Northern Illinois Home Page

The Northern Illinois Hosta Society (NIHS) was founded in October 1992 when Tom Micheletti, our first president,  gathered several fellow hostaphiles together and founded the Northern Illinois Hosta Society. He remains one of the country's most knowledgeable hosta experts.

​Our NIHS society's mission is dedicated to educating the public, to encourage the development of new cultivars and and promote the use of hostas in the landscape. NIHS works closely with the American Hosta Society and the Midwest Regional Hosta Society planning and hosting hosta events and donating to hosta research. NIHS is a general not-for-profit organization that serves the people of Northern Illinois and surrounding areas.

Some of our Programs, Events & Activities

Annual Membership Meeting-
​September 12, 2021
​The purpose of this annual meeting is to discuss and approve the NIHS annual Budget and election of new officers to fill vacant positions. Our meeting is usually scheduled on a  Sunday in September.  The Nominating Committee Report and the Budget proposal is always emailed to our members for their review before this meeting.
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​Sponsor Plant Pick-Ups-May 2021 
Our 2021 Sponsor Plant Sale and pick-up has been completed for this season. We look forward to next year's selections for 2022. Please check back in February 2022 for our offered selections.
As Lou Horton, NIHS Past President, 2003-2011,  has always said, “the Sponsor Plant Program is designed for the benefit of our members”. Every year we  select 4-5  high quality cultivars from two NIHS vendors. You will receive field grown divisions that are ready to be placed in your garden after the threat of frost. The offerings are  beautiful cultivars that everyone should have in their collection. For more information, look in your email in the March NIHS newsletter. If you have further questions, please contact Mike Kraus, President.
Garden Walks- check our Calendar
Each Summer, at least four members open their home gardens to our members. We have completed our exciting garden walks for this summer and will begin to dream of next year's garden walks.  You will always find our Summer Garden Walks in our spring and summer newsletters and individual emails sent out to all of our NIHS members with details about the gardens and directions.
On-Line Auction - August 13-15, 2021
Thank you to each and everyone of our donors and bidders for making our auction a great success. Each Summer, members and member vendors contribute plants (hostas & companion plants) from their own gardens or nurseries to the annual NIHS Auction. This is our only fundraiser. All plants in the auction are displayed with pictures and descriptions on our auction website.
Cantigny Park National Hosta Display Garden
This garden is an American Hosta Society (AHS) National Hosta Display Garden we maintain. NIHS continues to add to this display garden through our donations or  purchases. Many of our members  volunteer and donate their time at least twice a month during the gardening season to help in the AHS garden at Cantigny. Come browse this lovely garden and stay for a while.
Annual Leaf Display at the Chicago Botanic Garden-postponed until 2022
The NIHS's mission & purpose is to share knowledge of hostas and to promote the use of hostas in the landscape. How better to do this than to display the most stunning hosta leaves from our gardens. Members donate their prized hosta leaves. Hundreds of visitors will enjoy this hosta experience. Some buy hostas and ferns from our vendors. Attendees also have the opportunity to vote on their favorite hosta leaf. 
​Fall Symposium - October 17, 2021
Medill Room at Cantigny Park, WInfield, IL
Our Fall Symposium will be held on Sunday, October 17, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. Tammy Borden will be speaking on "Growing  Hostas  in  Containers."
If the weather is favorable and you have a bit of time, plan to come early to visit the fall displays in the garden and take in our American Hosta Society National Display Garden just south of the Visitor’s Center. Cantigny Park is located at 1s151 Winfield Road, in Wheaton. Members, please wear your NIHS name tags and wear your mask as the presentation will be indoors. We will be following CDC guidelines and Illinois guidelines too. We look forward to  seeing you there. Be sure to check out your reminder email about this event.

​Resources
We feel you will find helpful information and videos to watch as our seasons change. There is much to learn as we hone our gardening skills.
During the winter time we begin to dream, visualize, plan, read, rearrange, and read some more gardening resources while we reflect on what our gardens might look like in the spring. In the spring, we can't wait to clean up our gardens and begin to dig in the dirt. Summer lends itself to more work as we reap the visual sensations of our delightful gardens. In the fall, we must prepare our gardens for their long awaited sleep. 
You will find a page of virtual gardens under the Resouces tab  to look at for additional ideas in your gardens too. 

​Spring Symposium Virtual Presentation-
​April 11, 2021
​Our Spring Symposium is usually held on a Sunday in April/May at the Friendship Park Conservatory, Des Plaines, IL  in the afternoon.  Our guest speakers selected each spring are horticultural experts in their field.  We look forward to their presentations. Our speaker this year is, Richard Hentschel, a master gardener who will present: "Why Organic Matter Matters." Due to Covid, this presentation will be presented using Zoom on April 11, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. An email will be sent out to NIHS members about a week or so before the presentation. 
NIHS Member Vendors & Advertisers
Please patronize our Member Vendors & Advertisers. Our advertisers  have special Sale and/or Open House dates that would be a perfect time to shop for some great hostas and companions. Click here to see these special businesses that support NIHS.
Become a Member Today
An affordable NIHS membership gives you access to informative programs, Garden Walks and botanical gardens, annual gardening bus trip, our spring plant sale and more. Become a NIHS member today!
JOIN NIHS Facebook page
Our Northern Illinois Hosta Society Facebook page is filled with  garden related topics  relating to hostas and companion plants, garden issues and other topics that arise in the gardening world. Join and follow our NIHS Facebook group to share garden pictures, post comments, and ask questions with our NIHS followers.
Thank you for visiting our website. Want to keep up with what’s going on at NIHS? Visit this page often or follow us on Facebook!