Vividly planted sidewalkscapes like this bring touches of nature to the city's concrete jungle.

My obsession with urban gardening is no doubt a manifestation of my own need to get back to nature. It is a need apparently shared by countless city dwellers.

Chicagoans who can afford it buy weekend getaway homes in the country, others squeeze gardens onto terraces, rooftops, porches or, like me, a small condo balcony.

And our city — in league with our pastoral proclivities — plants ginko trees in grates along streets, hangs magnificent flower baskets from lampposts, landscapes giant concrete medium divides on our thoroughfares and rolls out carpets of green along our downtown lakefront and in its parks.

It doesn’t mean that we’d trade our city life for a more bucolic one minus the excitement of theater,  arts, culture and concerts, but it does mean that there is a part of us which enjoys those quiet moments where the only harmony we crave is the one with nature. Perhaps the fact that the time we have outdoors is so brief makes us desperate to find new and innovative ways to appreciate it.

From my balcony I can see work crews adding finishing touches to a new high-rise dwelling just south of mine. In recent days they’ve landscaped a green roof terrace atop their garages complete with plots of grass, shrubs and trees. And it’s just a matter of time before residents will take to lounge chairs and revel in their patch of green in the shadow of the elevated train, just above the busy city streets.

[Thanks for visiting City Diggity, please check out my archives for previous posts that you can take into your garden. And don’t forget to leave a comment; I want to know how your garden grows.]