The West Chicago Garden Club

By Dee Soustek

The gardeners are back!   So are the weeds and the plants that love to reseed!  It’s been fun reconnecting to the garden and especially the Kruse gardeners!  Everything is green, vibrant, and looking good. 

Most of the spring bulbs have finished blooming giving way to the next group of spring blooming plants. The Irises are throughout the gardens, most of the dwarf crested irises have finished blooming waiting for the tall bearded Irises to make their appearance. They all have big buds, getting ready for their time to shine.  You should stop by to check them out as well as the Poppies that are ready to Pop and of course I can’t forget the peonies!  Be sure to check out the peonies by the front entrance, they are spectacular. The Alliums are dotted throughout the garden and look so beautiful especially when the sun lights them up. They seem to multiply but not problematic, we can easily move them to other areas. 

The Lilacs are finishing up. They looked fantastic, and the fragrance was heavenly!  Kruse has such a nice variety of lilacs which is so fitting for the historical home, as is,the Bridal Wreath, Spirea that is around the entrance and along the fence line. 

We welcome you to visit Kruse House Gardens and if you are interested in working in the gardens we are there Wednesdays, 9:00 to 11:30am. Happy gardening!   

Our April speaker will be horticulturalist and garden writer, Nina Koziol.  In her presentation, The Elegant Edible Garden, Nina will introduce us to the portager (pow tuh jay.). The potager is an elegant, productive kitchen garden—large or small—that provides seasonal vegetables, berries, and cutting flowers. Discover the elements that make attractive, functional layouts for your home, provide a wonderful harvest, and attract pollinators.

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 Christina Covarrubias 

West Chicago Garden Club gardeners returned to the garden at the Kruse House museum property just last week and will meet every Wednesday from 9-11am weather permitting.

Gardening began just in time to inhale all the beauty of spring. Literally, at every turn in the garden there is a bright spot of color from the flowering barrenwort along the sidewalk, tulips dotting the landscape, Virginia bluebells, pink and purple lungwort, hot pink pigsqueak, a showstopper of a magnolia tree to blankets of violet-hued grape hyacinths that are children, grandchildren and great grandchild (probably) of the original ones planted by the Kruse family. A picture will not do it justice to represent how lovely the garden is in spring.

Ephemeral bulbs are not the only thing of interest in the garden. There are several unique species of trees including ginkgo, dogwood, London planetree, an original pear tree, and even a once-thought-extinct Dawn Redwood.

Just a note, from the Metasequoia genus native to China, a forester rediscovered Dawn Redwoods in one single Chinese region during the 1940’s. This led to seed collection and distribution around the world. The deciduous Dawn Redwood species sets itself apart from the other two redwoods species (Great Sequoia and Coast Redwood) by changing color to a rusty orange in the fall and then dropping its leaves. Such a treasure to have in this garden!

If you find yourself driving down Main Street at any time you should pull in the driveway and take a short (or long!) stroll around the garden.