Urban Forest

One of the many reasons I love my neighborhood is because of all the trees & greenery. Oak Park considers itself an "Urban Forest" and lives up to that title as you can see from the photos below. The trees are planted so thickly on every block that you can't see most of the houses, or in the photo below, the train tracks at the end of the road. I feel like it really creates a peaceful and beautiful respite from the noise and chaos of downtown Chicago. Working downtown every day makes me especially thankful for having such a beautiful place to come home.

Around the Neighborhood

I was inspired while walking the dog to take some pictures of all the beautiful plants that are really starting to take off now that we are having consistently warmer temperatures. The big summer flowers are starting to fill in and the early spring colors are dying out.

Oh the lowly shrub... How under appreciated you are!
Check out that snazzy lime green new growth coming off this thing!
This time of year these actually look pretty cool.

Pretty flowering tree in my courtyard.

I wasn't sure if this purple flower was a part of
the white plant, but it sure makes for pretty contrast.

This persons yard is all English Cottage...

The leaf on this hasta is like 18" across! I could wear it as a shirt or
maybe under wear ala the garden of eden.... lol

So Pretty!

And check out this guy! Very Fancy!

And Pace, looking very angelic. Don't be fooled!