Cantigny Park offers greenhouse tours
Jenny Lund works in the future. Kind of.
In a large greenhouse nestled away at the northeast corner of the Cantigny Park and Gardens property in Wheaton, Lund and her team of professional growers and volunteers work tirelessly to cultivate, plant and care for the landscape and vegetation visitors see every day.
Because it takes time for flowers to grow and bloom, Lund is among the first to get a preview of what visitors will marvel at later.
“We’re always a season ahead,” said Lund, Cantigny’s production manager. “What we put out for the spring, we started in the early part of the year. When there is still snow on the ground, you get to see what’s coming up.”
Just outside of the park’s visitors center, people are greeted by a colorful array of buttercups, violas and pansies that have become a highly visible landmark on the grounds.
Residents will get an inside look at where that landscape comes from when the park hosts a free eco-friendly open house in its greenhouses from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today at 1S151 Winfield Road, Wheaton.
Visitors are encouraged to enter the grounds through the Shaffner Road entrance, which leads directly to the greenhouse.
Lund and senior grower Bob Carr will be on hand to answer questions about the work they do with what Carr estimates are between 400 and 500 species of plant life. The open house also will include beekeepers, rain barrels and a plant sale, among other attractions.
As expected, a typical day in the greenhouse means a lot of watering. But the specific amount of watering each species takes varies, so it’s not merely a matter of turning on the hose and letting it spread across the system of pipes laid throughout the greenhouse.
Instead, Carr said, most of the plants are watered by hand. He said he looks forward to today’s open house.
“It’s a chance for people to come and see what will be going on in the gardens this summer,” he said. “It’s mainly to see our variety; to see what we do.”
The end result of what they do is something visitors know all too well. Specialized vegetation on the golf course and several gardens east of the visitors center provide a canvas for Carr’s and Lund’s creations. And the paints, er, flowers used on that canvas change constantly.
Lund said each year they keep on the lookout for more disease-resistant, better performing or aesthetically pleasing species or strands to maximize the grounds.
“We try to find the latest fashions,” Lund said with a laugh.
Roughly 70 percent of the park’s plants come from seeds, with the rest generally bought from outside vendors.
As she prepares for the open house, the 22-year employee said the event annually appeals to those who like to plant gardens at home. But it also brings out people who just want to see what is going on in the building.
“Folks just like to see inside a building they normally would not see,” Lund said. “People are curious.”
If you go
If you go
What: Cantigny Gardens Eco-friendly Open House
Where: Cantigny Park and Gardens, 1S151 Winfield Road, Wheaton
When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today
Activities: Beekeepers, plant sale, kids activities, self-guided tours, rain barrel information, raffles
Info: (630) 668-5161 or Cantigny.org