turning a dark courtyard into a beautiful garden in Forest Park, IL

Here is the "ratty" courtyard, before new landscaping in 2001.

A worker from Art and Linda's Wildflowers lays out a path.

A sacred area was created with a statue of the Earth Goddess, in memory of a loved one.

The new plants were added.

The new path is covered with wood chips.

Path

The gangway between buildings will be planted, too.

The sacred area with new plants and woodchipped path.

Watering in the new garden.

Here are some photos of the same courtyard a year later in August of '02:

Here is a view of the whole courtyard, with full-grown plants in bloom.

A small area next to the walk features Bottlebrush Grass, Wild Goldenglow in the back and Hyssop in the front.

A closeup view of the same garden, above. Notice the Anise Hyssop, Blue Lobelia and Wild Petunias.

A view of the opposite side of the courtyard.

A detail of the garden near the gate.

A close-up view of the garden near the gate. From back to front: Late Boneset, Joe Pye Weed, Sweet Black-eyed Susan and Yellow Coneflower bloom in profusion.

A close-up view of mature flowers planted near the gangway.