The West Chicago Garden Club

Ghouls in our Garden by Christina Covarrubias

Flowers in the garden are typically thought of as calming and cheerful but what about the plants that are dangerous? Some lovely flowers come with a warning like roses with thorns. Other flowers -though beautiful- need to be handled with caution. Keep reading for examples we have in our garden.

Monkshood Aconitum v. is a delightful, dark purple fall-blooming perennial standing approximately 36″ tall -however all parts are poisonous.

Castor bean Ricinus communis is a unique annual, in our area, with palmate red or green leaves and bright red ball-like inflorescences, its fast-growing tropical appearance makes a unique addition to our sun-drench containers. Castor bean is EXTREMELY toxic and known as the poison ricin which is estimated at 12,000 times more toxic than rattlesnake venom.

Mediterranean spurge Euphorbia characias we consider a thug in our garden as it spreads wildly. It and other more attractive euphorbias can cause skin irritation, rash and if the exposed to the eyes can lead to blindness. We found this out, unfortunately, through one of our fellow gardeners who had a horrible reaction to her eyes and required an emergency room visit. Please wear gloves when handling this plant and don’t let it touch any part of your body.

Poison Ivy Toxicodendron radicans, what garden is complete without a little poison ivy supplied by birds? Interestingly poison ivy loves climate change, scientists note it grows bigger, sprout early and is more potent in response to higher CO2 exposure. Kerry Perry has taken one for the team to thoroughly irradicate our unintentional patch of poison ivy.

Please don’t let these plants ever deter you from visiting our garden or gardening.

If you care to join us gardening in the Kruse garden next year we typically garden from 9-11:30am every Wednesday and the same time on the 2nd Saturday of each month starting in spring.

Visit the garden during any daylight hours, there are still plenty of plants blooming and we have been busy fall-dividing and planting perennials-come find them! Kruse House Museum 527 Main St West Chicago, Il 60185

Tags: Kruse Garden

By Barbara Darrah

I am writing this article with a bit of hesitancy because since July 18 when my husband Dick had knee replacement surgery, I became his “designated driver” and have spent my Wednesday mornings ferrying him to his therapy sessions. I am sure that the crew members managed very well without me but I have missed our gardening together.

This has been a very strange and exhausting summer for all of our gardening as well. These super hot and humid days seem to just suck our energy out of us. Many plants seem to have outdone their normal growth patterns. The clover and creeping Charlie have made a concerted effort to take over our lawns and in the flower beds that I hoped were weedless, there are three and four foot invaders towering over the blossoms. The Joe Pyeweed has flopped completely over and deadheading seems endless. We are all working overtime along with the industrious Kruse crew.

I hope you have taken advantage of the Tuesday Open House at the garden. If you still haven’t had a chance to tour the house, do try to do so. Most house museums showcase the large, expensive houses of the upper classes. Thanks to the Kruse sisters’ gift to the community, we have the unique opportunity to visit an early twentieth century remarkably complete example of the small town home that your midwestern great, great grandparents probably lived in. And the docents seem to ensure that there is always something new to see every time that you visit. Thanks to our garden club volunteers, you also get to see a charming garden as well.

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.

Tags: Kruse Garden

By Kerry Perry

Every week I make a short visit to the Kruse House Garden to see what’s happening. All the bright colors are absent, but it’s still beautiful.

In winter you can see the bone structure of the yard. There’s a sharp contrast of the dark of the tree trunks and branches against the white snow and blue sky. The fading sunlight leaves interesting shadows.

The heavy snows leave a seamless layer of clean, white quietness. Under that blanket are many perennials that will wake up soon and show their splendor.

The Kruse Gardeners are already thinking about spring and wanting to get our hands dirty. Look back at the January Newsletter for our To Do and Wish List. One of our long-time members has graciously offered to donate bushes for the side yard and to join the crew. Any help, whether it’s pulling weeds, spreading mulch or trimming back plants will be greatly appreciated.

Tags: Kruse Garden