The West Chicago Garden Club

For our May meeting we will be visiting the Wildflower Sanctuary in downtown Batavia. The Wildflower Sanctuary was created and continues to be maintained by The Plain Dirt Gardeners in Batavia.  Sarah Kimber and Terri Hoehne of the Plain Dirt Gardeners will be our guides.  We will meet them at the Peg Bond Center (bandshell) 151 N. Island Avenue, which is located along the Fox River and across from City Hall.

There is parking next to the Peg Bond Center and also to the north of City Hall.

The total distance from the Peg Bond Center through the Wildflower Sanctuary and back is about 1/2 mile. We will see a variety of spring ephemerals and native trees and shrubs in the garden.

We will not have a snack table.  You may want to try one of the pubs or restaurants in downtown Batavia before or after the program.   A friend that I volunteer with really likes El Taco Grande on River Street.

Please note the starting time will be at 6:30pm (a little earlier than our normal 7pm start).

Our April speaker will be Landon Gibbs, horticulturist at Cantigny Park.  His presentation will focus on creating “A Well Rounded Garden.”  Some gardeners want more native plants, some want more annuals,  and everyone wants color in every season.  Landon will provide us with ways to build a landscape that  gives us both habitat and color throughout the seasons using shrubs, perennials, natives, and annuals.

We are planning to hold the March meeting in person as usual this month. If there are changes due to the ongoing pandemic, we will notify members via email and calling-post. Masks are now optional and we will be having refreshments before the meeting.

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

Meeting Time: 6:45PM Refreshments – 7:00PM Business Meeting – 7:15PM Program

Our March speaker, naturalist David Brooks of Spring Valley Nature Center in Schaumburg, will be presenting “Foraging for Wild Edibles.” Foraging for wild edible plants requires knowledge and skill possessed by our ancestors but lost to most of us. This introduction will show you how, when and where to gather a variety of highly nutritious and delicious wild plants as well as provide recipes and other preparation tips. Suggestions and resources for improving your wild plant identification skills will also be available.

We are planning to hold the March meeting in person as usual this month. If there are changes due to the ongoing pandemic, we will notify members via email and calling-post. Masks are now optional and we will be having refreshments before the meeting.

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

Meeting Time: 6:45PM Refreshments – 7:00PM Business Meeting – 7:15PM Program