Landscape Improvements Continue

When the Palumbo family began to visit Farnsworth House less frequently in the late 1990s, landscape maintenance was relaxed – and around the time of the auction in 2003, was practically non-existent. Once the National Trust and Landmarks Illinois acquired the site at auction, the lawns were mown and key trees were trimmed, but there were no significant funding allocations for landscape maintenance. As a result, the non-mown areas of the site filled with Asian honeysuckle, European buckthorn, Callery Pear, Burning Bush, and other invasive species.

In 2018-19, several volunteer projects were completed by the Illinois Arborist Association, the Yorkville scouts, and area 4-H clubs, removing dead trees and invasive brush along the Fox River, with additional volunteer tree work provided by the arborists in early 2020. In late 2020-21 (during COVID), a USDA Forest Service grant administered by The Morton Arboretum, allowed Pizzo Associates to clear a 10-acre area located between the Visitor Center and the house, followed by native plant installation by SLIP (Student Leadership Initiative Program) of the Kendall County Outdoor Education Center. In addition, The Conservation Foundation has organized volunteer work days in 2023 and 2025.

In 2022, a privately-funded Cultural Landscape Report was completed by Julia Bachrach Consulting and Teska Associates, and in 2023, a Cultural Landscape Rehabilitation Plan for the house area was prepared by landscape architect Darrel Morrison. A generous grant from the G. Carl Ball Family Foundation allowed clearing, pruning, and the installation of native shrubs and seeding throughout 2024, which will be followed by more native seeding and perennials in 2025.  This work has been done by Family Landscaping & Treewerks, Inc. and Alluvium Landscapes, LLC. In addition, the historic orchard located east of the house was replanted with flowering crabapples, donated by Hinsdale Nursery and planted by Hursthouse.

This spring, our existing woodchip trails have been refreshed and extended by Family Landscaping & Treewerks, and at the Visitor Center, a new woodchip area has been installed with picnic tables and a trash/recycling receptacle for use by school and tour groups.

Special thanks to Hinsdale Nursery, Hursthouse Landscape Architects & Contractors, and Maglin Site Furniture, for donating goods and services – and to all of YOU who have donated to our Landscape Fund available under the DONATE tab on our website!

If you are interested in funding a special landscape project, please contact us!