Birds’ songs fill the air while bees and butterflies dance over exotic blossoms in this one-acre paradise. Once a vacant, debris-filled lot at 1900 W. Monterey in Chicago’s Morgan Park neighborhood, it was transformed in 1993 into a thriving neighborhood garden and a memorial to a local volunteer.
“For years, it was an eyesore,” said Kathy Figel of Morgan Park. “It was the first thing people saw when they got off (Interstate Highway 57).”
After reading an article in the early 1990s about community gardens, Figel contacted the city to discuss possible sites for Morgan Park residents to plant a garden that could be enjoyed by all.
“(The city) chose the site and let us plan the garden and choose the design and supported us with plant material,” Figel said.
At least 30 volunteers worked on the project, including Edna White, who lived a few blocks from the lot.
“She was active in beautification, always getting people to weed and clean up public areas that had been neglected. She was just a tireless person,” said Grace Kuikman of Beverly. “They were in the process of putting the garden together when Edna was murdered by the son of a friend. Her heart was made of gold. She was helping him out, and he killed her.”
White’s death, just two weeks before the garden’s dedication in June 1993, led to the garden becoming a memorial to her.
“We were going to call it the Century Garden, but decided to name it after her in recognition of her (volunteerism),” said Figel of the Edna White Century Garden.
“It keeps Edna alive for all of us who knew her. It’s just what she wanted — a beautiful space where people work together, taking pride in the neighborhood,” Kuikman said.
About 45 volunteers, Friends of the Garden, help plant, weed, water and fertilize. Others from the Morgan Park Garden Club, local Scout troops and members of the Golden K, a Kiwanis group, spruce up the site by removing litter and cleaning flowerbeds. About 10 volunteers usually can be found working in the garden on Saturday mornings and Wednesday mornings and evenings.
“One of the really wonderful things about the garden is that it’s all tended by community people. There are those who don’t know anything about gardens who come out and help,” Kuikman said. “The (nearby) fire station has provided hoses for the garden on off time, and the police station has helped store the shovels. Schools groups often do gardening here as a public service. It’s just such a community effort.”
Judy Ziemba of Chillicothe, Ill., is the historic trails chairman for the Garden Clubs of Illinois in Oak Brook. She is collecting information on memorial gardens throughout the state.
“Our National Council (of Garden Clubs) became interested in 1952 in living memorials rather than statues, fountains or similar items. They decided that a memorial garden is a living, growing garden established and maintained for the purpose of commemorating an event, the memory of a person or persons, or to mark a historical site which has significance to the community,” Ziemba said.
Although volunteers planned the White memorial garden, the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe provided technical assistance the first year.
“They helped pick the plants that would be successful for our area and (told volunteers where to position) the berms and pathways (on the site),” Kuikman said.
“The Edna White Garden is a wonderful example of how community gardens are supposed to be,” said Vernon Bryant, manager of urban greening services for the Chicago Botanic Garden. “There’s great community support, and the garden is well received and well tended. It’s been well documented that people need quality open space where they can connect with nature. Community gardens begin to address that.
“The vast majority of community gardeners are novices. They may not know anything about gardening, but they’re willing to learn. Many times they become master gardeners,” Bryant said.
Figel says her horticultural experience came from working in the memorial garden.
“I wasn’t really into gardening before this,” she said. “It was a huge education.”
She studied a list of difficult botanical plant names (in Latin) prepared by the Botanic Garden for the site.
“Our group thinks that part of Edna was absorbed by us. We’re so determined to make it look beautiful,” Figel said. “There’s got to be something there in our souls to make us work that hard.”
Working with experienced gardeners, Figel quickly learned about the care and feeding of plants. Russian sage, silvery-leaved lamb’s ears, day lilies, bee balm, black-eyed Susan, ornamental grasses, coreopsis, sunflowers, lavender and feathery goatsbeard send out waves of color.
“There are thousands of flowers here. We have a lot of dragonflies. For being in the city, it’s amazing — you feel like you’re in the country,” Figel said.
A burr oak and a ginkgo were added this year to the garden’s collection of trees, which includes an English oak, two red maples and five flowering crabs. Benches, a new fence and arbor and birdhouses decorate the property. This spring, Olivia’s Garden and DiCola’s Seafood, both located at 107th and Western, donated annuals for a large flowerbed.
