How does the Mayor's garden show grow?

March 12, 2003
BY MARY CAMERON FREY SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST
Copyright © The Sun-Times Company, All rights reserved.

It's still in its infancy, but Mayor Daley's baby--the second annual party previewing the 2003 Chicago Flower and Garden Show--wowed the crowd of 700 guests who got to enjoy the scenery before the really big crowds descend on Navy Pier this week.

Illinois Tool Works chairman and CEO Jim Farrell and his wife Max served as the honorary chairs, while Martin Gapshis, Donna La Pietra, Cindy Mitchell and Jo Ann Nathan co-chaired. Bill Kurtis served as the evening's emcee.

Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres were served at 5 p.m. for the lucky bunch who paid $500 each to view the show in relative peace and quiet.

Of particular interest to all was the stunning entrance garden designed by Heffernan-Morgan's Bill Heffernan. Tall panels of white material flanked a grid of 20 small gardens holding curly willow and a creatively repeated pattern of turf and green plants inspired by the renowned English landscape architect Russell Page.

To the right of the entrance, landscape architect Doug Hoerr presented ''The Designer's Garden,'' a Mediterranean-themed area with a gravel terrace, border gardens and stone walls. This garden shows how to maximize living space by providing a true outdoor room for use in three seasons.

Nearby, Craig Bergmann's ''Enchanted Folly,'' conceived as an 18th century Parisian park, is a celebration of plants and pots ... and pots and pots and pots! The festoon-enclosed garden captures a group of unique characters inhabiting a fantasy moment in spring, and succeeds in using terra cotta in as many different ways as possible.

The husband-and-wife team of Gabrielle Lyon and Paul Sereno presided over a Mesozoic garden designed by their Project Exploration that featured the skeleton of ''Super-Croc'' surrounded by plants that existed when it was alive. A turtle, lizard, baby croc and other wild creatures roamed around that area all night long.

Further on, the host committee garden featured a pergola complete with a crystal chandelier, magnolia trees, boxwood, rhododendron, hydrangea, jasmine and white tulips.

Dinner was served on buffet tables loaded with a variety of different foods: stone crab claws, shrimp, sushi and ceviche seafood salad; cheeses with hummus, olives and chicken, beef and veggie kabobs; bruschetta, risotto, Italian and ratatouille salads; prime rib of beef, roast turkey, hunter's stew and assorted vegetables; and finally, a selection of desserts that included creme brulee, truffles, petit fours and white and dark chocolate-covered strawberries.

Seen enjoying the sights and the scents were Philip and Geda Maso Condit, Alexandra and John Nichols, Marilyn Alsdorf, Maureen and E. B. Smith Jr., Nancy Drew, Nena Ivon, Phil Palmer, Caryn and King Harris, Marty Higgins, Jessica Lagrange, David and Pat Mosena, Connie Rivera, Eric Lochner, Maria Smithburg, Liz and Jules Stiffel, Paula and Howard Trienens, Virgina and Norman Bobins, Drew Becher, Barry Burton, David Doig, Lara Khoury, Adam Schwerner, John Tatoolis and Victor Moore.