Garden wall and berm will add quiet beauty
A curving garden wall and planted berm are being created along the western boundary of the Chicago Botanic Garden, as originally envisioned in its master plan. Featuring a variety of grasses, flowers, trees, shrubs and vines, the 1.25-mile project will “keep the highway out of the Garden” by reducing highway noise and blocking undesirable views.
Passing motorists will see a beautiful new landscape that hints at the views inside the Garden while Garden visitors will enjoy a more serene and tranquil experience. Construction began in March 2003 on this joint effort between the Cook County Highway Department and the Illinois Department of Transportation.
The project has many benefits:
- The garden wall and berm will reduce noise by more than 50 percent and will virtually eliminate the view of the Edens Expressway from within the Garden.
- Garden visitors will experience a more tranquil setting and increased horticultural richness. A variety of trees, shrubs, bulbs and perennials, including flowering trees, daffodils, lilacs, daylilies and coneflowers, will add beauty throughout the seasons.
- The project will beautify the Garden for those outside the Garden, especially the 100,000 cars that pass by each day.
- A total of 1,600 trees will be planted along the berm for a forested appearance.
- The garden wall project is the latest in a number of ecologically innovative and interesting projects at the Garden, such as shoreline restoration along the lakes. Scientific benefits include the ability to evaluate salt-tolerant plants for use along urban roadways.
The garden wall and berm will add beauty along the Garden’s entire 1.25-mile western boundary adjacent to Edens Expressway (U.S. 41).
The naturalistic plant community on the east side of the garden wall will complement the Skokie River area. As the 1,600 new trees mature, a woodland landscape will develop, enhanced by flowers and grasses.
For seasonal interest, the west side of the garden wall will have shade and flowering trees, as well as evergreens. The attractive garden wall, ranging in height from 7 to 13 feet, will consist of rose-colored bricks topped by ivory concrete capping.
The project, expected to be complete by fall 2004, was designed by the landscape architecture firm of Marshall, Tyler, Rausch, which also designed the Garden’s master site plan and many of its gardens.
The color images above were computer-generated to envision the overall look of the project.
