Northtown Garden Society

Community Service Programs - 2015

May 8, May 13, and July 3, 2015

Triangle Garden Cleanup and Sign Installation

With the help of NGS volunteers, Holly Gallegos, Natalie Peterson, Ginny Davis, Judy Ishii, and Marilyn Shipley, we pruned, cleaned and watered this garden in Indian Boundary Park throughout the spring and summer.

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Nature and Garden-themed Arts and Crafts Fair and Plant Sale Fundraiser.

Our first Arts and Crafts Fair/Plant Sale fundraiser was an overwhelming success by all measures. We had 46 artisans participating who were quite complimentary in the organization and execution of the event. Most of the artisans indicated that the quality of the work for sale was quite professional and that they would like to be invited back if we hold another fair.

In addition to the fair, we held a successful plant sale and raffle of artisan-participant donated items.

The money raised by this event helped pay for 2 children to attend the Warren Park Summer Day camp and pay for pizza for the Children's Day Care "Prom". Other areas of expenditures to support our community gardening and educational programs are being explored.

April: Participation in Green Expo at Devon Bank

NGS was invited to host a table at the Green Expo sponsored by the West Ridge Chamber of Commerce and Devon Bank. NGS members Ginny Morin, Eva Mannaberg, Sheila Mayol, Renee Lundy and Ginny Davis distributed flyers and were available to answer gardening questions.

Pictured right left to right: Renee Lundy, Ginny Davis, Ginny Morin and Eva Mannaberg

Fund-Raising

May: Plant Sale

With the generous plant donations of NGS members and members of the community, a very successful plant sale was held at Warren Park. We are grateful to all of our volunteers who helped pot, store and water the plants prior to the sale and distribute flyers.

Community Garden Walk

Once again, the weather in June favored us as we walked the Gardens of the 2400-2700 Blocks of Morse Avenue. Walkers were delighted to view the seven beautiful gardens on the walk. Following the walk, NGS members and exhibitors gathered for a garden reception at the home of NGS members, Martin and Jane Pranga, who we cannot thank enough.

We thank the exhibitors for having their gardens in tip-top shape for the walk and the Garden Walk committee, Lee Holohan, Ginny Davis, Chris Harvey, Ellen Lebedz, Pam Stewart, Renee Lundy, Nancy Seyfried and Sheila Mayol for all of their help.

The garden photos are courtesy of NGS member and garden photographer, Martha Meyer, of Fotogiardino.

Warren Park Green Room

In October, armed with cleaning supplies, four NGS volunteers, Eva Mannaberg, Carol Veome, Jennifer Henderson and Ginny Davis, washed the plant racks, window sills, floors and pot trays in the Green Room at Warren Park Field House. It was hard work but the room glistened when finished. Throughout the year, NGS volunteers water the plants weekly and tidy the room as needed.

Community Garden Maintenance

Dedicated NGS members continued to water and maintain gardens in two area parks. The maintenance of the Triangle Garden in Indian Boundary Park was coordinated by Ginny Davis and the maintenance of The Rose of Sharon Garden in Warren Park was coordinated by Sheila Mayol.

Warren Park Green Room

On a fine Saturday morning in October, a group of NGS volunteers headed by Eva Mannaberg gathered to give a much-needed cleaning to the Green Room at Warren Park. After removing all of the plants, the windows were washed, floors scrubbed, and new green valences made by Eva were hung with thanks to Frank Glapa. The plants were cleaned up and returned to the room which looked and smelled wonderful after the cleaning. A hearty thank you goes to all of the hard-working volunteers.

Throughout the year, NGS volunteers watered, cared for the plants and tidied the room for which we are very grateful.

Fund-Raising

Used Gardening Book, Tool, Garden Decor, Houseplant and Perennial Sale.

In May and October, we held very successful fund-raising sales at Warren Park. We would like to thank all of the NGS and community members who donated items to make these sales a success.

Items that were not sold were donated to The Brown Elephant or sold to a used book dealer.

We would also like to thank the Warren Park manager, Diana Lynn Schilz, and her staff for their invaluable help and all of the NGS volunteers who helped collect, store, plant, sort, label and sell the items.

Community Garden Walk

In June of this year, we were fortunate to view 5 lovely gardens on the 2100-2200 blocks of Lunt and Greenleaf Avenues in West Ridge. Those of us with small yards were salivating over the larger gardens in this neighborhood.

The garden photos were taken by NGS member and professional photographer, Martha Meyer, of Fotogiardino.

Roses of Sharon Garden at Warren Park

The daffodils planted last fall looked quite happy in the spring. The garden was completed in May with the addition of Russian Sage at the back and Cranesbill "Rozanne" at the front. The roses planted last year bloomed beautifully all summer and survived an onslaught of Japanese beetles. With the help of NGS volunteers, the drought conditions of the summer were overcome by frequent watering and mulching.

Triangle Garden at Indian Boundary Park

In late April, a group of NGS volunteers gathered at the garden for several hours to dig out weeds and prune shrubs and perennials. A second workday found volunteers mulching. Due to our very early spring, the rhododendrons were finishing their blooms and the lilac was budding out...all a month early. The grape hyacinths were in bloom and the species tulips were up. We are attempting to rid the garden of those pesky Stars of Bethlehem by cutting them back to keep them from blooming and, hopefully, stopping the creation of hundreds of bulblets.

