Photo found on flickr, courtesy of David Paul Ohmer.
This page has detailed information about the Chicago Master Gardener’s program. The website includes two blogs, information about volunteer opportunities, training schedule and also a Q & A section where gardeners can ask gardening queries to Master Garners affiliated with Cook County Extension.
The University of Illinois website for DeKalb County Extension provides information about training programs and outreach activities carried out by the Extension.
This page has comprehensive information about DuPage Master Gardeners’ program.
The Grundy County unit of Illinois Extension works with individuals, organizations, families, communities and businesses to help them learn the most recent findings in sustainability related topics ranging from water quality to food safety to landscaping to leadership development.
University of Illinois Extension in Kane County provides research-based knowledge to local communities through programs in Youth Development, Horticulture, Nutrition & Wellness, Family Living, Consumer Science and the Family Nutrition Program.
The topics covered by the Kendall County Master Gardener program include: botany, soils, woody ornamentals, basic entomology, tree fruits and small fruits, herbaceous ornamentals, and insect and diseases of plants.
The Lake County Master Gardeners’ program trains resident volunteer of the county to provide research-based information to home gardeners through a variety of educational activities. . Master Gardeners participate in the planning and maintenance of demonstration gardens that are housed in the premises.
The Master Gardeners of McHenry County are trained to share research-based information with home landscapers and gardeners. The program encourages young people to take interest in flower and vegetable growing.
The Will County extension program through its qualified university staff spreads research-based, and cutting edge technology and knowledge related to gardening and sustainability to individuals and communities of the Will County.
Master Gardeners across the state of Indiana promote gardening in their communities through educational presentations and giving advice to homeowners on landscapes and gardening. Lake County Master Gardeners plant and maintain the flower beds at the Government Center and the Fairgrounds in Crown Point, at some of the county parks, such as Buckley and Deep River, and they have an information booth at the Lake County Fair.
The Porter County Master Gardener Program is a volunteer training program which provides an intensive education in Horticulture to those with an interest in gardening. Master Gardeners provide services, such as answering gardening questions on the phone, providing gardening information through booths at shopping malls, parks, flower shows and fairs, and help train new Master Gardeners.
LaPorte County Master Gardeners webpage provides up-to-date information on various gardening topics, Master Gardener-sponsored programs, and volunteer information. The information provided is researched by Purdue University Extension specialists.
The Master Gardener Volunteers in Kenosha County webpage provides information to area residents on gardening, lawn care, trees and shrubs, flowers, and fruits.
This article gives tips on grapevine cultivation in Berwyn.
This page has information on growing tomatoes in Berwyn, Illinois.
The Proksa Park Garden Club is supported by the Berwyn Park District. Club members are encouraged to volunteer to help design, create and maintain ten gardens in the Park. Gardens include: a Butterfly Garden, Native Plant Garden, a Children’s Garden and other general plantings.
North Berwyn Park District provides knowledge to the city’s residents on backyard gardening and landscaping by offering volunteering opportunities to maintain various gardens in the park.
This GardenGuides page has listing of landscapers and nurseries in Berwyn, Illinois.
The Antioch Garden Club provides education, resources, and additional networking opportunities for its members to promote the love of gardening, floral design, civic and environmental responsibility in Antioch.
The Bloomingdale Garden Club works towards encouraging gardening within the club and community, protecting native trees and flowers, and providing backyard habitat for birds and butterflies.
The Bolingbrook Garden Club aims to promote and encourage the exchange of horticultural knowledge, to foster interest in gardening, and to promote horticultural projects throughout the community.
Members of the Deerpath Garden Club of Lake Forest share information on horticulture, and are committed to educate themselves about landscaping, plant life and the art of floral arranging. Regular activities and programs include slide-show/ lectures and hands-on workshops by professional speakers, self-education workshops by club members, and ‘field trips’ to public and private gardens.
The objective of the Des Plaines Garden Club is to work towards the advancement of gardening, promotion of civic beautification, and conservation of desirable native plant life.
Members of the Downers Grove Garden Club are committed to raising the awareness of organic gardening in the community and educating members about the benefits and methods of organic gardening and other environmentally sound practices.
