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News from Garfield Farm |
CAMPTON HILLS, IL -- Garfield Farm Museum’s 25th annual Prairie,
Woodlands, and Wetlands Management Seminar will be held on Saturday,
February 19 from 8:30 am - 4:30 pm. From backyard gardeners to owners
of natural area acreage, this seminar covers all the key methods and
techniques of preserving and using the best adapted plants for the
Illinois environment. Experts Roy Diblik, Cathy McGlynn, Conner Shaw,
John Engstrom and Jerome Johnson will help explain the best techniques
and methods to increase and maintain native plants communities. There
is a $50 donation for the all-day seminar which includes lunch and
refreshments.
Living in Illinois requires developing an eye
for the subtle beauty and uniqueness of this the Prairie State. Even
long time residents have yet to fully develop such vision and in part
it is no fault of their own. So much of what Illinois was has
disappeared. Even the once plentiful farmsteads that dotted the horizon
that turned oceans of prairie into fields of corn are themselves
disappearing. So, ironically, the average gardener who calls out
heavy artillery when a single dandelion makes its appearance would be
aghast if they could as readily see the forests of buckthorn, the mat
of garlic mustard, the jungle of false chervil that are dominating our
natural areas. This is such a dilemma that simply planting native
plants is not enough. Even the federal government has recognized the
great damage invasive species of plants are doing to our economics and
environment. At the regional level the Northeast Illinois Invasive
Plant Partnership (NIIPP) has been established to prevent and control
new and existing plant invasions.
Cathy McGlynn of the NIIPP will be a special
featured speaker at the 25th annual seminar. The other season veteran
speakers already know that management of these invasive plants is an
ongoing battle that neglected makes effort to plant native species
almost fruitless. McGlynn will offer up the latest challenges and
methods.
Roy Diblik who has been growing native
grasses and flowers from seed since the late 1970s, knows how critical
soil preparation and mechanical or chemical control of weeds are when
he installs more formal landscape plantings be it public parks or
palatial estates. From Northwind Perennial Farm in Springfield, WI,
Diblik has consulted and supplied plants for around the country and has
published a book “Small Perennial Gardens: The Know Maintenance
Approach.”
Connor Shaw is one of the few people who
collect seed from the wild and can grow native Illinois trees and
shrubs like few others. Since 1978, his Possibilities Place Nursery in
Monee, IL, is one of a kind. For homeowners in town who want just the
right tree for their backyard, Shaw knows what will grow in such
suburban conditions. For larger properties, his combinations of native
shrubs like the viburnums and deciduous oaks or Kentucky coffee trees
makes one’s landscaping truly grand scale.
For property owners who are looking to turn the
backyard in to a natural area to large acreage owners, Johnson and
Engstrom will bring their years of experience to the table. Jerome
Johnson, executive director and museum biologist grew up walking the
fields, woods, and streams around Garfield Farm. Recalling woods full
of spring flowers little did he realize how rare such features would
become with habitat loss, invasive plants, and over grazing by deer
which were once rarely seen. Housing developments certainly caused loss
but without management, Johnson quickly learned at Garfield Farm, its
prairie and woods were struggling to survive. With the addition of John
Engstrom as natural area manager to the museum’s staff,
Engstrom’s knowledge of chemical control methods has complemented
Johnson’s increase used of mechanical means to aid the classic
use of controlled burns. Their combined management experience will
offer the property owners or aspiring volunteer restorationists the
necessary tools to be successful and avoid re-inventing the wheel.
The day’s outline will consist of
researching property history, identifying native plants, soil
preparation for planting in garden settings, use of native trees and
shrubs, identifying invasive species and the use of fire, herbicides,
and cutting and brush stacking equipment. This seminar has both a
history and method unlike any others. It offers information that can be
directly taken to the field and put in place. Participants are welcome
to return in March to gain hands on experience in the museum’s
controlled burns.
Garfield Farm Museum is located five miles west of
Geneva, IL off ILL Rt. 38 on Garfield Road. For reservations call 630
584-8485 or email info@garfieldfarm.org