Everything’s coming up roses and daffodils . . . tulips and columbine.
Over the next four months, the greatest shows on Earth — flowers — are coming to a town near you. From mid-April through August, Midwest flower festivals are honoring everything from blossom queens to Queen Anne’s lace.
There are lilacs in Lombard, blue vervain in Chicago and red sonya sunflowers in Mayville, Mich. Downtown Geneva has a garden on every corner. Pompon mum madness runs rampant in downtown Kalamazoo, Mich.
Of course, every blooming season is different. No one can say yet what the effects of El Nino will be, so even the experts hedge their bets. At Spring Valley Nature Sanctuary in Schaumburg, coordinator Renee Meyer admits that in the past, for the Peonies Aplenty festival, “we’ve guessed the wrong date for blooms. So this year, we’ve added an extra weekend.”
But hope springs eternal.
For example, what can stop Holland, Mich.’s, Tulip Time, one of the top 10 most-attended events in the country? For 10 days in May, the whole place goes Dutch. Seven thousand volunteers scrub the streets, 1,700 klompen dancers will be on tap, and the laser show is topped only by a multimillion blooming tulip bulbs.
Mark your calendars and dig these flower events (listed chronologically):
– The Chicago Park District’s Spring Flower Show is on display from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily through May 10 at two locations, the Garfield Park Conservatory, 300 N. Central Park Ave., and Lincoln Park Conservatory, 2400 N. Stockton Dr. Enjoy colorful lilies, hydrangeas, tulips and daffodils; there is no admission fee at either location. Call 312-746-5100 for Garfield Park Conservatory and 312-742-7737 for Lincoln Park Conservatory.
– Spring Celebration happens from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. April 18 at the Garden Gallery, 59 E. U.S. Hwy. 45, Vernon Hills. The celebration will include 10,000 flowering spring bulbs, a lecture and presentation on landscape design at noon and a performance by book dramatist Barbara Rinella presenting “A Walk in the Garden with Katharine Hepburn” at 2 p.m. There will also be informal planting and potting demonstrations throughout the day. Admission is free. 847-634-1660.
– Kankakee Flower Festival, 1695 S. Schuyler, Kankakee, April 19. It’s early for most flowers, but that won’t dampen spring fever here in Kankakee. Presented by Country Fruit Markets, the party will include big band music by Paul Germano Orchestra, a display of watercolors, woodcarvers, demonstrations from the Kankakee Model Railroad Club, flag tributes to the armed forces and old-time farm exhibits with antique tractors. Unique garden scores will include scented geraniums and spectacular-colored mandevilla and bougainvillea. The 13-foot waterfall and fishponds should put you in mind of water gardens. Landscape designers are on hand with advice. Refreshments will be served. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. 815-933-7848.
– The Blossomtime Festival in St. Joseph-Benton Harbor, Mich., April 26-May 3 celebrates the southwest Michigan orchard country’s cherry, apricot and peach tree blooms. Two hundred thousand people are expected to visit the eight-day event that begins April 26 with the traditional blessing of the blossoms and a presentation of the 23-area blossom queens, each carrying a bouquet of fruit tree blossoms tied with ribbons. There will be carnivals, clowns, a fashion show, arts and craft fair (May 1 and 2) and two parades: one for schoolchildren (April 30) and the May 2 Grand Floral Parade with floats, bands, color guards and klompen dancers. 616-926-7397.
– Lilac Time, 150 S. Park Ave., Lombard, May 2-17. One of the most beloved old-fashioned blooms, lilacs are synonymous with robins and spring. The 8 1/2 acres of Lilacia Park occupy what was once the estate of Col. William R. Plum, who bequeathed his lilac collection to the village 70 years ago. The stars of Lilac Time are, of course, lilacs: 1,200 bushes, a breathtaking 200 varieties. And 40,000 tulips co-star. Highlights include the May 2 Lilac Queen Coronation, horticultural how-to program and barbershop quartet; May 3 arts and crafts fair, ice cream social and brass band; May 8 lilac sales and a ball; May 15 wine tasting to classical music; May 16 storytellers, music, crafts, dancers, clowns, the Glen Ellyn Children’s Choir, lilac lemonade and an auction; and a May 17 parade. $2 admission, children under 10 free (extra fees for some events). Call 630-953-6000. ext. 411.
