Cantigny Gardens

As I mentioned in the previous post, the gardens at Cantigny Park are magnificent, even without the weird and wonderful creatures. They are still in the process of renovating the McCormick Mansion Museum but the rest of the park is now fully open and the improvements they made over the past couple of years have made it much easier to get about and see everything.

There is a parking fee of $5 for week days and $10 at weekends, which gives access to the park and gardens and also the First Division Museum and the McCormick Museum which will reopen later this year. Cantigny Park is open all year round except for the month of January.

Areas of interest include the Display Gardens, the Rose Garden, the Rock and Gravel Gardens, the Hosta Garden and the Idea Garden as well as Gold Pond, Butterfly Hill and Prairie View.

There are picnic areas and other dining options, play areas for the children and even a splendid 27-hole championship golf course. Cantigny also hosts private events as well as school and scouting activities and has a calender full of interesting events. In fact, there is something for everyone at Cantigny.

Creatures of a Dream World

Here are some of the weird and wonderful creatures that we encountered on our recent visit to Cantigny Park in Wheaton. Visiting Cantigny is always a pleasure as the gardens are magnificent, but the art exhibition entitled ‘Alebrijes: Creatures of a Dream World’ made it even more enjoyable.

These amazing sculptures were created by six artists from Mexico City who regularly participate in the annual ‘Day of the Dead’ parade in that city. The Alebrijes date back to 1936 when artist Pedro Linares was inspired by a dream that he had while he was ill with a fever. The creatures have since gained in popularity and have even been featured in the Disney movie Coco.

The figures are made of papier-mache applied to wire frames and coated with lacquer to protect them from moisture. The designs and colors are absolutely stunning! And there are 49 of these sculptures placed throughout the park.

The sculptures are the property of the Mexican Cultural Center DuPage and after the exhibition closes in October, some of them will be donated to local schools and museums. The artists who created these wonderful works of art are:- Perla Miriam Salgado Zamorano, Alejandro Comacho Barrera, Alberto Moreno Fernandez, Roberto Carlos Martinez Tecillo, Edgar Israel Camargo Reyes and Emanuel Arturo Zarate Ortiz.

It may be of interest to note that while we there at Cantigny Park, Illinois Governor Pritzker was in the gardens giving a press conference promoting tourism in Illinois. Cantigny should most assuredly be on your list of places to see if you are visiting Illinois.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Postcards

This week, our guest host, Ana, is looking for Postcards for the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge. In this age of texting, emails and social media, I’m guessing that postcards are rarely used now, which is kind of sad. I remember as a child, sneaking a peak at the naughty postcards for sale on the pier or promenade at the various seaside resorts that we stayed at, usually depicting a very large lady with a little, hen-pecked husband and featuring some rather saucy innuendoes.

Later, before I got into photography, I would buy postcards that showed the places I’d visited, more for my own use as mementoes, not bothering to send them to anyone as I usually got home before the postcards arrived, thanks to the third-class postal delivery. Also, what could you really write about on such a small space except, “Lovely weather! Wish you were here.”

The postcard that had the biggest impact on my life came addressed to my husband from his girlfriend which was one of the reasons he became my ex-husband; the moral of this story being, ‘Never commit to a postcard what you wouldn’t want everyone, including the postman, to see.’

Here are a few postcards from my recent visit to Cantigny Park in Wheaton. “Lovely weather! Wish you were here.”

Square Trees At Cantigny Park

My second entry for Becky’s Square Tree Photo Challenge has a more formal setting at Cantigny Park in Wheaton.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Patterns in Nature

I’ve been hoping for an opportunity to share these images and this week’s theme for Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, Patterns in Nature, seemed to be the ideal spot. They were captured at Cantigny Park in Wheaton last year and although they were growing in a heavily shaded area, the patterns on these plants really caught my eye.

CMMC – Pink

The theme for Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge this week is Pink . These images were captured last year at the Chicago Botanic Garden and Cantigny Park in Wheaton. I can’t wait to get back out in the gardens!

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Hideaway

This week, Ann-Christine has chosen Hideaway as the topic for the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge. My hideaway may seem strange to many but this is my take on it. Being rather an introvert by nature, I feel more comfortable behind the camera than in front of it and photography seemed like an ideal hobby for me to pursue. I like the feeling of invisibility that it gives me while looking through the viewfinder, as though I’m the only person in the place. So that’s my hideaway, wherever I happen to be, behind the camera, which in this instance was Cantigny Park in Wheaton.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – A Quiet Moment

This week, Patti encourages us to share a Quiet Moment for the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge.  I like to get to places early in the morning before the crowds arrive. That way, I can take uninterrupted shots of the bigger picture and concentrate on individual subjects later in the day. So it was when I visited Cantigny Park recently, as I enjoyed few quiet moments, contemplating the various views in the gardens.

Pull Up A Seat – At Cantigny Park

Hooray!! Cantigny Park in Wheaton opened up to the public again this week.  I arrived there early in the morning yesterday, ahead of all those who, like me, were longing for somewhere other than their own gardens to visit. What a treat! We all managed to get around while keeping a safe distance and there were plenty of Seats available.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – The Icing On The Cake

This week, Ann-Christine has chosen Trees as the subject for the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge and there is certainly no shortage of those in my photo files, so in order to select a few for this post I decided to look at the images and choose some of those where I thought the trees added the finishing touch, the icing on the cake, so to speak.  These were taken at Cantigny Park, Chicago Botanic Garden and the Morton Arboretum in Illinois and one in Utah.