The West Chicago Garden Club

An Encyclopedia of Heirloom Ornamental Plants, 1640-1940, by Denise Wiles Adams was published in 2004. It is a remarkable book of history and horticulture with emphasis on American history that connects us with national roots and cherished past generations. This book is a treasure trove of information as well as heart warming. Much information for this reference was obtained from nursery plant or seed catalogs of the day, augmented and confirmed by period books and magazines. I thought it would be fun to share bits of history on select Kruse Garden plants. Continue Reading »

 “From December to March, there are for many of us three gardens: the garden outdoors, the garden of pots and bowls in the house, and the garden of the mind’s eye.”
–   Katherine S. Whit

January and February are months for gardeners to dream.  The ‘new year’ of spring is eagerly anticipated but no need, or possibility, of hurrying time so we revel in catalogues, magazines, & books (now-a-days, Internet and seminars too) for pictures and words to stir our imaginations and stimulate our creative juices.  J. Nuese, The Country Garden, 1970, speaks of leafing through catalogues, “half drunk with anticipation”.  And goes on to describe winter as the gardener’s cocktail hour, “just as in the candle-lit dusk of the cocktail hour all men are brilliant and all women beautiful so, in the catalogues, all plants are enchanting, all bloom unceasingly, all are easy to grow, all are suited to your area.  It is one of the happiest of all delusions, putting stars into your eyes and mush into the mental processes.”  No doubt, Cecilia Kruse and her mother and aunts before her, happily lost themselves in the bliss (or scourge) of gardener’s winter dreaming. We carry on the tradition without resistance! Continue Reading »

This is our 8^th and final ‘News’ for the year.  We are grateful to our newsletter editor for her patience with our last minute submissions and her creative presentation of our ‘news from kruse’.  We are always delighted to see page 4…thank you Elaine! You are the greatest! 

Well, we’ve gone from grape hyacinths to ‘Tidy Time’. The garden has dazzled and delighted through-out the year.  The Kruzies, (Tom, Angie, Billie), have been rewarded for their efforts!  From buds to decay the ever changing, always interesting, garden has been a pleasure and the company ain’t bad either!   Thank you garden club members one and all for your support throughout the year.  Also, a special thanks to Historical Society leadership for their encouragement and assistance in our work. We had a great time at the Ice Cream Social in September.  It’s such a good time to relax and enjoy the garden without a tool in hand.  Also, great to win some loot at auction!  Continue Reading »