The West Chicago Garden Club

One of my favorite poets, Robert Frost, described the erratic nature of spring in the following words:

The sun was warm but the wind was chill,
You know how it is with an April day,
When the sun is out and the wind is still,
You’re one month on in the middle of May.
But if you so much as dare to speak,
A cloud comes over the sunlit arch
And wind comes off a frozen peak,
And you’re two months back in the middle of March.

He certainly had it right about the weather when we started gardening at Kruse this spring. When it wasn’t raining so hard that we had to cancel, it was freezing cold and windy. Then, all of a sudden, it was a humid 80 degrees. Nevertheless, our valiant crew soldiered on. We started out cleaning up and cutting back. Then we all spent one morning attacking the creeping Charlie and sticky-weed (i.e. bedstraw) only to discover the next week that we didn’t get it all. We moved on to planting and I think the garden is looking great. Sometimes, we start out with a walk-around, not just to see what needs to be done, but also to stop and enjoy the beauty of the garden itself, something I need to remind myself to do in my own garden as well.

More than twenty years ago , two local women decided to restart the West Chicago Garden Club with the intention to make restoring the Kruse Garden as its main community project. I think they would be astonished to see what we have accomplished. I think they would also be surprised that our first little plant sale at the Fox Center would result in BloomingFest and the spreading of plants from our gardens throughout all the local communities .We can be proud that we have fulfilled the goals set out for us at that time.

Dick and I will miss seeing you all at the May meeting . Right after the plant sale, we are leaving for England to visit the Chelsea Flower Show and tour other English gardens. Look for his pictures on the garden club website or Facebook. I’ll be the small woman he insists on including in his photographs.

The Kruse Garden is located at 527 Main Street, West Chicago, IL 60185

It’s early April at the Kruse Garden and the anticipation is immense to see winter wither away and new growth emerge. Already, the cream colored hellebores planted last fall are in bloom and the Gentian-blue flowers commonly known as Glory of the Snow are showing their bright color.

The red eyes of the peony in the front yard are peeking out and in early June will be spectacular. Soon the white bearded irises will be four feet tall with gigantic blooms. Rudbeckia (sunny yellow flowers) are  pushing out tiny green leaves among last years dried stalks. This summer the plants will be nearly six feet tall. Aah the anticipation.

The variety of plants in the Kruse Garden is impressive. Visit any time and let the Kruse Crew know if and when you’d like to help! Come plant, prune, weed and perhaps pick up some gardening tips.

The Kruse Garden is located at 527 Main Street, West Chicago, IL 60185

By Dee Soustek

I’m new to Kruse and I’m so happy to be part of the crew!  I love gardening and it’s more fun doing it with fellow gardeners.  At home I garden in a small space, so it’s different and fun to garden in a large space, learning about new plants and sharing ideas and muscle.  Gardening in a new space helps expand my gardening knowledge and I look forward to a full season at Kruse. 

You can join the fun at Kruse, we garden on Wednesday’s at 9:00am, contact Billie for more information. Please consider volunteering, more hands make the work quick and more enjoyable. 

I went over to Kruse to look around and to see if Spring had sprung. I was a little surprised to notice a raccoon ??? had beat me to the punch. Look at the size of those paws!  I took a stroll thru the garden on Friday, March 4th, being new to Kruse I didn’t know where to look for the daffodils, aconite, and tulips that I know are there. So I looked around and most of the garden is still dormant but spotted bulbs poking up and some perennials and woodies starting to bud.  I did notice the hellebores that we transplanted on a hot day in August seemed to have made it thru the winter! That was a nice surprise.

Happy Spring!