Wellfield Botanic Gardens crowned best botanic garden in the US

ELKHART, Ind. -- A local botanic garden isn't just one of the best in the area, it's the best in the country!

Wellfield Botanic Garden in Elkhart was recently named the number one botanic garden in the US by outdoor apparel brand KUHL.

Not everyone gets a chance to say they're the best in the country at something, but the staff here at Wellfield can now do just that.

The serenity of nature is on full display here at Wellfield Botanic Garden.

Out of more than 400 gardens throughout the United States, they've been crowned number one.

"I was notified first thing in the morning when a friend texted me, and said 'congratulations, Kurt, here's a link to the study', and so this was a big surprise to me, and to our whole team at the gardens," said Kurt Dreisilker, Wellfield's executive director.

With a score of 95.9 out of a possible 100 points stemming from more than one thousand visitor reviews, Wellfield stood tall among gardens in much bigger cities and emerged on top.

"The company, KUHL, they had a methodology that actually used the online ratings, for the garden so everybody who comes to the gardens, just like anywhere else, can rate the experience that they have, and so all of these ratings were used to rate the botanic gardens," said Dreisilker.

But being number one doesn't happen overnight.

Wellfield has undergone plenty of changes and developments in the last two decades to become what you see today.

"This garden has been in the works now for over 20 years, and so what I feel is so special about this is that all of these past years, these past two decades, have been creating this environment so really, this is a testament to the entire history of the staff and the culture here at the gardens," said Dreisilker.

The 36-acre garden sits on a property that provides Elkhart with hydraulic energy and drinking water.

In order to qualify for the distinction of being the number one garden in the country, gardens had to have at least 500 recent reviews.

"It's a really special moment for us because there's so many gardens across the country that are really top ranked gardens, and I've traveled and I've seen a lot of these gardens, so to be ranked in such a manner, it's pretty special for us and we all really appreciate that," said Dreisilker.

Dresilker says he was shocked but amazed to get this distinction, out of all of the exceptional gardens across the country.