Current Programs and Projects
Located in the 2nd Street Public Market. Specializing in garden tools, accessories, house plants and gifts, the shop is a fund-raising project of the Wegerzyn Gardens Foundation. Proceeds support educational programs and garden development at Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark. Follow our Gift and Garden Shop Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/WegerzynGardensGiftShop/
Members, donors and invited guests gather under a festival tent on Wegerzyn’s lovely Garden Green to enjoy a catered dinner, live music, and a 50/50 raffle. The Garden Party is always scheduled for the second Thursday in September.
Fall Family Adventure
A Five Rivers MetroParks event, sponsored by the Wegerzyn Gardens Foundation, each October. Bring everyone for a great fall evening in the park. Enjoy crafts in the Children’s Discovery Garden, follow a self-paced nature walk featuring nature knowledge through the prairie, and hear folk tales in a magical place. Weather Dependent.
Is held on the first weekend in May at the 2nd Street Market, raises funds for the foundation by offering a selection of popular, regional and proven plants as well as new and unusual varieties, accompanied by authoritative horticultural advice.
Past Programs and Projects
Decoding Nature Episodes
The final episode of a series called ‘Decoding Nature’ is now available on Five Rivers MetroParks website. The series includes seven 12-18 minute episodes focused on the creation of MetroParks, and the wildlife and adventures you’ll find within them. Several episodes feature filming at Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark. The series was made possible and brought to viewers free of charge thanks to support from several foundations, including Wegerzyn Gardens Foundation. You can find a link to the videos at: https://www.metroparks.org/decoding-nature/
Dougherty Exhibit
Acclaimed woven-wood artist Patrick Dougherty installed a one-of-a-kind outdoor sculpture at Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark that was displayed from the Spring of 2011-December 2013. With more than 1000 hours of help from local volunteers–as well as the expert assistance of Five Rivers MetroParks personnel–Dougherty created a nearly 200-foot-long tunnel that coils sinuously around Wegerzyn’s North Plaza. Woven entirely of willow branches that had been encroaching upon the fishing lakes at Englewood MetroPark, the sculpture had openings that invited the visitor to explore its rustic interior and to enjoy beautiful views of Wegerzyn’s formal gardens. Dubbed “A Wiggle in Its Walk,” the sculpture remained standing through December 2013, after which the material was transferred to Wegerzyn’s composting facility.
