September Garden Club Program

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Bald eagles and ospreys of Lake County  This month we welcomed Holly Garvey who gave a beautiful presentation about eagles and ospreys. 

Did you know that Illinois has the highest wintering population of bald eagles in the lower 48? Or that we have at least 15 active osprey nests in Lake County? Join us to learn about the return of ospreys and bald eagles to Lake County and the Chain O’ Lakes area. We’ll cover the species’ natural history, threats, conservation and population recovery of the fish-eating raptors. Despite their increasing numbers, the birds are still at risk. Learn how to view and identify the birds, and what you can do to contribute to their conservation locally.

Rock Painting  This month we celebrated spring!  Our program was presented by our member Nancy C. We all painted rocks to take home and place in our homes and gardens. As seen in the photos, our members are not only talented gardeners but talented painters as well!

Winter Sowing. This month's program was presented our club president and vice president, Holly S and Judy C! Participants learned the benefits winter sowing  and how to give our seeds the best chance for spring germination. Seeds and supplies were on hand to help everyone get started. There were lots of great questions from our members. After the presentation we had our last business meeting before winter break. 

Our next meeting will be held March 9th, 2024

Meeting will be held at the United Methodist Church, 848 Main St., Antioch IL

Doors open at 12:30 pm, meeting starts at 1:00 pm  

Larkspur & Leo. This month we welcomed Andrea Persman from Larkspur & Leo. Andrea is a floral designer with a unique style for making beautiful floral arrangements. She shared tips and ways to design and make floral arrangements. One lucky guest was able to create her own arrangement to take home, and one lucky member won an arrangement created by Andrea!  

Refreshments were served and our meeting was conducted. Thank you to all our guests and members who came to our event!

Flowering Shrubs, Selection and Care. This month's program was presented by Glenn Grosch, a member of the Chicago Botanic Garden teaching staff, and a retired certified arborist. We learned all about successfully growing deciduous shrubs, including plant selection, planting, watering, fertilizing and pruning. Included will be Midwest shrubs by season: dormancy, full flower, summer foliage and fall color. 

After the program, we had delicious refreshments and our monthly business meeting. We inducted two new member at the meeting. Welcome Chris P. and Susan U.!! 

Antioch Garden Club members had our first meeting after summer break. We had a great time socializing and catching up with each other before moving the the meeting room for a presentation on mushrooms. "Mrs. Mushroom", aka Lindsay Schwartz entertained and educated us about mushrooms. Lindsay went from a Master's in Applied Nutrition to operating her own gourmet mushroom business. She brought various mushrooms in growing medium to demonstrate how easy it is to grow fresh mushrooms at home. We then enjoyed an amazing pot luck luncheon, followed by our business meeting. What a great start to our new club year!!

Potluck Luncheon

Our June program was a celebration of another club year of gardening.  We had a short meeting followed by welcoming our two newest members. We announced our scholarship winner, Riley Nebel and enjoyed our potluck luncheon.  

Bee Keeping

Frank Moriarty is a past president and current board of directors member of the Lake County Beekeepers Association Illinois. The purpose of the LCBA is to promote interest in honeybees and beekeeping by encouraging good beekeeping and the utilization of honeybees for pollinations of agricultural crops. He will be speaking about honeybees, bee evolution, and the practice and enjoyment of beekeeping.