ALTON - Native plant enthusiasts, friends, neighbors, and gardeners of all kinds are invited to attend a variety of free garden tours held across the lower Midwest this summer in honor of Grow Native!’s 25th Anniversary. Alton’s native plant tour will be held Friday, July 18th from 4-7pm.
This specific tour is a multi-stop, walkable tour of public garden beds in Alton, Illinois by Grow Native! Professional Member Sierra Club – Piasa Palisades Group, the Hayner Public Library District, and Alton Main Street. The tour route covers a three-block area from 3rd Street between State Street and Piasa Street, the 300 Block of Belle Street, and the sitting area adjacent to the Library’s Belle Street parking lot. The stops, in green on the map below, may be visited in any order.
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As an extra-special treat, Bossanova will offer tour-goers a Riverbend Bloom Spritz, consisting of house-made native wildflower simple syrup, fresh lemon juice, sparkling water, and your choice of gin or vodka; Cat Daddie’s will offer their Berry Jerry Garcia, a refreshing strawberry vodka drink with fresh juice and a local berry purée; additionally, Old Bakery Beer Co. will offer a variety of Herbarium Sparkling Herbal Teas, a collaboration with Flourish. Stop by the Sierra Club booth to find out how to get your drink coupon. Limited to one drink per tourist, while supplies last.
Christine Favilla, Three Rivers Project Coordinator of the Sierra Club, has helped plan, plant, and maintain the Downtown Alton Native Plant beds; the Hayner Library’s Belle Street flower beds; the Hellrung Park Certified Monarch Waystation in Alton; the Alton YWCA’s butterfly garden and Summer Camp vegetable garden; the Wadlow Town Center’s native trees and pollinator plants project; and the Discovery Prairie at La Vista Park in Godfrey — as well as her own diverse native plant yard.
Registration is required for the free tour. Registrants may arrive any time between 4 p.m. through 7 p.m. Specific details will be sent to registrants the day before the tour. This tour provides 1 GNPCP CEU.
