Visiting the Lincoln Park Conservatory’s “Wintergreen Flower Show” is like taking a journey through multiple color schemes, according to Matt Barrett, deputy director of conservatories for the Chicago Park District.
First, patrons leave the drab gray and brown of the outdoors. Next, they travel through the lush, verdant foliage of the Palm House. Then, everything changes when they push open the double doors of the Show House.
“You’re just hit with all this color,” Barrett said. “It’s pretty great.”
This year, visitors of the facility, 2391 N. Stockton Dr., will find themselves surrounded by thousands of unique poinsettias, including “Norwin Orange,” “Golden Glo” and “Orange Glow,” as well as varieties in green, pink and red. Baskets of flowing lime ipomea plants, draped with long, silver dichondra, hang from the ceilings.
And standing in the center is an approximately 12-foot-tall green tree silhouette, illuminated by thousands of green LED lights and surrounded by the green foliage of salvia plants.
“It’s like a green glow,” Barrett said of the tree. “And so, when you drive by at night to go to [Lincoln Park] ZooLights, the Show House from the street has this greenhouse look.”
Visitors can get a double dose of free, festive flower shows, as the Garfield Park Conservatory, 300 N. Central Park Ave., is also hosting its “Winter Flower Show: Celebrating Silver.” Both conservatory events run Wednesdays through Sundays through Jan. 7.
They massive floral displays attract tens of thousands of visitors each year, and require a considerable amount of creativity, attention to detail, preparation and labor behind the scenes.
The show at Garfield Park is inspired by the 25th anniversary of the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance, which assists with programming and events, and was formed following a disaster.
“A steam pipe froze in the Aroid House, and we lost a lot of plants,” said Mary Eysenbach, director of conservatories at the Chicago Park District. “People who cared about the conservatory and its importance in the community came together to save the conservatory. … We figured that’s worth celebrating.”
Silver rings, baubles and disco balls hang from the ceilings, and silver-painted spruce trees are clustered in the circular bed in the center of the Show House. Standard poinsettias and miniatures, or “princettias,” in various shades of pink, are standouts among the plants. Interesting additions also include large, red Henrietta Ecke poinsettisas, as well as coleus, amaryllis and snow bush (also on display at Lincoln Park Conservatory).
Each March, the Chicago Park District staff will select the theme for the winter flower shows and reach out to brokers to find people who grow and hybridize poinsettias. Once the plants arrive in Chicago in the summer, the conservatories begin the months-long growing process.
“The poinsettia is 2 to 3 inches tall, and it’s got a root zone the size of a wine cork,” Barrett said. “And then we either plant them one per pot, or we do three per pot.”
The winter shows take weeks to set up and require the help of dozens of staffers and volunteers. Once the shows are live, the poinsettias must be watered daily and kept at a temperature of 65 to 75 degrees, Barrett said.
“Poinsettias are kind of tricky,” he added. “You don’t want to over-water them, but you don’t want to let them get too dry.”
Each plant must also be dipped into pesticide before being placed in pots to prevent damage from mites, which took out a large poinsettia tree last year, Eysenbach said.
The plants provide the perfect backdrop for hundreds of families who take their holiday photos at the winter shows.
“I love seeing people enjoy it, especially the kids,” Eysenbach said of the flower shows. “I am an absolute plant geek. I love these princettias. I think they’re amazing.”
It won’t be long before she and Barrett are planning next year’s winter shows.
“Each year, we try to come up with something different,” Barrett said. “We haven’t repeated ourselves yet.”
