Sandwich Park District’s annual gardening workshop a sign of spring

The Sandwich Park District would like to invite anyone interested in gardening or anyone who just wants to “think spring” to come to the 16th annual Spring Gardening Workshop on Saturday morning, April 6 at the David A. Francis Community Center, 1001 N. Latham St.

The Park District has offered this free community program every year for the past 17 (minus 2020), not only to help gardeners improve their overall knowledge of horticulture, but also to offer encouragement to those who think they might like to try their hands at digging in the dirt for the first time., according to a news release from the park district. This year’s program will be run only as an in-person event and will not be available on Zoom.

The 2024 workshop offers three speakers and begins at 8:30 a.m. with a presentation entitled “Flowering Shrubs in the Home Landscape” offered by Tyler Perkins of Winding Creek Garden Center, according to the release.

Perkins graduated from SIU-Carbondale with a degree in horticulture and now is available for consultation at the family’s Millbrook nursery. His presentation will demonstrate how the beauty of flowering shrubs can enhance the look of your home landscape significantly.

While most of these bloom early in the season, others will flower throughout the summer and even into fall. Learn what shrub varieties will thrive in our area, which ones will stay small or grow large, and which prefer full sun or partial shade. This presentation will emphasize native shrubs for the benefit for our native wildlife.

The second speaker of the morning will be John Sprovieri, current president of the Kane County Audubon Society. Each year, more than 45 million Americans take part in birdwatching and John regularly leads bird walks throughout the Chicagoland area, according to the release. He is also a journalist and photographer living in Geneva with a global “life list” of 2,186 bird species.

Sprovieri’s presentation will cover the basics of birdwatching, so you can learn how to identify the common birds of our region, where and when to find them and what you need to get started birding, according to the release. As gardeners, we will also learn how to attract birds to our yards and what to plant in our home landscape to help them thrive.

Jamie Viebach, horticulture educator for the University of Illinois Extension of DuPage, Kane and Kendall counties, will be the third presenter of the morning, according to the release. The title of Viebach’s program will be “On Butterfly Wings: Gardening for Monarchs & What You Can Do To Help”.

Learn about the fascinating life cycle of Monarch butterflies and how your yard can become a Monarch-friendly oasis. Because milkweeds (Asclepius sp.) are critical to Monarch development, this program will discuss different types of milkweeds and how to integrate them into your landscaping, according to the release. Participants will also learn about native plant certifications and recognition programs available to homeowners.

There is no charge for this annual free event. Walk-ins are welcome if space is available after pre-registered guests are seated, so register in advance at www.sandwichparkdistrict.org or call 815-786-8044. The doors will open at 8 a.m. with concessions available for purchase at that time, according to the release. The program will conclude at 12:30 p.m. when the names of the winners of the door prizes for the day will be drawn.