Bungalow Blooms & Big Milestones: A Recap of the Live Gardening Event

Updated: 3 days ago

It was a special morning on June 13th of community, creativity, and cultivation at Bungalow Blooms: Live Garden Planting, the first in-person event kicking off the Chicago Bungalow Association’s 25th Anniversary celebration. Bungalow Blooms is one of several events planned throughout the year, offering a more personal way to celebrate this milestone together.

Held in Chicago’s Auburn Gresham neighborhood, the event took place in the front yard of Eric Sylvester and Leida Parker-Sylvester, CBA members and winners of the Exterior Rehabilitation category of the 2021 Driehaus Bungalow Awards. Leida and Eric generously offered their space for attendees to gather, explore gardening tips and connect with two pioneering experts—Jackie Riffice and Tristan Shaw—to discover the possibilities of starting their own native plant gardens.

Jackie Riffice—with whom the Bungalow Association has collaborated with for 15 years on many impactful, beautiful projects—designed and led the gardening for this on-site planting event. Jackie has been extremely active in the realm of gardening after discovering her passion for it years ago. Some of her achievements include the founding of her now closed company Prairie Godmothers, and her current volunteer work as a Master Gardener in the Lurie Garden in Chicago. Having retired recently, she now spends time in her art studio and serves on local boards and commissions.

Download the garden plans, plant lists, and handouts at the end of this blog post!

For this project with CBA, Jackie worked with Leida to select plants and create a design. These designs combined strategic and aesthetically harmonious layouts while prioritizing native plants that contribute to the ecosystem. The layout contains plans for a butterfly garden of natives—featuring plants that attract birds, bees, and butterflies—along with a lined symmetrical walkway and updates to the hedge area. Much of these changes were done using plants that the homeowners already had in their garden—for example, the updates to the hedge area were done by simply trimming the hedges and splitting up already present hostas and lining them up nicely. This is an example of a clean and accessible way that anybody can change up their garden without many extra expenses!

Before the live planting, Jackie brought in Golden Oaks Landscaping and Maintenance (708.612.2053) to prepare the ground and area. Reuben and his team with Golden Oaks removed sod, added soil, leveled out the area and added mulch.

The second plant expert, Tristan Shaw, is the owner and nursery manager at Possibility Place Nursery, and has been working there for the past 25 years. He attended the event to speak with the community about native plants and their relationship to individual gardens along with the larger ecosystem. Tristan spoke about the dwindling populations of native plant and animal species, and what homeowners can do to combat these widespread changes. The topics he discussed varied from answering listeners’ questions about native plants, to the benefits of implementing a rain garden, to the history of why certain plants are called weeds and others are not.

One of the most important takeaways from this wide-ranging conversation was that native plants invite native animals and insects into your garden, which altogether create a sustainable environment. You can plan your native plant garden in many different ways—with consideration to aesthetic value, but also if you wish to attract specific insects, birds, etc, you can construct your garden based on those species’ preferred diets and homes.

As attendees gathered their gardening packets complete with two different layout templates, enjoyed live demonstrations, and heard insightful guidance from our special guests—all while savoring sweet treats from Dat Donut—a sense of connection began to grow. Whether tending a parkway or planning a pollinator-friendly front yard, many found themselves united by a shared commitment to make their neighborhoods greener, one garden at a time.

Download the garden plans, plant lists, and handouts from the event:

With more in-person and virtual events ahead for this fall and winter, this is just the beginning! Stay tuned for more ways to celebrate with us!