The West Chicago Garden Club

By Ruth Kyme

Our June meeting will be held in the Kruse Garden (weather permitting,) otherwise we will meet at St. Andrews Church.  I will guide you in creating a lovely Mason jar floral arrangement using flowers and foliage from your garden.

The workshop is for members-only, but all visitors are welcome at the meeting and visiting the Kruse House Museum & Garden.

The “ingredients “ from your garden can be divided into 3 basic groups that we work with to create a unique arrangement:

• FOCAL – the main flowers that capture the most attention – hydrangeas, lilies, coneflowers, daisies, etc.
• FILLER – other flowers compliment the focal flowers – cosmos, snapdragons, yarrow, salvia, goats beard, etc.
• FOLIAGE – the greenery that creates the foundation for the focal and filler flowers- shrub cuttings, various herbs, grasses, dusty miller, scented geranium, poppy pods, etc.

Although not totally necessary, try to have fairly equal amounts from each group.  If you are able to bring extras of any group to share with others, that would be greatly appreciated.

The WCGC will provide each arranger with a pint(16oz.) wide-mouth Mason jar with a grid (frog) insert.  The insert will aid in keeping plant material in place during the arranging process and afterwards.  You will need to bring a cutting tool appropriate for cutting flowers and greenery. 

Be creative and have fun selecting your “ingredients!”  I am looking forward to seeing everyone’s creations.

NOTE: If you are not interested in the mini-workshop, please come by the meeting to see the fantastic Kruse House Museum & Garden. Our volunteers do an amazing job and it is well worth the visit. We will have the usual snacks/social time before the business meeting and there is plenty of space to wander around and visit without disturbing the workshop. The Kruse House will be open for inside tours along with a display of. Celia Kruse’s garden tools.

PARKING: There are only a few parking spots actually at the Kruse Museum; however, we have obtained permission to park in the City Hall Parking Lot (475 Main Street) which is a very short walk to the garden.

By Billie Childress

These folks are fun and great gardeners! I look forward to Wednesday mornings in the Kruse House Museum Gardens. Please consider joining us. The participation is totally flexible. Sometimes only 4-5 of us are there but every person makes a difference. You will fit right in and a couple hours of your time will be greatly appreciated. We work every Wednesday morning at 9am. Just show up with minimal tools (we have extras in shed as needed). Contact Billie 630-862-1213 with any questions.

WE ARE READY: Garden Club is meeting in the Kruse Gardens in June. You are gonna love the gardens! And we hope you’ll return often with friends, family and neighbors to share this garden with others. Sharing this garden is really what we’re all about. It’s a locus of beauty, inspiration, education, contemplation and so much more.

NEW STUFF: We have added a trellis, mailbox, and some rock borders. And of course we are always tucking in new plants. It’s tough to get a new plant established because we’re not there all the time to keep an eye on them and it’s a big garden.

Looking forward to seeing you in the garden!

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!