GODFREY - The Bicentennial Blooms 2018 Summer Garden Show at Lewis and Clark Community College explores the rich history of the Godfrey and Illinois area and it is now in rich bloom.
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The season-long birthday celebration for the U.S.’s 21st state is this year’s theme for the L&C Monticello Sculpture Gardens' 5th annual curated summer garden show. Visitors are able to journey through time to discover the region’s natural history and the state’s achievements in agriculture, industry and human development through interpretive panels installed at viewing points across L&C's Godfrey Campus.
Self-guided tours of the show's 11 pocket gardens are completely free. Those interested can go campus anytime during the day and grab a free tour map from security to take a stroll at your own pace. Peak dates are through the July.
Horticulture Manager Ethan Braasch said the theme does detail the history of Illinois.
“We are a botanical garden and have to have an educational aspect way to show the works,” he said. “This is not all in one place but in about a dozen pocket gardens and has an interpretive panel and slid about the garden. The pocket garden relates to the theme at large this year. There is a snippet of Illinois history from 1818 to the present.”
Braasch said he and the others at LCCC take a lot of pride in the Botanical Gardens.
“I started at the college and we engaged with the Missouri Botanical Gardens and SWIC and live up to standards to call ourselves an American public garden. We have a different arrangement every year. We maintain a record of all the plants on the campus as part of the educational aspect. That is where the interpretive panels come in.”
If you have 10 people or more, book a free group tour by contacting Horticulture Manager Ethan Braasch at ebraasch@lc.edu. Group tours are typically available from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Monday through Friday only.
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