The West Chicago Garden Club

Our May speaker will be Liz Omura, horticulturist at Cantigny in Winfield.  She is in charge of designing, planting and maintaining the beds in the Idea Garden at Cantigny.  In her presentation, Envisioning Garden Design, Liz will share with us her approach on how she designs a garden space -both at Cantigny and in her home garden.

Does your garden include functional areas for entertaining, wildlife refuge or a source for fresh veggies?  Does it incorporate a core mood of what you want your dream garden to feel like?  Does it include your favorite sensory experiences?  We’ll cover many of these elements in this talk and spark ideas on how to add these elements to your own landscape. 

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 Keith Letsche

After delays by April’s cold and rainy weather, the Kruse House garden crew has been working diligently in May to get the garden in shape. The past two Wednesdays were spent trimming and removing dead branches and plant stalks and giving the garden a thorough weeding. Also last Wednesday, the front beds were planted for the summer with marigolds and alyssum. Next week the pansies and johnny-jump-ups in the front and side urns will be traded for clusters of summer flowers. Joining the Kruse House crew since last report is Christina Covarrubias. Not only will she be digging in the garden with the rest of the crew, but will be acting as the liaison between the Garden Club and the Historical Society and planning garden tours and other events to draw more people to the garden.

Although April’s lush rows of grape hyacinths are now gone, clumps of irises and other later spring plants are blooming in the front bed on the east side. In the backyard the branches of the redbud are coated with rosy blooms, one of the real treats of spring. And a new lattice screen, built by Kerry Perry and a friend of hers, has been erected in front of the condominium transformer at the end of the driveway. We are fast moving toward June when the garden will be at its height.

If you are interested in volunteering, our Kruse Gardeners are out in the garden (527 Main Street) every Wednesday morning (weather permitting). All are welcome!

Our West Chicago Garden Club Plant Sale will be on Saturday, May 20th from 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM. It will be at the heart of the West Chicago Blooming Fest in Downtown West Chicago.

Most of our plants come from our members’ gardens or are raised in their greenhouses. You will find Natives, Annuals, Perennials, Vegetables, Herbs, and even some small shrubs and trees.  There are around 5000 plants this year!  We have 20 different varieties of Peppers and 17 different tomatoes – both Heirloom and Hybrid.

The sale will be held Rain or Shine! Arrive early for the best selection – the tent opens at 9:00am sharp.

The Festival is along Main St. in downtown West Chicago.  Our tent is on Galena St with the entrance on Main St.