Welcome Garden

The Welcome Garden is situated next to the Visitor Center and Greenhouse café.  Cared for by the Piatt County Master Gardeners, the space is divided into six different display gardens, each with a distinct function. Plans to continue various themes through each planting plot are evolving each year.

A rain garden at the southwestern edge of the space demonstrates some of the planting material that can tolerate saturated soils for short or long periods of time and provides inspiration for rain gardens built at home.  Rain barrels trap water while the ground profile is graded to hold water long enough to percolate through the soil.  Plants in this space include, common milkweed, coneflower, cardinal flower, sensitive fern and perennial ageratum to name a few.

The native garden exhibits Illinois’ many wonderful flora in a tidy planned setting.  With identification tags, this space is easy for plant enthusiasts, students, and everyday visitors to learn about native plants growing in the Park and around the Central Illinois region. Plants in this space include little bluestem, bloodroot, liatris, rattlesnake master, compass plant and prairie drop seed among others.

A University of Illinois Extension certified “Pollinator Pocket” was also installed recently with both perennial and annual flowers providing habitat and food sources specifically for pollinators. Included in this space are: cosmos, coneflower, Russian sage, alyssum and columbine.

Plans to renovate another space in the Welcome Garden include a sensory garden with plants characterized by strong tastes, smells, and textures.  Planned plantings include: Bleeding Heart, Wooly thyme, Chocolate Mint and Pigs squeak Bergenia.

The Welcome Garden is a perfect addition to the Visitor Center complex, inviting visitors to step up to the café patio – learning and being inspired as they do!