With Father’s Day weekend approaching, the Illinois Symphony Orchestra has been blooming
with anticipation for parents and children to come mark the occasion at its
annual garden tour. The 20th annual fundraiser for the orchestra is this
Saturday, June 20.
Tickets are $15 per adult and children are free. The tour will be held from 11-3
p.m.
The gardens are featured in five homes altogether — three in Leland Grove and two in Panther Creek. They represent the difference
in the individual homeowners, said Kathryn Ransom, president of the symphony
guild. Ransom, who has been president of the symphony guild for about a year,
said the five gardens are diverse and have an appeal for all.
“I think if people go to all five, they will find some that will really touch
their hearts,” Ransom said.
Some gardens are designed for families with children, some are more “mature,” and each garden represents “a different philosophy of life,” Ransom added. Some of the gardens feature sculptures and fountains, while
others are designed for those with more practical outdoor needs.
The guild is always looking to expand and find those who share a love for music
and want to help support the symphony. The fundraiser also serves as a place to
attract potential members for the guild, which currently has 100 members. The
goal is to have 220 members by 2010, according to Ransom.
Each year, locals and out-of-towners have traveled to be a part of the
fundraiser, as it is one of the more popular events in Springfield, Evelyn
Yurdin, co-chair of the garden tour said. Yurdin described this year’s exhibit as “an ensemble of outdoor living space.”
“They’re [the gardens] really are as diverse as the people who live there,” Yurdin said. “That’s what’s special about them.”
Admirers should expect to see a range of botanical artistry such as hornbeam
hedges, roses, hydrangeas and more. Design for the tour is credited to the
homeowners and some help is provided by Green View nursery. There will be
representatives from Green View at each of the homes to help viewers identify
specific kinds of plants and flowers featured in the exhibit.
In the spirit of Father’s Day weekend, the garden tour features a children’s activity. Children can have their photo taken and placed on a decorative
flower to bring home for the holiday.
“I think people in the Midwest really appreciate yards and gardens, flowers and
plants,” Ransom said. The tour is an ideal place for people to get ideas for their own
gardens, she added. “It’s a chance to get away from the routine of a Saturday and spend a few moments
thinking about beautiful things,” she said.
Proceeds benefit music students for scholarship summer programs and help support
the symphony. This year’s fundraiser goal is $10,000.
Participants may begin the tour at any of these addresses: 1645 Leland, 1630 W.
Laurel, 1636 W. Laurel, 4408 Turtle Bay or 4425 Turtle Bay. Tickets may be
purchased at Green View Nursery, Wildbirds Unlimited and Beatty Televisual. For
additional information call 546-5563 or 546-6594.
Lyndsey Taylor is from Santa Barbara, Calif., and is new to Springfield. She has
studied journalism at Santa Barbara City College and is continuing her
education in Illinois.
More garden events coming up
Master Gardeners’ Garden Walk
Master gardeners of the University of Illinois Extension Sangamon-Menard Unit
will host a Garden Walk on Saturday, June 27, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
This year’s walk includes eight Springfield gardens: Jack and Mary Altman, 700 Teal Drive;
Tom Martin, 125 North Illinois; Germann gardens, 3045 South 14th St.; Graham
and Ednita Murdock, 937 Feldkamp; Sherri Khile, 732 West Woodland Ave.; Rain
Garden at Washington Park Botanical Garden; Dean Home Heirloom Garden at
Lincoln Home Visitors Center; and Master Gardener demonstration gardens of the
fairgrounds.
During the Garden Walk, master gardeners will be stationed throughout the
properties to answer questions about plants. Volunteers will host an “Ask the Master Gardener Table,” to answer garden questions, at the Altmans.
Master Gardeners will also present garden programs. They include: 10 a.m., “The Great Divide” at the Murdocks; 11 a.m., “Roses: To Prune or Not to Prune?” at the Germanns; Noon, “Vegetable Gardening” at the Altmans; 1 p.m., “Water Gardening” at the Murdocks; 2 p.m., “Stepping Stone” at the Khiles; 2 p.m., “Attracting Birds” at the Altmans.
Tickets are $8 if purchased in advance, $10 the day of the walk. Tickets will be
available at Lincoln Memorial Garden, Wild Birds Unlimited, Ace Hardware,
Noonan TrueValue Hardware, at the University of Illinois Extension offices in
Springfield and Petersburg and online. For more information, phone the
Extension office, (217) 782-4617, or visit the Extension Web site www.extension.uiuc.edu/sangamonmenard.
Celebrate “Art in the Garden”
Lincoln Memorial Garden is hosting the first-ever “Art in the Garden” celebration all day Saturday, June 27. (A rain date is scheduled for June 28.)
Area artists have been invited to find inspiration in Lincoln Memorial Garden.
“Art in the Garden” is free and open to garden-lovers and art-lovers alike, but the art created for
the juried exhibition or created in the garden will be donated by the artists
and sold at an evening reception. Profits from “Art in the Garden” will be used to maintain the historic not-for-profit garden as Jens Jensen and
his supporters in Illinois’ garden clubs envisioned it.
The day begins at 8 a.m., when artists will begin setting up outdoors. At 1
p.m., younger artists are invited to create their own Andy Goldsworthy-type art
using natural materials from the garden. The day will conclude with a reception
in the Nature Center for artists and the public from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. A live
auction of the art created that day and a silent auction of the juried art will
be held during the reception.
Lincoln Memorial Garden is at 2301 East Lake Shore Drive, Springfield.
— Jennifer Fishburn
This article appears in Jun 18-24, 2009.
