The West Chicago Garden Club

Our September speaker will be Barbara Collins. Barb earned a Masters Degree in Horticulture from the University of Illinois, Urbana. She is the published author of two books: Landscaping Herbs and Professional Interior Plantscaping.

The NOAA has declared that 2024 was our planets warmest year. In Barb’s presentation, “Buckle Up: Climate Change is Here,” we will examine wild weather extremes as a result and learn what we can do to help our plants survive.

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 Kerry Perry

It’s all a buzz at the Kruse Garden. We have an enormous variety of perennials that the bees and other pollinators love. Blooming now is calamint, sedum, blue lobelia, golden rod, joe-pye weed and others. Look closely and you’ll see lots of different insects. There are around 500 species of bees native to Illinois. Surprise, honey bees are non-native.

[For the rest of the photos, see the September Newsletter] Can you identify the five insects in these photos I took at Kruse? Let me know at the next meeting. You might “bee” a prize winner!

The Kruse Garden is in need of 10-12” round rocks suitable for edging a garden bed as well as 12″ or slightly large pieces of flagstone to help stabilize some plantings on one of the sloping garden beds. We are also accepting any donations of large to giant hostas varieties you may be fall dividing from your own garden. Please email the club westchicagogardenclub@gmail.com

By Ruth Kyme

Dave Andrusyk is the Fullersburg Woods campus coordinator at the Forest Preserve District and has worked for the District since 1998. He spent five years working in Natural Resource Management, doing restoration work in the preserves. Dave later taught school, scout and general public programs in the District’s forest preserves. His knowledge of native gardening stems from years of field experience with the Forest Preserve District and working on native plots at his home.

In his presentation, Natural-Areas Restoration:  What We Manage and Why We Do It, Dave will explain how and why the Forest Preserve District  manages habitats, plants, and animals in the DuPage forest preserves. We will learn about this organization’s philosophy about managing habitats and find out more about restoration projects completed in your favorite preserves.  You will also discover volunteer opportunities available to help in the restoration process.

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