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The Chicago Botanic Garden rewinds to the ‘60s and ‘70s during The Orchid Show: Feelin’ Groovy. Starting February 7 and running through March 22, the Garden’s indoor galleries will be filled with more than 10,000 fresh, colorful blooms featured in displays that echo the era’s bright colors, funky patterns, and love for Mother Nature.  

The Board of Directors of the Chicago Botanic Garden has named Gretchen E. Baker as its next President & CEO, effective March 16, 2026. She joins the Garden from Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, where she has led the organization since 2021, steering one of the country’s largest natural history museums.
 

Experience the region’s brightest, boldest, and most unforgettable holiday event during Lightscape at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Starting November 14 and running on select dates until January 4, 2026, the festive trail will set the Garden aglow with twinkling lights, curated displays, and lively music.
 

Night of 1,000 Jack-o’-Lanterns, featuring a display of artist-carved pumpkins at the Chicago Botanic Garden, returns for its tenth year in advance of Halloween and has been expanded from 10 to 15 nights due to popular demand. More than 1,000 hand-carved, real pumpkins lit with LED lights will light up the night and line the family-friendly outdoor paved path in a beautiful fall setting. 

The Chicago Botanic Garden is celebrating our universal attraction to patterns through playfully planted gardens and nature-inspired artistic installations that stretch the imagination during Patterned by Nature. Starting June 7 through September 21, visitors are invited to explore garden beds and installations throughout the Garden featuring dynamic patterns, transformational art, and upcycled fashion.
 

The Chicago Botanic Garden explores the beauty of India through the harmony of tradition and modern design during The Orchid Show: India Blooms. Starting February 8 and running through March 23, the Garden’s indoor galleries will be filled with more than 10,000 fresh, colorful blooms featured in displays that echo the country’s diverse regions, landscapes, people, and cultures.  
 

Celebrate the spirit and beauty of the season surrounded by artistic installations from international artists during Lightscape at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Starting November 15 and running on select dates until January 5, 2025, the illuminated trail for enchanting winter nights will set the Garden aglow with light, art, and music.
 

Night of 1,000 Jack-o’-Lanterns, featuring a display of artist-carved pumpkins at the Chicago Botanic Garden, returns for 10 nights in advance of Halloween. More than 1,000 hand-carved, real pumpkins lit with LED lights will light up the night and line the family-friendly outdoor paved path in a beautiful fall setting. 

LISLE, Ill. (Aug. 7, 2024)— Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) today announced that The Morton Arboretum and the Chicago Botanic Garden have been selected to partner with BGCI to host the 9th Global Botanic Gardens Congress in Chicago in summer 2027. The Congress is held every three to four years and is the only global congress dedicated to botanic gardens. This will be the first time it will be held in North America in 27 years.

The Chicago Botanic Garden is showcasing plant conservation success stories through experiential trails that blend art with science during Lost & Found. Starting June 1 through September 22, visitors are invited to explore hands-on experiences, art installations, and other engaging activities inspired by restoration stories of plants once lost or forgotten.
 

Starting today, the Chicago Botanic Garden is launching a new logo and tagline that captures how the organization has evolved and conveys all aspects of its work. The refreshed branding unifies the Garden’s main campus, science, learning, and urban agriculture programs, while allowing each program to stand out on its own.   

Embrace the beauty of winter and discover the brightest spot for holiday cheer during Lightscape at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Starting November 10 and running on select dates until January 7, 2024, the outdoor illuminated trail will dazzle with brand new installations from around the world and beloved favorites, transforming new parts of the Garden—including Evening Island—into festive landscapes of light, color, and sound.

Night of 1,000 Jack-o’-Lanterns, featuring a display of artist-carved pumpkins at the Chicago Botanic Garden, returns for 10 nights in advance of Halloween. More than 1,000 hand-carved, real pumpkins lit with LED lights will light up the night and line the family-friendly outdoor paved path in a beautiful fall setting. 

The Chicago Botanic Garden is celebrating connections of all kinds, including deep relationships humans have with nature, and essential interdependence between plants and their ecosystems with Love in Bloom. Now through September 24, visitors will be inspired by the plant-people connection on how to thrive in a world that cuts across generations and cultures.

Explore the whimsy of nature in winter through music, light, fire, and color during Lightscape at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Starting November 11 and running on select dates until January 8, 2023, the outdoor illuminated trail will make spirits bright with new light-filled installations along with favorite and reimagined pieces.

Viola species play an important role in prairie habitats but are often missing from restoration activities because their seeds are challenging to procure and use to support plant reintroduction. A new study published in the Spring 2022 issue of Native Plants Journal discusses how seed collection, storage, and germination practices may affect Viola reintroduction outcomes.

