Elmhurst walk to highlight seven gardens

For Elmhurst Garden Walk participants, the remarkable thing about Pat Adams' garden is that it lies in the heart of three gardens blended into one.

For Adams, the notable aspect of her garden is the little hidden touches within, such as the small circular fairy garden she and her grandchildren incorporated with a little white fairy house and tiny gazebos and chairs - for the fairies to sit, of course.

Or it's the shady area on the far end where her children and now her grandchildren play in a sandbox beneath the trees.

"That's just part of the joy," Adams says of the cottage garden that features 73 types of plants and winding paths that head off in the directions of each of her neighbors' houses.

This year's 15th annual Elmhurst Garden Walk and Faire today highlight seven gardens in just three stops.

"Several of them are done by the homeowners themselves - designed, planted and maintained," said Georgia Dolan, garden walk chair. "Some of them are small lots. Some of them are big lots. It's a real collection."

The standout of the walk, Dolan believes, will be Adams' and her neighbors' three adjoined gardens that resemble a country estate.

"They're really different, but they're all connected," Dolan said. "It gets really quiet back there."

Set on 300-foot deep lots on Eggleston Avenue, the gardens intertwine and back up to an area that was the Great Western Railroad, which backs up to an open prairie area and then the Prairie Path, Adams said.

"Behind us is really nothing. It's trees and woods. It's totally secluded," Adams said. "All I see are flowers and colors."

Walk participants start at Wilder Park, 175 Prospect Ave., where they pick up informational packets about each of the gardens.

Walking amid beauty inspires a healthy appetite that can be satisfied at the historic Wilder Mansion.

New this year is a light lunch featuring croissant sandwiches, salads, cookies, chips, fruit and a drink for $10, or purchase items a la carte from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Additionally, a faire takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Wilder Park featuring specialty shops that carry ornamental garden accents and decorations, ornamental iron, perennial flowers and so on.

Raffle prizes include two painted rain barrels, a birdbath, a piece of garden art and two planters - one with shade flowers and one with sun seekers.

Proceeds from the walk and faire annually support the Mildred Hartney College Scholarship Fund, as well as local educational and horticultural endeavors such as the children's garden at Elmhurst Memorial Hospital.

Tickets, $15, are available at Wilder Park.

For information, visit elmhurstgardenwalk.com.

Elmhurst Garden Walk and FaireWhen: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. todayWhere: Wilder Park, 175 Prospect Ave., Elmhurst Cost: $15Info: elmhurstgardenwalk.com