More than a million people visited the Chicago Botanic Garden this year, setting a record at the 41-year-old sprawling garden in Glencoe.



Attendance at one of the Chicago area's leading tourist attactions has steadily increased in recent years.



In 2012, the garden had about 954,000 visitors, officials said. This year, attendance increased by five percent with 1,003,000 people taking in the sprawling grounds and setting the record for the largest attendance numbers in a calendar year as of 11 a.m. today.



The garden's increased relevance with the community over a number of years, coupled with the relatively mild weather this summer, helps explain why its attendance reached passed the one million mark this year, said President and CEO Sophia Siskel.



"The garden is really helping people address the issues of our time, whether that be desire for health and wellness, the issue of the economy and finding affordable activities, the desire to reconnect with family or engage more with the environment," she said.



There are a few other conservatories in the Chicago area, including the Lincoln Park Conservatory and the Garfield Park Conservatory. The Chicago Botanic Garden is larger and offers a significant number of educational programs, said MaryAnne Spinner, a master gardener in the Chicago area who has visited dozens of botanic gardens around the world.



"It's sort of like comparing Disneyland to a small neighborhood amusement park," she said. "They both give you a lot of enjoyment, but they're different."



In 2010, the Chicago Botanic Garden's board of directors introduced a ten-year plan to expand their reach within the community. The garden has added a number of events to its schedule over the years, including free and more frequent summer concerts, gardening classes and wellness programs like tai chi and yoga.



The goal is to spread out events throughout the year to keep the growth sustainable, instead of pining for high attendance on a few large-scale events, Siskel said.