When Peter Meany was a kid, he and a good buddy happily spent a lot of time at the tree nursery owned by his buddy’s dad, who enthusiastically grew and recommended native Illinois plants and trees. Peter was hooked. As an adult, he started from scratch and, without professional help, he’s developed a rich landscape filled with his extensive collection of the botanical natives of Illinois.
Peter, with his wife Angela’s help, has created just one of the six quite various private landscapes that will be open to the public during the Kankakee Kultivators’ garden walk this year. Ticket holders also will be welcomed by Steve and Debora Christensen, Brian and Wendy Crane, John and Nancy Kaufman, John and Kris Palmer, and Candice Van Voorst. In addition, Uplifted Care of Bourbonnais will be inviting garden lovers into their Joseph and Denise Pistano Healing Garden.
The Kankakee Kultivators’ Garden Tour will be held on Thursday, June 22, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at the following outlets: Benoit Greenhouses, Busse & Rieck Flowers Plants and Gifts, Glazik Top Line Feeds, and Joy’s Hallmark Shop – all in Kankakee; Bargains and Treasures – Bradley; Ryan’s Pier – Aroma Park; Tholens’ Garden Center – Bourbonnais; and Woldhuis Farms Sunrise Greenhouse – outside Grant Park.
At their June 15 general meeting, Kultivators will be occupied with all the last-minute details of preparing for this year’s annual garden tour, so there will be no additional program at 1 p.m.
In May, the Kultivators held the most multi-dimensional plant sale they’ve ever offered at the Rhubarb Festival. They held a raffle similar to the one usually housed at Kankakee’s Civic Center the day of the garden tour. Because most of the gardens featured on the 2023 Garden Tour will be north of Kankakee, there will be no faire at the Civic on the south side of town. Along with starts from their own gardens, they also sold flowers from Benoit Greenhouses.
In the Column Garden, across the grass from their booth, they also distributed thousands of free garden seeds donated by the University of Illinois Extension’s Master Garden program. Some of the club’s most outstanding gardeners, including club members who are also Master Gardeners, offered tips for shade gardening to all who had questions. This element of education helped to fulfill one of the Column Garden’s primary purposes – to be used as a physical/visual aid in teaching all who are interested how to make sunless areas in their own landscapes as beautiful as possible.