Over 110 Years in Lake Forest

The Lake Forest Garden Club was founded in 1912 by a handful of forward-thinking women as a volunteer organization dedicated to horticulture and conservation. In 1913, the Lake Forest Garden Club became one of twelve founding members of the Garden Club of America.

From its earliest years, the Lake Forest Garden Club and its members have worked to promote the understanding of the interdependence of horticulture, environmental protection and community improvement.

The House & Garden Walk features a tour of four historic Lake Forest properties offered by members of the Lake Forest Garden Club. Proceeds from this benefit support conservation, horticulture, and civic improvement initiatives in our communities. The Lake Forest Garden Club, established in 1912, began the tradition of staging fundraising garden tours in 1919.

For more information, contact us at housewalk@lakeforestgc.org.

The Lake Forest Garden Club's Mission
The advancement of gardening, the promotion of horticultural knowledge, and the stimulation of community interest in conservation and civic improvement. The Lake Forest Garden Club is a nonprofit organization.

The City of Lake Forest
Lake Forest Garden Club is located in Lake Forest, Illinois and collaborates regularly with the City of Lake Forest and many local and regional organizations on a variety of projects that benefit our community and surrounding area. In 2022, the Club was recognized for our 110th anniversary as the spotlight organization on the City of Lake Forest vehicle sticker.

The Garden Club of America (GCA), founded in 1913, seeks to stimulate the knowledge and love of gardening; to share the advantages of association by means of educational meetings, conferences, correspondence, and publications; and to restore, improve, and protect the quality of the environment through educational programs and action in the fields of conservation and civic improvement.

Visit the GCA website for more information.

About Lake Forest Garden Club
During the Club's 113-year history, member projects have included the planting of elm trees along Deerpath Road from Green Bay Road to Waukegan Road in memory of soldiers who died in World War I, as well as the planting of thousands of daffodil bulbs that bloom in April on the Deerpath Middle School hill in memory of the victims of 9/11.

Since 2000, the Club has made philanthropic contributions of more than $1.2 million benefiting the local community. The Club has provided funds for landscape plans for Market Square, Gorton Community Center, both the former and new Lake Forest Hospitals, the Lake Forest Library, and Forest Park overlooking Lake Michigan.

In 2020 and in partnership with the City of Lake Forest, the Club funded a multi-year, city-wide program aimed at reducing recycling contamination in the community. In 2022, the "Rethink Recycling" effort was recognized with a Community Sustainability Excellence Award from the International City/County Management Association.

From 2020 to 2023, LFGC provided additional support to Lake Bluff Open Lands, Lake Forest Open Lands Association, Elawa Farm Foundation, and the Preservation Foundation of Lake County Forest Preserves in recognition of the important role these organizations play in providing places of peace and recreation, especially during the pandemic. In 2023, the Club provided significant funding to Lake Bluff Open Lands Association for the restoration of a six-acre wetland, and to the Elawa Farm Foundation to expand the Discovery Garden, its ADA accessible fruit and vegetable garden. Please see the "Grants & Community Impact" page for more details.

Club representatives serve as advocates for environmental protection in Washington, D.C. at the annual National Affairs and Legislation Conference. The Club supports local scholarships through the Center for Conservation Leadership at Lake Forest Open Lands Association, along with national initiatives and funding for Garden Club of America scholarships.

Lake Forest Garden Club is a founding member of The Garden Club of America

Use of photography is only by permission