Island Lake trustees hope to brighten village with irises
Island Lake officials are hoping the community gets behind a plan to decorate the village with colorful iris plants.
Dubbed "Irises of Island Lake," the project is the brainchild of Trustee Sandy Hartogh.
She envisions residents planting iris bulbs in their yards, near village signs and in other prominent locations as a way to beautify the town and eventually attract iris-loving tourists.
Hartogh was inspired by childhood trips to see the tulips growing in Holland, Michigan.
Holland's tradition dates back to 1928, when the city council planted more than 100,000 tulip bulbs from the Netherlands. The city now has nearly 4.5 million tulip plants, and residents and visitors celebrate Tulip Time with a festival there every spring.
"I had visions of living in a town that could have the same concept," Hartogh said Thursday night, shortly before the village board formally endorsed the plan. "It's a way to welcome people into the community, make them want to live here and hopefully boost the economy."
Hartogh, Trustee Deb Jenkins and Village Clerk Georgine Cooper are among the people working on the project. Hartogh and Jenkins already have purchased more than 100 iris bulbs they'll donate to the cause.
They also want residents growing irises at home to donate bulbs from their gardens.
"So many of our neighbors have irises, and they spread like crazy," Jenkins said. "They're hearty. And they come in so many different colors."
Hartogh's goal is to gather volunteers on Oct. 1 to plant the bulbs throughout town, starting with some of the village's signs. She aims to have 1,000 bulbs by then, and to get more each year.
"We'd like to start out small and see how it goes," Hartogh said.
For more information or to participate, email Cooper at georgine.cooper@voislk.com, or call (847) 416-7858.