Asail in the Lincoln Park Lagoon

Okay, this is just cute container gardening. Or should we call it water gardening? The Park District and a contractor, Moore Landscapes, have converted an old rowboat to a floating planter in the Lincoln Park Lagoon. It will be up until mid-October. See a description here from the American Public Gardens Association newsletter.

The nearby Lincoln Park Zoo lagoon is in the midst of being restored (or rather converted; I don't think it was originally a natural body of water) to a more or less natural state, hospitable to birds that migrate through there. And although the end result is likely to be lovely, the process ain't pretty (See a picture here, as reported by EveryBlock.) So it's nice to have something lighthearted and fun going on in the other lagoon nearby.

At trade shows, one of the trends I've seen in the last couple of years is floating islands for water gardens -- essentially, chunks of a substrate material, usually some sort of plastic mesh, that can support a growing medium and plants. The idea is partly that the plants' roots will help purify the water. But I don't think the Lincoln Park Lagoon rowboat has any object beyond fun.

Got a garden question? I recommend you call or e-mail the Plant Clinic of The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, the Master Gardeners of the University of Illinois Extension or the Plant Information Service of the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe .

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