Here we are at the end of May and maybe the beds in the backyard look ok or maybe not. We love our lawns, yet grass can move into our landscape beds in a stealth like manner, while we are waiting for better weather for bed weeding and edging. Putting a strong clean line on the landscape beds...

Extension offices routinely get phone calls after a fruit tree has been planted that second or third year in the home orchard or landscape about what is going on, "Why don't I get any fruit?". Often times what is happening is natural, sometimes we contribute to the delay of fruit production by the...

The weather is sure messing with our plans for early work in the yard. There are at least a couple of projects that not only can be done, but should be done as soon as possible and at the right stage of growth. Perhaps the more critical project is that of our earliest sprays in the home orchard....

Lawns are really greening up nicely over the last couple of weeks courtesy of Mother Nature. Lawns will naturally green up in the spring anyway, yet the rains and warmer temperatures really help too. Questions to the Extension offices and the Master Gardener Help Desks have been all about lawns and...

Caterpillars are frequently collected by students for science classes, parents to show their little ones the amazing change from caterpillar to butterfly or moth. It is how they are handled after being collected that makes the difference in how successful your project is. Most of our caterpillars...

Insects are very interesting to watch as they go about their lives in nature from early spring through Fall. We notice them when something goes wrong or missing on our valuable landscape plants and flowers, especially when those insects are considered detrimental to growing our prized flowers or...

Last year gardeners were caught off guard with outbreaks of scale insects on their trees and shrubs. University of Illinois Master Gardeners received many calls of Magnolia foliage turning black and sticky residue on lawn furniture, yard ornaments and if you stood there for even a minute, all over...

What a treat to have some early warming weather the last few days. Of course it is way too early to be doing much other than a little debris pick up out in the yard. This weather does allow us to see what has been happening outdoors though. It is pretty easy to see what the rabbits have been...