The West Chicago Garden Club

The Historical Society is the organization that runs and maintains the Kruse House Museum. On Saturday, September 9th from Noon to 3:00pm they will be holding their Ice Cream Social fundraiser. This event is held out in the garden and is a wonderful opportunity to visit the garden, the museum and enjoy some tasty desserts.

Tickets are $5.00 each and can be purchased at the entrance of the Kruse House on the day of the event. Included in the price of your ticket you get ice cream, drinks and a selection from many baked items baked and donated by members of the community (including our president Dan’s almost-world famous cherry pie made with home grown cherries).

Please consider stopping by the Kruse House Garden on September 9th and enjoy some good old fashioned socializing in the beautiful gardens while supporting an organization that supports our efforts in the community. Our volunteers and the members of the Historical Society will appreciate your visit.

Our August speaker, Marcy Lautanen-Raleigh, the creator and owner of Backyard Patch Herbs, an online purveyor of salt-free, gluten-free, preservative-free herb cooking and tea products. She began growing herbs in 1994 with a small kitchen garden. Currently, after 25 years, she has expanded to a 3⁄4 acre garden. Over the years she has learned much about herbs, their growing habits, uses and quirks. She began speaking in the 80s as a museum curator and director and moved to sharing herb information in the 90s including at the Morton Arboretum, Chicago Flower and Garden Show, online on the Backyard Patch Herbal Blog, and at local libraries and garden clubs in Chicagoland.

During her program, ‘Be an Herbal Gourmet,’ Marcy will demonstrate how, by adding even the most basic herbs to your culinary palette, you can make your cooking more interesting, delicious and enjoyable. Demonstrations will include how to create herb mixtures to replace salt in food, techniques for infusing vinegar, sugar, compound butter and herb paste. Techniques will be demonstrated. Discussion of herbs and samples will be included.

Adding herbs can enhance flavors and allow for more healthful cooking. It is easy to create herb mixtures to replace salt in food. This and other tips for using herbs to cook with everyday are included in this lecture. The discussion includes flavor families, what herbs to use with certain dishes, and how to create herbal vinegars, butters and other items which can add herb flavors to cooking when herbs themselves are not appropriate.

Meeting Location: St Andrew Lutheran Church NE Corner of Prince Crossing & Geneva Road.

Meeting Time: 6:45PM Refreshments – 7:00PM Business Meeting – 7:15PM Program

By Dee Soustek

Kruse Garden Volunteers

The dog days of summer at the Kruse garden. Heat, drought and weeds don’t stop the volunteers. The garden is looking good and always amazes! Just like your home garden; we plant, mulch, pull weeds, deadhead, transplant, cut back, trim the shrubs, water, and update. There is always something that needs doing! It’s fun doing the work as a team. It’s not overwhelming and it always feels good, that the area you worked, looks better than when you started. Stop by and visit the Kruse Garden and see what’s in bloom.

“Gardening adds years to your life and life to your years.” – unknown