Our recent winter weather patterns have caused concern from homeowners especially with our last snow storm. That snow came down quickly and was able to stick to and add a lot of weight to tree canopies and evergreen branches alike. Unless there is a compelling reason to remove the show loads like...

Early spring flowering shrubs and ornamental trees produce their flower buds by late summer of the previous year. We can begin to enjoy spring bloom as early as mid to late February. Start by selecting branches loaded with flower buds. You can identify the flower buds as they are larger and more...

Home vegetable and fruit gardening have become much more than an outdoor activity that is "trending", but a very strong "movement" these days. Planning for a home orchard will take a bit more planning than we typically do for the annual vegetable garden. Fruit trees are more of a long term...

In the middle of January not a lot is going on outside in the home landscape. The Holiday tree may have been put up for bird shelter and the feeding stations kept full of bird seed and suet, cobs of corn for the squirrels and maybe a salt lick for other kinds of wildlife. Perennial beds covered in...

January begins the annual flight of vegetable, flower and fruit tree catalogs to your mailbox. Depending on your level of gardening, the catalogs arrive frequently and in mass. It used to be you would get either a vegetable catalog or a fruit catalog or flower catalog. Many catalogs now contain...

Holiday tree recycling is another way we get to help the environment. Sharing this information annually is a great reminder of how easy you can contribute. Just about now, you can see holiday trees sitting in the front or side yard, waiting for the assigned pick up date to be collected and mulched...

Lots of tree planting happened in the Fox Valley this past fall. The replanting has been pushed by the continuing tree population decline from the Emerald Ash borer, a boring insect that has now killed millions of ash trees in the Midwest. The other major reason homes have replanted trees has been...

There are some 8000 thousand ant species around and on occasion ants can become an annoyance in the home. Most often they are a bother in the spring of the year when soils outdoors begin to warm again. Right now with our soils next to the home being warmer yet, we can have ants from outside...

Our daily routine during this time of year is often interrupted with time away from home, having family and friends stop by, planned or unplanned. One of those pleasant interruptions is the live holiday tree and the holiday gift plants you give or receive. Taking care of the tree once it is up and...

The giving of holiday plants has become for many homes an annual family tradition. The one we think of most often of course is the poinsettia, yet mums, azaleas, cyclamen, and Christmas cactus are also given frequently. How well those holiday plants hold up and continue to give us enjoyment depends...