Flowers, Fruits, and Frass

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Local Christmas Trees: A Gift to the Earth

November 22, 2019

Originally published by Kelly Allsup on November 22, 2019. This holiday, give a gift to the earth by buying a live Christmas tree. Many would think that buying a fake tree would be the more environmentally friendly option, because you are not actually chopping down a tree. However, most fake trees...

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Thankful for Our Local Food System

November 15, 2019

Last Thanksgiving, my family feasted on sweet potatoes, beets, Brussels sprouts, squash, and apples, all grown here in McLean County. We had a local business smoke our turkey for the holiday; our dessert featured cookies and macaroons and a festive dried flower arrangement from a local baker and...

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Not All Trees Are Good Trees

November 8, 2019

In the world of landscaping, trees are the backbones of the landscape. They are permanent structures that have stately features, shade our homes, provide spring floral displays, and some amazing fall color. There are, however, some trees that just behave badly. You’re likely familiar with maples...

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Ornamental Fall Berries Provide Year-Round Awe

November 1, 2019

Have you ever heard a horticulturists encourage the use of plants having “multiple seasons of interest”? This might be said in response to someone’s complaints about forsythia, for example. Forsythia blooms in spring, an explosion of lemon-yellow blossoms covering the plant. But the rest of the...

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brown bat held in blue laboratory gloved hand

Going to Bat for a Much-Maligned Creature

October 30, 2019

The mere mention of bats causes some people to cringe or cover their heads. That reaction likely stems from a fear instilled in us through movies and books, not reality. The bat does make a great bad guy, because it comes out at night to feed, often live in great numbers, and perhaps even drink...

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Eight-Legged Jumper Not Such a Threat

October 25, 2019

It’s the time of year that people adorn their homes with horror-movie-sized black spiders and webs in hopes of prompting the public’s arachnophobia — their fear of spiders. In contrast to most people, I suffer from arachnophilia — a love of spiders. This is due to my background working with...

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Break bad fall garden cleanup habits

October 18, 2019

Are you ready for a break from the garden? Breaking some old habits in your usual fall garden clean up could make a huge difference to butterflies, moths, bees, and other beneficial insects that overwinter in the Illinois landscape, and be a more environmentally sound practice. Bad habit 1 -...

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Establishing an Urban Treescape

October 11, 2019

George Monibot, environmental activist, says “there is a magic machine that sucks carbon out of the air, costs very little, and builds itself. It’s called a tree. […] A natural climate solution.” The statement leaves you baffled. Simply planting a tree can help solve climate change. In school we...

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Succulent Cacti

October 4, 2019

Forget itty-bitty succulents tucked into a small shallow dish. Succulent Cacti are the new trend! They are just as interesting and easy to care for but make a much larger impact on your plant-scaping efforts. Architecturally, these plants are usually naked branches without leaves, and some are...

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Goldenrod: Not to be Confused with Ragweed

September 27, 2019

Goldenrod produces the rich golden yellow plumes that sprinkle the Illinois landscape this time of year. Throughout the Illinois prairies and woodlands, we have Canada goldenrod (like the goose, it’s not “Canadian”), early goldenrod, Missouri goldenrod, stiff goldenrod, zigzag, elm-leaved, blue-...

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