All photos in this chapter are © by Joe Konz
One of the most popular attractions of the park, especially since the park's late-1990s major refurbishment, is the European-style Sunken Garden adjacent to the Conservatory.
Inspecting the annual new summer displays of flowers certainly is popular, too, but so is the opportunity to walk through the gardens’ quiet paths, or to sit in chairs on the overlook and just relax, meditate or read a good book, occasionally looking up to take in the beauty of the flowers or fountains. Or both.
Not long after purchasing my first digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera in 2004, I made a project of trying to photo-document the annual summer displays in the Garden. I missed 2012 and 2014 (and almost missed 2013 but for the slick, concealment-benefits of an iPhone) for reasons I won't dwell on here. Let's just say it was mostly out of my control. But I kept at it — to the extent possible — even after moving to North Carolina in 2017. I was back in Indiana to visit family several times thereafter, so I made a point to visit the park and collect pictures of the displays on those summer trips in 2017, 2019 and 2022.
For a brief period in the 2000s, Conservatory staff also planted spring bulbs and autumn chrysanthemums in the Sunken Garden beds, but fickle, destructively cold fall weather discouraged that autumn practice pretty quickly. Spring bulbs in the outdoor beds continued, however, and when it was time to plant the summer beds, the public was invited to come and dig out the spring bulbs and keep them for their own gardens. Unfortunately, I photographed those spring floral displays sparingly.
So for this chapter and post, I'll present to you the best pictures from each year's summer display, in chronological order. I'll follow those with a few shots of spring tulips and fall chrysanthemums and a few of my favorite long-range perspective pictures of the Sunken Garden.
If you don't see many fountains in the photos, there's a reason for that: The next chapter is devoted entirely to the fountains.
So let's begin with the summer florals, starting with ...
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2013
2016
2017
2019
2022
2005 tulip displays
2017 tulip displays
Perspectives
And just in case you don't know
what the Sunken Garden looks like
during the "off season" ...
2007 CHRYSANTHEMUM DISPLAY
Whether visiting in normal daylight conditions, or in the glowing colors of twilight
(first photo below) or during the aftermath of a changing weather system’s sky color
(second photo below) or in the early pitch of total darkness (third photo below),
the Sunken Garden can enthrall and inspire. But rarely does it disappoint.
Next up, Chapter 35: The Sunken Garden Fountains
Previously in the Garfield Park in Pictures series:
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