CLASSES 2012
For more information or to register, please call 630-355-4000.
June 2-3: CREATE
Once Upon a Time Garden and Story Contest
The Growing Place garden centers in Naperville and Aurora would like to invite all elementary level students to enter our Once Upon a Time Garden and Story Contest.
- All entrants will receive a certificate and a picture of their garden and copy of their story will be posted at one of The Growing Place locations.
- Selected garden photos and stories will be published on our Facebook page.
- The winning garden and story will receive a $20 Gift Certificate for Galaxy World.
- The school attended by the winning student will receive a $100 Gift Certificate for The Growing Place.
On June 2nd in Naperville and June 3rd in Aurora, The Growing Place will host an event to celebrate miniature gardens of many types. We have found that they are much more than fairy gardens! Watching the creativity of children as they plant miniature gardens we thought it would be an excellent way to encourage young writers to compose a story about their garden. Once Upon a Time Garden entries must be planted between 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm on Saturday in Naperville or Sunday in Aurora. Accents and stories could be created earlier and brought to include in the garden and entered.
Contest Details
- All entries will be judged on originality and creativity.
- When a child plants a garden and enters their story, The Growing Place will ask what school they attend. The school’s name will be noted.
- 9”x12” Container, soil, stones, a tiny house, plants and other wee bits will be available for children to use in their garden. Fee for materials: $15. Other embellishments may be added as desired.
- Once Upon a Time Garden entries must be planted on June 2nd or June 3rd between 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm on Saturday in Naperville or Sunday in Aurora.
- Once Upon a Time Garden photos and stories will be accepted no later than June 5th.
- Winners will be announced in our weekly Email.
- For more information please contact Heather, Stephanie or Carol at 630-355-4000.
Other activities scheduled for the Miniature Garden Weekend include:
Saturday, June 2, 2012 Naperville Only
| All Day 6/2 | Wee Garden Discovery Hunt and Fairy Food Refreshments Follow a map to find all of our secret little gardens. When you have found them all, look for our Storyteller for a special treat. |
| All Day 6/2 | The Art of Bonsai Midwest and Prairie State Bonsai Societies will demonstrate, display and sell throughout the day. |
| All Day 6/2 | The Art of Bonsai, Naperville Local Bonsai enthusiasts will display and sell throughout the day. |
| 10am 6/2 | The Fairy World of Cicely Mary Barker Cicely Mary Barker created beautifully detailed fairies and wrote fairy themed books as well. Our Fairy Storyteller will be your guide as you discover Cicely's special magic. |
| 10am-1pm 6/2 | DROP IN! Plant a Grown Up Fairy Garden - For the Young at Heart! Naperville Shade or sun, fairies or not, we can help you create an enchanting miniature garden that you will love. Stop by to build one. Cost of materials. |
| Noon-2pm 6/2 | DROP IN! Make Clay Miniature Garden Accessories, Naperville, $25 Nancy Jana Kent from the Village Potters will assist you in making accents of your choice and will fire them for you! |
| 2pm 6/2 | Story Telling Tales will be told by Clow Elementary School's 'Tattle Tails' Storytelling Group |
| 2pm-5pm 6/2 | DROP IN! Make a Once Upon A Time Garden, $15 Your child's imagination will soar as they create a miniature garden of their very own. We will provide the container, soil, plants, stones and other wee bits. As they plant their garden, a story may evolve. If it does, budding authors are encouraged and invited to bring their stories back along with photos of their Once Upon A Time garden. We will post them at The Growing Place in Aurora and selected stories will be posted on our Facebook page. We will also post pictures of the gardens without a story attached. Additional accent pieces are available for purchase. |
| 2pm 6/2 | DESIGN: Backyard Miniature Gardens, Naperville Miniature gardens do not have to be in containers. Learn how simple it is to nestle one into a small space in your backyard. We will introduce mini garden friendly plants and assist you in selecting plants and accents that go well together. |
Sunday, June 3, 2012 Aurora Only
| All Day 6/3 | Magic Fairy Door Hunt and Fairy Food Refreshments Discover the magic of miniature gardens as you search for each magical door. Find them all and receive a treat! |
| 11am-3pm 6/3 | DROP IN! Make a Fairy or Gnome House, $15 We will have a large selection of found woodland stumps and materials as well as inspiration and assistance to help you make a house that would please a Gnome or a Fairy! |
| Noon-3pm 6/3 | DROP IN! Fairy Face Painting |
| 1pm 6/3 | Once Upon a Time Fairy Tales Our storyteller will share fairy tales and stories. Find the stories illustrated in wee little gardens. Tales will also be told by Clow Elementary School's ' Tattle Tails' Storytelling Group. |
| 2pm-5pm 6/3 | DROP IN! Make a Once Upon a Time Garden, $15 Your child's imagination will soar as they create a miniature garden of their very own. We will provide the container, soil, plants, stones and other wee bits. As they plant their garden, a story may evolve. If it does, budding authors are encouraged and invited to bring their stories back along with photos of their Once Upon A Time garden. We will post them at The Growing Place in Aurora and selected stories will be posted on our Facebook page. We will also post pictures of the gardens without a story attached. Additional accent pieces are available for purchase. |
| 2pm 6/3 | DESIGN: Backyard Miniature Gardens Miniature gardens do not have to be in containers. Learn how simple it is to nestle one into a small space in your backyard. Our Designers will introduce mini garden friendly plants and assist you in selecting plants and accents that make a special mini-garden. |
| 3pm-5pm 6/3 | DROP IN! Paint a Fairy or a Gnome, $6, $8, or $10 depending on the size. We will provide 3 to 6" cast iron fairies, gnomes and weatherproof paint. You provide the creativity. |
June 9: GROW
| 10am | Roses: Gracious Ladies, Glorious Blooms, Aurora Roses are some of our most romantic and beautiful blooms. Discover how hardy, long-blooming and easy care rose can be. Our veteran rose staff will answer all of your rose growing questions. |
June 16: BEGIN
| 9am | Beginning Gardening , Both Locations Beginning gardeners will learn tips specific to June on how to keep their gardens and landscapes looking good. This session will focus on weeding, removing spent flowers, pruning and dividing and which plants will benefit. Mulching and watering advice, and tips on scouting for problems will be included. Plant suggestions will feature plants that are easy to grow and can provide late summer and fall color. This is a great time to bring in samples of the plants/weeds that you do not recognize. |
June 16: GROW
| 10am | Lessons from our Learning Gardens Stroll, Both Locations, $10 Walk with one of our gardeners as they give you insight into design ideas, maintenance tips, and fresh ideas for your garden. This month we'll take a look at the big, the bold and the bodacious textures of the garden and other blooming plants. Held on the third Saturday of each month, April through September, at both locations. |
June 23: CELEBRATE
| 9am-5pm | Gardener's Art Festival: Enjoy the View, Naperville The Gardener's Art Festival combines artwork and accents inspired by nature with the botanic garden atmosphere of The Growing Place gardens. Visit entries in our first Garden Photography Contest and check out the winners! |
| 9am-5pm | Crafters and Artists Displays |
| 10am-4pm | The Nature Artists Guild of The Morton Arboretum Watch them create art in the gardens. |
| 11am | Special Guest Speaker |
| 1pm | Special Guest Speaker |
| 2pm | Garden Guru Panel Moderated by Connie Page |
| 10am-5pm | Music Throughout The Gardens |
June 30th: CELEBRATE
| 8am-4pm | Garden Bus Tour, Naperville Visit some extraordinary gardens that are environmentally friendly, low maintenance and stunning! Discover ideas on creating four-season landscapes that encourage butterflies and birds. |