– Geneva on the River: A Growing Tradition festival, May 2 and 3. Each corner in Geneva, a quaint Fox River town, will be decorated with different flower motifs. Garden strolls at residents’ homes feature wildflowers and grasses. Shops get into the act too, offering wreath demonstrations, floral arrangment ideas, flower box designs, edible flowers and free seed packets for the Spring Flower Garden Game (by the time you fill the game board you have enough seed packets for a back-yard garden of your own). Don’t miss the library’s Literature Garden, which landscape architect Jan Little has divided into three themed “rooms”: Children’s literature with “Goodnight Moon” moonbeam coreopsis and white bellflowers, a nod to “silver bells and cockle shells”; columbine and Easter flowers marking the Native Illinois Plants; and plants from Shakespeare’s writings, anemone and common rue (“Hamlet”) and irises (“The Tempest”). 630-232-6060.
– Dogwood Festival in Quincy May 2 and 3. Quincy is perhaps most beautiful in springtime with its thousand blossoming dogwoods, which take their rightful place along the banks and hills of the river town. Washington Park will be the center for most of the peak-of-spring festivities, which include a parade with marching bands and floats, an arts and crafts fair, carnivals, river rides, contests and food. 217-223-1000.
– Tulip Time in Holland, Mich., May 7-16. You might as well just move in here for the 10-day event, which features eight miles of tulips along Tulip Lane Drive, three parades, 15 musical-variety shows, 1,700 klompen dancers, a fireworks and laser show and a 233-year-old imported Dutch windmill. Holland was settled in 1841 by the Dutch, but only 35 percent can claim that ancestry these days. Everyone’s Dutch for a day during this festival.
Is it popular? You bet. The festival takes over the town. As many as a million people attend and are treated to millions of tulips. The viewing stand accommodates 200,000, who can watch thousands of costumed residents scrub the streets with willow brooms and water pails carried on wooden yokes, May 13; fireworks show, May 8; the kinderplaats children’s event with music, puppets, clowns and crafts, May 9; and the Holland Chorale, May 10. There’s an all-things-Dutch marketplace downtown, May 12-16; Glen Campbell performs May 13, 14; the Children’s Parade is May 14; and the Parade of Bands, 50 bands and 50 floats, is May 16. Klompen dancers will perform several times a day in various locations, and one can visit wooden-shoe factories and take a tour of tulip lanes and gardens. Most outdoor events are free. Breakfast and buffets $10, museum $4. Call 800-822-2770.
– Door County Festival of Blossoms, May 9-30. This is the place to be struck dumb by blooms in gardens, meadows, forests and orchards. Find 2 million daffodils and tulips; countless indigenous wildflowers, including large-flowered trillium, jack-in-the-pulpit, columbine, Queen Anne’s lace, the dwarf lake iris and the yellow lady slipper orchid (the official flower of the county); and 13 rare and endangered plant species at the 1200-acre Ridges Sanctuary along the shoreline. Not to mention the wonderland of cherry and apple trees blooming mid-to late May.
Also, guided garden walks in Egg Harbor, May 3, 10, 17, 24; Shipyard Tour in Sturgeon Bay, May 9; Blossom Ball with music, dancing and auction in Egg Harbor, May 16; Scandinavian Festival and Maypole raising in Sister Bay, May 15-17; Lighthouse Walk, horse-drawn wagon rides and rummage sale in Baileys Harbor, May 16-17; Maifest with parade, bands, floats, food, contests, crafts and softball tournament in Jacksonport, May 23-24; and Sesquicentennial celebration in Sturgeon Bay, May 30. Or go off on your own for a self-guided tour through five state parks and visit the open houses of artists and crafters. 920-743-4456.
– Spring Blossom Walk, May 9 and 10, and Garden Glory Walk and Festival, July 10, 11 and 12. Both flower celebrations are at Rockford’s Klehm Arboretum. Thousands of crab apples should be in bloom for the May event, which also celebrates the grand opening of the Botanical Educational Center on the 155-acre aboretum. Flute and strings will play in the outdoor garden, high schoolers will sing, there will be book signings by local garden authors, how-to tips and pot-o-poesy potted seedlings given to kids to plant in their own gardens. Tour the 1 1/2-mile figure-8 path of flowers.
