November meeting
Plant sale planning, seed swap, and tree conservation!
Thursday’s Central Chapter meeting was action-packed from start to finish! We kicked off the evening with a gathering of the Plant Sale Committee, launching early discussions for our 2026 Native Plant Sale. Topics on the table included potential plant lists, new ideas for garden kits, preferred growers and vendors, improved ways to share literature and resources at the sale, updates to our photo cards, and more.
If you’re interested in helping shape one of our biggest annual events—or simply have ideas to share—please reach out to Plant Sale Chair Mary Ring. The committee’s next meeting will be in January (date and time TBA).
The evening’s speakers were Karina Orozco and Katrina Holland from the Morton Arboretum sharing great information about four key programs: the Center for Tree Science, Chicago Region Trees Initiative, the Global Tree Conservation Program, and ArbNet. Together, these programs advance research, promote healthy urban forests, protect threatened tree species, and connect arboreta across the globe. Watch for the program to be posted on our website soon!
And of course… the annual seed swap was a huge hit! Members brought a fantastic variety of native species to share, and every table was buzzing with excitement. If you missed this year’s swap, don’t worry—many of our members are always happy to share a few extra seeds. Native gardeners are wonderfully generous people.
Thanks to everyone who helped make the evening such a success. The December meeting will be the annual Holiday gathering at Maldaners. Registration is required for this event so don’t wait— find all the details including how to register in the newsletter.