For the 30th year running, the Evanston Garden Walk will showcase some of the city’s most beautiful gardens.
The garden walk, hosted by the Evanston Environmental Association, was created by the Evanston chapter of Keep America Beautiful as a way to encourage Evanstonians to garden. This year, the event is scheduled from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 23, and will feature several notable stops, including the century-old Shakespeare Garden on the campus of Northwestern University, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
Each year, eight to 10 private and public gardens are featured on the walk. The spaces range from elaborate landscaping in front of lakeside homes to intimate private spots in back yards.
Besides four gardens at private homes, a new style of garden will be on the map – those built alongside condominiums, according to Morgan Simmons, 90, a member of the Garden Walk Committee for more than 20 years.
“Each year is a different experience,” he said. “Not a year goes by when I don’t see something new that I want to try in my own garden.”
He has been tending his garden in Evanston for more than 50 years and joined the committee after it was featured on the walk. He thinks the Garden Walk inspires gardeners to use their imaginations and gives visitors a chance to connect with nature.
“People are getting more in touch with the natural environment by having gardens that attract bees and butterflies and visitors get to see that,” said Simmons. “It feeds the soul.”
David Alt – a native of Iowa who moved to Evanston five years ago after living in California and Florida – said the walk was a great way for him to scout out ideas and see what he could do to his new garden.
“I was eager to see what gardeners were planting in this climate,” he said. “As I was planning my own garden, I enjoyed talking to the gardeners on the walk for ideas.”
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His research worked. Alt’s garden was featured on the walk last year and this year he joined the committee.
“I get more and more ideas each year for interesting species of flowers and grasses,” said Alt, who said this year he is most proud of his five-foot tall peonies.
Gardens that are designed or tended by owners, like Simmons and Alt, are most prominently featured on the walk, according to a statement by longtime committee member Nancy Burhop.
“We almost always opted for gardens where the owners play a major role in planning and maintenance,” she said. “Although professional design and installation is common, we thought visitors would be able to identify more with people who got their hands dirty.”
Tickets for this year’s walk are available online at www.evanstonenvironment.org/gardenwalk or can be purchased in person at various locations.
Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 the day of the event. Members of the Evanston Environmental Association pay $20 per ticket.
All proceeds go toward scholarships for children to attend summer camp at the Evanston Ecology Center and support the center’s apiary.