Hidden Landscape Gems

Wilder Park Conservatory

by Heather Prince

Tucked into the southwest corner of Wilder Park in Elmhurst is a tiny jewelbox of a conservatory with a surprisingly long history. Built in 1923 as an addition to an original 1868 greenhouse, the conservatory was added when the City of Elmhurst was gifted the property by the estate of Thomas E. Wilder. Elmhurst residents wanted someplace to showcase plants and emulate the conservatories of Chicago and Oak Park. After an extensive restoration of the conservatory and greenhouses, the Elmhurst Park District continues to grow plants and nurture the space as a quiet retreat.

A single room, the conservatory is ringed with planting beds filled with palms, ficus trees, as well as tropical plants and tumbling flowers. Duck beneath tall Norfolk pines and look for seasonal flower displays like heirloom chrysanthemums in fall and poinsettias for the winter holidays. Maintained and operated by the Elmhurst Park District, the conservatory features three flower shows a year including Spring, Fall, and Holiday.

Follow the concrete path to the secret ornamental grotto of stacked stone that curves into a koi pond filled with water lilies. Stuffed with ferns, foliage plants, and draped in vines, it’s a leafy cavern in miniature. The koi pond is a delightful surprise, hidden from the front entrance and adding the soft music of falling water to the space. Ferns and huge fiddle-leaf figs grace the walls. It’s a favorite spot for prom and wedding photos as well as children visiting the colorful fish. Peek in the production greenhouses in the rear to get a glimpse of what’s growing for the grounds and programs. Since 1993 the park district had raised native plants for transplanting to natural areas, parks, and flowerbeds throughout the district as well as annuals and display plants.

Outside, explore the garden spaces that feature a pollinator garden, Victorian formal garden, outdoor tented event space, and beautiful layered perennial plantings. The pollinator garden is abuzz with milkweed for monarchs, asters for bees, and penstemon for hummingbirds. Linger in the formal annual garden filled with cannas, zinnias, and more that rotate with the seasons. Fall mums and ornamental cabbage and kale sparkled in an early morning frost the last time I visited. Anchored by arbors dripping in wisteria and shielded with a tapestry of shrubs, cast iron benches welcome you to take a seat and enjoy. The conservatory is set among mature magnolias for a spring show and sugar maples for fall fireworks.

The Wilder Conservatory is a lovely example of how to incorporate a small conservatory seamlessly into a landscape. The surrounding gardens are scaled to the structure to embrace it and not take away from its airy architecture. The gardens are also good examples of maximizing space with good use of connector pathways and artful screening to enclose the area and provide multi-season interest. It’s a great opportunity to examine different types of gardens (pollinator, formal annuals, perennials) skillfully linked together to feel like a whole.

225 S Prospect Ave, Elmhurst, IL 60126 https://www.epd.org/facilities/wilder-park-conservatory

Admission: free