This 'Secret Garden' On The Northwest Side Is A Sanctuary For Animals, Plants And Humans Alike

SCHORSCH VILLAGE — The children who live on Josephine Christopher’s quiet Schorsch Village block call her yard the fairy garden — and for good reason.

With more than 30 pet birds, seven turtles, two tortoises, three chicken coops, a heated greenhouse, a 5 1/2-foot-deep koi pond, a waterfall, nine beehives and more tropical plants than she can count, the contents of Christopher’s yard sounds like a “Twelve Days of Christmas” remix.

The Northwest Sider has spent 15 years transforming her yard from a lawn with one spruce tree into a paradise. While Christopher has kept her passion project largely private, she was recognized this month with the Chicago Bungalow Association’s Best Backyard Oasis award.

“I just wanted to come home to something that was peaceful,” said Christopher, who has worked for the city for 23 years. “I always think of it as my secret garden.”

Josephine Christopher in her backyard oasis as seen on Aug. 25, 2025. Credit: Molly DeVore/ Block Club Chicago

‘A Slice Of Paradise’

Christopher’s garden is filled with colorful orchids, adeniums and bonsai trees. She’s turned her library into a seed propagation station, and her greenhouse is home to cacti that are close to 10 feet tall.

Despite her love of plants, Christopher’s passion for all things living started with fish, she said.

Growing up in Oriole Park, Christopher lived across from a fish store. Each day, the Taft High School alumna would walk across the alley to admire the colorful marine life. Eventually, she acquired a tank of her own.

As Christopher became older, she grew more interested in plants and gardening, but her fascination with fish remained. About 20 years ago, Christopher started Chicago Discus, a business she operates out of her basement that sells the colorful and popular aquarium fish.

Christopher now runs Chicago Discus with her aunt, Miranda Miller, who also helps maintain the garden.

Christopher and Miller decided to buy their Schorsch Village bungalow together after Christopher’s husband died of Lou Gehrig’s disease a little over 15 years ago.

Miller helped Christopher care for her son, who was just 8 at the time. Christopher said she chose her bungalow largely because it sits on a triple lot and has a large yard.

Christopher said starting the garden helped her cope with her grief and gave her something to focus on.

“I had to do a lot of research at the beginning,” she said. “This is Chicago — it’s not like you can go next door and ask your neighbors how they farm chickens.”

Christopher started with an Amish-made chicken coop, to which a family friend helped add heating. She added two more coops after she got Muscovy ducks and Serama chickens.

Christopher’s bird collection grew even larger after someone dumped a few chickens in the nearby Mount Olive Cemetery. Christopher said the cemetery groundskeeper, who is a friend, called her right away.

Muscovy ducks as seen in Josephine Christopher’s Schorsch Village backyard on Aug. 25, 2025. Credit: Molly DeVore/ Block Club Chicago

Christopher said she wanted to create a “sanctuary” for rescued animals. Even before she had the garden, she rescued greyhounds. In addition to all the garden pets, Christopher has three dogs, two cats and three parrots.

Neighbors love the garden, Christopher said. Local kids like to visit the animals, and she’s constantly giving away plant clippings and eggs.

The garden has evolved with each new feature and animal, Miller said.

The heated greenhouse has a small doorway where the tortoises can go when it gets cold, and the koi pond has a heater so the fish can hibernate in the mud come winter.

Miller said the yard is a “little slice of paradise.”

“You come here and you’re not in Chicago anymore,” she said.

Josephine Christopher’s backyard oasis as seen on Aug. 25, 2025. Credit: Molly DeVore/ Block Club Chicago

Every day, Christopher, Miller and their full-time housekeeper are kept busy, feeding all the animals, cleaning the coops and tending to the plants.

Wild birds also frequent the backyard oasis. Christopher has a family of doves that she feeds, and she said that, during some years, cranes and geese stop by during their migration.

“We don’t discriminate,” Christopher said as she filled a bird feeder with a hefty helping of seeds. “Wild, domestic — they all get treated well around here.”

While there’s always more mouths to feed and plants to water, Christopher said all the hard work is worth it.

“It’s kind of like being in a cocoon — like I go out to the real world and I work and I go grocery shopping and I do my outside world things, and then there’s my inside world, which is this,” said Christopher, smiling and gesturing to the lush garden that surrounded her.

A look inside Christopher’s backyard oasis:

Josephine Christopher’s backyard oasis as seen on Aug. 25, 2025. Credit: Molly DeVore/ Block Club Chicago