{"id":240244,"date":"2025-09-20T01:06:18","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T01:06:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/240244\/"},"modified":"2025-09-20T01:06:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T01:06:18","slug":"hgtv-just-named-the-most-beautiful-garden-in-illinois-and-you-probably-wont-guess-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/240244\/","title":{"rendered":"HGTV just named the most beautiful garden in Illinois\u2014and you probably won\u2019t guess it"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After poring over the country\u2019s most breathtaking vistas, stunning landscapes and immaculate flower beds, HGTV has released its definitive list of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hgtv.com\/outdoors\/gardens\/the-most-beautiful-garden-you-can-visit-in-every-state-pictures\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">the most beautiful gardens in every state<\/a>. And, no, Chicago is not home to the garden that made these experts\u2019 hearts skip a beat (though we question how anyone couldn\u2019t fall in love with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/chicago\/things-to-do\/beautiful-gardens-in-chicago\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">these 15 beloved Chicago gardens<\/a>). According to HGTV, the destination most deserving of the\u00a0\u201cmost beautiful garden in Illinois\u201d title\u00a0is the <a href=\"https:\/\/andersongardens.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Anderson Japanese Gardens<\/a> in Rockford, Illinois.<\/p>\n<p>Also known as the \u201cForest City\u201d thanks to its heavily wooded residential areas,\u00a0Rockford is a mid-sized Northern Illinois metropolis nestled within the Rock River Valley, a particularly verdant locale in the Midwest. One of Rockford\u2019s crown jewels is\u2014understandably\u2014the Anderson Japanese Gardens, which began construction in\u00a01978, after Rockford businessman John Anderson had an inspiring visit at the Portland Japanese Garden in Oregon. Guided by the expertise of master craftsman and designer Hoichi Kurisu, Anderson\u2019s swampy backyard bordering Rockford\u2019s Spring Creek was reimagined as a Japanese-style landscape.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>RECOMMENDED:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/chicago\/things-to-do\/secret-parks-and-gardens\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">14 secret parks and gardens in Chicago<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Walk along the stone pathways winding throughout this 12-acre garden and you\u2019ll find no shortage of nature\u2019s marvels, from grand waterfalls and koi-filled ponds to stately pagodas and arched bridges. Remaining true to Japanese garden tradition, every element is intentionally placed and\u00a0designed to elicit a sense of calm. The Anderson Japanese Gardens offers <a href=\"https:\/\/andersongardens.org\/public-and-private-guided-tours\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">public and private tours<\/a>\u00a0as well as\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/andersongardens.org\/awareness-walks-in-the-gardens-to-be-present-in-nature-through-the-use-of-our-senses\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">guided serenity walks<\/a>, which grants visitors the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the tree-filled sanctuary.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Want to experience the Anderson Japanese Gardens for yourself? Rockford is about a two-hour drive or Amtrak ride from Chicago and offers more than enough activities to constitute a worthy day trip.\u00a0From the Discovery Center Museum and Frank Lloyd Wright\u2019s Laurent House to Prairie Street Brewing and Screw City Light, there\u2019s no shortage of pit stops to make throughout Rockford. Read our full Rockford, Illinois, day trip itinerary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/chicago\/travel\/best-day-trips-from-chicago\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Anderson Japanese Gardens are still open for the 2025 season. Admission for adults is $13 on weekdays and $15 on weekends. Plan your visit <a href=\"https:\/\/andersongardens.org\/plan-your-visit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After poring over the country\u2019s most breathtaking vistas, stunning landscapes and immaculate flower beds, HGTV has released its&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":240245,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5124],"tags":[11234,960,5386,1818,11235,1164],"class_list":{"0":"post-240244","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago","8":"tag-categories-travel","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-il","11":"tag-illinois","12":"tag-news-transport-travel","13":"tag-travel"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115233946547185309","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240244\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}