Gardens of the North Shore of Chicago

by Benjamin F Lenhardt, Scott Shigley (Photographer)

A privileged view of private gardens along the shore of Lake Michigan, Chicago's Gold Coast. Ben Lenhardt, an avid gardener and preservationist, explores the rich tradition of gardening along the shore of Lake Michigan from Evanston to Lake Bluff. This area, which includes Winnetka, Highland Park, and Lake Forest, is one of the most affluent in the United States, and the gardens are verdant retreats, lushly planted and meticulously maintained. Twenty-five gardens are included, organized according to their design - classic, naturalistic, country, and experimental. Lenhardt's authoritative and engaging descriptions, based on detailed interviews with the owners, are complemented by vivid images by noted landscape photographer Scott Shigley.

Genres: Nonfiction, Gardening

240 pages, Hardcover

Published October 20, 2020

Reviews

[Rich Farrell]

This is one of those books I’m going to miss now that it’s done. The pictures are absolutely stunning. I learned a great deal about gardening styles and combinations from the captions, which was especially interesting since I haven’t read much on what’s creatively possible in the Midwest. As an added bonus, I got a kick out of reading “how the other half lives” in the overview sections, where garden owners would travel around the world for inspiration, or in one case, hand select boulders from a quarry for their garden. The results, in any case, are gorgeous.

[Chris Breitenbach]

Perfectly lovely gardens of the absurdly wealthy North Shore gentry, most of which left me cold.