The final Let’s Get Dirty on the 30’s yard tours were held on the afternoon of August 30 in a light drizzle at the Hale and Kielsmeier properties in Oregon, Illinois. Brian Hale led the tour of his work-in-progress native yard. He and his wife purchased their home in February

Linda and Bob Hess Condo native gardens and woodland restoration tour. On the evening of July 30th, a small group of Wild Ones members toured the native gardens at Linda and Bob Hess’s condo. Linda guided us around the yard, starting with the front beds close to the porch. These

Ginny Watson hosted the tour on Tuesday evening, June 20th, at her home in the Burr Woods area of Rockford. Her 120-yr-old farmhouse is surrounded by prairie and woodland gardens containing over 100 species of native flowers, shrubs, vines, grasses and trees. Ginny claims “my yard is more habitat than

On May 30th a group of 18 participants enjoyed touring two properties in DeKalb, Illinois.  Both featured native prairie and woodland gardens, and although the properties differed in size, the development of the plantings followed remarkably similar paths. Both Jan Grainger and Karen Matz began creating their gardens when they

The Vi Bates Memorial Garden at Klehm Arboretum is a demonstration garden where the Rockford community can view a wide variety of woodland wildflowers in their natural setting. Every Spring I always offer wildflower tours in the garden.