GARDEN WALK

This was the announcement of the Garden Walk. Laura passed these out in church and said she wanted to get Illinois City on the map and what better way than to start a Garden Walk. Now, Illinois City is not big, but we do have a post office and volunteer fire department building and a huge festival of sorts in August called Illinois City Days. We also have Hilltop Greenhouse. You will meet the owner towards the end of this post. (I do believe Laura also advertised the walk through a few other local newspapers.)

This is Laura, the instigator of this Garden Walk. She is on her front porch of the cutest log home I have seen. She and her husband, Randy, built it back in a woodsy setting and the inside is just adorable. Everything is log cabin-ish and her collections are just to die for. Every inch of this house was well thought out and decorated perfectly. One collection of hers is old wooden ironing boards. The pic is in her garage, the boards are displayed on one of the walls. Her talents are endless and her thumb is oh so green!





Antique ironing boards in Laura's garage

This is Judy. I just met Judy a month ago when I went to the greenhouse in search of Coral Bells(favorite flower of that week). We hit it off right away. She is the type of person you feel you have known forever even when it has only been a half an hour. Judy collects glass globes of every kind. Most all of them are solar lights and she has them displayed throughout her plant beds. Every color, size and shape. They added so much life to her flower beds. She said "You should see it at night!!!" I bet it is quite the sight!

This phlox really caught my eye!

Judy's glass globes

A solar fountain. Too bad it was cloudy so it wasn't working.

Bee Balm, this was a huge plot!

This is Sue. I did not know Sue at all until the Garden Walk. She walked with us around her yard explaining names of flowers and what she did to get them to grow so wonderfully. Her talent along with gardening, is painting (She did the mailbox she is standing by). Her work is just beautiful... She also paints on agates. She took time to show us some of her work. Amazing! I saw she had some of Laura's ironing boards that she has lined up to paint. I didn't take any pics of her artwork, I guess because I was too busy listening to her, she is a very interesting person to talk with.

Wildflower bed

shade garden

This is a zinnia, wow, the color is beautiful

And this is Maria. She and her husband own Hilltop Greenhouse. They started the greenhouse at their own house and expanded on this piece of property. This property was a 100+ year old dairy farm that was originally homesteaded in 1900. The original barn and sheds are still there.

I fell in love with this place as I walked through the gardens. You can tell that this business is a commitment of love. The grounds are so well kept and as you talk with Maria, she just has such a passion for what she does, plus, she loves stained glass too! OH,,,,, you can imagine how excited I was to hear that. She makes stepping stones too!!! Well that just excited me even more...

The old outhouse, with a fresh coat of paint, love the pink!

5,000 mums and asters planted for fall. This is amazing to see!

Maria spent so much time talking with us, you could just see how passionate she is for flowers and the greenhouse.

I just want to personally thank these women for inviting us into their yards, gardens and homes. Each of these women work at the greenhouse during the planting season and each has their own talent in other areas. It was such an enjoyable day and I felt like I met 3 new friends with the same passion for flowers as I do.

THIS GREENHOUSE IS SEASONAL ONLY.

If you would like more info email me at: lrick4444@yahoo.com

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