Chicago Botanic Gardens It’s a twenty-five-mile haul north of the Loop, but the gardens’ pastoral beauty quickly erases memories of the concrete and combustion endured en route. With twenty-three gardens to delight the senses, ranging from the sculpted beauty of the Japanese Garden to the perfumed wonder of the Rose Garden, Chicago Botanic Gardens is a horticultural delight, no matter how serious or casual your interest in the world of plants. Symmetries, colors and textures create a natural gallery of life; and well-maintained trails and captivating fowl-play in the ponds offer stimulation for the power hiker and meanderer as well.
