Heirloom varieties take center stage at Garfield Farm Museum’s annual show

Posted August 17, 2025 10:28 pm

By Jerome Johnson, Garfield Farm Museum

Last year, Love-lies-bleeding thrived planted by Master Gardener volunteers (above) whereas this year, kiss me over the garden gate and spider flower are especially vigorous. Courtesy of Garfield Farm Museum

On Sunday, Aug. 24, the 33rd Heirloom Garden Show will feature growers of historic varieties of produce and flowers as well as the gardens and prairie of Garfield Farm & Tavern Museum in Campton Hills. The show will be 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Rolling Prairie Acres of Sigourney, Iowa, managed to harvest their historic garlics just before heavy rains visited Iowa in July that drowned out many a garden.

The cool late spring impacted germination rates for the museum's garden yet seeds from previous years plants in the antique flower garden sprang forth as the heat returned.

A favorite of attendees to the show, Jimmy's Chilis will return from Tinely Park. His homegrown chili peppers have been a key ingredient of his Flames of the Holy Spirit Hot Sauce.

Indiana weather was not much better for the Saberniaks who come to the show with their favorite heirloom varieties. Any heirloom garden enthusiast is welcome to come and exhibit, sell or talk about their favorites by contacting the museum in advance.

Last year, Mitch Adamus was the visiting prairie expert that explained the importance of native plants to museum visitors. Courtesy of Garfield Farm Museum

As the museum works toward its goal of being an 1840s working farm and inn museum, appropriate varieties of domestic plants and animals from the 1840s are needed.

Although most modern varieties of crops and vegetables trace their genetics back hundreds of years to historic types, those historic cultivars are now rare because of change over time. Yet their genetics might provide the very solution to disease, yield, climate tolerance, market forces, etc. that inevitable change over time. The show aims to increase awareness in this important issue.

Tours of the 1846 restored brick inn will be offered from noon to 4 p.m. led by interpreters in period clothing. The prairie plot just west of the museum gardens will also be interpreted by museum volunteers.

Last-minute exhibitors are welcome and should contact the museum. There is no fee for exhibitors as the event is an educational show.

There is an $8 donation or $3 for children under 13 years of age. Garfield Farm and Tavern Museum is Illinois’ only historically intact 366-acre former 1840s prairie farm and teamster inn being interpreted as an 1840s living history farm museum by volunteers and donors from over 37 states.

For questions, email info@garfieldfarm.org or call (630) 584-8485. Donations can be mailed to the museum at P.O. Box 403, La Fox, IL 60147 or go online to the website www.garfieldfarm.org and click on the Donate button.

Garfield Farm Museum's 33rd annual Heirloom Garden Show aims to increase awareness about the importance of preserving heirloom plant varieties and their genetics for potential solutions to challenges in agriculture. Courtesy of Garfield Farm Museum

If you go

What: 33rd Heirloom Garden Show

When: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 24

Cost: $8 ($3 for under 13)

Where: Garfield Farm Museum, 3N016 Garfield Road., Campton Hills

Contact: (630) 584-8485 or info@garfieldfarm.org

Article Comments

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.