The Galva Arts Council is hosting a garden walk on Saturday, June 20, featuring local displays in and outside of town.

The event is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is free for those attending. Pamphlets about the self-guided walk will be available that morning at Allenia Space at 330 Exchange Street. A presentation by a master gardener will be given at 3 p.m. at Allenia Space. Refreshments will be provided.

One of the four gardeners participating that day is Linda Getter of rural Victoria. Others are Chuck and Barb Gradowski, rural Galva, Al DeCrane, rural Galva and John and Janell Holt of Galva.

GAC board President Linda Getter resides in Victoria and has what is known as a “very green thumb.” According to Getter, the idea of gardening has changed over the years.

“What once lived in long rows now thrives in containers – especially the vegetables I grow for canning and freezing,” She adds that each pot has its own small world of color and purpose.

Her childhood memories inspire much of what she plants. An orchard she is creating is reminiscent of what she had around her growing up. Apple, pear, peach, plum and cherry trees will echo the flavors and textures of those early seasons.

Family fits in as well. Her beds of peonies and irises bloom in memory of her maternal grandmother. Roses flank her porch steps in honor of her mother. Along one side of the house, containers overflow with annuals—especially her beloved geraniums. Around the yard, perennials rise and rest in their own time—tulips, muscari, lilies, evergreens, mums, daffodils and more make a colorful patchwork.

Grape vines stretch along the garden’s edge, and nearby, raspberries and blackberries tangle together in a sweet, unruly patch. Even the herbs have their own corner, filling the air with the quiet comfort of familiar scents.

“My garden has changed shape over the years, and although much of it has shifted, at its heart, it remains the same,” said Getter.

Al DeCrane, who lives west of Galva on Bonham Road, has an array of wood carvings that catch your eye as you drive by the well-tended home and grounds. You will want to slow down to see the bears, deer, wolves, eagles, mushrooms and totems that are spread across the large front yard. So lifelike, you might think you’re in the Canadian wilds instead of rural Henry County.

The retired machinist/farmer has made conservation a huge part of his life. The friendly Galva graduate was awarded both the Outstanding Forestry Contribution from the Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts and the Hugh Hammond Bennet Forestry Conservation Award, one of only eight given in the Midwest.

His 200-plus acre farm includes three large ponds for fishing, wildflowers for pollinators and sections of crops created for the wildlife that inhabit the grounds.

A forest of over 10,000 white pine, oak and walnut trees stretches over a large section of his land, adding beauty to the landscape while providing food and cover for wildlife. Neatly trimmed pathways and trails crisscross over his property, allowing him to check on the progress of his crops, clear away brush and limbs and stock his ponds with bluegill and catfish.

Many of the areas along these trails are covered with carefully placed brush piles and small limbs that provide shelter for nesting animals, including wild turkeys.

Rows of pollinating flowers provide beautiful patches of brilliant color wherever you look. DeCrane hopes to encourage bees to visit and plans to set up hives for them in which to live. It’s hard to find an area that isn’t full of blooms, all tended carefully each day.

Sunflowers are starting to shoot up, alongside lilies, geraniums and a variety of day lilies. The few stumps that haven’t been shaped into animals are filled with fragrant bouquets.

Keeping the farm ecologically sound takes many hours and a lot of physical work. Having passed on the duties of raising corn and soybeans to his son Jim, he devotes his time to making his home lovely and a joy to see.

“It’s a hobby, a career and a joy all in one,” DeCrane said with a big smile. “I don’t want to ever stop.”

Chuck and Janell Holt have made their corner lot on NW 1st Avenue a must see on the garden tour. Both Galva natives, the former Janell Spivey, grew up on a farm between Galva and Bishop Hill.

“We would have vegetable gardens to tend, and I always saw it as a chore,” she admitted. “Then one summer, my mom gave me my own six pack of Marigolds and other annuals. I was hooked.”

Janell’s first home had established raised beds that she filled with annuals. She and her father would create more raised beds every year. Soon, she ventured into vegetables alongside her perennials.

Husband John grew up in the house they live in and purchased over 30 years ago from John’s parents.

“He has always enjoyed keeping a neat yard,” she said, adding that his favorite plants are hostas.

Both enjoy packing the gardens with as much color as possible. Janell is quick to point out that while gardening is work, they have fun experimenting with different perennials and ornamental grasses.
Because their plantings don’t bloom all the time, they have learned to satisfy a need for color by using ceramic containers filled primarily with constantly blooming petunias. Yard art also graces part of the landscape.

“We considered the flower beds as extra rooms to decorate and decorate we did!” She said with a smile.

Liking the idea of repurposing items, they found that something as simple as decorating with blue bottles gave a nod to their favorite glass artist, Chihuly.

A penchant for crafting, she soon added gourds and pumpkins to her garden beds.

“We learned quickly how fast they can take over,” she said. “But harvesting them has been very satisfying.”

John’s battle with cancer last year put travel and other plans on hold. Now cancer free, he attributes that to his work in the garden as extra therapy.

“Lawn care and gardening helped greatly by keeping me positive,” he said.

The couple has no plans to ever leave their 1920’s bungalow and the heirloom Bridal Wreath Spirea that has always been a part of it. They do plan to add more flowers and other plants to their garden and around the perimeter of the house.

As first timers in the garden walk, they are both looking forward to greeting fellow garden enthusiasts.

“The lilies will be blooming, and we will be celebrating the United States 250th birthday with extra red, white and blue.”

Chuck and Barb Gradowski, both born in Chicago, lived in the East before moving to the area from Pennsylvania. Wanting to live close to family in Peoria, they found the perfect country home in rural Galva. Chuck, whose passion for gardening started with a vegetable patch at age ten. Since then, he’s never stopped planting.

He noted that the yard around their house was an easy space in which to add a variety of plants and bushes. Hostas of all kinds, a favorite of Chuck’s, surround the perimeter of their 1892 home.

“They transplant easily and look so nice around the trees,” he said.

A “cottage style” gardener, he likes a bit of structure to his plantings, he said, with a mix of annuals and perennials that color the landscape from spring into fall.

“The previous owners had done a great job with the yard, and the only big change I made was to alter the path of the plantings,” he said. “I also added more bushes and new plants, including some roses.”

One of his prized flowers is the exotic canna lily. Known to grow on stems over six feet tall, they are standouts in both color and stature. Treasuring the same bulbs for years, he digs them up in the fall and replants them in the spring, thus bringing tropical splendor into his garden.

Even though the garden is demanding, he is quick to point out that the benefits outweigh the work involved. “I love seeing my plan come together and watching everything grow.”

Amid all this, the couple is putting in a new well. Noting that the trenches needed for the installation are not part of his landscape design, he feels they won’t deter the garden tour.

When asked if his wife, Barb, is also a gardener, the retired finance professional is quick to say that her contribution is encouragement.

“I plant them; she enjoys them,” he said.

Both enjoy other aspects of their rural home. Horses, goats, chickens and cats require extra chores and teamwork. There is not much time for relaxation.

The couple retired six months apart—she, a former legal secretary, and he, a CPA for key mid-sized universities, are not about to slow down. Barb is an active member of the Galva Arts Council and an artist herself. She is the one who volunteered their home for the garden walk, and why Chuck is outside working hard.

Unfortunately, he won’t be able to attend the garden walk because he will be in Iowa judging a cat show.

“I’ve judged for 38 years all over the world,” he said. “We no longer breed cats. Just like us, the ones we have are retired.”