On a brisk Friday afternoon, Chicagoans immersed themselves in a world of vibrant blooms and fragrant scents. The welcoming scene inside at the Garfield Park Conservatory contrasted the dreary final grasp of Midwest winter on the city’s West Side.

Visitors came to discover the hidden role of roots at the “Rooted in Mystery” spring flower show, which runs through May 11.

“People love coming to our flower shows and seeing the beautiful plants and colors, but it’s also a chance for us to teach some little things here and there,” Matthew Barrett, deputy director of conservatories for 25 years, said.

Working with onsite partners at the conservatory to design and maintain the showhouse, Barrett chose to center this year’s theme around how roots grow. Roots, Barret added, are a crucial part of plants that we often forget about.

Despite being hidden underground, visitors learn about the importance of roots as they admire the stunning blooms they support. Among them is a brilliant display of hanging jasmines, pink azaleas, towering snapdragons, spring tulips and daffodils.

“The fun part is coming up with themes and trying to decide on what the public might not expect,” Barrett said. “They know that there’s gonna be color. They know there’s gonna be spring flowers, but what’s the theme around it and why is that important, what story is it telling you?”

The Conservatory’s Show House, part of the Chicago Park District, has been housing annual spring flower shows since 1908, attracting locals and tourists to enjoy the season for years. The exhibit has become a yearly ritual for many, including Chicago resident Sally Ryan, who has visited the show since the early 1980s.

“My favorite part is the scent when you walk in, and honestly I have felt choked up looking at the beauty of the flowers,” Ryan said. “It’s so glorious, just the gifts of creation. It really is very powerful.”

Setting up and maintaining the show’s blooms is a full staff effort that requires constant upkeep. A large portion of the work falls on Lena Dimitroff, who has been a Class 2 floriculturist at the conservatory for four years.

Of the conservatory’s flower shows, Dimitroff said the spring show is the most challenging because many of the bulb plants are rotated daily.

“It’s constant movement, but that’s what keeps it fresh. Every day something new is blooming. You could have come yesterday and see something new today,” Dimitroff said.

This year’s flower rotation from all over the world brings in daily crowds eager to experience what Barrett calls “nature’s surprise party.”

Apart from providing an escape from Chicago’s cold and dark winter and educating visitors about the plants through the Rooted in Mystery show, the conservatory has become a beloved space that visitors and staff both say uplifts their sense of wellbeing.

“I think that nature plays a really vital role in everybody’s lives, and sometimes people don’t realize that,” Barrett said. “Then you come to a place like this and you see what nature can do, and it opens up your eyes to how important it is.”

Maria Baboc, a Chicagoan and conservatory member, said she enjoyed each unique section of the exhibit and the wide variety of fragrant flowers — some with unusual scents.

“When I walked into the front and I smelled it I was like, ‘Are they painting in here?’” Baboc said. “I couldn’t understand the scent until I walked into the spring room and realized it’s the jasmine bloom that’s giving off the scent throughout this whole place. It’s very beautiful.”

The most important takeaway Barrett hopes visitors get from exploring the conservatory is that growing plants isn’t as complicated as people think.

“People get really intimidated by plants,” Barrett said. “But if you start small and just have a little something — no pun intended — you can grow it into something bigger. They add a lot to your life.”

Related Stories:

• The Book Cellar: Turning independently owned to community driven
• Cooking for a Cause: Bigger Table hosts fundraiser at Maman Zari
• Fruity Party roots queerness in nature

Stay informed with The DePaulia’s top stories, delivered to your inbox every Monday.