Nine local gardens across DeKalb County will be featured Saturday as part of the University of Illinois Extension’s annual Master Gardener’s Walk.
Wristbands are required to partake in the walk, and can be purchased through 11:30 a.m. the morning of the walk at the Extension’s office in the DeKalb County Farm bureau building, 1350 W. Prairie Dr., Sycamore.
Wristbands are also available for purchase through the day of the walk at the following local vendors (cash or check): Blumen Gardens, 403 Edward St. in Sycamore; The Garden Center, 2270 Oakland Dr. in Sycamore; and Glidden Florist, 917 W. Lincoln Highway in DeKalb.
Attendees are asked not to bring pets to the events. Following are brief descriptions of the gardens on this year’s Garden Walk:
The Haliczder garden
This garden is a green tapestry, brightened by a soothing palette of pink, red, white, blue and purple blooms providing a haven for fairies which you may encounter as you wander through this sanctuary. This garden is filled with ferns, hostas and various other plants. Borders are filled with a mixture of shrubs, peonies, roses and perennials. Vegetables and herbs are potted to provide ease in accessibility for tending to and harvesting.
The Dorland garden
This garden has a small cottage feel to it. A white picket fence surrounds the yard and gardens providing a backdrop for a variety of annuals, perennials, trees, shrubs and hydrangeas. Bird baths, bird and hummingbird feeders, and whimsical yard art are found throughout the yard. A quaint brick patio with a gas fire pit provides another living space for family and friends. String patio lighting adds ambience.
The Brantner garden
In this garden you will find vintage vignettes sprinkled around the garden. Follow the winding stepping stone path into the whimsical, cottage garden of foxgloves, hollyhocks, canterbury bells, hydrangea and more. Sprinkled throughout the garden are creative uses of vintage items which provide added interest in the various beds. Browse the small garden shed once used as a bunny home, surrounded by a picket fence and includes a vintage raised red wagon fairy garden. While browsing, look for vintage bicycles and interesting nooks with a planted floor lamp and seating for reading and enjoying a cup of tea.
The Krmenec garden
This garden offers a sense of tranquility for those who enter and provides a haven for wildlife. The mostly shady property facilitates landscaping focused more on foliage, emphasizing form and texture. A relaxed informality for plantings of mounded boxwoods, evergreens and herbaceous perennials. Hosta, astilbes, irises and penstemon bloom in the late spring and early summer to bring splashes of color to the garden. A tri-color beech tree, a crab apple tree surrounded by a dry stream, native grasses, and other perennials complement the weeping Norway spruce and serpentine weeping cherry tree.
A French garden around the pool provides a more formal element filled with topiaries of arborvitae, boxwood and spruce in contrasting heights and forms. A monarch waystation can be accessed through a grapevine arbor. Native and ornamental perennials are mixed with annuals to support pollinators, hummingbird and overwintering birds.
The Faivre garden
This garden has raised veggie beds providing fresh produce and a combination of native prairie plants creating a cottage garden effect. The back patio displays a water feature and a gas firepit providing a place to enjoy with family and friends. There is a redbud tree and the space is filled with flower pots of shade loving plants. This garden also features one of the original bells from the St. Alban’s school and chapel, which was torn down around 1964.
The Lundgren garden
This garden is rather eclectic but demonstrates how a small space such as a townhome can provide a palette for those with a passion for gardening. The front of the townhome is adorned with many pots filled with annuals, leading around the corner to find oriental lilies, knock-out roses, hydrangea and peonies. The back beds are bordered by large pines, but are filled with herbs, day lilies, peonies, hibiscus and snapdragons. The back patio showcases a fountain and several potted plants as well as clematis.
The Old Mill Park garden
This botanical garden features a fountain, gazebo, walking paths and is an attraction for a wide variety of birds and bees. The trees and shrubs provide a balanced foundation to this beautiful space. The garden was wonderfully designed with various perennials, and annuals are added to fill in any remaining space providing color for the change of seasons.
The Cook-Engstrom garden
Inspired by a love of antiques, this garden is described as vintage. Creativity in repurposing old containers as planters and old items as yard art has made this garden special. Filled with black-eyed susans and coneflowers in the front yard, this garden has a country feel and showcases giving new life to old things.
The Hueber garden
Inspired by farm life, this garden is filled with perennials, bulbs and annuals. Various yard decorations in the gardens change with the seasons providing continued interest through the entire growing season. The serenity found here brings one closer to nature.