More gardens

I've been busy visiting gardens in my own backyard lately and I wanted to share some of the pictures.  I've lived near some of these places for years and have never gone before.  Hopefully this will inspire you to check out parks and gardens near where you live.

First up is Cantigny Park in Wheaton Illinois.  This place is really amazing.  It has huge gardens, a golf course and two museums.

One of the museums is military history so there are tanks from all eras lined up outside.  I thought this one was particularly cool.

The McCormick Museum

The Idea Garden

Dragon topiary in the Idea Garden

Boots used as planters.  I am so stealing this idea!

The Idea Garden again...can you tell it was my favorite?

Plants planted in a tic-tac-toe shape.  So clever!

Another idea I'm stealing for next year.  Its a 'Pesto Container'.  It has garlic, basil, parsley and oregano all planted in one planter.  What a great way to use space.

The Rose Garden

I also took a trip to the Chicago Botanic Garden a couple weeks ago.  There is so much to see here and I only saw a small portion.  I'll be going back for sure!

There were helpful signs like this everywhere

Butternut squash growing on trellis.  Same idea that I picked up (and promptly forgot about) on the Rick Bayless garden tour.  I am definitely doing this next year.

We happened to be there on a day that The Food Network Magazine sponsored the cooking demo.  So we all got this free tote bag full of coupons and samples.  Score!  We also learned how to make gnocchi which I plan on doing sometime this Fall.