09/27/2026
The Marjorie Elmhurst community garden is the Elmhurst Park District Garden Plots program at Marjorie Davis Park, 285 W. Grantley Ave. in Elmhurst. It is a rented plot program, not a shared communal garden.
There are 52 plots, each about 20’ × 20’. The Park District rototills and stakes them at the start of the season. You plant, w**d, water, and harvest. One plot per household.
Season
• Target open date: May 1 (weather-dependent)
• Close date: November 1
• Water taps (6 total) run 9 a.m.–9 p.m., 7 days a week. Water is not drinkable. Bring your own hose.
Fees (2026)
• Residents: $74
• Non-residents: $90
• Seniors 62+ residents: $60
• Seniors 62+ non-residents: $72
How you get a plot
Returning gardeners get first chance to keep their same plot (or enter the lottery for a different one). New gardeners go into a lottery.
Typical window:
• Returning gardeners: mid-February to mid-March
• New gardeners: mid-March to early April
• Lottery (if needed): mid-April
2026 plots are already full. Registration for 2027 will follow the same pattern next winter/spring. contact Amy Srail at 630-993-8961 /
Main rules
• No herbicides or pesticides (pesticide-free park)
• No landscape fabric/matting that could jam the rototiller
• Hand-till only; no power tillers
• Keep the whole plot w**ded; w**ds over 12” can get the plot mowed after warnings
• Must be planted/used by July 1 or it can be reassigned
• Remove fencing, stakes, and personal items by November 1
• Be considerate of neighbors; don’t walk through other plots
• You garden at your own risk in a public park (theft/damage possible)
The park itself is a small neighborhood park (playground, basketball, baseball diamond, chess tables, butterfly garden) on the old Roosevelt School site, named for longtime teacher Marjorie Davis.