Letter: Elmhurst Garden Club Thanks All Who Helped in Garden Walk's Success

The air was warm, the sky was blue, and more than 600 visitors toured the gardens, visited the fair and mansion in Wilder Park, and made the 18th annual Elmhurst Garden Club’s Garden Walk and Faire in July a huge success! 

The assistance, advice and hard work of the Elmhurst Park District is appreciated. The event is not possible without their cooperation and is key to our continued success.

A special thank you to the homeowners who graciously opened their gardens and shared their expertise and gardening styles with us. The Elmhurst Independent, Elmhurst Press, Triblocal and The Patch published information, feature articles and pictures. The Chicago Tribune, Chicagoland Gardening Magazine, West Suburban Living, the Community Bank of Elmhurst, the Elmhurst Park District, Elmhurst YMCA and many others promoted the event, as did several web sites. Our talented local artists, DiCianni Graphics, Trilobite Graphics and many others helped publish the nationally recognized guidebook. Garden hosts, service organizations, community members and Elmhurst Garden Club members volunteered before, during and after the event. Individual donors and businesses gave generously and sold tickets, while vendors and gardening experts delighted and informed. Thank you to all. 

Proceeds from “An Afternoon in the Garden” enable EGC to provide scholarships to college students majoring in horticultural and science fields through our Mildred Hartney Scholarship Fund. Last year EGC awarded scholarships to students from Elmhurst College, College of DuPage, Northern Illinois University, Northwestern University, Triton College, Benedictine University, York High School, and Morton Arboretum. This year we will be offering another $10,000 in scholarships. Proceeds from the walk enable ECG to make contributions to the Elmhurst Park District, YMCA, Elmhurst College Arboretum, the new sensory garden at Madison School, and Garden Clubs of Illinois Blue Star Program which honors our veterans. 

The Elmhurst Garden Club is always seeking gardens to showcase in this annual event. Please contact us via the Elmhurst Garden Club website if you have a garden of interest.—Elmhurst Garden Walk Chairperson Georgia Dolan and Publicity Chairperson Penny O'Neill