old garden statuary

Or at least old-looking. These were taken at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Fountains like this one always remind me of the Fontana del Mascherone at the end of Via Giulia in Rome.



The Botanic Garden is worth the drive to Glencoe and a few hours of your time, especially at this time of year, when everything is at its greenest and most blooming. I love to visit gardens whenever I'm in Europe. Gardens in Spain smell the best! I remember looking for a perfume that captured their essence, with no luck.

bowers and vines

Vines twisting over a wooden bower. In Italy and France acres of vines are laid out in neat rows, which might just provide you with a bottle of wine or two a few years down the road. I doubt these vines will provide any grapes, but they look lovely in their slightly messy, unpruned state.

hidden gardens

Hidden gardens are all over Italy. I once went on a garden walk in Florence that gave me a glimpse of the blooms and greenery hiding behind the city's high walls. Sometimes you can peek into courtyards through iron gates or doors left ajar to see terra cotta pots and burbling fountains. I think that's one reason I like to wander through Chicago's alleys--because you can peek into people's yards into a hidden oasis. This one is in the Ravenswood Manor neighborhood, also known as the home base of ex-governor Rod Blagojevich.

terra cotta

These shrubs and terra cotta pots in a neighbor's backyard bring a Tuscan garden to mind. This inspired me to buy some for our building's patio--it doesn't quite resemble the Giardino di Boboli yet, but I'm working on it!