The Whiteside Garden

The Whiteside Garden is located just east of Charleston, IL, once the former residence of the late Dr. Wesley Whiteside, a former Eastern Illinois University botany professor. The garden is now owned and managed by the Douglas-Hart Foundation, who manages two other thriving properties: Friendship Garden and the Douglas-Hart Nature Center, both in Mattoon, IL. The Whiteside Garden is full of flora from all over the world nestled on five acres of landscaped gardens. Dr. Whiteside and its current caretakers feature numerous natives of Illinois, but the gardening goes beyond that such as growing plants outside zone 6 or plants from different continents. A few examples to highlight include: Cedar of Labanon, Dove Tree, Franklinia alatamaha, Magnolias, Stewartias, Alabama Snow Wreath, Japanese Cedar, Lacebark Pine, and more. This garden was Dr. Whiteside's sanctuary and home for years, and now it is open to the public, 365 days a year, sunrise to sunset, for everyone to enjoy and gain inspiration and ideas for landscaping their own backyard oasis. The Douglas-Hart Foundation aimed to certify the garden as an arboretum to follow best practices, such as ensuring a plethora of plant labels, a searchable database, and educational programs, but more importantly, in reviewing handwritten notes by Dr. Whiteside, staff discovered his wish was the garden, "be used as an arboretum."