Mettawa Manor and Kurtis Conservation Foundation

Both homes on the 65-acre property were built in 1927 as part of a family estate. The current owners, Bill Kurtis and Donna LaPietra, are only the second in its history, and they have been working since 1990 to restore native ecosystems and create a series of formal garden rooms with more than 30 distinct areas to visit. The centerpiece is a walled English-style garden with two perennial borders framing a sunken lawn, that leads to a spring walk and rose room. Outside the east gate is a golden garden and an orchard bordered by the fenced cutting garden and circular herb garden. The property has two ponds, a prairie, a parkland of specimen trees, and a reclaimed oak-hickory forest. The owners have also created a silver garden, a bronze garden, a lily pool, an aqua-theater, and a fern garden. Other sites worth exploring are the pine forest reflection garden, a gravel garden and succulent collection around the pool house, and a shrubbery. The day also includes a honey tasting from their hives, a Club Car tour of the prairie in bloom with Bill, a photographic and video exhibit in the Kurtis Conversation headquarters house, and a stop at the Kids Fun Table on the Lily Pond Terrace for frog watching.

Open Days 2024:  Saturday, July 27
Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.