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Gardening Fri Jul 16 2010

Late Summer Garden Walks

Editor's Note: This story was submitted by Patrick Boylan, editor of The Welles Park Bulldog.

The heat of summer may cause some wilting of the flowers, plants and the participants in these late season garden walks. In our own garden we've seen unusual growthamong some plants, probably due to the wet and warm late spring. Other plants have been disappointing.

So it goes with garden walks and even for caring for a garden walk calendar. What happened to the huge garden walk in Lakeview this year? Will someone step forward in Norwood Park to help that garden club move forward next year? Several walks I wanted to feature did not get their information together on time.

Who will review these garden walks? Can we get a rating system for them going?

The garden and gardening can be an activity full of love and surprises. Gardeners are secret politicians, with an environmental message. And they are traditional home makers, moms, husbands and even children. Their message is subliminally that we don't need to go to the grocery store, there are wonderful things to eat in our yard. Or as my mother always told me: go play outside!

The Victory Garden was an effort to help feed the domestic population in World War II. This year, to commemorate that effort the Peterson Garden Project planted a Victory Garden at Peterson and Campbell. You can read more about it on the blog of the founder: http://theyarden.com. I look forward to their harvest.

We need your feedback. We are approaching the part of the year when there are no more garden walks, when the farmers markets pull out.

We missed a number of garden walks, ignored those that were away from the city. And we didn't talk much about gardening. Please take a moment and talk to us.

What did we miss? Should we review the farmers markets? Should we have discussed the lectures on gardening? How can you participate in this calendar?

Coming up:

The Sheffield Garden Walk is held in conjunction with the Sheffield Festival. This is a big fest, on the order of Old Town Garden/ Art Walk size, but multiplied. The merchants participate and you can always enjoy the music.

On the Southwest Side the Evergreen Park Library has planned a garden walk benefit for the library this weekend.

On the Gold Coast, the North Dearborn Association's garden walk allows a peak into living on the Gold Coast. This isamong the most expensive garden tours, but promises lively jazz and cool settings.

Next weekend we have a chance to look at a Northwest Side group of gardens when the gardens of the Norwood Park garden club are opened to the public. This is a small intimate walk. The club is set in one of the most picturesque neighborhoods of the city.

Now, you cannot just show up to the events of the Rogers Park Garden Club, but for $10 you can join. That's the same price as many garden walks. The club has a wonderful calendar that I admit to poaching. It is sponsoring an evening garden walk late in the month and then it is sponsoring a tour of Rick Bayless' gardens in August. The club is also sponsoring a walk/ dinner this month -- but ya' gotta join da club or you ain't gonna be allowed to mix wid dees fine people, got it Mug?

Come on, you know you want to see how the chef, the master of the kitchen, gardens. Join the club. See the gardens, enjoy their events.

Our gardens, having survived the rigors of July's heat, are bountiful. And some of the final walks, including Bayless', are about that: the garden as food producer. If you can't make the Bayless tour, check out the Windy City Harvest July 28.

In Lincoln Square July 31, you may find a primer on green gardening. This garden walk emphasizes green technology. There is a marketplace for green and a separate garden walk. Entry to the marketplace, set in beautiful Lincoln Square, is free. The garden walk is $10.

Two of the three bus-driven tours of community gardens are coming up. These are free and presented by NeighborSpace in conjunction with the Chicago Park District. This is being presented in association with an exhibit at the Chicago Cultural Center on urban gardening: City is a Community Garden. The exhibition looks at urban gardens, vertical farming in the city, and urban chicken keepers through photographs, architectural drawings, and installations. This continues through September 19, the Chicago Cultural Center, 72 E. Randolph.

This is a good time to mention that the Chicago Cultural Center has been exhibiting Blake Lenoir: Backyard Eden. The exhibit continues at the Chicago Cultural Center, 72 E. Randolph, through September 8.

Lenoir, who the center calls a successful artist, was also an avid gardener and environmental activist. "As an artist with autism, Blake has channeled his knowledge of plants and his obsessive attention to detail into intricate drawings of the natural world.

"Backyard Eden features drawings inspired by Blake's own garden and the ecosystem of his native Calumet region."

Sheffield Garden Walk
July 17-18
Sheffield Neighbors Assoc.
Webster and Sheffield
$7, $10 after 3pm

More than 90 gardens. The walk is closely associated with one of the city's best known neighborhood festivals: the Sheffield Festival.

Sheffield Garden Walk
July 17-18, noon to dusk
Sheffield Neighbors Association
Webster and Sheffield
$7, $10 after 3pm

More than 90 gardens. The walk is closely associated with one of the city's best known neighborhood festivals: the Sheffield Festival.

Evergreen Park Library Garden Walk / Blossoms for Books
July 18, 11am to 4pm
Evergreen Park Library Foundation
9400 S Troy, Evergreen Park
$10, $12 day of event. Children free.

