Pottawatomie Garden Club’s roots go deep

For 97 years the Pottawatomie Garden Club has been beautifying the city of St. Charles. The club’s repertoire has expanded over its near-century to include not only numerous plantings, awards and college scholarships, but also its famous garden walk.

With a current membership of 114 community service-minded volunteers, the club has been involved in planting flowers across town, and planting trees in local parks to honor deceased members. It also bestows an annual landscape accommodation award to a local business, and annual scholarships to students pursuing studies in horticulture and the environment.

But it’s the garden walk that provides the funds so the non-profit organization can accomplish its philanthropic goals.

“Our walk is held every other year,” says Linda Hefferin, who co-chairs this year’s event with fellow members Luann Zanzola, and Debby Foote. “This is our fundraiser. We are all volunteers. This is how we support our scholarships as well as sustain all of our other service-related events.” The garden club partners with local businesses in order to carry off the event. “There are multiple locations where tickets can be purchased, as well as on our website, at www.pottagardenclub.org,” adds Hefferin. Tickets are $25 presale and $30 the day of the walk, which is slated for 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. June 28.

This year’s walk includes seven homes - four west of the Fox River and three on the east side. “We have a variety of formal and prairie woodland-type gardens, including a native garden that is certified by The Conservation Foundation,” notes Hefferin.

Two members’ homes are included in the walk this year. One is also the site of the walk’s annual boutique “where we sell a large selection of garden-related items at very reasonable prices,” says Hefferin. “We’ll have garden art, lawn tools, and decorative pots. The boutique will also be where we have our plant sale, plants donated by our members, as well as by Midwest Ground Cover, a local business.”

Hefferin says the homes “are going to be so exciting. They include waterfalls, ponds, fire pits, and natural hardscapes. We even have homes that have goats and chickens. One of them has a free little library.” Expect to see pollinator gardens, herb gardens and vegetable gardens, “as well as all the delightful plantings that homeowners have,” says Hefferin, who adds that, while some will be very familiar to visitors, like hostas, coral bells, peonies and irises, others will be a little less familiar to most gardeners, such as gas plants and firethorn shrubs. “There will be some very cool, interesting, colorful types of plants and bushes and trees that I think will catch the attention of many of our attendees,” says Hefferin.

Gardens range from small in-town lots to those with acreage. “I really like the diversity of types of gardens,” says Hefferin. “It’s interesting to see. People get inspired by different things.”

Each home will have two club members and a master gardener, as well as homeowners onsite to answer any questions and highlight special plantings. “Most of the homes have a variety of garden areas, including herb gardens, vegetable gardens, and sun and shade gardens,” says Hefferin. “There’s even a chicken coop!”