Gloria Dei Lutheran Church of Northbrook helped area folks usher in the summer by hosting their fourth annual Native Plant Fest on the last Saturday morning of May. More than 100 people from the community browsed tables of plants that had been nursed by members throughout the winter in their gallon plastic milk jugs.

The fest’s feature was the native plant seedling giveaway, but it also included children’s activities (painting mini birdhouses and peace poles and crafting garden key chimes), music by Gloria Dei members George and Silvi Grunditz and their acoustic trio, and refreshments. Some greenhouse grown pollinator plants were also for sale.

The Native Plant Fest is the culmination of a yearlong environmental stewardship project led by the congregation’s creation care team, said Linda O’Donohue, a member of Gloria Dei’s servant and justice team.

In November, church members plant native seeds in gallon plastic milk jugs and take them home to overwinter in their backyards. In early May the jugs are returned to church and members repot the seedlings from the jugs into 4” pots.

This year they repotted some 1,300 plants, O’Donohue said, and gave away some 1,000 plants. They gave the rest away at the Northbrook Farmers Market in mid-June, making both events into community outreach.

O’Donohue is quick to credit Janet Fisher with getting it all started. She had led the congregation’s high school students in service projects and approached her friend Linda about doing something in the gardening realm with them.

“I told her I love the idea, but I don’t know if there is broader interest. But it’s worth a try…”  That was back in 2019-20 when they “cooked up the idea over coffee hour and recruited a bunch of people,” including Fisher’s sister-in-law who was into native plants. Most were first time gardeners, including a man who said he had the opposite of a green thumb: two black thumbs, but in the end he did well.

The project was supported through adult education so people were taught about native plants and why they’re important. The Sunday school children are also involved in activities and education about the importance of native plants.

“We were looking for something intergenerational, something everyone could participate in and that was outreach to the community. This checked all the boxes,” O’Donohue said.

What started as an experiment has grown, and O’Donohue believes her friend Janet, who has since died, would be pleased with this legacy. Gloria Dei will soon plant a native garden in her memory at church. And come fall, it will be time to pick up the work again. October’s Fall Fest will feature a seed/plant swap.

How to find native plants near you:

https://homegrownnationalpark.org/keystone-plants/

This story originally appeared in the Summer 2025 Metro Word.