Glen Ellyn Garden Walk

Spring into Summer with the Glen Ellyn Garden Walk Saturday, June 16th

For many area gardeners, the Glen Ellyn Garden Walk, sponsored by Bridge Communities, has become an annual rite of passage from spring into summer.  Each year, they are delighted by gardens that range from formal to whimsical, from grand to diminutive, with plantings done primarily by the homeowners themselves.  

This year’s Garden Walk takes place Saturday, June 16th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm and features seven private gardens, including a miniature railway garden, a children’s playhouse garden, multi-tiered ponds and even a productive beehive.  New this year, a trolley will circle the route, transporting guests from garden to garden, sponsored by American Gardens and The Bendigkeit Bunch, Koenig Strey Real Living. 

Master Gardeners from University of Illinois DuPage County Extension will be available at select gardens to speak on gardening topics and to answer gardening questions. 

Glen Ellyn restaurants have partnered with the Garden Walk to donate a portion of their proceeds to Bridge Communities.  Glen Oak Restaurant, Tap House Grill, Honey, Sante Fe, Shannon’s Irish Pub, and The Grill at Village Links have all committed to donate 15% of their June 16th proceeds.  Walkers are encouraged to enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner in Glen Ellyn one of the participating restaurants.

Tickets are $25 through June 14th and $30 beginning June 15th.   Children’s tickets are offered to children 12 years and younger at a reduced cost of $15.  Tickets can be purchased at www.bridgecommunities.org, and beginning May 14th at Glen Ellyn retailers: McChesney & Miller Grocery and Market, Harris Bank, Just the Bookstore, and WineStyles.

Bruss Landscaping, Inc., Glen Ellyn Bank & Trust and Panera Bread are generous sponsors of the Glen Ellyn Garden Walk, along with trolley sponsors American Gardens and The Bendigkeit Bunch.

All proceeds benefit Bridge Communities Transitional Housing Program which connects homeless families in DuPage County to permanent housing, financial stability and self-sufficiency. 

Featured Gardens:

Brinich Garden:  Mature trees and a variety of grasses and perennials greet visitors to this beautiful garden.  Guests wander past the vegetable garden framed by grape vines; continue past the raspberry canes to be greeted by a majestic walnut tree, providing the canopy for a beautiful shade garden crowded with a variety of hosta and ferns.  A spectacular show of Bottle Brush Buckeye greets guests as they enjoy this family-friendly garden with Japanese-inspired plantings providing a peaceful habitat for a beehive. 

Brown Garden:  This whimsical garden incorporates creative landscape design into a miniature railway garden.  “Prairie Crossing” incorporates a large outdoor railway, water features, streambed, unique specimen plantings flagstone walkways, a paver patio area and much more.  Complete with numerous forms of natural stone and a full miniature town, this garden is entertaining and interactive for all ages.

Johnson Rooftop Garden:  Enjoy the Chicago skyline from this rare rooftop garden in Downtown Glen Ellyn.   Not a typical residential garden, this unique space boasts a plethora of container plantings with vivid spills of color and interesting plant selections.  The outdoor kitchen and bar, as well as contemporary outdoor furniture and fire table, add to the ambiance and set the scene for inspired urban outdoor living.

Koral Garden:  A playful mix of salvia and native plants in the terraced front yard garden welcome guests to the Koral home.  A garden built for birds and butterflies, a children’s playhouse garden, and shade-loving perennials fill the backyard.  The highlight of this landscape is the 800 square foot French potager, where vegetables, herbs and flowers are grown together, bringing style to the function of growing food for the family.

Marcheschi Garden:  A beautiful symphony of perennials greets visitors as they wander through this informal English cottage garden.  Follow the path around and enjoy the main features of this incredible garden. Two waterfalls drop from an upper tier into a koi pond.  Linger a while before taking the steps to a waterfall, pool and small stream flanked by hostas, ferns and English ivy.  This garden is truly a feast of the senses with so much to explore visually while listening to the soothing sounds of this urban oasis.

Smith Garden:  This beautiful garden exudes effortless beauty by incorporating nature and wildlife into the landscape design, multi-tiered ponds and meandering steam.  Blue-stone patios are surrounded by ponds filled with goldfish, turtles and other wildlife.  Mature trees provide a shady canopy for hours of relaxed entertaining.

The Helledy Garden:  Our garden consumes our front yard.  You wonder why that's so?  There's just one simple answer, no ore grass to mow.  "Better Gnomes and Gardens" was planted with great care, beginning with the cottage that adds an English flair.  The pathways and the stairways were set between the trees.  The flowers and the gnomes were added just to please.  We never quite remember what the plantings have in store, as roots grow ever deeper and mosses green once more.  Now maybe in the backyard we need a mower there?  What a silly question!  Take a look, but don't you stare.