The Chicago Botanic Garden features 26 spectacular gardens spread over 385 acres. The organization provides online as well as onsite information on native plants of Illinois. The botanic garden also supports community gardening efforts around the Chicago area.
Chicagoland Gardening Magazine is a bimonthly magazine for gardeners in zone 5 region that provides overview of back issues, gardening resource directory, calendar of events, questions and answers, and information about membership.
The Chicago Urban Gardening blog is a journal of day to day experiences of a University of Illinois Extension Urban Horticulture Educator in Chicago, Illinois. The blog has helpful resources to informative sites on gardening, and native as well as rare plant cultivation.
Best Plants is a searchable database of recommended plants for Illinois gardens, from perennials to trees, with photos and information on their culture and use.
This web log featured in Chicago Tribune is dedicated to gardening in Chicago, where bloggers chronicle day to day experiences while growing plants and also share information on plants, trees and pest control.
Chicago Flower and Garden Show is an annual event held at Chicago’s Navy Pier, which features exhibits, gardening seminars, children’s activities and shopping.
Chicago Garden is a journal maintained by a gardener who narrates his experiences while growing plants. He also keeps tracks of gardening events and workshops in Chicago in the blog.
A Chicago-based gardener gives tips for growing plants in backyard garden.
GreenNet is a coalition of non-profit organizations and public agencies devoted to sharing information and resources about gardening and greening in Chicago and developing joint efforts to improve the quality, amount, use, and wide geographic distribution of sustainable, green open space in the City of Chicago.
The Wicker Park Garden Club is a not-for-profit organization that brings long term residents, businesses, and veteran gardeners together to develop a forum in which individuals can exchange ideas on gardening and assist in the beautification of the neighborhood. The gardens within the Wicker Park serve as an instrument of the Garden Club’s beautification program and as a place where gardeners from around the community can gain hands-on gardening experience to develop better gardens at their homes.
Garfield Park Conservatory organizes workshops and arranges programs to educate and train Chicago residents on beekeeping, gardening and composting.
The City Hall rooftop garden site provides a guide to create a personal rooftop garden.
This is a great guide to vegetable gardening that gives useful tips on growing vegetables in your backyard. The website also provides a vegetable directory and glossary, and it has a section for kids and information on nutrition and health.
The University of Illinois website offers a comprehensive guide to composting in your backyard.
The Wildflowers website provides complete information about native plants and wildflowers which grow abundantly in the Illinois state. The site also gives information about sources where these plants can be obtained.
A detailed guide to perennial garden design offered by the University of Illinois extension.
Morton Arboretum is a facility for research and education near Chicago that aims to collect and study trees, shrubs, and other plants from around the world, and to display them across naturally beautiful landscapes. The website provides information about activities, programs, and collections.
Watergardening.com is a website where members can share water garden videos, audio, photos, and stories. The site also offers examples and stories of beautiful water gardens, pond related projects, landscaping ideas, and information about aquatic plants and how to care for them.
The University of Illinois Extension website helps home gardeners make knowledgeable decisions when selecting a tree. Visitors can search for information on trees and view photos by applying criteria such as size, light exposure, use, and tolerance of various conditions in the search window.
Hort Corner provides links to useful resources covering all aspects for the cultivation of a garden.
The Conservation Foundation is a not-for-profit land and watershed protection organization established by business and community leaders of DuPage, Kane, Kendall and Will Counties, Illinois.
A blog operated by McHenry Garden Club, where bloggers share gardening tips and update the list of gardening or educational resources. The blog also provides schedules of local gardening events.
Naperville Garden Club aims to provide education, resources and networking opportunities for members, to encourage gardening, floral design, civic and environmental responsibility. Interest in gardening is fostered by club trips, annual plant sale and member plant exchange, as well as monthly meetings where members share ideas and information. The club imparts education, through its innovative programs, Junior Gardeners program, workshop, and design classes.
Cantigny gardens offers opportunities for both display and education, which include plant testing, growing and blooming assessments and color composition. It was designed so both amateur and professional landscapers could visit Cantigny’s Gardens and find plants that grow well in the Midwest.
Naperville Community Gardeners provides information about the club, its meetings and events, and publishes latest newsletter.
Chicagoland Daylily Society is a not-for-profit gardening club whose purpose is to promote and encourage the growing and scientific study of the genus Hemerocallis. The site includes a calendar of club activities, information on becoming a member, a gallery of photos and links to sites of interest.
