McLean County residents, did you know McLean County Master Gardeners helped thousands of local gardeners with their gardening questions during the 2016 growing season through services offered throughout the county? Let them help you solve your gardening woes by visiting...
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Despite my push to grow Illinois native plants to create biodiversity and sustain wildlife, our lawns do benefit the environment in a few ways. Lawns prevent erosion, improve water quality, along with trees and shrubs it can reduce evapotranspiration making the area...
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – University of Illinois Extension Horticulture Educator, Chris Enroth is this year's keynote speaker for Woodford County Master Gardeners spring celebration entitled "Gardeners' Gathering: Sharing a Growing Secret" on Saturday, April 22. Chris will be...
You do not need a soil test to tell you organic matter is good for your garden. Perhaps the biggest landscape mistake is not addressing the health of the soil. With all the soil tests that I have read in the last five years of being an educator, tests find around 1 to 2 percent organic matter....
This week we are going to look at the largest member of the dog family found in Illinois. The Coyote has a poor reputation particularly among farmers. But is this reputation truly deserved? Coyotes are relatively easy to recognize. They are about the size of a small German Shepherd, much larger...
Wild parsnip was in the news a great deal this past summer, despite it being around for many years, because of its negative effects on naïve gardeners and hikers. The sap of wild parsnip poses a great risk to human health because sap in contact with skin in the presence of sunlight causes bad...
Insights from horticulturist during this Illinois late winter/early spring: Do not remove debris or mulch too soon as part of spring cleanup. It is a common practice to mulch in the winter to prevent frost heaving of perennials. When the plants are heaved the plant crowns are then exposed to...
You walk out of your home ready for the day, the sun hits your face, and it is an unusually warm day for February. You rejoice. Spring is here. The next day there is a light fluffy snow hitting you in the eye. For most Illinoisans, we have become used to getting our hopes up, only to realize winter...
A Day in the Garden Patch is always a day well spent! PONTIAC, Ill. – Join University of Illinois Extension – Livingston County Master Gardeners on Saturday, April 8 for a morning filled with colorful plants and new gardening insights at an event we like to call "A Day in the Garden Patch."...
