 |
Greater DuPage Chapter |
| |
Greater DuPage Chapter |
Wild Ones, Native Plants, Natural Landscapes is a non-profit organization dedicated to natural landscaping and related education.
Wild Ones is a national organization with local chapters that serve various parts of the United States. The Greater DuPage chapter covers several counties across the western suburbs of metropolitan Chicago in Illinois. It was founded in 1991 by Vicki Nowicki and Pat Armstrong.
This local chapter provides a venue for sharing information among members about using plants adapted to the soils and climate of Chicagoland. Our gardens range in size from small areas of native plants up to full-blown prairies. Become a member of Wild Ones and explore how to grow your own natural garden or yard full of native plant species that provide wildlife habitat and an interesting landscape. Gardeners of any skill or interest level are welcome. We encourage visitors to join us at one of our meetings to hear firsthand about our group.
We have over 140 individual, household, and business memberships. See the membership page for more information about the benefits of joining The Wild Ones.
|
Naperville
Municipal Center 400 S. Eagle St. Room C (lower level) Naperville, IL 60540 Primary meeting location. Free parking is available in the garage at the south side of the building. |
Willowbrook Wildlife Center 525 S Park Blvd Glen Ellyn, IL 60137 Alternate meeting location. See calendar entry for details related to a specific month's meeting. |
Events we sponsor include:
For details about upcoming monthly meetings and special events, see calendar below.
Calendar |
May 23, 2009 (Sat)
Plant Sale and Yard Tour
9:00AM – 1:00PM
9:00AM – 12:00PM Denise and Frank's Oboikovitz's Yard
30w145 Allister Lane, Naperville, IL
Directions: Turquoise ranch house on the SE corner of Allister Ln and Claymore Ln. From Route 59, take Bruce Ln west to Allister Ln north (right) to the end of Allister. Please park on the east side of Allister or turn right and park on the south side of Claymore.
Denise and Frank's yard includes a prairie garden, native trees & shrubs, rain garden, rain barrels, compost bins, vegetable garden, and a newly planted front garden with seeds obtained from the Wild Ones Seed Exchange. There are also permeable hardscapes made of recycled pavers, and a deck made of locally manufactured 100% post-consumer HDPE plastic. A guided tour will be provided at 10:0am, else stop by and fee free to walk around until Noon.
Plants for sale:
Anemone patens (Paske Flower)
Aster laevis (Smooth Blue Aster)
Campanula Americana (tall bellflower)
Echinacea pallida (pale purple coneflower)
Echinacea purpurpea (purple coneflower)
Gentiana andewsii (bottle gentian)
Geranium maculatum (wild geranium)
Liatris pycnostachya (prairie blazing star)
Lobelia siphilitica (great blue lobelia)
Penstemon digitalis (smooth penstemon)
Phlox pilosa (prairie phlox)
Polemonium reptans (Jacob’s ladder)
Vemonia fasciculata (ironweed)
Veronicastrum virginicum (Culver’s root)
Baptisia leucantha (white wild indigo)
Baptisia leucophaea (cream wild indigo)
Carex pensylvanica (common oak sedge)
Carex sprengelii (long-beaked sedge)
Carex vulpinoidea (brown fox sedge)
Andropogon scoparius (little bluestem)
11:00AM - 1:00PM Mitchell Flesner's Yard, 5s443 Glenoban Drive , Naperville
To get to Mitchell's house from Denise & Frank's, take Claymore east to Glenoban south to Bruce. Cross Bruce Ln.
The garden is a mixture of native plants and introduced plants. Some native plants may be blooming (Prairie Smoke, Celandine Poppy, others). Leaves may be appearing on native shrubs and trees like Nanny Berry and Eastern Wahoo. Ask to see the Wild Quinine-genetic anomaly. A guided tour will be provided at 11:00AM, else stop by and feel free to walk until 1PM.
Jun 06, 2009 (Sat)
Maple Grove Sedge Hunt
10:00am to Noon
The main entrance is located on the north side of Maple Avenue, 2 miles east of Belmont Road and 1 mile west of Dunham Road.
Pat Armstrong and Kevin Collins will lead us on a search for sedges in this beautiful preserve which is labeled a “globally endangered ecosystem”. There should still be many spring blooms to see, too. Bring a sack lunch and we’ll have a picnic afterward.
Jun 19, 2009 (Fri)
Pizzo and Associates Open House
(Admission Free, Open to Public)
10729 Pine Road, Leland, IL 60531
Twenty-First anniversary Open House. Special Guest and Keynote Speaker will be Doug Tallamay, author of “Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in our Gardens. Native plant education, discounts on plants, tour, and more.
