On his corner lot in East Hazel Crest, Michael Kiehl has no shortage of spaces to relax in the pristine garden that surrounds his home. But one spot is an easy pick for his favorite.
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Under a small tree rests a bench with its back to the intersection. When Kiehl sits there, he sees no traffic, only two long stretches of a yard he has worked for five years to transform into a serene space he and his wife, Vickie, can enjoy with family, friends or on their own.
The Kiehls were among the homeowners who got to share their happy places Sunday during the 10th Southland Community Garden Walk. Six gardens were featured, with two each in Flossmoor, Olympia Fields and East Hazel Crest.
Among them was the yard of Chris Ball and Jeffrey Hamrick, who have been working on their garden since moving to Flossmoor in 2019. Ball said the ranch house had been updated and the previous owner did a lot of work before they moved in.
“The garden itself had been in rough shape because the house had been rented by people who weren’t gardeners,” Ball said. “But adding to the foundations that were here for us was a challenge we were willing to undertake.”
For Ball, who lived in large cities for all of his adult life, gardening is a new passion. But his natural inclination to research things led him to local resources, and asking questions around the neighborhood garnered a few plant donations from neighbors. Ball was also the muscle behind much of the project, according to Hamrick, who has a little more experience with gardening.
“It’s something that my partner and I created together,” Hamrick said. “In addition to that, I care so much about the environment and this here is all native, apart from the hostas. We have so many pollinator plants down here.”
The aim, Hamrick said, is to create “a slice of prairie” that is beneficial for the birds, bees, beetles and ants. He said while they might have limited means, they have the time and commitment to make that happen.
“I like doing my part to restore the balance of the ecology,” Hamrick said. “It’s just a little piece of paradise down here.”
For Gloria Lippert, highlighting spaces like this has been personal ever since the National Council of Jewish Women South Cook Section launched the garden walk in 2011. Lippert, the committee chairperson for the walk since its second year, was born and raised in Harvey. She has lived in Flossmoor since 1968.
“I love the area,” Lippert said. “I think it’s rich. It offers a lot to everyone who lives here. I feel like we are presenting the beauty, the passion, the excitement of this region. That’s every bit as much for me as raising money.”
But money is also a big part of it. The South Cook NCJW has 15 community service partners. Aunt Martha’s and Respond Now are among them, and the walk was originally conceived in 2010 with the idea of raising $5,000 to support those two. The first year, the garden walk brought in just under that number. But every year since then, it has netted close to $10,000 with support from sponsors, raffles and ticket sales.
The walk features five to eight gardens annually, typically without repeats. But when the committee set up its starting point/base of operations at Goldberg Park in Flossmoor this year, it marked the first time the walk has been held since 2019, following a two-year pandemic hiatus. People received tickets with descriptions and maps to do the tour in their own order and at their own pace.
Krista Venegas and Ann Mitchell, of Flossmoor, decided to travel the route by bike to enjoy two of their passions at once.
“I also came to meet new neighbors who are also interested in gardening and find our gardening community,” Venegas said.
They started their day at the home of Tom and Jane Baffes, who moved to their home in Flossmoor 23 years ago, shortly after getting married. When they started an addition in 2002, they added a front porch, tree swing and garden bed.
“We’ve changed a lot,” Jane Baffes said. “We just kept adding more and more after that to make it our little oasis.”
The perimeter of the backyard features a carved bear tree trunk, colorful flowers and some physical representations of memories they have collected. Three years ago, they added an in-ground pool with a patio. But for Jane, the highlight is the four-stool bar alongside it.
“That’s definitely a gathering place,” she said. “We just wanted to make something for family and friends to just come together to relax when we have time.”
Kiehl similarly worked to create an oasis of his own in East Hazel Crest. He grew up in La Grange, where his family had some space. His father was into gardening, and his siblings picked up the passion, too. But when Kiehl and his wife lived in Beverly, they could not garden.
“It was all concrete,” he said. “I said: I’ve got to get a house with some land so we can do something. There was nothing here, so we just started doing our thing. Through the years, you add a little. That’s how it’s come together like this.”
Just across the street from Kiehl was another stop on the walk, where Paula Newton has cobbled together a unique garden over the years. There, many of the plants are potted, with pathways taking visitors to different themed areas and artistic flourishes, such as a teapot tree and garden gloves hanging from wires.
“She’s basically landscaped her driveway with pots,” said horticulturist Dave Ward, who was on hand for the garden walk. “Really just thinking outside the box. It’s really a fun garden.”
Ward noted the garden was not started with a grand plan up front but evolved over time. And Newton’s passion extends to cement birdbaths she makes by laying actual leaves, such as large elephant ear leaves, over sand and pouring concrete on them.
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“She’s really artistic in everything that she does,” Ward said. “It’s really a cool place.”
Lippert said the two East Hazel Crest spots wound up on the list this year after someone called to recommend the committee visit one. They loved it and found the other across the street, equally as great but very different, she explained.
“That’s what we look for,” Lippert said. “We really want diversity in our gardens.”
For more information on the walk and the gardens it has included over the years, go to southlandgardenwalk.com.
Bill Jones is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.