Club unlocks Naperville’s secret gardens

Flower lovers are being invited for the first time to hike through the hostas and stop to smell the roses in some of Naperville’s most impressive private gardens.

The Naperville Garden Club on Saturday, June 25, will play host to its first public Garden Walk from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at five homes in the city.

“We just want to get people interested in gardening,” said Dee Naftzger, a Naperville Garden Club board member and owner of one of the event’s featured gardens. “And to show them you can start from nothing and get enjoyment out of your garden.”

In past years, the event was reserved solely for the roughly 130 members of the club and their guests, featuring home gardens also owned by members.

“One of the exciting things is that we’re featuring gardens that are not only members’ gardens,” said Garden Walk co-chairwoman Marge Nichols.

Exhibitors were selected through a process of referrals from local gardening experts and landscape architects, Nichols said. This year, the Garden Club event will feature rain and sand gardens as well as the garden of a landscape architect.

Tickets for the 2011 Garden Walk may be purchased for $10 in advance or $12 the day of the event. An all-day trolley service between gardens also will be offered for the added fee of $21. Tickets on the day of the walk can only be purchased at 717 S. Whispering Hills Drive.

“It really is a small donation of $10 to be able to walk through these gardens and gain inspiration,” Naftzger said.

Among the walk’s blossoming backyards is Naftzger’s “natural garden,” a certified wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation since 2001.

In her backyard garden, along a dry creek bed and limestone path, Naftzger has created a haven for animals and outdoor enthusiasts of all kinds.

While some gardeners meticulously prune and pluck rows of perennials, Naftzger does not believe in “putting plants in specific places and not expecting them to become friends with other things.”

“Everybody has their personal opinion about how they like their garden,” Naftzger said.

Her diverse medley of flowers, herbs and vegetables is complemented by bushes and trees to sustain wildlife and attract a wide array of birds, from wrens to hummingbirds.

“Some of my neighbors call it a secret garden because you can’t even tell it’s back here from the front of the house,” Naftzger said.

While Naftzger has never participated in a garden walk before, she is excited to give others the opportunity to explore a slice of nature right in her own her backyard.

“Some people might not like it,” Naftzger said. “But for me it works.”