Linmar Gardens

I went to Linmar Gardens with my friend to see flowers, & to my surprise there were added features such as waterfalls (which had a great history), & fantastic objects of art; this place was unbelievably beautiful! To add to this pleasurable experience was our guide BoB! He was really great & very knowledgeable.
Thank you for a great experience! Highly recommended!!!

This privately owned and privately maintained garden is one three-​acre surprise located just up the hill from the Galena Public Library at the south end of Prospect Street. It’s a little confusing as to what is private or public up there, but there is signage to assist you. There are two private residences within the garden, and a couple of those guys who live there, Bob or Hal, could be your guides. These gentlemen created the gardens over a forty year period from a wild wooded area. That is what’s most amazing. Water systems being waterfalls, rocky streams, and Koi ponds, rock walls and cement holding tanks are featured as well. One really unique space was carved from the old foundation of one of Illinois’ oldest African-​American churches, located right there in their yard. It has a distinctive European feel. Pathways wind, sculptures abound, and there is an artist’s studio (not part of the tour) and there are stories behind almost every stone and tree. Just remember if you get Bob as your guide turn off your cell phone, if you don’t want a verbal lashing, and if you get Hal, he does appreciate a post-​tour hug.

This garden was lovely and even though I’m not huge into flowers, and nature, and sunshine, I really enjoyed myself. The garden was beautiful and very relaxing to walk through especially with my wife by my side. Our tour guide, a retired Army veteren, was fun to interact with and seemed to really enjoy showing us around. Because this is a private garden and not some professinoal conservatory, our guide wasn’t an expert on all things green, but he knew enough to be informative and especially knew what didn’t belong in the garden. It was funny to hear him continually call out where the weeds were and talk about how the «young man», who is the 80 year old grounds keeper, had to get going on those things. Even though bug spray and vanilla extract, which I was told keeps bugs away from the face, was provided at the beginning of the tour, gnats and various flying annoyances were evident throughout the 45 min to hour tour and they did put a little damper on things. Nothing tragic but enough to stop me from putting down a 5 star rating. The only other regret of coming here is that we came in early June and not later for not all the flowers were in bloom to enjoy. But, other than our bad timing to visit and the bugs, this garden is a great place to check out for nature lovers and non-​nature lovers alike.