Being the president isn’t easy.

“People just asked ‘Would you like to be president?’,” said Jill Fox, president of the Tri-Village Garden Club, which covers areas including Bartlett, Hanover Park and Streamwood.

“It’s hard to get people to be in positions where you’re going to be president for a while,” Fox said. “Nobody wants to do it. It’s a lot of extra work on you, and you have to do a lot of e-mails and organizing.”

Fox said even with all the work of becoming president last December, she gets help from many of the members of her group who are retired or have more time on their hands.

According to Fox, the Tri-Village Garden Club tries to help the community as much as possible.

They donate food to the Hanover Park Food Pantry, raise money for the hungry and will be having a garden walk Saturday, July 18, which will donate money to a College of DuPage student scholarship.

“We really like to be part of the community and help whenever we can,” Fox said. “It feels good if you’re helping somebody.”

Lately, Fox said more people have been becoming interested in gardening. She said part of the joy comes from growing your own food and having the ability to see where food comes from.

“You can’t sell your house right now,” Fox said. “So you might as well fix your garden.”

Notable
Fox works at Platt Hill Nursery in Bloomingdale, which sells plants and gives seminars on how to garden, among other things.

& quotable
Fox’s tips for growing your own garden: “Find out what color pallette you like first,” Fox said. “Get the bones of your garden first, like trees and shrubs. It’s hard to start with a big project, so you start with a small one and go from there.”

Philosophy
“Just enjoy what you’re doing,” Fox said. “Gardening should be relaxing. It shouldn’t be a lot of work. Spring and fall is a little more work, but in the summer you should be able to enjoy it and sit back and look at it.”

Favorites
PLANTS  Dahlias and hollyhocks
MUSIC  A little bit of everything depending on her mood
FOOD Chinese food with fresh vegetables on the wok
OTHER INTRESTS  Quilting, sewing, painting