Last year there was a sunken garden, a friendship garden, a monarch butterfly way-station and more. There will be a quilt show and a raffle.

Dearborn Garden Walk
July 18, noon to 5pm
North Dearborn Association
1300 N Dearborn (corner of Goethe & Dearborn)
$30, $35 day of.

This is your chance to see how the other side parties. Jazz and classical music will be playing in select gardens in about 20 gardens. This walk has been a fixture for 52 years.

Rogers Park Garden Group Garden Meander
July 27 6 to 8:30pm
Rogers Park Garden Group
St. Scholastica Parking Lot, 7416 N. Ridge Ave. (at Jarvis)
$10 for membership in the Garden Club. This is a members-only event, but you can join and do the walk by joining in advance.

This is one of the few evening garden walks, like the other evening garden walk, it is scheduled for a weekday evening. Stroll through hidden gardens among multi-unit buildings and single family homes along the Ridge Ave. corridor, ending with a tour of the beautiful gardens on the grounds of St. Scholastica and a reception.

Windy City Harvest Open House and Lunch
July 28 11am to 1pm
Chicago Botanic Garden, Highland Park

Take a student-led tour and enjoy delicious food grown, harvested and prepared by students. Experience the inspiring harvests of the Green Youth Farm and Windy City Harvest, the Chicago Botanic Garden's unique youth and young adult programs that instill confidence, healthy food awareness and valuable business skills through training in urban agriculture. RSVP to jdavidoff@chicagobotanic.org.

Lincoln Square Garden Walk and Green Fair
July 31 10am to 5:30pm
Lincoln Square Foundation
Giddings Plaza, 4731 N Lincoln Ave.
$10. Green Fair is free

More than 20 gardens and 15 environmental groups plan to participate in the ecologically-minded neighborhood event. Butterfly gardens, children play areas, waterfalls, decks, patios, terraces, composting and abundant decorative vegetable gardens make this a showcase for the resourcefulness of gardeners working in small city lots. Last year the walk featured an winner of the city landscaping contest. There was a garden with showy lilies, another used individual beds in an organized hardscape. There was a community vegetable garden with sustainable farming of small fruits, a Victorian idyll, a terrace of the Dank Haus and an expansive shade use of vertical space. There are new gardens featured this year with delightful and innovative surprises.

NeighborSpace/Chicago Park District Community Garden Tours
July 31, 10am - 1pm
72 E. Randolph St.
Free! RSVP required. Light snacks and water will be provided.

The Chicago Park District in conjunction with NeighborSpace is offering guided bus tours of community gardens. Each tour visits between five and seven gardens. The South Side tour plans to visit Rainbow Beach Victory Gardens, Growing Power in Jackson Park, 62nd and Dorchester Garden and others.

Galewood Montclare Garden Walk
August 1 Noon to 5pm
Garden Club of Galewood Montclare
Rutherford Sayre Park; 6871 W. Belden
$10 donation

The neighborhood was built in the 1920s. There is a wonderful collection of Tudors, bungalows and even post-war homes with a wide variety of gardens. About seven gardens.

Rick Bayless Garden Tour
August 19, 6:30 to 7:30pm
Rogers Park Garden Group
$15-25 depending on number of participants. RSVP required. Deadline for RSVP is July 22.

Located on three adjacent city lots in Bucktown, this completely organic garden serves as a model for urban food production and demonstrated that gardens can be simultaneously functional and beautiful. With a mix of traditional beds, raised beds, containers, vertical and indoor spaces, visitors will be inspired and come away with a multitude of ideas and techniques to incorporate into their own garden spaces. Email Rpggevents@gmail.com to RSVP; more details on the Rogers Park Garden Group website.

Lurie Garden Guided Walks
July 18, 25, 10am to 1:30pm; August 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 10am to 1:30pm
August 24 6pm, September 21 6pm
Millennium Park, Michigan Avenue at Monroe Street, near Cloud Gate
Sundays all summer 10am to 1:30pm except July 4
Free

A 20 minute guided tour of the Lurie Garden in Millennium Park. Evening strolls offered at 6pm July 13, Aug. 24 and Sept. 21; meet at the south end of the garden on the wooden walkway overlooking Monroe Street.

NeighborSpace/Chicago Park District Community Garden Tours
August 28, 10am - 1pm
72 E. Randolph St.
Free! RSVP required. Light snacks and water will be provided.

The Chicago Park District in conjunction with NeighborSpace is offering guided bus tours of community gardens. Each tour visits between five and seven gardens. The North Side tour plans to visit Howard Area Community Gardens, Bowmanville Gateway Garden, Ginkgo Organic Garden, Ruby Garden at Schreiber Park, Chase Park Community Garden and others.