Macomb Beautiful Association

06/24/2026

Remember that you can buy tickets to this Sunday’s Garden Walk at the Chamber of Commerce, Western Illinois Museum, or at any of the gardens on the day of the event. The Garden Walk will be held rain or shine!

06/23/2026

Ben and Kirsten are recent participants in our Pollinator Pocket Garden Program. Their home at 215 E. Pierce St. has a bed with an extensive collection of dozens of various native plants making perfect habitats for bees and birds. They are local ecologists and love sharing their story. Message Macomb Beautiful if you too would like to participate in our program to build a pollinator byway through Macomb.

06/17/2026

Yes, our meeting is still on today! Come to the Old Dairy and hear all about the Macomb Park District from their director, Blake Severs.

06/08/2026

Tickets are on sale now. Mark your calendars for this wonderful Heritage Days and Macomb Beautiful event!

05/20/2026

We appreciate the hard work the students do to make the train station BEAUTIFUL!

Got the window boxes delivered to the Train Depot today. Such a great partnership we have with Macomb Beautiful Association.

05/04/2026

Macomb Beautiful would like to recognize its President Barb Knox and her husband John for all they do to beautify the Macomb community. John handmade over 60 blue stars to accompany the red and white flowers that Macomb Beautiful volunteers planted on May 2. Barb and John, your dedication is much appreciated!

04/23/2026

Happy Earth Day! Did you know IDNR's Mason State Tree Nursery in Mason County is Illinois’ only state owned and operated tree nursery, producing native Illinois eco-type tree seedlings, prairie plants and wildflower seeds. Mason is a proud neonicotinoid pesticide-free nursery, and everything it produces is hand-planted, hand-picked, and hand-cleaned.

Each year nursery staff produce pollinator seed packets with hand-picked seeds from the best native Illinois plants to promote pollinators. They also produce potted native plants that people can take home and put in the ground.

This Earth Day make a meaningful impact by planting native species that support local pollinators!

Learn more about Mason State Tree Nursery at https://dnr.illinois.gov/conservation/forestry/tree-nurseries.html

04/16/2026

We had a great turnout for today’s card party at the Macomb Country Club. Thanks to the Country Club for hosting us, and thanks, also, to everyone who made delicious cakes and cookies and who provided lovely baskets for our raffle. All of your efforts are much appreciated, and we hope you all had a wonderful time!

03/31/2026

Building a beautiful dry creek bed stops your downspout from washing away your grass and fixes the muddy sinkhole next to your home foundation.

Heavy rain pouring out of a standard gutter acts like a pressure washer that destroys delicate grass roots and carves a giant trench across your yard. Bare dirt left near your house quickly turns into a swampy mud pit that invites mosquitoes to lay eggs right next to your front door.

Routing the water through a decorative rock channel slows the heavy flow down so it can safely soak into the deep soil. This smart drainage solution turns a stressful flooding hazard into a stunning rain garden that actually loves getting soaked. You get to fix a massive erosion problem while giving your front yard a custom landscape feature that completely transforms your curb appeal.

Start by using a shovel to dig a shallow trench that slopes smoothly away from your house foundation to guide the water downhill. Lay down a thick sheet of professional non woven landscape fabric over the bare dirt to keep your decorative rocks from slowly sinking into the mud. Place large natural fieldstones along the outer edges to build a strong border that holds the shape of your new creek bed. Fill the middle of the winding channel with two inches of gray river rock so the storm water has a clear path to follow.

Plant bright yellow Goldsturm black eyed susans and pink Swamp Milkweed along the borders to create a beautiful pollinator habitat that drinks up all the extra moisture. Add some green creeping thyme near the edge of the rocks to soften the hard stone border with tiny leaves.

Clear any dead leaves and sticks out of your river rock channel every fall to make sure the water can still flow freely away from your house during heavy spring rain storms.