NGS volunteers maintained the garden throughout the summer.

Rose Garden At Warren Park (Pratt and Ridge)

The sping bulbs planted under the golf course sign last year came up beautifully and the roses bloomed quite nicely all summer. NGS volunteers pruned and mulched the garden in early spring.

Community Outreach

In early August, NGS participated in the National Night Out for the CAPS2411 beat. We hosted a table passing out NGS brochures and talking with attendees about our work.

Warren Park Green Room

The Green Room at Warren Park received a facelift in 2011. Many plants were removed or trimmed and a new terrarium was planted with cactii and succulents made possible with a grant from the FOTP and a terrarium donated by a generous West Ridge resident.

Community Garden Walk

In June, NGS sponsored a Spring Evening Garden Walk featuring the gardens along Farwell Avenue in West Ridge, Chicago. Many of the gardens belonged to NGS members who were pleased to show off their handiwork.

Roses of Sharon Garden at Warren Park

Working with the Chicago Park District to develop a community garden at Warren Park, the Northtown Garden Society designed and planted a garden along the walkway to the field house. The garden, named to honor Sharon Walsh who died in 2011 and was a prime mover in the development of this garden, is still under development. The garden features roses, which Sharon loved, and a selection of perennials.

Plant Sale

In May. the NGS co-sponsored a plant sale with the Indian Boundary Park Advisory Council at Warren Park. In spite of cold, windy and rainy weather, the sale was a success and the proceeds are being used for the gardens in Warren Park and the Triangle Garden at Indian Boundary Park.

Rose Garden At Warren Park

The Northtown Garden Society assumed the responsibility for the maintenance of the Chicago Park District rose garden on the corner of Pratt and Ridge Avenues in Chicago. The garden was in need of TLC so a group of NGS volunteers pruned, cleaned, edged, weeded, and mulched the bed in early May.

Triangle Garden Maintenance

In early May, a group of NGS volunteers weeded and cleaned up the garden. The growth since planting last year is amazing as shown in the photos below. All but 4 of the perennials survived a fairly harsh but snowy winter.

Triangle Garden Planting and Maintenance

The Triangle Garden on the east side of Indian Boundary Park was redesigned by a group of NGS members to convert it to a shade garden. Planning started in January, the design was complete by March and the garden was planted in early June using a variety of perennials and shrubs with a splash of color provided by Impatiens. Garden interest was added by building a berm to provide height. The generous donations of community businesses and community and NGS members made this garden possible.

Pictured below from left to right are the stages of development of the garden.

Green Room Maintenance

The Green Room in the Warren Park Field House flourished under the care of NGS member Michael Oster becoming more tropical although the succulents and cactii still found a home.This room offers a nice respite for community members and a place for children to learn about plants.

Community Service Activities - 2009

Green Room Maintenance

The Green Room at the Warren Park Field House has been maintained by the NGS for many years. It houses a variety of houseplants, succulents and tropicals which are enjoyed by visitors to the park.

NGS volunteers are responsible for watering, pruning, dividing and maintaining a healthy culture for the plants.

Triangle Garden Maintenance

The Triangle Garden, located on the east side of Indian Boundary Park, has been maintained by NGS vounteers over the years. As the canopy of the surrounding trees has expanded, a major renovation of the garden was started in 2009 to be completed in 2010. The focus of the garden will be on shade plants. Stayed tuned for the progress of this new venture.

The photos show the garden several years ago and it's appearance in October of 2009 as it was being cleared of plants and mulched for the winter.

Corner Garden Installations

For the past two years, NGS volunteers have assisted interested community members in designing and planting small gardens at their street corners. Many of the plants in the gardens came from NGS member gardens. The community members are responsible for maintaining the gardens once they are planted.

Anyone in the West Ridge area who is interested in obtaining help with a corner garden, please contact the NGS by e-mail below.

Chicago Flower and Garden Show

In March of 2009, NGS members worked with members of the Indian Boundary Park Advisory Council and the Wicker Park Garden Club on a display for the Chicago Community Gardening Council at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show. We participated in weekly classes or plant maintenance activities beginning in January, 2009, and helped set up the display at Navy Pier as well as served as docents throughout the show.

Shown below: Pruning Dogwoods, making paper, and building the display.

Annual Spring Evening Garden Walk

Each June, NGS conducts an evening garden walk through selected West Rogers Park neighborhoods which provides our local gardeners with an opportunity to show off their creativity. This popular event started as a walk of members' gardens to share ideas and has grown to a walk of 10-12 gardens within a 4-6 block area of a neighborhood. Each year, a different neighborhhod is selected for the walk.

Library Planter Maintenance

The planters at the Northtown Branch of the Chicago Pubic Library have been maintained by NGS volunteers for several years.

High Ridge YMCA Garden

At the request of the YMCA, NGS volunteers designed and planted the YMCA's front garden on Touhy Avenue.