Chicago Botanic Garden

Explore the Garden

The Esplanade

The Esplanade showcases dramatic elm allées and a pavilion lined with sheared cone
topiaries and a row of waterspouts emerging from pools of water.

PHOTO: fall mums  PHOTO: Smith Fountain

Find out more about Evenings on the Esplanade or Hot Summer Nights at the Garden.

Conceived by one of the greatest landscape architects of the 20th century, Dan Kiley (1912-2004), and designed by colleague Peter Morrow Meyer, the Esplanade will become one of the Garden's most public spaces, bringing visitors down to the water in a most inviting way.

It will also be the "front door" to the Education Center, originally designed by renowned architect Edward Larabee Barnes in 1975 and soon to be transformed into the School of the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Mr. Kiley saw the Esplanade as an opportunity to create a great sense of place and arrival, offering visitors glimpses of vivid sweeps of color against the water and sky as they pass over the bridge outside the Gateway Visitor Center.

The role of water and sky that Mr. Kiley and Mr. Meyer envisioned reflects the inspiration for the Chicago Botanic Garden: the Garden of Perfect Brightness in Beijing, China. Water, water plants, blue skies and bridges formed the dominant features of this ancient garden, and these elements are all prominent in the Garden you see today.

The Esplanade showcases dramatic elm allées and a pavilion lined with sheared cone topiaries and a row of waterspouts emerging from pools of water.

Visitors will stroll past the lovely Crescent, brilliant with colorful annuals sloping down to the water, offering a beautiful view of the Smith Fountain.

The Esplanade will continuously communicate the Garden's relationship with, and appreciation for, water — to students, teachers, professionals and visitors.

At seven feet tall stands The Sower, by Albin Polasek. This classic male figure captivates the viewer with its height, strong gaze and form.

The Sower celebrates the Garden's historic relationship with the Art Institute while acknowledging the Garden's dedication to spreading the seeds of learning about plants and the natural world.

Find out what's in bloom now.