OPAL’s Garden

The Oak Park Art League’s (OPAL) courtyard garden has evolved since the league occupied the carriage house at 720 Chicago in 1938. A lataley as the mid-2000s, the front garden consisted of grass lawn, orange daylillies, and box hedges.

In 2018 the OPRF Garden Club facilitated a renewal of the garden and with the donated plant material and design expertise, transformed the space that had previously been dominated by a few oak trees into a destination woodland garden that the Art League has enjoyed and utilized for outdoor classes, events and a spot to rest and either paint or enjoy some quiet reflection. The club installed Canadian Hemlock, hydrangea, Scarlet rosemallow, Japanese forest grass and out at the sunny parkway added Russian sage, Japanese iris and sedum.

The curving walk to the main entrance leads past beds with hosta, ferns, wild geranium and some more recent additions of huchera, wild ginger, sweet woodruff as well as shade tolerant wildflowers.

For this occasion we have chosen to renew the garden with natives, adding 12 native species to the garden. Come see all the improvements in the coming weeks and if you want to help with tending the garden, we are happy to have some help.

June 28, 10am - 4pm

OPAL’s garden and gallery will be part of the
Oak Park & River Forest Garden Walk 

Sculptures coming soon to the garden!

To celebrate the garden transformation and Oak Park Art League’s 105th anniversary, we’ve planned an exhibition entitled BLOOM: Art of Flowers, Foliage and Fruit in our gallery to extend the garden indoors and blur the lines of actual garden plantings and artworks referencing the beauty and intrigue of plants.

The exhibit is juried by artist Kathleen Marie Garness, Scientific Affiliate, Field Museum Science and Conservation Affiliate, Morton Arboretum

The exhibit will be open to all visitors as part of the Garden Walk.