Wednesday Walkabout: Lincoln Park

Today's Wednesday Walkabout took place in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, just north of Armitage.   You can read about previous walks in the Chicago Loop and in Old Town.  This neighborhood, just north of Charlie Trotter's famous restaurant and Lori's famous shoe store, is jam-packed with amazing container gardens!  

Notice how the white urns contrast nicely against the black door and red brick.  Wonder what it might look like if the urns were skinnier and taller?  Or do the squat urns give the tall entry some human proportion that's necessary?

This pair of copper window boxes plays up the existing dark trim and metal at the entryway.  Too bad the sun got in the way of a perfect picture.......

This parkway design is probably the best one I've ever seen! A container was literally created out of pavers and filled with a good mix of perennials.  Usually people just stick a bunch of hostas in and call it a day.  

These clean-lined planters, planted with a very formal topiary are not the expected urn.  It works because the plantings are true to the style of the house.  Nice.  

Another built-in container that should be called "An Ode to the Coleus:"

I'm digging the repetition and symmetry here:

A quintessential Chicago greystone.  I do hope the builder thought to include a water source, but it looks to me like the owners have to water this from the inside and clean up the drips.  But it's so pretty!

Repeating plants in various planters, creating uniformity and definition.....love it!  

Here's a better shot of the front door:

And here's a close-up of the window box design:

Another solution to the parkway dilemma, just park some containers there!  A little creeping jenny in the surrounding soil adds the perfect counterpoint to the black containers.  

Another set of white urns planted out with begonias.  Gardening ideas can be contagious - I saw many more versions of this design on the same block!

Another set of window boxes on the front.  I prefer the all-black to the hayrack style on this house, it gives the plants something more to contrast against.  I might have added creeping jenny rather than ivy to really play off these containers.....

Your turn, which is your favorite?