More details for monthly programs will be available on our Facebook page events. If you are not a member of our club please contact us thru the website contact tab or Facebook to see if program will be open to the public or If you would like to attend as a prospective member .  All programs and meeting locations are subject to change.

Wednesday July 9 2025 We will meet at The Community Center to carpool to Jerry Gudauskas’s home to learn about growing garlic and tomatoes . Business meeting will follow at The Community Foundations for McHenry County.
Jerry Gudauskas is a TWO state Master Gardener – Florida and Illinois!   He went through the Illinois training back in 1997.  Jerry is a prolific vegetable gardener at his home in McHenry.  He is also active in hydroponic gardening, and has his Master BeeKeeping certificate from the University of Florida.  

Wednesday August 13 2025 We will meet at Veterans Acres to carpool to the Peace Garden at the VFW in McHenry.
Program will be given by Master Gardener Joe Menotti.
This garden provides a quiet place for those who deal with PTSD and features an area with memorial bricks. It also grows vegetables, berries and herbs in a small greenhouse and 10 raised beds that are donated to local food pantries. The site’s 23 fruit trees include a variety of apples, pears, peaches and plums as well as sweet and sour cherries.

Wednesday September 10 2025. We will meet at The Community Foundations for McHenry County.
Speaker : Danielle Jones ( DJ) is a naturalist that is especially enamored with fungi. In addition to her work with the club she also volunteers with her community garden, the Forest Preserves of Cook County, IL Extension, and various citizen science initiatives focusing on conservation and restoration. You can see her pictures on Instagram @Danielly42 and observations at iNaturalist with the same name.
Program :The Basic Fungimentals. Danielle Jones will discussed fungi, foraging, and cultivation basics

Wednesday October 8 2025 We will meet at The Community Foundations for McHenry County.
Speaker: Cindy Crosby Cindy graduated from University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 2014 with her master’s degree in natural resources, with a focus on environmental interpretation. She is a Master Gardener and teaches in the Master Naturalist program. For more than a decade as a prairie steward and volunteer,

Program: Bison Tales and Tallgrass Trails . Hear how Illinois’ original garden, the tallgrass prairie, has been shaped by bison. Learn how these charismatic megafauna are being restored to Illinois prairies. Listen to tales of their connections, both historical and contemporary, to some Native American tribes. Discover the ways bison have been portrayed in music, literature, art and popular culture as you view images of these fascinating creatures.

Wednesday November 12 2025 We will meet at The Community Foundations for McHenry County.
Speaker: Christine Kustra is the Community Education Coordinator at McHenry County Conservation District. As a Certified Interpretive Guide through National Association for Interpretation and a Master of Arts in Environmental Education, she has been in the realm of conservation and education well over a decade, teaching outdoors about rocks to flowers and immersing the public in conservation concepts and outdoor recreation, here in Illinois as well as Washington and California. She continually coordinates with partners, teachers, and other interested groups and finds joy in bees sleeping in geraniums.

Program : Oaks of McHenry County . Oak communities have a long history in McHenry County. We will learn about the importance of oaks as a keystone species in our natural communities and about the latest research on this topic.

Wednesday December 10 2025 . Our annual members only Christmas party will be held at The Community Foundations for McHenry County.

Wednesday January 14 2026. We will meet at The Community Foundations for McHenry County.
Program : Making flower frogs

Wednesday February 11 2026. We will meet at The Community Foundations for McHenry County.
Speaker :Dolly Foster, has been a horticulturist for 25 years, and a certified arborist since 2008. She holds a masters in agriculture from the University of Illinois. Here garden at home has been Monarch Waystation since 2011. Dolly also runs a micro plant nursery selling plants exclusively for pollinators.
Program: Seed Collecting and Cleaning . This will be presented as a Zoom program.

Wednesday March 11 2026 We will meet at The Community Foundations for McHenry County.
Speaker : Marcy Lautanen- Raleigh is the creator of Backyard Patch Herbs, offering salt-free, gluten free, preservative free herb cooking and tea products. She began growing herbs in 1992 and now cultivates a 3/4 acre garden, confidently sharing how to grow and use herbs.
Program : Herbology 101 / Fun with Herbs

Wednesday April 8 2026 we will meet at The Dole Mansion , 401 Country Club Road, Crystal Lake IL
Speaker : Nina Koziol Is a horticulturist and garden writer who tends plants on a deer-infested acre about 40 miles from Chicago. Has written garden articles for the Chicago Tribune for 22 years as well as for Chicagoland Gardening, Old-House Journal, Organic Gardening and The American Gardener. She is also a Feature Writer, Landscape Illinois
Adjunct Faculty/Writer for The Chicago Botanic Garden
Program: Victorian Theme Gardens: From cottage gardens and moon gardens to cut-flower borders and carpet beds. Discover the ways Victorian gardeners used plants and accessories to make their home landscape unique.

Wednesday May 13 2026 We will meet at The Community Foundations for McHenry County.
Speaker: Mike Nowak was a WGN radio personality, award winning columnist for Chicagoland Gardening magazine and author of Attack of the Killer Asparagus. He was a Illinois Master Gardener for 26 years and is an Openlands TreeKeeper.

Program: Fighting Climate Change in your Backyard ( and Frontyard) . Mike will walk us through the basics about native plants, harvesting rainwater, reducing lawn area, composting and other gardening decisions all designed to help your yard conserve rather than deplete natural resources. Knowing you are doing something positive to help the environment will give you some peace of mind .

Wednesday June 10 2026   Annual members only picnic