The West Chicago Garden Club

It’s June and the Kruse House Garden is at its peak of splendor. Credit goes to good old Mother Nature, but more importantly to the many Club members who have generously devoted many volunteer hours tending the garden and to those who have donated spectacular plants.

Recently Jan Grismore contributed a Beauty Berry Shrub which has settled in nicely. She and Angie Sadauskas brought Monarda and Shasta Daisies from their yards. Angie also transported giant, lime green hosta to fill in the island bed along the driveway.

Jean Ann Saarnio brought several large flats of White Bleeding Heart. To encourage energy to go to the roots, we cut the leaves back to about six inches. What a unique and elegant addition.

Jeff Handle contributed Zinnias that he nurtured from seeds. Zinnia is a genus of plants of the sunflower tribe within the daisy family. Did you know Zinnias are edible?

Billie Childress dug out a huge Ninebark from her garden. She planted it on the 

back hill to replace a dogwood that was struggling under the black walnut trees. Billie‘s research found that Ninebarks do well in proximity to black walnut trees. Before placing the shrub in the ground, she added  Mycorrhizae, a beneficial fungi that increases root surface area.

Lorraine Biang, a former club member, donated tall Bearded Iris many years ago. They are thriving and their rich purple color is impressive.

The stunning stand of Fleece Flower (Persicaria), donated by Sandy Saad, is next to the pond and in front of the stone garden wall that Pam Lurz and her husband rebuilt several years ago.

Chuck and Shirley Schramer gave us the Ginkgo tree that graces the garden. Behind it you can see the sensational William Baffin rose and Rosa Glauca rose. Absolutely stunning!

Come and enjoy the beauty of the Kruse Garden.

Kerry Perry

To see more photos, visit our Facebook page

Have you noticed every plant store is carrying succulent gardens?

We will supply everything (plants, stones, shells, wood chips and soil) except your planter/container and any special items like fairies or little statues.

Since we need to make sure we have enough plants, stones, shells, rocks, dirt etc….we ask that everyone RSVP…so far we have 28 members that signed up.  If you are attending and did not RSVP yet, please email Barb Melville or call 630-293-4776 and leave a message.

Please bring your own lawn chair (if you have one).  If the weather does not permit us to be outside we will have this meeting at our usual location Faith Community Church, 910 Main Street.

Example of a Succulent planter

Our own garden club member, Marcie, has graciously agreed to facilitate this class.  Marcie has years of experience working with plants and gardens and has been conducting classes and training in this field.

Marcie’s Tips For A Succulent Garden:

• The container should be at least 2″ deep
• The container should be large enough for 3 small plants, stones, shells, or other decorative items
• If the container is to be outside it should have adequate drainage holes
• MAKE IT YOUR OWN! you can find miniature statues, angels, fairies in just about all plant stores

The West Chicago High School Orchestra will provide our club with a group of string musicians for our enjoyment

Tags: Kruse Garden, Succulents

Kruse Garden May 2018

When T. S. Eliot wrote that “April is the cruelest month” he was voicing someone who, unlike our fellow gardeners, didn’t want to break out of the doldrums of winter.  However, this year his words certainly applied to us as we suffered through a cold, snowy, rainy month that offered little hope of spring.  Nevertheless, the Kruse crew turned out to start bringing the garden out of its winter sleep.  I was able to join them at the beginning of May to find everything in excellent shape.  Since I am only able to be there occasionally, I concentrated on weeding while the regulars worked on other chores as well.

While pulling up creeping Charlie, my mind wandered back to the early days in the Kruse garden.  We started out with the intention of restoring it to its original state.  We divided the garden into its separate historic areas and asked members to choose one to restore and maintain.  Dick and I chose the iris bed to the side of the path behind the garden shed.  We brought bearded iris from home, planted them and weeded throughout the summers.  Alas, they kept dying out because of the heavy shade from the pear tree.  We started replacing them with Siberian iris, but they weren’t holding up either.  Finally, we started putting in daylilies where we could and bought and planted some Azalea bushes.   About that time, everyone agreed that we weren’t going to be able to actually restore the garden unless the Kruse House board decided to cut down some of the trees.

Having given up on that idea and realizing that those of us still working  were getting burned out, the club decided that we needed to concentrate on planting things that were more easily sustainable and I am amazed at what a great job the new crew of volunteers have done.  They came along at a time when they were needed and saved a project that many of us feared might be doomed to failure.  I’ve enjoyed being able to join them occasionally and suggest that some of you might enjoy doing so as well. Just show up on a Wednesday morning for a few hours and the crew will find something for you to do.

In the meantime, I encourage you to come to our May meeting and see what a wonderful garden we have created.

— Barbara Darrah

Tags: Kruse Garden