Tour 12 Lively Native Gardens on July 26!
Buy Tickets at Eventbrite
Discover the beauty, versatility and value of native plants. Tour 12 colorful, life-filled gardens in Forest Park and River Forest, Illinois, during our annual Birds, Bees & Butterflies Native Garden Tour July 26, 2025 from 1 to 5 p.m.
EXPLORE GARDENS
Meet passionate and knowledgeable home gardeners who have been experimenting with and observing native plants for years. They’ll guide you through their gardens and answer your specific questions about native gardening.
You will
- learn about ecological gardening practices that help promote biodiversity in the home landscape.
- see gardeners’ favorite native plants and hear how they change throughout the seasons.
- tour small gardens and large gardens, manicured looks and more carefree ones, and newly planted and mature established landscapes.
Whether you’re a beginning gardener or have more soil beneath your nails than you care to reveal, you’ll walk away with practical, hands-on tips you can apply to your own yard.
TOUR MAP: Ticket holders will receive a tour map two days before the event. If you register after 7/23, you will automatically receive the map and garden descriptions in your email. Be sure to check the “Additional Information” section of the email ticket for the map and garden descriptions. We recommend biking or driving; the locations are spread widely.
VOLUNTEER FOR THE TOUR: We need volunteer garden docents. You’ll receive a free tour ticket.
JOIN THE MOVEMENT!
- Discover: Attend our free monthly meetings where we learn how to help nurture the plants and animals that have lived here for thousands of years.
- Shop: We host a Spring Plant Sale and a Fall Native Tree and Shrub sale, where you can purchase good quality native plants at affordable prices. Proceeds from our sales fund Garden for Nature grants available to Cook County Non-profits.
- Register your habitat: You can also join our West Cook Wildlife Corridor: more than 800 gardeners in the near-west suburbs have pledged to grow native plants in support of it. You can, too!
- Become a member: We’d also love for you to join our West Cook Wild Ones chapter, so you can get all the many other benefits of membership.
BENEFITS OF NATIVE GARDENING: Discover the fun and satisfaction of native gardening. It’s high-performance, yet lower-maintenance. Habitat loss is among the primary factors driving population declines of important local and migratory species. Each new native plant garden–no matter how small–can help support vital insects, birds and other wildlife.
Among the many benefits:
- Eliminates the need for pesticides or expensive commercial fertilizers.
- Reduces home energy consumption.
- Reduces flooding after storms.
- Decreases the need for sprinklers and other outdoor water use.
- Helps capture carbon dioxide from the air and storing it in your soil.
- Provides essential habitat for birds, bees, butterflies and threatened pollinators.
- Offers fun for the whole family and all ages.