Cantigny offers May garden tours, events
Cantigny Park will offer several events in May designed to inspire home gardeners and inform visitors about the changes ahead for the park's gardens and grounds. Hosted by the park's horticulture department, the events are at Cantigny, 1S151 Winfield Road, Wheaton.
• Greenhouse Open House takes place 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, May 7. Take a self-guided tour of the park's production-style greenhouse. See more than 50,000 plugs of native seedlings and wetland natives started this winter, and a new nursery area holding perennial plants dug from the gardens to be reused during Project New Leaf.
Local organizations with an eco-educational slant will be on hand along with Cantigny horticulture staff to answer questions.
Admission is free with $10 parking. Walk to the greenhouse or ride the complimentary tram from the main Cantigny parking lot. Inside the Visitors Center, enjoy a trunk show by local jewelry artist Nancy Neill and browse the ClaySpace Pottery Show.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for each event.
• Celebrate National Public Gardens Day from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, May 12, with a free tour through Cantigny's colorful spring plantings guided by the Cantigny horticulture experts. Plus, catch two presentations in the Visitors Center Theater.
At 11 a.m., keynote speaker Shawna Coronado, a local author and gardener from Warrenville, will discuss organic gardening solutions and tips. She will sign copies of her book "101 Organic Gardening Hacks," for sale in the Cantigny Shop.
At 9 a.m., hear Jeff Reiter's "Birds of Cantigny." A free parking voucher, good May 12 only, is available for download at cantigny.org. Otherwise, the $5 weekday parking fee applies.
• Get an inside look at Cantigny's just-launched Project New Leaf at two events in mid-May. Landscape architect Joe Hibbard, the principal in charge of Cantigny Park's Project New Leaf, a five-year revitalization plan, will discuss how it all came together and changes in store for visitors at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 17, at the Visitors Center.
Hubbard also leads a walking tour at 11 a.m. Thursday, May 18, starting at the Visitors Center. He will share information about the scope of Project New Leaf and commentary on the new garden spaces planned for the park. Admission to both events is free with $5 parking.
The 500-acre Cantigny estate features one of the largest display gardens in the Midwest, showcasing perennials, ground covers, flowering bulbs, shrubs and trees. Cantigny's 18,000-square-foot greenhouse supplies the plants displayed throughout the gardens and golf course, including 160,000 annuals.
For information, visit cantigny.org.