiful illustrations. . . . It is a delightful book." Planning
About the Author
Cathy Jean Maloney is a senior editor at Chicagoland Gardening.
Table of Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
1 Introduction
2 Growers and Sowers: Planters of the Plains and Parkways
3 Planting the Prairie: Defining the New Plant Palette
4 Chicago by Design: A Blank Canvas for Cultivated Gardens
5 Suburban Sojourn: Gardens in the Country
6 Fairs and Flowers: Chicago Hosts a World of Fairs
7 Prairie Pastimes: Entertaining in the Garden
8 The Next Century
Appendix 1 Plant List by Time Period
Appendix 2 Chicago Plants
Appendix 3 Key Names and Groups in the Garden City, 1833and#8211;1933
Notes
Bibliography
Index