Park Ridge Garden Club

Thanks for visiting!  Our garden club is growing every year.  We have many events taking place throughout the year including our annual Plant Sale, Garden Walk, and the Residential Beautification Awards Contest co-sponsored by the City of Park Ridge.
 
Our club has been in continuous existence for over 90 years and we are still "growing". The Park Ridge Garden Club was organized on April 5th, 1929 and incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation in 2013. 
 
Our Objectives:
  • Stimulate an interest in gardening and the protection of the environment
  • Conduct meetings at which members may learn about horticulture, conservation/ecology, landscape design, and/or the artistic use of plant materials
  • Improve and beautify the community of Park Ridge

Meetings
Meetings are held the second Thursday of each month from September through June beginning at 7:00 p.m. at 100 S. Western in Park Ridge at the Centennial Activity Center.  Enter using the door to the south of the main entrance.

NOTE:  The December meeting is the first Thursday and starts at 6:30PM.  This is a MEMBERS ONLY meeting.  There is no meeting in January.
​For a full list of upcoming programs and detailed descriptions, please visit the EVENTS page.  Guests are encouraged to attend meetings.  Guests may attend two meetings free of charge.  For membership information, please visit the ABOUT page.
 Meetings  start at 7:00pm.   There is a club meeting after which there's time for socializing until the program starts as noted below.   Programs generally last 1 hour.  Meetings typically adjourn at 9:00pm.
WATER WILL BE AVAILABLE AT GENERAL MEETINGS. 
You are welcome to bring your own beverage.
Program:
Eat the Neighborhood: Edible and Medicinal Wild Plants Right in Your Own Backyard
​Speaker:
David Odd
​Date:
​June 12, 2025
Time:
7:00pm
​Dave Odd is Chicagoland's only full-time forager. For over a decade he provided locally foraged ingredients to some of the top restaurants in Chicago and celebrity chefs like Rick Bayless, Grant Achatz, Stephanie Izard and multiple Iron Chef and Top Chef winners. Now he has devoted his career to teaching everyday people about the bounty of edible and medicinal plants and mushrooms right in our own backyards. Through his Eat the Neighborhood foraging tours and events you will learn about dozens of edible and medicinal plants and mushrooms that you probably see and walk right by every day. Connecting people with the natural world around them to incorporate some of those things into their everyday lives, like our ancestors did for generations, is the ultimate goal.
The installation of new officers and committee chairs that were elected for the upcoming year at the May meeting will take place at this meeting.
The Plant Exchange will also take place at 6:00 PM in front of the Centennial Activity Center.

Current Events
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95th Annual Plant Sale

    Field Trip Lunch Entree Choices

Club T-Shirts

Sales have ended for club t-shirts.  They will hopefully be available to order again this fall.

For members who ordered a t-shirt this spring, they are expected to be distributed at the May 8 meeting. Look for notifications via the May newsletter or future club emails for full details as they become available.

Annual Membership Drive

It's that time of year again.  Membership dues are $35 for an individual and $45 for a couple.   The Garden Club processes renewals for all members at the same time during the spring, regardless of when you initially joined the club. Please renew your membership by May 23. 
If you want to join the club as a new member, please go to the  
​ABOUT page  for more information and the ability to join today. 
​There are three ways to renew your membership:
1. Pay at the April 10 or May 8 meeting by cash or check.
2. Mail your check to:
Park Ridge Garden Club
P.O. Box 637
​Park Ridge, IL  60068
3. Pay online here. You don't need a PayPal account, just select CHECKOUT. A receipt will be emailed to you.   Select the type of Membership from the drop-down box below. 
Please review your information in the current Yearbook. Has your email address changed? Did you want to change the phone number listed? Provide any changes when you renew! Thanks in advance for your help. 

34th Annual Residential Beautification Awards Contest

The City of Park Ridge and the Park Ridge Garden Club are co-sponsoring the 34th Annual Residential  Beautification Awards Contest for all residents in the City of Park Ridge. The contest recognizes residents of free-standing, single-family homes who have made their homes and landscaping the most attractive in our city.
Up to five winners will each receive $100 and a 1-year honorary membership from the Garden Club along with a lawn sign provided by the City of Park Ridge. Winners previous to 2015 are eligible to win again. Prizes are awarded by the Mayor at a City Council meeting.
For all the details and to enter the contest, please go to the BEAUTIFICATION AWARDS page.  Click here.

$1,000 Donation to the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie

The Park Ridge Garden Club was pleased to make a donation to the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie which is located in Illinois.  This was the first national prairie set aside in the United States.  It includes a full array of species and natural processes typical of tallgrass prairies in the region, including the reintroduction of bison.  For more information on this nature preserve, visit:  https://fs.usda.gov/midewin 

$4,000 Donation to the Forestry Department

Picture
Marty Maloney, Jack Barnette, Brandon Naser
The Park Ridge Garden Club is funding a Legacy Project with the Forestry Department of the City of Park Ridge. The club donated $4,000 to supplement the city's Tree Canopy Program. The Garden Club is partnering with the city in selecting native trees to plant, where possible, in public areas.
The check was presented to Mayor Marty Maloney, Mayor, and Brandon Naser, City Forester, by Jack Barnette, Garden Club President at the August 21, 2023, City Council Meeting.
Useful Links:
National Garden Clubs, Inc.     www.gardenclub.org
Central Region National Garden Clubs     www.ngccentralregion.org
The Garden Clubs of Illinois, Inc.     www.gardenclubsofillinois.org
District IX, Garden Clubs of Illinois     www.districtix-gci.org
Chicago Botanic Garden     www.chicagobotanic.org
Park Ridge Garden Club
P.O. Box 637
Park Ridge, IL  60068
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