Chicago and Its Botanic Garden: The Chicago Horticultural Society at 125

Formed in 1890 during the heady days before the 1893 Worlds Columbian Exposition the Chicago Horticultural Society boasted members with names deeply rooted in Chicago history: Buckingham McCormick and Palmer among others. Today as it leads the Garden in a model public-private partnership with the Forest Preserves of Cook County the Societys horticultural practices have exceeded the vision of its founders. Chicago and Its Botanic Garden: The Chicago Horticultural Society at 125 is a lushly illustrated and thoughtful history of the Society and its evolution from a producer of monumental flower and botanical shows through a fallow period to the opening in 1972 of the Chicago Botanic Garden a living museum and world leader in horticulture plant science and conservation education and urban agriculture. Author Cathy Jean Maloney combines meticulous scholarship with a flair for storytelling in a narrative that will delight everyone from casual strollers of the grounds to the volunteers professionals and scientists who compose the influential society.