The Junior Garden Club of Lake Forest’s GCA Partners for Plants Grant Funds Restoration of Public Garden

Restoring Belvedere Garden at Lake Forest Park Beach, Lake Forest, Illinois

June 24, 2026

By: Amy Brown

In 2024, the Junior Garden Club of Lake Forest (JGCLF) became a member of The Garden Club of America. In 2025, eager to dig in, the club successfully applied for a GCA Partners for Plants (P4P) grant to partner with the City of Lake Forest to restore Belvedere Garden, a scenic public garden at Lake Forest Park Beach.

Situated on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan, the tiered Belvedere Garden offers expansive lake views.  Translated as “beautiful view” in Italian, “Belvedere” garden was created in 2006. By 2016, JGCLF became part of its story.

Restoring and maintaining Belvedere Garden was challenging: with a steep 70-foot slope, stormwater runoff, fierce winds, and cold lake temperatures. More than 25 resilient native plants—including Prairie Twilight Penstemon, Purple Coneflower, Wild Blue Indigo, Columbine, Solomon’s Seal, Wild Ginger, and Shooting Star--grace the bluff supporting wildlife year-round. 
Planted for year-round appeal, the garden flourishes in busy summer with Black-eyed Susans and Coneflowers drawing butterflies, bees, and birds, and Milkweed nourishing Monarch caterpillars. Expect to see Swallowtails, Great Spangled Fritillaries, Monarchs, Cloudywing Skippers, and other butterflies. 

At Belvedere Garden, JGCLF’s weeding and planting committee, the “Belvedere Belles”, plan to install plant identification plaques creating a living classroom to educate and engage visitors.