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The chance to tour eight private gardens and enjoy tea Sunday in Wilder Park will highlight Elmhurst Garden Club's 13th annual Garden Walk and Faire.

Visitors can tour the gardens from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. and visit the faire from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. in the park along Prospect Avenue near downtown Elmhurst.

Called "An Afternoon in the Garden," the walk also features the club's Monarch Waystation, which provides rest and nourishment for monarch butterflies on their yearly migration to Mexico.

Visitors to the faire can meet with horticulturists, vendors and master gardeners and check out booths featuring plants and other sale items, said Penny O'Neill, who handles publicity for the club.

Tickets for the walk are $15; entrance to the faire is free.

Proceeds help fund scholarships and the group's other efforts.

O'Neill recently shared some of her thoughts about the club and Sunday's event with the Daily Herald.

Q. What is the Elmhurst Garden Club's mission?

A. To encourage the advancement of and stimulate an interest in horticulture through education; to provide an outlet for creative expression; to encourage the development of home grounds and civic beautification; to aid in the protection of the environment; to further horticultural education, conservation and landscape design through scholarships.

Q. How do you work toward accomplishing those goals?

A. We have monthly meetings, both day and evening, with guest speakers addressing components of our mission. We also have standing committees such as horticulture, conservation, garden therapy, exhibits and design as well as special committees such as one that tends the herb garden in Wilder Park (near downtown).

We sponsor the Garden Walk and Faire. And for 55 years, we've decorated Elmhurst Public Library for the holidays. We often are called upon by other groups in Elmhurst to provide decorations for events, such as the recent 50-year gala celebration for the historical society.

We have established a certified Monarch Butterfly Waystation in cooperation with Elmhurst Park District. The project recently won national honors from the National Garden Clubs.

We have speaker's bureau members on a variety of subjects.

Q. Who do you serve?

A. We serve our members as well as the Elmhurst community and the area surrounding us. Members of one committee, design therapy, visit a senior day-care center monthly to work with clients making floral designs. We also work with the park district maintaining the herb garden in Wilder Park, a site where numerous weddings are performed. We serve our members and the community in any way we can help horticulturally.

Q. When and why did the club start? How has it grown?

A. We started in 1926 to meet the needs of members as stated in our mission statement. It grew from a few members to, at one time, a club so large there was a waiting list. Today we have about 110 active members.

Q. What kind of successes have you had?

A. We award scholarships annually to college and graduate students going into science fields. For the past several years we have been able to give out two $2,000 scholarships. We also sent more than $10,000 in funds and plants to help hurricane-devastated areas in the Gulf region replant their public spaces. Our work with the Monarch Waystation has helped establish many more in the area. We work cooperatively with Elmhurst Park District, Elmhurst Library, Elmhurst Historic Society, the Cool Cities initiative and others.

Q. What challenges does the club face?

A. Like many organizations these days, we would like to see our membership grow. Many hands make light work - especially when you are gardening. As gardeners, we are always subject to the weather. However, last year, even with the invasion of the cicadas, more than 600 people attended our one-day event and the gardens were spectacular. It was amazing how hard our hosts worked maintaining their gardens for the walk. It is the same this year with the erratic weather the Midwest has been experiencing. Elmhurst gardeners are not deterred and the gardens are lush, historic, inspirational. And it's an inexpensive way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Q. What would surprise most people if they spent a week with the garden club?

A. People would be surprised by how much we get done. Five or six women help maintain one of the most popular public gardens in Elmhurst, the herb garden. Our members are extremely knowledgeable about all aspects of horticulture, with many being master gardeners, and many are expert at floral design. We frequently get calls from organizations or newspapers with questions to help direct them to sources about stories they are working on.

Local beneficiaries of money earned from the Garden Walk have included the Elmhurst Public Library, the District 205 Foundation, the YMCA and others. For a small club of a little more than 100 members, we have been able to consistently award scholarships of $2,000 each.

Q. How can readers get involved?

A. Attend our Garden Walk and Faire on Sunday in Elmhurst. Donations are always welcome. Information can be found at gardencentral.org/illinois/elmhurstgardenclub/

If you go

What: Elmhurst Garden Club's 13th annual Garden Walk and Faire, "An Afternoon in the Garden"

When: Walk is 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday; faire is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Where: Eight homes and Wilder Park on Prospect Avenue, Elmhurst

Cost: $15, available in advance through local merchants and in Wilder Park on Sunday; Faire is free

Info: (630) 530-7844 or gardencentral.org/illinois/elmhurstgardenclub