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Ball Horticulture fundraiser supports DuPage extension programs

After a long week at work, Marilyn Joyner believes it is important to kick back and relax, perhaps with a leisurely walk through the garden.

On Friday, Aug. 5, individuals will have the opportunity support a good cause while letting stress slip away with a stroll through professional gardens.

“It's just one of those relaxing, serene evenings where you're in a peaceful environment having a good time with wonderful people,” said Joyner, vice president of DuPage Friends of Extension.

The organization will host “An Evening in the Garden” from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday at Ball Horticulture, 622 Town Road in West Chicago, to help raise money for University of Illinois Extension programs.

Lovers of gorgeous gardens and summer nights are invited to enjoy wine, hors d'oeuvres and live music for the group's second annual event. The Gardens at Ball, rarely open to the public, feature trials and experimental plantings of annuals and perennials covering nine acres.

“In this day and age, whether your stress is economic, physical, mental or emotional, gardens have that very therapeutic effect on people, whether you're a gardener or not,” Joyner said.

Formed in 2009, the DuPage Friends of Extension hosts numerous fundraising events throughout the year to relieve some of the economic stresses facing the University of Illinois Extension.

In recent years, a reduction in government funding has left the organization scrambling to raise funds to keep programs like 4-H and the Master Gardeners running.

Joyner said the group began the event last year to “do something to close the doughnut hole that has been created” in funding for University of Illinois Extension programs.

Of the programs funded by the extension, the DuPage County 4-H Club is one of the largest. In 2010, the organization reached 11,866 children ages 8 to 18, according to the DuPage County Report to the Community.

“If the 4-H fades out, what would that leave our children with?” Joyner said.

The Master Gardeners, a lesser known countywide program, also is run by the University of Illinois Extension. Members of the group visit schools to teach kids about growing produce, work with residents at convalescent centers and donate their produce to local food pantries.

A number of master gardeners also will be present at the event to answer guests' questions and facilitate a “mingling of people with like minds,” Joyner said.

The DuPage Friends of Extension hosted the event for the first time last year with a ticket price of $75. This year, it will cost botany buffs only $55 to enjoy the evening as the organizers decided to forgo Saturday tours of master gardeners' home gardens.

Joyner says “the timing for the garden walk was not good as far as availability,” but that the group hopes to reinstate the tours next year.

As a volunteer fundraising group, the DuPage Friends of Extension encourages community support of extension programs with a number of fundraising activities.

The group also sponsors the Gardener's Christmas in April event, a silent auction of gardening-related items, and the Harvest Roast, a family-friendly pig roast with an array of local craft vendors held in October.

Joyner says there has “always been a need, but the need is even stronger now” to garner community support for the struggling programs.

The DuPage Friends of ExtensionÂ’s summer fundraiser, to support University of Illinois Extension programs, invites guests to stroll the professional gardens at Ball Horticulture and learn from the expertise of Master Gardeners. Daily Herald File Photo

If you go

What: “An Evening in the Garden” hosted by the DuPage Friends of Extension

When: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 5

Where: Ball Horticulture, 622 Town Road, West Chicago

Cost: $55

Info: <a href="http://dupagefriendsofextension.org">dupagefriendsofextension.org</a>