This community is home to three active garden clubs—Naperville Garden Club, Naperville Community Gardeners and Cress Creek Garden Club. If you keep your eyes open as you enjoy the summer, you will notice our contributions that make Naperville a great place to live and play.
For June, I’m featuring the Cress Creek Garden Club.
The Riverwalk in downtown Naperville is five miles of paths. You will go past gardens, over bridges and around fountains. Begin your stroll at Fredenhagen Park on Washington Street just a little north of Aurora Avenue. Commemorative bricks remember Naperville’s friends, families, military and garden club members. Since 1997, purchase of the bricks has provided funds to benefit enhancements provided by the Riverwalk Foundation.
The Cress Creek Garden Club has purchased commemorative bricks since 2010 to remember individuals who have served the club by serving in positions of leadership, special events and ongoing projects. The most recent bricks were placed last month, and one was in memory of Ruby Smith, President from 1992-1994. In attendance were Cress Creek Garden Club members Barbara Williams, President; and Geri Barnes and Barbara Lang, Memorial Chairs.
Other notable projects of the Cress Creek Garden Club are gardens and planters that members plant and maintain (water and weed). Take note of the Paw Paw House gardens at Naper Settlement and the beautiful flowers by the entry sign as well as planters at the DuPage Children’s Museum.
At Veterans Park on Gartner, members plant around the flag pole—a memorial garden in front and a pollinator garden behind. At the VFW on Jackson Ave., members plant another patriotic garden around a Blue Star Memorial Marker that honors our military.
Gardens at Trinity House, a home for Disabled adult men, and Arista Nursing and Rehabilitation on Mill Street also are projects of Cress Creek Garden Club where members provide design ideas, plants as well as their labor and time to our community.
If you happen to see their members at work, please stop and thank them for making Naperville a beautiful community.
