Perhaps it was the snow that had fallen the day before, but the crowds that turned out for Geneva’s sixth annual Gardenology event on a clear May Saturday seemed especially appreciative of the rows of vendors selling everything from organic veggies to overflowing flower baskets.
“It snowed yesterday, so we’ve got two days worth of energy for this,” said Shawn Geddes, as he and his wife, Emily, took a break and ate lunch on a park bench near Third Street, where droves of people were checking out fairy gardens, iron yard accessories and potted plants.
The couple had ventured to downtown Geneva for Gardenology, a festival that featured more than 60 vendors, food booths and a speakers tent with lectures on everything from topiaries to making a healthy vinaigrette to organic lawn care.
“It’s like a farmers market on steroids,” said Larry Kaspar, a retired florist who was on official greeting duty near the main tent, handing out pink roses to passersby.
Kaspar said the idea for the event was born when the owners of Geneva’s Country Naturals said that their customers who loved gardening might enjoy a seminar or two on a beautiful spring day.
Six years later, that seminar has grown to include a full-day event that last year had 3,500 visitors, Kaspar said. Local merchants and Burpee Seeds sponsor the event, along with Geneva Garden Club.
Debbie Notaro, a horticulturist who owns My Secret Garden and is a member of the Geneva Garden Club, said that some visitors are looking for advice or inspiration from businesses or experts providing talks in the speakers tent.
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Others simply want to take advantage of the spring scene after a long winter, she said. Instead of the regular plants at a big box store, Gardenology provides the chance for visitors to see a wide variety of plants and accessories from local merchants, she said.
“Everybody is ready to get out, and it’s all here,” she said.
Most chairs at the speakers tent were full during Carol Massat’s presentation about putting together a beautiful mixed container of plants. The co-owner of The Growing Place, nurseries in Aurora and Naperville, had plenty of advice for the assembled group, from how to avoid a mildew-prone impatiens to how to repeat the plant colors in the pot for a pleasing combination.
Notaro said that gardeners this year are interested in hot colors and variegated patterns or an English garden look. She and Massat said that gardeners are also increasingly turning to container gardens. Massat noted that many of her customers are trying their hands at vegetable gardens, especially younger families, and are looking for vegetables such as kale to plant.
Emily Geddes said that she’s grown herbs for 10 years, and this year is trying a full vegetable garden in her backyard. She has purchased her geraniums and ivy for her containers, but had yet to plant them in their final pots.
“I love to garden,” she said. “I keep it simple with my geraniums, and the tall spiky plant in the center and the ivy, but I’m going to try something new this summer too.”