The massive broods of cicadas that emerged in June could not deter the crop of gardeners as they prepared their yards for the 12th annual Southland Community Garden Walk this Sunday.
Presented by the National Council of Jewish Women South Cook chapter, this year’s walk is now bikeable, with all gardens within a 7-mile loop. Additionally, each garden was designed, in some cases over decades, and maintained by the homeowners themselves.
Their labors of love were tested this year in particular by periodic insectile dive-bombers.
“You just had to remember to keep your mouth shut,” explained Flossmoor gardener Jim Lewis, “or else they flew right in.”
“It was mayhem,” said Sue McCarthy, also of Flossmoor. “I had to make a lot of cicada condoms—that was my name for those nets—so I did a lot of sewing that I would not have normally done.”
Despite her experience as a master gardener with the University of Illinois Extension service seventeen years ago, McCarthy was unprepared for the scale of this emergence.
“I was not planning for the herbaceous damage,” she said. “We did not see that last time.”
Fellow Flossmoor gardener Ann Mitchell concurred the cicadas complicated matters.
“I wanted to wait to mulch until after they were gone, so they certainly made gardening more difficult,” she said. “It compressed the timeframe.”
Their cicada-free gardens now beckon garden walk visitors. In honor of Flossmoor’s centennial, six homes are located in the village, along with Betsy Pruitt’s residence in Homewood.
Pruitt’s yard exemplifies a labor of love.
“When I bought this house, there were 3 feet of white rock on all sides,” she said. “I removed 400 Jewel grocery bags of rock myself.”
Pruitt’s nearby grocery store also provided surprising garden staples.
“I have put in those little bitty rose bushes that they (Jewel) have in red, yellow and white,” she said.
Terry Gillespie, in her Flossmoor home since 1988, has a similarly storied garden history that incorporates some plants with long histories in the area as well.
“The year we retired — in ’97 or ’98 — we were on a tour as new construction,” she said, adding she and husband Bill then started working with the village arborist. “We burned prairies in our retirement, and that gave us access to freebies and rescue plants. The ones that love it here, love it, and the ones that don’t? I don’t miss them.”
Mitchell feels similarly attached. “Almost all of my plants have meaning, because they connect me in some way with my family or a friend.”
Beth Larocca, of Flossmoor, said gardening’s family connection is real, explaining a thrifty sister provided many of the vintage accents dotting her yard and potting shed. A new purple door compliments her garden’s color palette.
“It’s not on purpose, but I gravitate to purple,” she said. Lewis expressed a similar sentiment, with differing results.
“I’m not fussy about trying to match colors; I just like a lot of it,” he said with a laugh. His Flossmoor backyard garden also includes a water feature, handmade bridge and potted redwood. “It grows 3 to 5 inches a year, so if I’m here for 20 years, it could get some height.”
McCarthy describes herself, and the fellow gardeners who braved long outdoor hours during cicada season, succinctly.
“My neighbors think I’m insane,” she said, “but it’s a mental illness that keeps me from going crazy.”
The 12th annual Southland Community Garden Walk is planned from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 14. Early $ 25 tickets available at Art4Soul and Ebel’s Ace Hardware in Homewood or Gypsy Fix in Flossmoor. Day-of tickets are $30 at the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District’s Goldberg Center, 3301 Flossmoor Road, Flossmoor, along with maps and a GPS route.
Proceeds from the event benefit Respond Now and Aunt Martha’s Health and Wellness.
Laura Bruni is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
