Visit our newest garden at the Obama Presidential Center

 

Welcome to the Obama Presidential Center

 

This summer Chicago was abuzz with the Obama Presidential Center’s opening. There’s a lot to see on this nearly 20-acre Jackson Park campus, but don’t miss what might be our favorite spot: the Eleanor Roosevelt Fruit and Vegetable Garden, on the roof of the Presidential Center’s new Chicago Public Library branch.

Of course, we’re a little biased; Windy City Harvest, the Garden’s urban agriculture program, helped design the garden and continues to run its operations.

Inspired by Michelle Obama’s White House Kitchen Garden and designed in collaboration with the Obama Foundation, this 3,100-square-foot garden invites visitors to learn more about where food comes from and the importance of sustainable urban agriculture—and to enjoy a green space that’s built to bring people together.

“I’ve seen so many people connecting with each other at the garden, and with us,” said Iris Michael, Senior Manager of Garden Partnerships, who oversees the Windy City Harvest team at the Eleanor Roosevelt Fruit and Vegetable Garden. “They’re feeling inspired to bring these ideas of urban agriculture and supporting pollinators and biodiversity back into their own communities.”

With 74 raised beds, a number of them ADA-accessible, and nine perimeter beds, the garden includes fruits, vegetables, herbs, and companion plants, all grown with organic methods. No pesticides or synthetic fertilizers are used here. Instead, interplanting with flowers and herbs deters pests, while edible and native flowers welcome beneficial pollinators.

Every harvest out of this garden is donated to the Hyde Park-Kenwood Food Pantry. The staff also performs small “maintenance harvests” when needed to remove large, ripe produce a few pieces at a time and keep the plants healthy. Every once in a while, if someone is walking past when the staff removes a piece of produce that won’t last until donation day, they might offer it as a souvenir—leading one memorable guest to exclaim, “I got Obama’s cucumber!”

The space is not just bountiful; it’s beautiful.

 

 

“The visitor response has mostly been amazement, like we just saw,” said horticulturist Nia Kennedi Cunningham, referring to a man walking on the path just outside the garden a few minutes earlier, who stopped in his tracks with an uninhibited “wow” when the garden came into view.

Plantings change with the seasons, showing visitors the range of what’s possible to grow in Chicago. In fall, look for the last flourish of summer crops like tomatoes, peppers, and squash, and for cool-season crops like radishes, collards, and turnips to resume their rotation. Throughout the year the garden features plants that are relevant to cultures around the world, from bok choy to okra and jalapeños, another link to Chicago’s diverse communities.

“We’re having conversations with people from all across the country and world about their gardens,” Michael said. Windy City Harvest staff are on hand daily to answer visitor questions and garner discussion. “People are asking, what can I grow at home? What can I grow in my community garden plot?”

“It’s connecting people to the roots of our lives: shared resources, and food,” said Kennedi Cunningham. “Land is powerful, and what you do with it is even more powerful.”