Noelridge Playground

One of the highlights of late summer is the Noelridge garden. We don’t use the playground that is nearby and looks like fun from a distance. Our focus is the garden. It’s very crisply and professionally planted and mulched by master gardeners and volunteers. The array of colors, textures, Foliage in both annuals and perennials is carefully and creatively executed. Our area has plenty of country gardens and lovely natural spaces that highlight prairies and meadows but this is one of the few remaining composed and well maintained public gardens. I would also point to the gorgeous Brucemore mansion garden, which was decimated by the derecho 4 years ago and has bravely started the long climb back to It’s former beauty.
The Noelridge garden annuals display is planted quite late n the season, near the fourth of July. While this may seem like a lost opportunity to enjoy the full garden glory of summer it does provide the bonus of enjoying the lovely colorful plantings well into the fall when other gardens are fading.
There is a master gardener test plot. A butterfly habitat and a green house open to the public at specific hours.
The truly beautiful mural that is painted on the green house/utility building is worth a visit to itself.