Wild Ones, Native Plants, Natural Landscapes is a non-profit organization dedicated to natural landscaping and related education. The Greater DuPage chapter of the national organization covers several counties across the western suburbs of metropolitan Chicago in Illinois. This local chapter provides a venue for sharing information among members about using plants adapted to the soils and climate of Chicagoland.
Anderson Japanese Gardens is an acclaimed public Japanese garden spread over 14 acres in Rockford, Illinois.
Chicago Home + Garden is Chicago magazine’s design publication that offers expert advice on gardening, and landscaping for the Chicago area.
The Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance is a non-profit organization, that aims to strengthen community bonding through the unique combination of the Garfield Park Conservatory Campus, other botanical resources, and the engagement of community members. With its innovative programs, the Alliance enhances the environmental, social and economic vitality of Chicago’s West Side and encourages the larger community to explore the fundamental connection between plants and human life.
Garfield Farm and Inn Museum offers tours of its historic buildings and prairie natural areas as well as special events featuring rare breeds livestock, antique tools, heirloom plants, and pioneer crafts.
Chicago Wilderness is an alliance of more than 160 public and private organizations working together to protect, restore, study and manage the precious natural ecosystems of the Chicago region for the benefit of the public.
Green Earth Institute is a nonprofit organization working to promote nutritional health and environmental sustainability. They use an organic farm to educate the public about nature, nutrition, and environmental issues.
The Joliet Garden Club organizes regular meetings where invited guest speakers discuss all aspects of gardening at the homeowner level.
The Lombard Garden Club is a community of garden enthusiasts who share knowledge of gardening through workshops and meetings where invitee plant growing experts give tips and information on cultivation of plants.
The Morris Area Garden Club works to stimulate the knowledge and love of gardening, aids in protection of environment and conservation of our natural resources, encourages civic beautification and promotes education in horticulture and landscaping.
The Pottawatomie Garden Club of St. Charles, Illinois, is dedicated to inspire interest in gardening and making the community a greener a place to live and educating college students to enhance and preserve the landscape. The site includes details of information and schedule of events.
Tri-Village Garden Club of Bartlett, Streamwood and Hanover Park Illinois invites speakers each year to share information on general gardening, water gardens, spring bulbs, lawn care, flower arranging, and native plants.
The Cress Creek Garden Club aims to stimulate gardening interest, to develop horticultural knowledge, and to support civic contributions and the cultivation of community public gardens.
The purpose of the Saybrook Garden Club is to encourage friendship and participation within the community, to provide social and educational activities among neighbors, to contribute to local philanthropic causes, and to encourage the development and conservation of natural resources throughout the community.
The Schaumburg Community Garden Club is a non-profit organization which comprises of members ranging from Master Gardeners, ready to share their experience, to gardening enthusiasts, looking to learn about plant culture and care.
The Lemont Friendship Garden Club is a group of gardening enthusiasts who gather periodically to share information related to gardening and plant cultivation.
Plantaholics works to promote interest in gardening, and to serve the community through beautification efforts.
The Seedlings Garden Club works towards the conservation of flora and fauna through community participation.
The Kankakee Kultivators Garden Club aims to foster knowledge interest in gardening, to further community beautification and to aid in protection of trees, wildflowers, and birds.
Gardening Chicago offers a directory of Gardening resources in Chicago.
This page has listing of gardening meetup groups near Chicago.
One Seed Chicago is a not-for-profit project of Neighborspace that works in partnership with government agencies and other non-profit organizations and local community groups to preserve and expand community managed open space in Chicago. The goal of One Seed Chicago is to engage current gardeners, nurture new gardeners to green Chicago by growing gardens across the City.
This Chicago Tribune section is dedicated to features on gardening.
This Chicagoland Gardening page has YouTube video clippings giving tips on gardening.
Illinois Native Plant Society comprises of professionals and amateurs who share an interest in all aspects of the flora native to the state of Illinois.
A Chicago-based gardener chronicles her experiences with growing various plants in her backyard.
This website of the US Environmental Protection Agency provides comprehensive information on landscaping with native plants in Chicago.
This page has information and photos of vascular plants found in the Chicago, IL USA region.
