Explore the Garden

The Dwarf Conifer Garden is Sprucing Up!

The Dwarf Conifer Garden grand opening is slated for Saturday and Sunday, June 14 and 15, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The garden has been under renovation since last fall. Many mature and beloved dwarf specimens will be strategically repositioned, and dozens of new evergreen species will be added. New selections include fantastic shapes of globes, buns, columns, and pyramids in unexpected colors like blue, gold, emerald, and chartreuse.

The Dwarf Conifer Garden is designed to be much like an outdoor living room. Visitors enter through a spacious stone staircase. "Walls" of evergreens provide enclosure, with views of the gardens below and beyond visible through "windows." Low rock outcroppings are artfully placed, and stone troughs showcase the many miniature conifer varieties available. The highest point of the Dwarf Conifer Garden offers a magnificent view of the nearby Elizabeth Hubert Malott Japanese Garden.

During the grand opening, staff from the Chicago Botanic Garden and other noted conifer experts will give informal talks on dwarf conifers and answer visitors' questions about the garden. Family activities include cone and needle observation and dissection, and a scavenger hunt. Demonstrations on growing dwarf conifers in containers will also be available. Signage throughout the garden will explain conifers and dwarf conifers, and a garden guide will further interpret the garden.

The Dwarf Conifer Garden originally opened in 1988. It contains several rare species, such as one of the largest weeping Norway spruces in the Midwest, a 30-year-old threadleaf false cypress, and a Horstmann's Silberlocke Korean fir, none of which will be moved as part of the project.

For any questions about your existing dedication within the Dwarf Conifer Garden, please contact Julie Rubin at (847) 835-8333.

Renovation of this garden is made possible through the generous support of Georgiana M. Taylor.