It's a little piece of paradise in Frankfort, certainly not your run- of-the-mill garden shop. A place to relax, take tours -- guided or unguided -- and check out the amazing greenery.
Along the drive to
Crystal Gardens' main garden center, you'll spot the cut flower gardens blooming with sunflowers, zinnias and cosmos. The herb garden, fragrant with every savory scent imaginable, also features a stream, waterfalls and a koi pond. In the hosta garden, there are 400 different varieties and a leafy canopy above to shade your exploration. The bird sanctuary's pathway wanders the perimeter of the south five acres, with plantings that encourage feeding and nesting birds.
There's even a nature exhibit with Monarch butterflies, frogs and painted turtles swimming in the pond, an observation beehive and miniature ducks. And when you're tired of all that fine fresh air, mosey into the Barn Swallow for antiques, art, jewelry and gifts.
It's all the vision of Wendell Putney, who grew up surrounded by an orchard in nearby Arcadia. A few years after leaving his factory job and moving to Frankfort, Crystal Gardens was born in 1976. Today, the center offers a vast selection of ceramics, custom-planted pots, as well as landscaping and maintenance services.
Writer: Patty LaNoue Stearns
Source: Starr Ness, Crystal Gardens
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.