Jun 27, 2009 (Sat)
Chicago's Center for Green Technology / Nature House
10:30AM - 1:00PM
445 North Sacramento Boulevard, Chicago
Center for Green Technology is the third building in the United States to be designed using the highest standards of green technology available (Platinum LEED). The 1 hour guided tour will cover their green roof, native landscaping and renovated building. We will then explore their excellent "green" resource library that is a must-see for builders, developers, architect, homeowners, etc. We will have lunch at CGT before proceeding to the Nature House, a couple blocks away.
1:00PM - 2:00PM
Nature House 3100 Grand Ave, Chicago
Nature House will give us a factory tour and open their nature store just for us. Nature House makes many nature house/feeding products, manufacturing over 95% on site, and specializes in 100% recycled aluminum purple martin houses. We will see one of their houses at CGT.
*NOTE*
If enough people are interested, we may rent a bus to take us there for a nominal charge, else we can carpool. Maximum tour capacity is 30 (minimum 10) so reservations are required. Members will be given priority. You can also drive yourself and meet us there. Please send RSVP by June 13 to Gail and Emil Biedron (ebiedron@mindspring.com), phone 708-448-3607 to indicate if you will drive on your own or prefer a bus/carpool. Please bring a sack lunch.
If you drive on your own, you may also want to visit Garfield Park Conservatory or Humboldt Park nearby, both designed by native landscape advocate Jens Jensen.
Jul 11, 2009 (Sat)
Warrenville/West Chicago Yard Tours
9:00am – Noon
Three yards are on display. Each homeowner will lead guided tours during the first 30 minutes of the schedule.
9:00am - Tori Graham, 28w650 Main Street, Warrenville, IL (NE corner of Main and Manning)
The backyard was started in the fall of 2003 using rescued plants from a long established prairie. The front yard prairie was started in the fall of 2005 with rescued plants and about 400 plugs started from seedlings. East side is wetland and rain garden; west side is woodland. Entire yard is sensitive to supporting insects.
10:00am - Denise Kenealy, 3s651 Behrs Circle Dr E, Warrenville, IL (1/4 mile west of Warrenville Tavern just off of Warrenville Rd)
The front yard was converted to prairie 7 years ago after remodeling the house. There are 60 - 70 natives in the front yard. The side yard was added 3 years ago. In the back of the house there are 2 prairie areas, one with a pond.
11:00am - Dave & Dan Wilcox, 28w734 Childs St, West Chicago, IL (from Warrenville, take Winfield Rd north to Rt 38 – Roosevelt Rd – turn west just over a mile, turn north on Prince Crossing, one block to Childs, turn right; 2nd house on north side of street)
Two acre partly wooded lot with half acre native planting. A tall grass prairie area is 12 years old with new areas added each year. Nearly 200 species. Attempting planting in nearby neighborhood yards righst-of-way in last 2 years. Recent fringe area in yard seeded in May 2009
Jul 13, 2009 (Mon)
One Drop at a Time: Water, Sustainability, and your Garden
7:00PM
Carol Stream Public Library
616 Hiawatha Dr
Carol Stream, IL 60188
Landscape architect Marcus de la fleur will explain how to make a yard that’s not only beautiful, but useful and "green." With its green roof, rain barrels, rain gardens, and other green applications, his residential pilot project in Elmhurst brings to life the principles of green gardening and responsible treatment of rain water within a residential landscape. He will also discuss the benefits, including flooding prevention and water conservation, of these changes for our community and our planet.
If you are interested in attending, you must register:
Carol Stream Public Library: Event Registration
This is not a Wild Ones event, but Marcus has hosted our chapter for a tour and we found it very interesting and educational.
Aug 22, 2009 (Sat)
Native Suburbia Yard Tour and Picnic
837 Francine Drive
Bartlett, IL 6010
11:00 AM - 3:00 PM.
Tentatively scheduled for a Saturday in August. Although currently listed at August 22, the exact date will be determined closer to the event.
Don and Benia have been working on creating Native Suburbia since 2004. Their small suburban lot is completely landscaped with native plants. You may have seen them give a presentation about their yard or you may have seen the Native Suburbia website (www.icode6.net/native_suburbia). Now is your chance to see it in person. At this event you are invited to take a tour and socialize with your fellow Wild Ones members. Don and Benia will provide hot dogs, chips and drinks. Feel free to bring your own lunch if you prefer
Board Members
President: Denise Sandoval
Vice President: Pat Armstrong
Secretary: Pat Clancy
Treasurer: Rich Whitney
Terms end on December 31st. We line up our leadership and committees for the coming year in October. Open positions can be filled anytime. Please consider sharing your interest by getting involved in one of these capacities. Help support the healthy continuation and growth of our chapter. Duties are flexible; if you think you can help in any way contact one of the people listed above. There is a strong core of former officers still very much involved in the group who will be happy to help anyone new coming on board. Board meetings are held monthly on the second Friday of the month.
| Home | © Wild Ones®. All rights reserved. Updated: Jun 30, 2009. |
webmaster |