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Good Growing 2022

Winter: Hibernation or adaptation winter landscape with deciduous and evergreen trees with frost on branches and snow on ground

Winter: Hibernation or adaptation

I once heard a succinct description of natural process as “everything points towards winter”. As a Midwesterner not so fond of cold, my immediate response to this synopsis was denial but with time, I’ve come to adore this mentality.  Annual plants know they have one growing season to complete...
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elderberry leaf, berries, and jar of elderberry jelly

Wild Jelly: What is it and what plants can be used?

“Clark, that’s the gift that keeps on giving.” No truer words have ever described a Jelly of the Month Club. Yet, upon my annual family viewing of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, a thought occurred to me that had not in the decades I’ve watched this movie. The idea of a jelly for every...
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Ethnobotany: the power of plants and people background image woven baskets with native fruits and nuts including walnuts

Ethnobotany: The power of plants and people

Plants have played a major role in human development for as long as people have inhabited the earth. Human interaction with plants has been and continues to be a complex relationship. Many species have provided critical resources for sustaining life, while others threaten human harm if encountered...
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Tea leaves spilling out of a tea cup

Growing tea in Illinois

Grow your own tea Did you know, you can grow the most popular drink in the world right here in Illinois? If you’re wondering how to harvest Pepsi or Coke from a tree, I’m sorry, you have the wrong drink. Second to water, tea reigns supreme as the world's favorite drink, and it has been for...
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Autumn allergies: don’t blame goldenrod bee on yellow goldenrod bloom

Autumn allergies: don’t blame goldenrod

As the growing season draws to an end, temperatures cool, woody plants prepare for dormancy, and we enjoy the last blooms of the season. For many of us, autumn also means sniffles and sneezes caused by seasonal allergies. Seasonal allergies are a reaction to airborne pollen entering the body and...
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a thirteen-lined ground squirrel eating a seed

Managing thirteen-lined ground squirrel

Gnawing Rodents and Landscape Shrubs This past spring, I found myself at a friend’s house enjoying some barbeque on the back deck. He remarked on the issue they had with ground squirrels, burrowing all over their yard and landscape beds. Later in the year, a phone call came into the office of a...
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Wheel bugs: good bugs with a painful bite. Adult wheel bug climbing from a yellow flower to a brown flower.

Wheel bugs: Good bugs with a painful bite

As we transition from summer to fall and the temperatures start cooling off, many of us will be spending more time outdoors. While enjoying our time outdoors, we often encounter various insets we may not have seen or noticed earlier in the growing season. One such insect is the unusual, and to some...
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tiller

What a no-till garden can do for you

Growing up and working in my parent’s garden, I often remember the early spring when the tree buds are opening, the grass is greening up, and birds are singing. Suddenly, the roar of our massive Honda tiller broke through the serene spring day as it chewed and turned the earth and spewed exhaust...
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Insects on the move: dragonfly migration. An adult male common green darner flying.

Insects on the move – dragonfly migration

As we approach fall, the days are getting shorter, and the temperatures are starting to cool off. As this happens, we can start seeing changes in the landscape. Many of our landscape plants are beginning to look a little ragged this time of year. While others, like goldenrod and asters, are in...
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blackcapped chickadee with a caterpillar in it's mouth

Attracting wildlife with native plants

Invite nature into your backyard A parent fed up with their child’s persistent use of technology (internet, video games, tablet, you name it!) has decided to pull the plug on their sedentary habits. They strip the devices from their child’s hands and throw them outside and say “Go play!” The child...
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multiple monarch butterflies on a flower

Clearing up the science on Monarch butterflies

A tale of two articles Have you read some of the headlines lately concerning monarch butterflies? “Monarch Butterflies are Thriving!” “Monarch Butterflies are Endangered!” Both these headlines (or something similar) recently saturated newsfeeds for Americans. Considering these stories came out...
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A half-mowed lawn

Lawn care advice for people who don’t care about lawns

The Big Three Mowing Tips Each year I try to write a couple of articles about lawns. Each time I’ve written one of these, I have assumed you, the reader, care about your lawn. Turns out, there are a lot of people who have lawns, that don’t care about having a perfectly manicured turf. You just...
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