The West Chicago Garden Club

Three long-time club members will present our January program on Seed Starting: Methods to the Madness. Christina Covarubias, Jeff Handel, and Dan Beebe will share their personal experiences with starting perennial, annual, and vegetable seeds using different indoor and outdoor methods that allow gardeners to get a jumpstart on their gardens in the cold days of winter.

Christina will share her firsthand experiences with winter sowing. Borrowing from nature’s cold stratification process, when winter sowing, you don’t need sunny windows or grow lights, just some outdoor space. Christina will share tips on this “set it, and forget it” method of seed starting, which seeds are best to use, and when to start them

Jeff uses a more traditional indoor seed-starting method. He will cover the specifics of his setup, which seeds he has had success with over the years, and possibly some information on seeds and techniques that have not been very successful.

Dan uses methods similar to Jeff’s but on a larger scale. In preparation for the club’s plant sale and his gardens, Dan starts around 500 tomatoes, 500 peppers, 500 annual flowers, 250 herbs, and 250 other vegetables each year from seed. Dan will share information on the different growing methods, supplies, and tools he has used in the past, as well as some information on other indoor seed-starting methods he has been experimenting with.

Meeting Location: St Andrew Lutheran Church (NE Corner of Prince Crossing & Geneva Road.)

Meeting Time:

• 6:45PM Arrive & Mingle
• 7:00PM Business Meeting
• 7:15PM Program

Our September speaker will be Diane Blazek, Executive Director of All-America Selections and National Garden Bureau. Diane has been deeply (and happily!) immersed in gardening from an early age. From growing up on a small family farm to her small suburban lot, she is passionate about everything green.

After spending 15 years with Ball Publishing, Diane moved to take on her current role where she can be even closer to the end consumer. Both organizations are in an exciting period of growth and influence both inside and outside the industry. Innovative ideas and progressive programs for consumers, garden
communicators, public gardens, and a full range of growers and retailers have benefited home gardeners, master gardeners and hobby farmers.

Diane Blazek’s presentation is titled: Behind the Scenes of the Horticulture Industry: How Plants get From Here to There and Other Cool Facts about the Industry. Are you an inquisitive type? Do you like knowing “How was that made?” Or do you look at your garden and wonder how that plant came to be? Diane Blazek has been involved in the horticulture industry since 1993 and is ready to share some behind the scenes facts and figures about how plants get from the breeding fields and greenhouses to your garden. Along the way, a few fun facts are thrown in for an even more interesting evening

Meeting Location: St Andrew Lutheran Church (NE Corner of Prince Crossing & Geneva Road.)

Meeting Time:

• 6:45PM Arrive & Mingle
• 7:00PM Business Meeting
• 7:15PM Program

By Ruth Kyme

Our August speaker is Cindy Crosby.  Cindy is a Master Gardener, a steward for the Schulenberg Prairie at Morton Arboretum and at Nachusa Grasslands in Franklin Grove, Illinois.  She is also an author.  Her most recent book is Chasing Dragonflies:  A Natural and Personal History.  Through Cindy’s presentation, Dragonflies and Damselflies:  The Garden’s Frequent Fliers, we will discover the fascinating and bizarre lives of these jeweled garden fliers with plenty of group fun and lively interaction.  There is so much  to discover and marvel about!  Be amazed at their natural history through close up photography of Illinois dragonflies.  Find out how dragonflies tell us about the health of our waterways and the world.  Discover how you can garden to attract these remarkable flying creatures.

Meeting Location: St Andrew Lutheran Church (NE Corner of Prince Crossing & Geneva Road.)

Meeting Time:

• 6:45PM Arrive & Mingle
• 7:00PM Business Meeting
• 7:15PM Program