A garden by any other name ... Chicago Park District proves there is more to its gardens than petunias.

It all started with a group of blue trees a couple of years ago. But the strange-colored bark soon sparked further creativity from the Chicago Park District. Within months, mounds of multi-colored plants bordered roads, painted PVC pipes lined pink flowerbeds and orange tubes snaked through a garden.

The experimental landscape art surprised, confused and engaged people to start talking about Chicago's public gardens. The horticulture was no longer a pretty backdrop in the parks, but a welcome distraction from sitting in traffic.

"People were calling us up and asking us where they can buy blue trees," says Adam Schwerner, director of the Park District's horticulture department and originator of the artistic concept. "There is the capacity to educate people and to give them more than they were expecting, and I think when you do more than they were expecting, people are intrigued and they want to interact and they want to participate."

The public responses stirred tip enough momentum for a widespread art exhibit in 24 of Chicago's parks, from the lakefront to the inner city. 'Art in the Garden" premiered in mid-June and lasted through the end of last month. The total cost for the project was $96,000, and included artists' and materials.

Because of the impact Schwerner's blue trees and painted PVC pipes had on Chicago's residents, the rest of the Art in the Garden exhibit had to invoke similar feedback. "Okay, you're the artists, you know how to integrate your personal thoughts into an art piece, now here's a garden setting--do it in a garden setting," Schwerner recalls from the project.

While some of the artists used recycled materials such as barbed wire or chain links, others used naturally occurring items such as twigs, branches and bamboo.

One piece in particular, which stands in Grant Park along the waterfront in the heart of downtown Chicago, is called "Daphne." Daphne is a figure in Greek mythology whose father turned her into a Laurel Tree to save her from being captured. The artist, Dessa Kirk, took Cigar Plants, Mexican Sunflowers, Lavender, Heliotrope and molded metal to form the Greek statue in its natural environment.

Throughout the summer months, ivy began growing tip Daphne's "skirt," completing the mythological tale.

But not all of the artworks were easily identifiable. One of the challenges Schwerner experienced was explaining to the public why there were derelict cars and gutted television sets sitting in Grant Park.

"A lot of things that you would normally throw away were used by these artists in their gardens," Schwerner says. "The initial period was a little bit challenging for some of the gardens. In general, we found that people, once it was explained and once they saw where we were going with it, were very enthusiastic and excited about it."

The success of Art in the Garden has already gotten Schwerner thinking about the next exhibit, which might be in 2006. But the garden installations would not have been possible without the support from Mayor Richard M. Daley, whose mission has always been to support public parks and open space.

"The conservation and protection of open space and parks within our city is important because parks have a positive impact on Chicago's neighborhoods," Daley says. "Parks serve as community anchors because they build pride and bring residents and families together."