SAVE THE DATE: OUR ANNUAL 🪴 PLANT SALE 🪴 WILL BE JUNE 5 AT THE SCHAUMBURG FARMER’S MARKET (Click link for more details: Events)

COME JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT MEETING

Non-members are welcome!

Thursday, April 9, 2026

Improving Your Soil the Natural Way

Learn how to improve your soil with an overview of what soil is and how it holds nutrients. We will explore some of the techniques used by our presenter’s grandparents in the preparation of their flowerbeds and vegetable garden. Discussion of basic soil structure, texture, compaction and amendments will be covered. Soil PH, macro and micro elements along with mycorrhiza, green sand and compost for amendments will be reviewed. 

Ken Benson has his master’s and bachelor’s in horticulture from the University of Illinois, Champaign. He is a landscape architect and was the host of cable TV’s Landscaping with Ken Benson 1992-2000. He was a board member of Chicago Flower and Garden Show 1998-2008 and a founding board member of MELA – Midwest Ecological Landscapers Association. Ken is a past member of the Men’s Garden Club of Villa Park and has been giving programs since 1972 to garden clubs throughout the area.  

AGENDA

6:00 PM – Social Hour with Refreshments

6:30 PM – Club Business Meeting

7:00 PM – Presentation

MEMBERS ONLY FIELD TRIP TO THE ORCHID SHOW: Tuesday, March 10 at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Click here for more information: Members Only

We are the Hoffman Estates Garden Club (HEGC), working since 1957 to promote an interest in gardening and share our knowledge.  Click here to read the article, “The History of the Hoffman Estates Garden Club” posted in the  March/April 2022 issue of the Hoffman Estates Citizen newsletter.

COME CHECK US OUT!

Monthly meetings take place the first Thursday of the month (as noted on our Events page) at

Township of Schaumburg building, One Illinois Boulevard, 1st Floor, Hoffman Estates, IL