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Wheaton Garden Club members planted a pollinator garden at Seven Gables Park in Wheaton in the spring of 2021. The pollinator garden has been certified as a Monarch Waystation with Monarch Watch. Continuing volunteer efforts of the from the https://clickatree.com/ in maintaining the garden has resulted in many compliments by members of the community as they walk past the garden.

Another new project for the Garden Club was the participation of five members in the Monarch Watch Calendar Project. These members tracked the number of Monarchs seen in their garden for designated time periods in the summer, while they also built a garden studio for the members using resources online for this.

Seven members have their gardens certified as a Monarch Waystation.

Our upcoming February 2022 Garden Club meeting will be on Magnificent Monarchs, presented by a Wheaton Garden Club member.

The Wheaton Garden Club is hosting a flower and plant sale on Saturday May 15^th.  The event will be held from 1:00 to 3:00 pm at 0N650 Coventry Drive in Wheaton. The sale will feature professionally grown annuals many of which are Proven Winners. Summer favorites available for purchase include a variety of begonias, coleus and petunias, as well as some hard to find specialty plants.

Proceeds support area community organizations and scholarships for College of DuPage horticulture students. Organizations supported include The Cosley Zoo Foundation, Illinois Prairie Path and Willowbrook Wildlife Center.

The garden club will be accepting cash or check payments. If you have questions, please email the Garden Club at [email protected]

Hope to see you on May 15^th!

As the Wheaton Garden club celebrates its 95^th year, we are proud to announce that we are the recipients of two awards from the Garden Clubs of Illinois. The Wheaton Garden Club has won first Place in the Gloria Greene Advanced Designer Award and second place in the Planting for Pollinators Award.

The Gloria Greene Advanced Designer Award was based on the flower design workshop held for members in anticipation of the Wheaton Garden Club’s Flower Show in October 2019. Three members created designs, which were then judged by another member who is an experienced flower show judge. Seventeen members participated and left the workshop with helpful design information and an increase in confidence. I think that this quote from the award application best describes the workshop outcome:   “… to paraphrase the television commercial for VISA, ‘peace of mind obtained for new members—PRICELESS’ ”.

The Planting for Pollinators Award recognized the efforts of the Wheaton Garden Cub in promoting Monarch Waystations.  To date, five members have been recognized for creating Monarch Waystations and five other members have planted milkweed, a vital food source for monarch caterpillars, in their gardens. . In addition, the Monarch Project committee created an educational display at the Wheaton Garden Club “Pollinator Power” Flower Show on the importance of growing milkweed for monarchs.

Congratulations to our Award Winners!

Migration – Rosanne Merrill – First Place

Metmorphosis – Aline Houston – First Place

Madame Butterfly – Patty Oleniczak – First Place

Hort – Nancy Ricondo – Collectors Showcase

Hort – Laura Christensen – Beauty Berry

Early Bird – Geri Busse – First Place

Bee My Baby – Cheryl Weber – First Place

Hort – Jane Fleming – Hort Excellence Award

Hort – Award of Merit

See more photos from our Standard Flower Show here.

Join us for our Standard Flower Show, “Pollinator Power”, on Thursday, October 3, 2019 12:30 – 9:00 pm and Friday, October 4, 2019 9:00 am – 4:00 pm, at the Wheaton Public Library. Admission is free.

Enjoying many butterflies feasting in my garden.

Four Wheaton Garden Club members have certified way stations! We are making progress on our way to reaching our goal of ten. A garden does not have to start from scratch to become a way station. Many times it only takes an addition of milkweed plants. In case you worry that milkweed is invasive, the following are not: butterfly weed (asclepias tuberosa), swamp milk weed (asclepias incarnata) and purple milk weed (asclepias purpurascens).

Information on Monarch Butterfly Way Station requirements and an application form can be found on the link below. You can register online or print out the application. The Wheaton Garden Club will cover the $16 registration fee for members.

http://www.monarchwatch.org/waystations/

Prune spring-flowering shrubs such as forsythia that have already flowered.

Fertilize roses early this month or mid-month if you already fertilized last month. Use a 20-20-20 liquid solution when flower buds are set. Mulch around the plants to retain moisture.

Stake perennials before they reach 6 inches.

Pinch back fall-blooming perennials such as chrysanthemums, asters, and tall sedums once a week.

Direct growth of perennial vines on their supports.

Check peonies for botrytis blight or other fungal problems. If they had problems last year, spray when plants are 2-4 inches tall. I’m quoting: There are fungicides that can help protect your plants from Botrytis blight. You need to look for a product that says on the label that it can be used on the specific type of plant, peony, and the specific disease, for instance, Botrytis blight. There should be products with the active ingredient “Mancozeb” or some type of copper that are labeled for use on peony against Botrytis blight. In terms of where to apply the fungicide, read and follow all label directions! I don’t think it is necessary to dig out the peonies before treatment, but follow the directions above all. Fungicides should be applied to protect against Botrytis blight early in the season.

Take it easy!

Be sure your garden beds are not too wet. If it’s been raining or snowing and the soil is saturated, you’ll have to postpone your gardening a bit longer.

Shrubs and trees

There is still time to plant trees and shrubs. However, by mid-month it will be a little late to transplant large trees or shrubs.

The months of March, April and May are ideal for pruning evergreens. If you have juniper, cypress or conifer that need shearing or pruning, this is a good time to do it. Remove all dead, diseased, and undesirable wood. Don’t prune back into the bare wood part of the plant.

Prune forsythia after it finishes flowering.

Broadleaf and needle leaf evergreens benefit most from lightly spreading a high nitrogen fertilizer around their bases.

Perennials, annuals and bulbs

April is the month for planting summer flowering bulbs like dahlias, gladiolas and lilies. Mix bulb fertilizer, processes manure and peat moss into the planting soil. Tuberous begonias and canna should not be set outdoors until all danger of frost has passed, so wait until next month.