See what your neighbors create with spaces small and grand
Imagine enjoying a garden of flowers, water features, stonework and even espaliered trees where someone else does the work and you just stroll.
That's the idea behind garden walks, which are in prime season.
Espaliered pear trees created a charming trellis on a Barrington Hills estate whose sprawling acres feature a new swimming pool, sunken garden and woodland pond. This is part of the Barrington Country Garden and Antique Faire June 20-21.
Sue Thorne, who loves to buy new plants and start others from seed, shows what hard work and time can accomplish in a relatively small yard. Coral bells, honeysuckle, ferns, clematis, cardinal vine, hollyhocks, climbing nasturtiums, trillium, jack-in-the-pulpit, roses and astilbe are just the start of her plant list. Several Wheeling gardens will be open June 22.
Shade plants including hostas, ferns, rhododendrons, pachysandra and bleeding hearts thrive under a 50-foot canopy of pine trees on a St. Charles acreage that once was a tree farm. The Pottawatomie Garden Club of St. Charles celebrates its 80th anniversary with six varied gardens on June 28.
Homeowners and garden clubs alike sponsor summer walks so you can see what they've accomplished.
Barrington Hills
Attraction: You'll have to pick your own favorite garden on the estate dubbed an American Arboretum. It might be pear trees espaliered into an open diamond pattern adjoining a European-style area with a stone walkway, benches and peonies. Or it could be the secluded pond with a footbridge, waterfall, fruit trees and a weeping beech.
Event: Barrington Country Garden & Antique Faire - three gardens to tour, and one, called An English Masterpiece, features the faire where visitors can enjoy music and buy antiques, flea market finds and gourmet food.
Sponsor: Hands of Hope, a local organization that helps people in Africa
Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 20 to 21 (Early shopper tickets available for 8:30 a.m. June 20)
Tickets: $40 until June 15; $50 thereafter; $75 for early shoppers
Where: Shuttle buses depart every 15 minutes from Barrington High School, 1616 W. Main St., and 800 Hart Road on Friday, and from 800 Hart Road only on Saturday.
Information: www.handsofhope online.org or (847) 622-5201
Don't miss: The sunken garden at the American Arboretum was once a tennis court, and the farm building that is now the house was designed by architects from the office of David Adler, known for his North Shore work.
St. Charles
Attraction: Seventy different types of plants grow on these 2 acres, many of them under the mature trees that create a 50-foot canopy.
Event: Grand Gardens by the Fox features six gardens including an in-town Victorian and two estates.
Sponsor: The Pottawatomie Garden Club of St. Charles
Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 28
Tickets: $15 in advance; $18 day of the walk
Where: 427 S. 5th St., St. Charles
Information: www.pottagardenclub.org or (630) 377-5890
Don't Miss: The magnificent stonework includes patios, paths through the woods and the terrace around the zero-edge swimming pool.
Wheeling
Attraction: Sue Thorne calls herself a plant addict. Here are some of the trees and shrubs in her sheltered retreat: river birch, hydrangea tree, hibiscus, dwarf pine, snowball bush and chartreuse privet. She bought pussy willow twigs at a craft fair and soaked them in water to root.
Event: Wheeling Garden Club's 12th annual garden walk
Time: 1 to 4 p.m. June 22
Tickets: $5 donation
Where: Sue Thorne's home, 31 St. Armand Lane, Wheeling
Information: (847) 541-0892.
Don't miss: The rosemary plant right by the rear door so Thorne can catch its scent every time she passes by.