Wild Ones of Greater Kane County to hold garden tour Aug. 28

The Wild Ones of Greater Kane County invites the community to a garden tour from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28, at a home in Wayne.

Sign up for a time slot at startinyouryard.com. Admission is free.

The Busi family moved to Illinois in 2007, from Southern California and were not familiar with the native plants in this region. After taking a class with one of the chapter's founders, Pat Hill, Angelika Brinkmann-Busi worked with Hill to select and design their first native plantings near the entrance of their home in 2008.

They began to get rid of lawn and added a French drain to draw excess water through some of the areas. As with many native gardeners, it seemed as if at times, the weeds were winning, but they kept at it and discovered some native plants were very helpful in shading out weedy plants.

The composition of plants in her yard has changed over time due in part to some areas becoming wetter, but also in an attempt to control the spread of some of the aggressive native plants. While the majority of plants is native, she also left a few ornamental plants that were not aggressive in place.

Brinkmann-Busi loves how the yard's aspect changes throughout the year and that it allows her to observe wildlife close up as well as provide beautiful blooms throughout the seasons.

Unfortunately, one of the unwanted native plants is poison ivy, which has spread despite their best efforts, so please dress to prevent being affected by it.

For questions, contact Kimberley Haag, Wild Ones of Greater Kane County, at kjhaag@comcast.net or (630) 200-5665.