Belvedere Mansion and Gardens

                  Feel free to linger!

Our gardens are a recent addition to the Belvedere Mansion. They were designed, created and are currently managed by our landscape architect

with the help of the dedicated staff of the mansion.

 The owner's vision has been to create formal country gardens and quiet, intimate respites indicative of the period the house was built.

Formal plantings and casual walkways surround the Belvedere.

Seasonal plantings and decor fill the home as well as the garden.

Plantings for the 4th of July celebrations often bring red, white and blue begonias to the entry circle while the harvest decor for early Autumn adds pumpkins and corn laden corn stalks to the residence and surrounding grounds. 

Circles of seasonal flowers, a romantic grape arbor and a wonderful stroll through the formal boxwoods and patio are the

perfect setting for a special Victorian summer afternoon stroll. Scattered bronze statuary, Hybiscus urns and flowing fountains are a stately repose fitting the original builder, owner and the prominent family of Ambassador J. Russell Jones, adding beauty and European eloquence to the the grounds of this magnificent mansion.

Take time to pause and reflect.

The mission of the Belvedere Mansion and Gardens is to engage the public in the history, tradition and ongoing preservation of the City of Galena and the mansion itself. Steeped in mid 19th century history, the Mansion and gardens offer a glimpse into a bygone age.

To keep the mansion alive with friends, new and old, the current owners see the gardens as a place once used for entertaining (which continues today through strolling tourists well into the twilight of the evening). 

Vintage and heirloom plants are central to the theme. Generations old cultivars of Rose of Sharons and Hydrangeas as well as newly planted varieties of Dayliles and Irises are exuberant partners from Spring to Fall.

As one of the few public gardens in the area, the gardens and grounds have become a perfect setting for leisure and help to convey the urgency of historical preservation and beauty for generations to come.

Newly planted orchards provide springtime scented floral blooms and  fruit for generations to come.  

_{Galena Belvedere Mansion and Gardens}

_{1008 Park Avenue}

_{Galena, IL 61036}

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