Bulletin of Remarkable Trees Vol. 2 No. 6
Memories of the Chicago Flower and Garden Show
When I was young, the coming of spring brought with it great anticipation of traveling to the Chicago Flower and Garden Show held at Navy Pier. To my childhood self, the exhibits seemed immense; walking through one display, I felt as if the convention had transported a jungle from far away to rest in this exhibition hall on the lake. Right next door, a proper English garden awaited me, bringing my dream of wandering through the secret gardens of my eponymous favorite book to life.
One particular memory from the Flower and Garden Show stands out: at our last stop of the day, a market offering plants, garden decor, and an impressive array of miscellany, I picked out a small jade-colored glass elephant figurine. It reminded me of the ivory elephant that Mary treasures in the novel The Secret Garden. Walking out of the giant hall towards the exit, I dropped and broke it; one of the tusks detached entirely from the elephant’s head. Being a young kid, I, of course, threw a huge fit, devastated at the loss of what felt like the most precious item I’d ever owned.
After pouting for a sufficient length of time, my mom went back into the show and bought me a replacement elephant, which still stands guard over my houseplants to this day!
The point of my (hopefully) charming and wistful reminiscing was to show how the Chicago Flower and Garden Show has been a treasured space, a verdant hideaway for residents of a bustling city, since I was a child and for decades before that.
The Morton Arboretum was an early participant in the show by constructing exhibits to display their hard work and knowledge as well as providing judges for the show’s prestigious prizes. Per a conversation with my dad, “the Arboretum had a huge presence at the Flower and Garden Show, and my dad [Lowell Kammerer] was one of the main people who worked on that.” My grandfather worked hard to bring the Arboretum’s best showing to the convention year after year, and he and his colleagues were consistently awarded for their informative and innovative displays.
1932
The first mentions of the Flower and Garden Show that I found amongst my grandpa’s papers were from his 1932 journal. He discusses working on the Arboretum’s exhibit and mentions that their display received a gold medal! I was intrigued to see that the show took place at Navy Pier, which is the same place it’s housed today (except for this year and the last, where the show was canceled due to COVID.) The 1932 show would have fallen between the pier’s stints as a jail for draft dodgers and its use as an operational Navy facility during WWII.
“Worked on design for new Arb bulletin board in AM. Drove with CEG [Clarence Godshalk] to the Chauncey McCormick Estate at Warrenville. Mr Cox, the superintendent, showed us through the place. Fine stables. Secured rails for fence for Flower Show exhibit.” - March 23
“To city in afternoon with CEG to inspect site for Flower Show exhibit. Returned at 5:30.” - March 28
“Spring at last - balmy breeze + that undescribable odor. Into city on the 7:00 train from Naperville. Worked on exhibit all day.” - March 29
“Into the city late in the AM in White’s car. Worked all day on exhibit…Lake choppy today.” - March 30
“Drove into the city at 10:00 to put final touches on Flower Show exhibit…Our exhibit rec’d a gold medal.” - April 1
1940
Besides putting together displays for the Flower and Garden Show, grandpa was a frequent judge. I found this ribbon amongst his things, which shows he lent his expertise to judging the 1940 show:
Besides judging, his journals indicate that he was heavily involved in creating the Arboretum’s showing for that year:
“In town at 9:10 to work on the Flower Show Exhibit - Red Pine + Pine [Whitebark].” - March 27 (The last name was difficult to make out in his handwriting, so this is my best guess!)
“In town at 9:30 to put finishing touches on the Flower Show Exhibit - it’s going to be an excellent show.” - March 29
“In town with CEG at 9:20 to help judge exhibits at the Chicago Flower Show. Judged with Mr. Hammond, architect + Bob Moore…Luncheon at 1:30, sat next to Mrs. James Thorne creator of the celebrated miniature interiors. A most entertaining person.” -March 30
(For those unfamiliar - Mrs. Thorne was a famous crafter of miniature rooms and furniture, a collection of which is displayed at the Art Institute of Chicago!)
Based on a letter from my grandpa to Mrs. Jean Morton Cudahy, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the Arboretum at the time, the design for the 1940 display included a corn crib he described as a “masterpiece.”
1941
Like the 1940 show, my grandpa was impressed by the exhibitions on offer for 1941:
“In town from 10 until 4:40 working on Flower Show Exhibition. Brought a Bluebird house home this eve (one Ms R made for us).” -March 27
“Left for the city at 10 - attended the luncheon for the judges of the Flower Show at the pier - then judging the Naturalistic Gardens with Miss McAdams and Robert Kingery. Met M in the loop at 5 - then back to the show. Modern trend emphasized in this year’s exhibit. Arrangements of high calibre.” - March 28
Jumping ahead a couple of decades, Grandpa Kammerer again describes working on the Arboretum’s Flower and Garden Show offerings
1961
By the 1960s, the Flower and Garden Show was taking place at the new McCormick Place (an enormous convention center on Chicago’s Near South Side along the lake) rather than Navy Pier: “WEE [Walter Eikhorst], Martin A., Frank Smith, and I drove to the city this AM to set up Flower Show exhibit at McCormick Place, the new lakefront exhibition hall.” - March 8
There were more descriptions of working on exhibits and judging for 1961’s show:
“In town all day again working on Flower Show Exhibit at McCormick Place.” - March 9
“Up at the usual time - as I had to be in the city at 9:00 (McCormick Place) to help judge the Flower Show. (Judged GC of A [Garden Club of America] exhibit with Julius Rachs and Mr. Dryden from Cleveland.)” - March 11
And as if creating and judging exhibits wasn’t enough work, grandpa also manned the Arboretum’s exhibits for a portion of the show’s length, presumably answering questions and promoting the Arboretum: “In town all day staffing the Arb Flower Show Exhibit at McCormick Place. Home at 11:00 PM.” -March 16. Given his love of sharing his love of plants and the Arboretum’s mission with people, I’m sure he didn’t mind this task too terribly.
1963
This publication on Hedge Gardens was written and distributed to show-goers as part of the Arboretum’s 1963 Chicago Flower and Garden Show exhibit, which again occurred at McCormick Place.
The exhibit appears to have consisted of a reproduced area of hedges similar to the larger design present at the Arboretum. Putting on his landscape architect hat, my grandfather describes the design and architectural potential of varying hedges:
Based on this newspaper clipping from the Chicago Tribune, it appears the Arboretum’s choice to display a version of their prized hedge garden paid off!
In addition to the primary sources I’ve referenced here, dug out from the mountain of my grandfather’s papers, the Arboretum’s online archive has some fascinating letters and photos relevant to the connection between the Arboretum and the Flower and Garden Show.
This will be the second year in a row that the iconic Flower and Garden Show has been canceled due to the COVID pandemic, and I can personally say it is sorely missed. But until it’s safe to return to large conventions and crowds, it’s worth remembering this institution's history and celebrating the organization’s current mission of educating and inspiring gardeners from Chicagoland and beyond.
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I've never been to the show. I can't wait until we can go!