In July, there will be a garden bash with vendors selling hard-to-find garden plants, tents with food and entertainment and a plant auction. Both events are free (for a self-guided, nine-garden private tour in July the cost is $14). Call 888-419-0782.
– Peonies Aplenty, Spring Valley Nature Sanctuary, 1111 E. Schaumburg Rd. Schaumburg Notoriously short-lived, the spectacular heaven-scent peony is celebrated June 7, and just in case they guessed wrong on the bloom date, the event will also be held June 14. Co-ordinator Renee Meyer calls it “a low-key kind of weekend.” The restored quarter acre is the remnant of what was once a peony farm, and many are historical specimens that will be discussed by the Schaumburg Garden Club. Visitors are encouraged to set up an easel or take photographs. It’s adjacent to the 1840s Log Cabin, where some 19th Century beverage will be prepared. 847-985-2100.
– Birthday Bash at the Flower House, Garfield Park Conservatory, 300 N. Central Park Ave., June 6. They’re closing down the street for this 90th birthday festival. Plant doctors will be on hand to answer your garden questions, and there will be seed package giveaways, games, a jumping jack for kids, origami flower demonstration, the Jesse White Tumblers, musical entertainment and food. Free. Noon to 5 p.m. 312-746-5100.
– Cuneo Museum and Gardens Father’s Day Brunch, 1350 N. Milwaukee Ave., Vernon Hills, June 21. That’s also the first day of summer, when the 1,500 rosebushes — they’re keeping their fingers crossed — are blooming. Seventy-five thousand annuals grown from seed will be on the grounds of the 75-acre retreat. A sunken garden features Italian statuary and antique fountains. Stroll over to the gazebo used in the movie “My Best Friend’s Wedding.” $5 per car. Tour of mansion $10. Brunch in the Garden Pavilion tent, $15 adults, kids $8. 847 362-3042
– Kalamazoo County Flowerfest in Michigan, July 17-19. Holy pompons! Kalamazoo just about explodes with 155,000 annuals planted around the town square. Allergy sufferers should avoid the gorgeous fountain in world-class Bronson Park, festooned with 7,200 carnations, 240 pompon mum bunches and a peacock made of flowers that will stand 10 feet tall and sport a 38-foot tail feather. Free concerts in the park, walking tours of standout area gardens and on July 19, the Kalamazoo Bike Club conducts 15-, 31- and 62-mile tours of area greenhouses, nurseries and the countryside. 616 381-3597.
– Sunflower Festival, Mayville, Mich. July 24-26. It’s worth the five-hour drive to get to this old-fashioned festival. Twenty-seven miles east of Saginaw, Mayville, a community of about 1,000, was once home to a sunflower seed company. The motif has only continued to grow. In fact, residents have taken the sunflower to new heights. Farms and houses will be decorated in sunflower motifs, and six fields and most yards will be growing dwarf, red sonyas, oil-striped and mammoth species that range from 2 inches to 15 feet in height. The opening ceremony on July 24 will include a parade, carry-a-guy-around-in-an-iron-bed races, a street dance and hot-air ballon rides. July 25 will feature barbershop quartets, ice cream sundaes, the Ugly Truck contest and a concert. Firemen will get out their big hoses for a waterball contest July 26, followed by a great big parade. Garage sales all weekend. No hotels in town. Try Carroll 12 miles away or Frankenmuth, 27 miles down the road, or call 517-843-6249 for more travel tips.
– City Wilds Festival, North Park Village Nature Center, 5801 N. Pulaski Rd., 10 a.m.-3 p.m Aug. 22, 23. A nirvana for wildlife, this festival is a late-bloomer. Habitat gardens for butterflies, birds and toads are displayed in four ecosystems: ponds and wetlands, native American prairies, woodland and butterfly garden. Besides water lillies, black-eyed Susans, butterfly bush, Queen Anne’s lace, echinacea and blue vervain, there will be musical entertainment and crafts for the kids. Also, food vendors, picnic tables and speakers who will discuss planting native plants, attracting wildlife and dividing plants. 312-744-5472.
