This year’s Conservation@Home Garden Showcases in Will County on August 1st and Kendall County on August 8th brought together native plant enthusiasts and community members for two inspiring days of garden exploration. The showcases celebrated a wide variety of gardens that demonstrate the beauty and benefits of native plants and sustainable gardening practices. Visitors explored landscapes of all sizes and styles, from DIY gardens to professionally designed spaces, featuring beautiful native plantings, bubbling water features, attractive and functional rain gardens, and thriving wildlife habitats. Both showcases also featured yards where dedicated gardeners are cultivating rare native plants to help support their populations, including purple milkweed, bottlebrush buckeye, figwort, and leafy prairie clover.
Additionally, The Conservation Foundation showcased the established gardens at McDonald Farm, along with the brand-new native and edible garden at our Dickson-Murst Farm. We are incredibly grateful to our wonderful showcase gardeners for opening their gardens to the community and sharing the results of their hard work. Attendees especially enjoyed talking with the gardeners, discovering new native plants, and finding inspiration in the many different garden styles and approaches. These showcases are a wonderful example of how native gardens can enrich the soil, support pollinators and wildlife, and strengthen biodiversity while also inspiring others in the community to create their own beautiful, sustainable landscapes.
