Tucked between the west side of the Beverly Arts Center and its parking lot at 2407 W. 111th Street, the Roy Diblik Garden buzzes with life. Amid a backdrop of tall junipers and ornamental grasses, bees and butterflies gather last bits of pollen from purple coneflower, black eyed Susans, pink hydrangea, phlox, purple asters, Russian sage and other late season bloomers.

Touting low maintenance as a reward for constructing a perennial garden space in harmony with nature, the serene oasis is a community project managed by The Garden Club of Morgan Park-Beverly Hills.

It could also be considered a point of interest for gardeners deciding to attend a free Ask an Expert discussion hosted by the Garden Club Oct. 4 at the Beverly Arts Center, with registration starting at 9 a.m. and a Q&A session at 10 a.m.

The concepts of low-maintenance and sustainability, suggested by renowned gardeners like Diblik, will be addressed, said Gael Mennecke, president of the club, which was founded in 1926.

“We organize several events throughout the year, including field trips. With all these, our goal is to provide area gardeners with reliable, forward-thinking, and practical information,” Mennecke said.

Besides obtaining an abundance of information from local gardening resources, participants can also enter free raffles to win gardening books.

Blue Island resident Val Kehoe is one of four experts slated to answer inquiries about flora, trees and vegetables from audience members as well as questions submitted online.

Now a staunch advocate of sustainable gardening practices, Kehoe got started in the field 33 years ago when she indulged a request from her oldest child, who was 4 at the time.

“I got him a Chia Pet,” she said. “It was the dead of winter — January — and all of a sudden there was something coming to life in the house. It was so life changing. We started a garden that summer.”

Kehoe’s son went on to study soil conservation. Also positively influenced by the backyard garden that would eventually produce flowers, herbs and vegetables, Kehoe’s daughter became a dietitian. Kehoe herself became a horticulturist and certified arborist.

“I guess I’ve always had a love for plants and trees,” she said. “I realized I could go to my backyard and see a bee buzzing and pollinators working as a part of a natural community. I realized my connection to the natural world, and that being outside would bring a sense of peace and grounding.”

Having spent nine years as a Master Naturalist Program coordinator for the University of Illinois Extension and 10 years as a staff horticulturist with Christy Webber Landscapes, Kehoe hopes to convey “the importance of achieving more balance with the natural world.”

Ways to do this include reducing plant maintenance and water use through native plant selection and by incorporating gardening practices employed before the era of industrialization.

Those approaches include less mowing, less watering and less fertilizing, having herb gardens near the back door, making use of rain barrels, and devoting available water mostly to growing fruits and vegetables.

“Turf is the largest input there is for watering and chemical use,” Kehoe said. “It’s important for people to realize there’s a real cost to having to clean water.”

It’s also important to realize native plants with longer tap roots don’t require constant watering, she said. “A lot of people are starting to understand the current state of our environment as a reason to embrace approaches more in harmony with nature.”

Kehoe also suggested avoiding deadheading spent native flower blossoms, which can provide seeds as a food source for birds.

While neighbors can sometimes disapprove of the less manicured landscapes, Kehoe suggested landscaping practices that can help mitigate objections, including include repetition of plants, layering of plants, positioning trees as a backdrop with shrubs beneath and lower-level plantings in the foreground.

Even skeptical neighbors, Kehoe said, are awed “when a butterfly or songbird suddenly appears out of nowhere.

“Addressing climate change is really about finding a balance between our land and ourselves, through protecting and restoring our areas,” she said.

That philosophy applies, even if the areas we control seem relatively small, said Kehoe whose own Blue Island home plot measures 25 by 125 feet.

For 25 years, Kehoe has taken on various volunteer roles for the city of Blue Island, including as a volunteer coordinator and as chair of Blue Island’s Forestry Board. She also has worked for 15 years on restoration and trail watch for the Forest Preserves of Cook County

Her affinity for trees is not surprising. The mature white oak in front of her house compelled her to purchase her Blue Island home along with her husband, Pat Kehoe, who appreciated the front porch. “There’s a whole ecosystem that forms around one of those trees,” Kehoe said.

Other gardening experts on hand for the Oct. 4 event will include Mary Harkenrider, a lead farmer at the Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation Urban Farm; Greg Stack, a former University of Illinois Extension educator in horticulture; and Victor Short, a Forestry field supervisor for Openlands.

Harkenrider, a master urban farmer through University of Illinois Extension, has worked with the PBMR Urban Farm for eight years, helping to carry out its restorative justice mission to “cultivate relationships in the Back of the Yards and Englewood neighborhoods through access, education, and engagement.”

Constructed in raised beds on an old parking lot, the farm last year produced more than 6,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables for area residents.

Stack joined the University of Illinois Extension staff in 1974 as an adviser in horticulture. He has worked as the special project leader for the Chicago Urban Gardening Program and served as the horticulture educator.

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Though officially retired from these responsibilities, Stack now works “full-time-ish” for Ted’s Greenhouse in Tinley Park.

As a Forestry field supervisor for Openlands, Victor Short teaches apprentice arborists how trees function in our ecosystem. Short trained at Greencorps Chicago and worked in the field of environmental services, supervising Chicago Park District maintenance crews working in natural areas.

Mennecke expects the Q&A event to draw gardeners from outside of the Garden Club.

“For our annual events, we usually attract a lot of master gardeners from Indiana, and we let other area garden clubs know about this,” she said.

Regardless of how many nonmembers attend, it’s likely to be a good turnout. Garden Club membership numbers have nearly doubled since the pandemic, and now stand at 102.

More information is at [email protected] or on Facebook at lovetogarden1926.

Susan DeGrane is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.