Chicago City’s Department of Environment provides information on invasive plants in the region.
A taxonomist has put together a website that contains immense information about plants in Chicago.
The Habitat Project is a network of thousands of volunteers and staff—scientists, monitors, land managers and advocates, who work side by side to assure the holistic and effective conservation of Chicago Wilderness, a regional nature reserve.
Illinois Audubon Society’s objective is to promote the appreciation of native flora and fauna of Illinois and the habitats that support them. Activities of the organization include working towards the control of pollution, the conservation of energy and all natural resources, encourage a sound ecological relationship between human populations and their environments, and the education and involvement of the public in such efforts.
Sheffield Garden Walk & Festival, sponsored by the Sheffield Neighborhood Association (SNA), a non-profit community organization, features self-guided tours of more than 90 Gardens, guided Architectural Tours, live entertainment by some of Chicago’s and North America’s finest bands, food and drink, and activities for children at the Kids Corner.
Three major botanical institutions, The Morton Arboretum, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the Chicago Botanic Garden, have developed the online, search-able database vPlants (“virtual Plants”) that provides free plant specimen data and digital images of specimens to anyone with internet access. Users can search data from 80,000 plant specimens from the greater Chicago Region, which are housed in the herbaria of each of the partner institutions.
The Illinois Orchid Society organizes monthly meetings that discuss issues related to orchid cultivation at the Oakton Community College in Des Plaines. The web site has a wealth of links for orchid enthusiasts.
Members of the Arlington Heights Garden Club gather at monthly meetings, where knowledgeable speakers offer information and practical advice to amateur as well as experienced gardeners.
The Garden Club of Evanston is dedicated to propagate the knowledge of gardening among amateurs, to share the advantages of association through conference and correspondence in this country and abroad, to aid in the protection of native plants and birds, and to encourage civic planting.
Green Town project works to build community gardens for plants, produce and education, preserve urban green-space create public and private partnerships utilize vacant spaces to beautify Waukegan.
The Lowell Garden Club members learn all aspects of gardening through shared ideas, programs, and speakers. The club meets regularly to stimulate the knowledge and love of gardening, to encourage an interest in gardening, landscape improvements, horticulture, and the promotion of community ecology.
Chicago Park District Gardens in the Parks encourages residents to grow and connect with nature and its provisions through caring for ornamental and edible plants. Gardeners take initiative and responsibility for the community garden and in effect, the park as a whole.
The Roger Park Garden Group’s mission is to promote gardening in the Rogers Park community through education and by assisting in the growth and development of green places. The RPGG monthly meetings include expert speaker presentations, gardening and plant discussions, and RPGG business. The RPGG also sponsors community gardening projects and fundraisers to support community gardening projects and activities. The website offers a lot of information on cultivation of plants, has a photo gallery and links to gardening resources.
The Resource Center is a non-profit environmental education organization that endeavors to develop innovative techniques for recycling and reusing materials. The institution is dedicated to the economic and educational revitalization of city neighborhoods through recycling, urban gardening, composting, and other programs that reclaim and reuse resources.
The Bulletin provides timely information about pests and crops throughout Illinois. The objective is to keep the residents informed about pest problems and crop development issues and to keep you people updated with the most effective, economic, and environmentally sound pest management strategies.
This is an excellent resource for weed identification specifically for Illinois.
Illinois State Climatologist Office provides updated information on climate and weather of Illinois.
This prairie resource by William E. McClain of the Division of Natural Heritage with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources includes information ranging from the origins of the prairie to using prairie plants in landscape design.
This website has complete information about the habitat of Grand Prairie of Illinois.
Openlands is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and enhancing public open space in the region. The website provides information and resources on urban neighborhood programs, and also features membership information.
Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie aims to conserve, restore, and enhance the native populations and habitats of fish, wildlife, and plants; to provide opportunities for scientific, environmental, and land use education and research; to allow the continuation of existing agricultural uses of lands within Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie for the next 20 years, or for compatible resource management uses thereafter.
The Illinois Department of Agriculture supports Illinois’ agricultural industry and provides the necessary regulatory functions to benefit consumers, agricultural industry, and the state’s natural resources. The website provides updated information and news related to gardening and agriculture for the state of Illinois.
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