The West Chicago Garden Club

By Billie Childress

Our fabulous, famous, Garden Club Plant Sale is right around the corner! And… what makes our Plant Sale fabulous and famous is the plants that we dig out of our gardens. Plants from our gardens don’t need to sleep the first year, creep the second, and leap the third like a perennial plant from a nursery. No…sir….eeee! Our plants slow down a bit because it is traumatic to be transplanted but a fully developed root system, even one damaged by division, helps the plant reestablish quickly in its new place.

My garden is filled with Plant Sale plants and that’s the best testimonial there is, that indeed, our plant sale is famous and fabulous. I have purple coneflower, astilbe, epimedium, sensitive fern, monarda, and rudbeckia , just to name a few thriving in my garden, that came from our plant sale. And I hope many of you have a pagoda dogwood, a Mary Todd day lily, a Parkys Gold Hosta, or some other Plant from my garden thriving in your garden.

Kruse Garden in Summer

So what does that have to do with the Kruse Garden???

Well, let me explain.

I’m pondering what plants the Kruse Garden could contribute to the sale! I’m willing to bet that all our gardens have something. It’s just a matter of giving it some thought and of course digging it up in April to be potted at one of our potting parties. In general, the Kruse Garden still needs plants, so why/what would we give away?! Some plants like  Nepeta are generous self seeders and we could spare some of those and our Cyprus spurge needs to be thinned out.

And there you have it! Some plants for the sale! It’s likely there’s another plant or two that we’ll think of to
donate. It is interesting and exciting as the donation bags are opened at the potting parties! It’s amazing what a variety of great plants members generously donate from their gardens!

A message from the West Chicago Garden Club President:

As I sit in my office and write this article, I can’t help but think about all the things that have changed since my last message one month ago.  As I am sure every one of you knows, the COVID-19 pandemic has led the Garden Club board to make some hard, disappointing decisions.  Our general meeting and speaker for March has been cancelled. The 2020 plant sale has also been cancelled, although we still plan on having an informational booth at Bloomingfest assuming that it is not cancelled by the City. Our general meeting for April is still planned, but may need to be cancelled.  However, as a club, our finances are in great shape and as an organization we can wait this out.  We are not giving up and expect to be back to our, perhaps slightly modified, normal routine (involving a lot more hand sanitizer) at some point in the near future.

Personally, the advent of Spring has helped provide some encouragement.  Many studies have noted that gardening generally improves mood, enhances emotional well-being, reduces anxiety and stress, and helps reduce the symptoms of depression.  In a world filled with bad news, I can still make big plans for my yard and dream about all of the quality garden time I will soon be able to enjoy.  If the weather continues to cooperate (please, please, please), I plan on spending a lot of my time socializing with the squirrels, birds and insects in my own yard and catching up on projects that I have been putting off for way too long.  I also plan on listening to a few books, taking a few naps and just sitting quietly out in my yard.

The future is much more pleasant and manageable when focused on the bright possibilities that Spring and Summer bring to our yards and gardens.  I plan on taking advantage of this fact over the next few months. I encourage you to do the same.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Dan

Our 20th Annual West Chicago Garden Club Plant Sale will be on Saturday, May 18th from 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM.  It will be at the heart of the West Chicago Blooming Fest in Downtown West Chicago.

Most of our plants come from our members’ gardens or are raised in their greenhouses.  You will find Natives, Annuals, Perennials, Vegetables, Herbs, and even some small shrubs and trees.

The sale will be held Rain or Shine! Arrive early for the best selection.  A PDF version of our poster is available.