Click here to get directions to Yew Dell Gardens, or here for open hours.

When the summer heat comes to Yew Dell, the best place to see riots of color is in the Bloom Garden. Located below the Castle, this is one of the few entirely new gardens that has been added to the grounds since Yew Dell opened to the public. The garden was designed by noted British garden designer Adrian Bloom, and was installed in a single day by more than 200 Yew Dell volunteers in September of 2006. It has become a favorite of Summer visitors looking for tons of color and a super collection of great plants.

The garden boasts an impressive collection of ornamental grasses, woody shrubs and other herbaceous perennials and is the perfect place to visit throughout the season to select some great plants for your own garden.

Among the winners of the garden is Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle' set off impressively by a backdrop formed by the purple summer foliage of Physocarpus opulilfolius 'Monlo' (Diablo ^tm). 'Annabelle' was discovered in the Anna, Illinois in the 1970s by noted University of Illinois plantsman Joe McDaniel and since that time, it has been the standard for cold-hardy, reliably-blooming white hydrangeas. Since H. arborescens blooms on both new and old wood, it is not bothered by the spring freezes that so often take the blooms from the blue and pink blooming H. macrophyllas.

A less common selection, Rudbeckia maxima, is one of the most distinctive plants in the Bloom Garden. Reaching fully 8' in height. this prairie native boasts bold and beautiful steely blue foliage topped by rather typical-looking Rudbeckia flower heads. The flowers typically open some time in late June and last through much of July and sometimes into early August. But even after the blooms fade, the foliage hangs in there, providing a great blue splash through the whole summer. Give it plenty of sun and heat and a good helping of space and it will reward with years of quality service in the garden. 

Visiting the Gardens Archive 
2006-1 2005-2  2005-1

Yew Dell Gardens is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.