Cantigny Park

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United States of America - Illinois - Wheaton

Institution Code:

BGCI Member: No

About the Cantigny Park

The Legacy Continues
History
During the early 1930s, experimental farms served as practical laboratories to landscape the family farms that blanketed the countryside. These laboratories tried new species of plants, tested theories of planting and harvesting, and investigated new practices in raising productive farm animals. One of the most successful experimental farms was Colonel Robert R. McCormick’s at Cantigny.

To educate and share the accomplishments of experimental farms, McCormick's Chicago Tribune ran a weekly column entitled “Day by Day Stories of the Experimental Farms." These trusted reports helped shape the future of the Midwest as a leader in agriculture.

After McCormick’s death in 1955, the Board of Directors decided to change Cantigny's focus from agriculture to horticulture by hiring famed landscape architect Franz Lipp to design and build a world class garden. In 1967, Lipp began construction of this lush, horticultural masterpiece, which is one of the largest display gardens in the Midwest with more than 160,000 annuals, perennials, ground covers and flowering shrubs and trees. A majority of the plants seen throughout the gardens are estate-grown inside Cantigny’s renowned greenhouse. Guests are encouraged to visit the gardens throughout the year to witness the ever-changing beauty of its seasonal glory.

Mission
Cantigny gardens offers opportunities for both display and education, which include plant testing, growing and blooming assessments and color composition. It was designed so both amateur and professional landscapers could visit Cantigny’s Gardens and find plants that grow well in the Midwest.

Main Address:
Cantigny Park
1 S 151 Winfield Road
Wheaton
Illinois 60187 United States of America

Telephone: (630) 668-5161
Fax:
URL: www.cantignypark.com/gardens
Primary Email: info@cantigny.org

Staff Details

  • Director's Name: Matt LaFond, Executive Director, Cantigny Park
    Curator's Name: Joy Kaminsky, Director of Horticulture
    Plant Records Officer's Name: Liz Omura, Idea Garden Curator, Horticulture Education and Volunteer Coordinator
  • Total Staff:
    Horticultural Staff Number: 12
    Educational Staff Number: 5
    Research Staff Number: 5
    Administration Staff Number: 5

About the Garden

  • Institution Type: Other
  • Status
  • Status: Private: Yes
    Status: State: No
    Status: Educational: Yes
    Status: Municipal: No
    Status: Satellite: No
    Status: Trust: Yes
  • Date founded: 1955
  • Physical Data
  • Natural Vegetation Area: Yes
  • Landscaped Area: Yes
  • Latitude: 41.8455190
    Longitude: -88.1674860
    Altitude: 0.00 Metres

Features and Facilities

  • Herbarium: No
    Arboretum: No
  • Micropropagation/ Tissue Culture Facilities: No
    Seed Bank: No
    Published Plant Catalogue: No
    Computer Plant Record System: Yes
  • Open to public: Yes
    Friends society: No
    Retail Outlet: Shop: Yes
    Retail Outlet: Plant Sales: Yes
    Disabled access: Yes
  • Number of Visitors: 200000
    Number of Volunteers: 275

Plant Collections

  • Invasive Species Monitoring: Yes
    Invasive Species Policy: Yes
    ABS Policy: No
    Plant Collection Policy: No

Conservation Programmes

  • Conservation Programme: No
    Medicinal Plant Programme: No
    Ex Situ Conservation Programme: No
    Reintroduction Programme: No

Research Programmes

  • Biotechnology: No
    Plant Breeding: No
    Conservation - Biology: No
    Conservation - Genetics: No
    Data Management Systems and Information Technology: No
    Ecology: No
    Ecosystem Conservation: No
    Education: No
    Ethnobotany: No
    Exploration: No
    Floristics: No
    Horticulture: No
    Invasive Species Biology and Control: No
    Molecular Genetics: No
    Pollination Biology: No
    Restoration Ecology: No
    Seed/Spore Biology: No
    Systematics and Taxonomy: No
    Sustainability: No
    Pharmacology: No
    Agriculture: No
    Land Restoration: No
    Urban Environments: No

Education Programmes

  • Visitor/Education Centre: Yes
    Education Signs in Garden: Yes
    Public Lectures/Talks: Yes
    Education Booklets/Leaflets: Yes
    Guided Tours: Yes
    Permanent Public Displays: Yes
    Special Exhibitions: Yes
    Courses for School Children: No
    Courses for University/College Students: No
    Courses for General Public: Yes
    Education Programme: Yes