The West Chicago Garden Club

Organic Gardening presented by Glenn Grosch

Organic appears to be the new paradigm in home gardening. While it’s popularity continues to grow, there is as much fact as fiction both on the benefit, as well as, the methods of organic gardening. This presentation will discuss organic gardening from an unbiased perspective starting from the premise that it does have significant value. Considerable time will be spent on a discussion of how to implement an organic approach both in the areas of plant nutrition and pest control. The concept of “integrated pest management” will be introduced and explored. Finally, we will discuss a new gardening approach simply called “Smart Gardening”.

Glenn Grosch is a graduate of the University of Illinois with a degree in Agronomy. In addition he has associate degrees from Harper College in
Plant Science Technology and Parks & Grounds Management. He has been
certified as a Master Gardener and has been an instructor in the University of Illinois Master Gardener Continuing Education Program. In addition, Glenn has been recognized by the ISA as a “Certified Arborist”. He currently is on the teaching staff at the Chicago Botanic Garden and has been in that position since 1997. Since 1998 Glenn has been offering programs and presentations to over 150 garden clubs. His personal garden featuring an extensive hydrangea collection, an orchard and a large vegetable garden has been featured in the press on numerous occasions.

Guests are welcome to come to a meeting and see if they are interested in our club. Our dues are very reasonable: only $15 for an individual or $25 for a family of two. Come join us on January 23 at St. Andrew Lutheran Church (corner for Geneva Road and Prince Crossing Road).

By Barbara Darrah

I’m sitting in front of a cheerful fire, a glass of wine in my hand, a dozing cat on my lap and my best friend at my side. I look out the window, past the bird feeders, at the winter remnants of our garden. I am not saddened by this barren view because I am taking this time, like the garden itself, to pull my roots back down into myself and let my imagination kindle thoughts of the coming spring and summer. Should we plant something new? Should we cut back an overgrown bush? We all dream of getting out there in the warm sun and getting our hands dirty once again.

I think it would be hard to be a gardener if you couldn’t have this chance to settle into the warmth of this winter hibernation. We need this time to contemplate the bare bones of our surroundings and picture the changes that we can make to enhance this small part of the world that we call our own.

Of course, those of us who volunteer at Kruse House are imagining our “second” garden as well. We are always thinking of ways to improve it without forgetting our ultimate goal of keeping its maintenance low. It’s actually fun to get together for a few hours on a Wednesday morning. We would love to have any of you who occasionally can spare an hour or so to come and join us. Or if you want to stop by any time and pull a weed or two – Welcome.

In the meantime , we can all revel in good food, warm fires and the pleasure of the crisp winter air and dream about the coming spring.