Pilot Plot

Granite City, IL

Size: 1/2 acre

Year established: 2017

Year inducted: 2021

Category: Professionally and volunteer managed

Entrance Fee: Free

Description: The Pilot Plot garden is an urban garden established in the shadow of the local steel mill. The garden is designed to be wild while maintaining a sense of neatness to help fit within an urban context. Pilot Plot includes a series of swales and basins designed to capture rainwater, planted with species that survive in these conditions.

Pilot Plot was established using seeds and gallon-sized plants on three lots that were formerly building sites. Garden paths are maintained weekly, and the control of invasives is removed manually. Previous years’ growth is removed in early spring; the planting is not burned.

Other entities that have been involved with Pilot Plot are Madison County Planning, City of Granite City Cool Cities Committee, Sierra Club, Granite City Steel Foundation, S.O.A.R (a retired steelworkers organization), and the Granite City Arts and Design District. Pilot Plot is home to an artists’ flag gallery called STNDRD. Pilot Plot has been the location for food events, art exhibits, student volunteer days, and docent-led tours for academic and other visitors.

Ten Great Native Plants to See Here:
Amsonia illustris (shining bluestar)
Asclepias incarnata (marsh milkweed)
Penstemon digitalis (white beardtongue)
Vernonia missouriensis (Missouri ironweed)
Solidago speciosa (showy goldenrod)
Monarda fistulosa (wild bergamot)
Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem)
Hibiscus lasiocarpos (rose mallow)
Liatris pycnostachya (prairie blazingstar)
Silphium laciniatum (prairie dock)

Signage: The garden has interpretive panels.

Accessibility: There are mown paths through the garden.

For More Information:
Chris Carl
studiolandarts@gmail.com
217-390-3186; please text before calling