PLEASE JOIN US AT OUR NEXT MEETING

NON-MEMBERS ARE WELCOME!

Thursday, October 3

Preparing Bulbs for Spring –  Ideas from Amsterdam’s Keukenhof Garden: The “Greatest Flower Show on Earth!”   Learn what bulbs to choose, when and where to plant, and the best companion plants. Gain inspiration for your spring garden by learning what bulbs to choose, when and where to plant, and the best companion plants. Discover how you can get the longest possible flowering season in the smallest space using the Keukenhof “lasagna” planting method. Presentation includes viewing photos from the Keukenhof Garden in Amerstdam that showcases 70 acres of 7 million flowering bulbs. Bev Krams has been a Master Gardener with the North Cook County District for over fifteen years. She has received the States Outstanding Master Gardener of the Year Award and a Sustained Excellence Award from the University of Illinois. 

AGENDA

6:00 PM – Social Hour with Refreshments

6:30 PM – Club Business Meeting

6:45 PM – Presentation

We meet at Spring Valley Nature Center, 1111 E. Schaumburg Road, Schaumburg, IL

FUTURE MEETINGS:

November 7 – Presentation on Bonsai Trees

December 12 – Holiday Party for Members Only

WATERING TIP: Make sure you’re watering your plants deeply. Plants that were installed this year, need 1″ of water weekly. You can set a few cans in the border when watering to check the amount applied or dig down a few inches 30 minutes after watering to see how deep the water has penetrated. A good 6″ is ideal (an inexpensive water meter is helpful). Be sure to water deeply around and away from the center of the plant (a 30″ watering wand is a perfect tool for this). You want the plant to be “reaching out” to find water. New gardeners are often surprised to find that what they considered a good soaking is only wetting the soil to a depth of an inch or so. If plants aren’t watered deeply, they can turn out quite well but will be very shallow rooted. Subsequently, the plants can be hurt if a few days of watering are skipped and the top of the soil becomes dry. It’s far better to strengthen your plants by deep watering when needed. This will make borders self-sufficient—exactly what perennial gardeners have in mind.

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

Spring Valley Nature Center, 1111 E. Schaumburg Road, Schaumburg, IL