The Gardens
Welcome Home Garden West
This garden is located around the “Ridgeway Welcome Home” sign on the West entrance to the village, where the road goes over HWY 18/151. It is viewable on Main St. when people leave town headed toward Dodgeville or walk along the Military Ridge Bike Trail.
Plantings: This garden is planted with native prairie flowers and grasses that love sun and dry soils. It attracts birds, bees, butterflies, and even toads.
The Bridge Garden
This garden is situated on a steep side of the Military Ridge Bike Trail, near the Fire Department, where the trail goes over a small stone culvert, or bridge, which gave the garden its name. It is viewable when people drive along Main St. or use the bike trail.
Plantings: The garden has both sunny and shady parts, so is able to hold a wide range of native plant types. Our goal is to always have something in bloom for those walking or riding by.
Cardinal Way Pond
The pond is located on village property at the bottom of two steep hills behind the houses and lots on Main St., Tallman Ct., and Cardinal Way. The path to reach the pond begins on Tallman Ct. Please respect the neighbor’s property when enjoying the pond!
Our main goal is to convert the stormwater retention pond into a natural area that includes native plantings and green space for the enjoyment of residents. This would include:
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Planting native aquatic, rainwater, and prairie plants in appropriate areas in and around the pond to create wildlife habitat and an aesthetically pleasing natural area for humans.
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Promoting native habitat for beneficial wildlife (such as frogs, dragonflies, birds, bats) as a natural means of controlling the mosquito population instead of using insecticides.
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Maintaining a walking path around the pond and installing benches so village residents can more easily enjoy the area and watch the wildlife.
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Developing the area in such a way as to promote water quality and not interfere with the stormwater retention properties of the pond (the pond discharges into the Upper East Branch of the Pecatonica River).
Welcome Home East
This little garden is located under the Welcome Home sign on Hwy 151 and County Road HHH. We just adopted this area and hope to have some plants in the summer and fall of 2021.