The Chicago Botanic Garden has experienced extraordinary growth over the last five decades and it is marking its 50th birthday in 2022 with Flourish: The Garden at 50. Starting May 13 and running through September 25, members, visitors, and program participants are invited to celebrate 50 years of the Garden connecting people to the natural world.

The Chicago Botanic Garden celebrates the unexpected verve of wild orchids this winter during The Orchid Show: Untamed. Starting February 12 and running through March 27, the Garden’s indoor galleries will be filled with lush installations and saturated with the summery color and scent of tropical plants.

Thousands of twinkling lights and new features that shine with all the colors imaginable will be on display during Lightscape at the Chicago Botanic Garden this holiday season. Starting November 12 and running on select dates until January 2, 2022, the outdoor illuminated trail includes an all-new, one-way, 1.25-mile path filled with favorite artistic installations set to seasonal music along with new and reimagined pieces.

The Woman’s Board, Board of Directors, and Guild of the Chicago Horticultural Society raised $882,000 during the Lightscape Preview on Thursday, November 12, at the Chicago Botanic Garden. More than 520 guests enjoyed the event that supports the Chicago Botanic Garden’s efforts to continue to be a source of true beauty and respite for all to enjoy.

The night will come alive with color, imagination, and sound during Lightscape at the Chicago Botanic Garden this holiday season. Starting November 13 and running on select dates until January 3, 2021, the outdoor illuminated trail will brighten up winter nights with new delights from Chicago-based artists and captivating favorites from international artists.

2020 Calendar of Events

A new study has discovered that fires are critically important to successful reproduction in prairie plants. Conservation scientists from the Negaunee Institute for Plant Conservation Science and Action at the Chicago Botanic Garden learned that fires help plants flower and find mates. Researchers observed the sex lives of 778 individual plants for 21 years on Staffanson Prairie in western Minnesota. During the study, which ran from 1996 to 2016, The Nature Conservancy conducted prescribed burns in nine different years, burning no more than half the preserve each time.

The 2019 attendance at the Chicago Botanic Garden was the highest ever, with 1.275 million visitors, representing an increase of 22 percent over 2018. Attendance exceeded one million visitors for the seventh year in a row, revealing that our Garden continues to be an ideal year-round destination for people who enjoy being immersed in nature.

The Woman’s Board of the Chicago Horticultural Society raised $325,000 at its inaugural Lightscape Preview on Thursday, November 21, at the Chicago Botanic Garden. More than 335 guests enjoyed the event that supports the Chicago Botanic Garden’s many global scientific, research and conservation initiatives.

The third annual Harvest Party was held recently on the beautiful late-summer grounds of the Chicago Botanic Garden, raising $100,000 for the Chicago Botanic Garden. Proceeds benefit Windy City Harvest, the Chicago Botanic Garden’s urban agriculture education and jobs-training initiative to help build a local food system, healthier communities and a greener economy.

As evening falls, the magic will begin during Lightscape at the Chicago Botanic Garden this holiday season. Starting November 22 and running on select dates until Sunday, January 5, 2020, this immersive experience along a mile-long path will allow visitors to explore all of their senses, with moments of bold colors, festive fragrance, and whimsical sounds. 

More than 375 guests raised nearly $700,000 at the recent Summer Dinner Dance, the Garden’s most important fundraising event. The Board of Directors of the Chicago Horticultural Society presented the event on the summer solstice. The theme of pollinators was woven throughout the evening as a nod to Bees & Beyond, the Garden-wide program that inspires a genuine appreciation for the vital role pollinators play in our lives and in a healthy, diverse planet.

The Chicago Botanic Garden has new magic for the holidays with the introduction of Lightscape, an enchanting, after-dark, illuminated trail inspired by and created just for the Garden. Lightscape is making its U.S. debut this November with immersive experiences and artistic installations by international artists.

Explore the fascinating world of pollinators during Bees & Beyond at the Chicago Botanic Garden this summer. Bees & Beyond will inspire a genuine appreciation for the role pollinators play in our everyday lives and in a healthy, diverse planet. 

Visitors will learn about pollination basics, how it impacts our daily lives—from the food we eat to the air we breathe—and major threats to pollinators. Bees & Beyond includes such elements as pollinator-themed display gardens, topiaries, a floral carpet, an interactive exhibition and more throughout the Garden.

A tropical getaway is closer than you think when “In the Tropics: The Orchid Show” opens at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Starting February 9 and running through March 24, the Garden’s Greenhouses and parts of the Regenstein Center will be transformed into a lush oasis, with the luminous feel of an endless summer.

There’s always something going on at the Chicago Botanic Garden. From In the Tropics: The Orchid Show in winter to Bees & Beyond, the Model Railroad Garden and Butterflies & Blooms in summer, each day brings a new experience at the Garden. Visit chicagobotanic.org for more information.

JANUARY