“You can see the impact it has made on beautification,” Kuikman said. “It’s wonderful.”
The Friends of the Garden will hold a garden walk with an optional luncheon from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 19. The proceeds will be the seed money for a fund needed to purchase a gazebo that will provide a shady site.
“We hope to eventually raise $8,000 (for the gazebo),” Figel said.
The White memorial garden is one of about 300 community gardens in Chicago that receives free seeds, plants and other materials from Greencorps Chicago, an agency managed by the City of Chicago’s Department of Environment.
“Greencorps donates about $3,000 worth of material and plants each year (to the White garden), which helps a lot. This is one of the largest community gardens in the city,” Figel said.
In Evergreen Park, amid the fragrant butterfly bushes, magnolias, a redbud, dogwood and other horticultural gems at Queen of Martyrs Church on 103rd Street and Central Park, a small bronze plaque dedicated in August 1996 proclaims, “Our Little Angels Garden — Dedicated in memory of Susan Marie Sebok. May her star and the stars of all our children born and unborn twinkle forever in the skies above.”
When 3-month-old Susan Marie Sebok died of sudden infant death syndrome on Jan. 1, 1996, neighbor Ann Quinlan of Chicago decided to plant a tree at the church in the child’s memory.
“I could not believe the response. From word of mouth, people wanted to donate money for trees,” Quinlan said.
In two years, 11 ornamental trees have been planted along with many perennials and annuals at the memorial garden.
Quinlan, the baby’s parents Maureen and David Sebok of Chicago and grandparents Jim and Kay McKeever of Chicago are parishioners at the church.
“The garden is magnificent. It’s added to the beauty of the parish landscaping. It’s not only in Susan’s memory, but it’s for all children,” Jim McKeever said.
Quinlan is one of about 10 volunteers who regularly work on the memorial garden, which is about 20 feet wide and 60 feet long.
“We get lots of compliments. The garden just grows and we add to it every year,” Quinlan said.
In the spring, the garden is filled with the blossoms of tulips, daffodils, forsythia and iris. Three ornamental pear trees, a weeping cherry tree and snowball bushes provide color in June along with many annuals. Pink geraniums and blue lobelias were planted recently around a statue of the Blessed Virgin, Quinlan said, to represent boys and girls. The parish raises about $2,000 to plant and maintain the garden each year.
“In the beginning it was a small garden, but it’s grown so big we need more people to maintain it. Of all the churches around, Queen of Martyrs’ garden is the biggest and prettiest garden. Pat Waters deserves the credit for that,” Quinlan said.
Waters, trained as a master gardener through the University of Illinois Extension Service, is a parishioner who lives in Chicago, which is across the street from the church. “I’m very proud of this garden,” she said. “It turned out beautiful. We put in lilac bushes, and we’re adding more flowering trees. We use a lot of perennials and annuals.”
“There are no words to describe what Pat has accomplished. I’m not a gardener, but it’s spectacular,” Jim McKeever said.
Waters and other volunteers work on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
“We might be there six hours planting annuals. We’ve worked so hard, and it’s finally what we want it to be,” Waters said.
In another garden at Queen of Martyrs, volunteers add mulch to save on water and weeding and recently planted a rose bush and put in stepping stones in front of the convent.
“This has become an extension of the memorial garden. This is big-time gardening. There is something that’s blooming all summer,” Waters said.
“How can you not stop and see the beauty? Susan Marie was an angel. She was absolutely beautiful. We want the garden to continue to grow,” Quinlan said.
“A community garden brings people closer together. They plant, care for and nurture the plants. They and their children can help with the philosophy of giving back to the community,” said Kathleen Obirek of Burbank.
Obirek designed a garden alongside Queen of Martyrs’ parish school in 1990.
“Even if you only have a tiny piece of earth, you can create something beautiful. It’s something more communities should do. More churches and schools should look at this garden and imitate it.”
The White Memorial Garden also serves as a demonstration site for homeowners wondering what to plant.
“You can find out what’s going to grow in your garden. The whole neighborhood has become an extension of the garden,” Kuikman said.
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For more information on the Edna White Garden Walk, call 773-881-1195. The price is $7 for the walk only or $18.50 for walk with a luncheon at the Dr. German House, 10924 S. Prospect Ave., Chicago. Reservations are required for the lunch.
