Weed Ladies' sale highlights fall collection
It's just past harvest time for the Weed Ladies, so it's shopping time for Weed Ladies fans.
The volunteer corps of about 20 women spent the summer cultivating the soil outside the Daniels House at Naper Settlement, carefully planting an assortment of eye-catching foliage and using the yield to design a selection of floral arrangements, wreaths and swags.
Their fall collection of dried and silk flowers will be on display and available for purchase today through Sunday during the Weed Ladies Fall Show and Sale, held inside the Daniels House at the museum village near downtown Naperville.
"We had a show in the spring and ever since we've been working toward our fall show," said Lynn Rogala, event co-chairwoman.
Pieces feature fall colors, dried grapevine, faux pumpkins and tall grasses, Rogala said.
Bittersweet also is a popular ingredient among pieces in the collection, she said.
"It's a bright orange berry that is quite popular in the fall," she said.
Weed Ladies' signature "weed bouquets" do include weeds, event co-chairwoman Cathi Schumacher said.
"A weed is a flower, just planted in the wrong place," she said.
Bouquets are fashioned from goldenrod, wild yarrow, cattails, grasses and thistles.
Prices range from about $8 for petite arrangements to $80 for large planters. Styles range from sleek and modern to ornately old-fashioned.
"Some of our containers are antiques that have been donated to us. Some are contemporary," Rogala said.
Money raised from the sale goes to the settlement's education and historic preservation funds, Rogala said.
The Weed Ladies started in 1969 and are still going strong, said Rogala, a member for about six years.
Rogala said her membership has helped her develop her floral design skills.
"You learn from others who have been doing it for years," she said.
Members bring different strengths to the project. While some Weed Ladies concentrate on designing, others take advantage of their gardening prowess to grow straw flowers and hydrangea for arrangements. A few Weed Ladies dabble in both gardening and designing, Rogala said.
"Everybody works together to help each other," she said.
From spring through fall, the Weed Ladies meet to work on their creations each Monday and Wednesday in the Daniels House, a 19th-century doctor's house and office on exhibit at the settlement.
"It's a happy place to work," said Schumacher, a 15-year member. "We laugh and talk and hum and support each other."
If you go
What: Weed Ladies Fall Show and Sale
When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today through Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday
Where: Naper Settlement, 523 S. Webster St., Naperville
Cost: Free
Info: (630) 305-5289.