Chicago Botanic Garden
Urbs in horto
A panoply of greens
The Gardens
The roots of the Chicago Botanic Garden were first planted in the 1890’s, under the motto urbs in horto (city in a garden). Historically, it has hosted several flower and horticultural shows—the World’s Columbian Exposition Chrsyanthemum Show in 1893 for instance. The organization still holds this true to this motto, hosting shows and events to foster botanicaly knowledge in the community.
Spanning several acres, the botanic garden is composed of a variety of gardens, woods, and buildings. Some gardens—such as the Japanese garden—are hosted on islands neatly linked by bridges. On the Evening Island, a belltower stands authoritatively above the coniferous trees. Fountains and beautifully adorned walls also accentuate the grounds, somewhat contrapuntal to the fostered greenery.
The Greenhouses
On the grounds, there are three greenhouses mimicking different biomes ranging from the arid deserts to tropical rainforests. The plants inside thrive agnostic from the seasons outdoor, living within controlled microcosms that mock their natural environments. The different areas highlighted the special adaptations that the plants have evolved. Where water was a scarce resource, plants feature waxy coated leaves to prevent water from evaporating and succulence to store abundances of water. In warm, humid climates, plants will grow taller to compete for sunlight and can boast leaves with larger surface areas.
Birb
David McCormick 
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