Gardening trends have an underlying theme of bettering the community, improving health and developing an appreciation for the environment and can be seen in statistics for the country as well as our backyards in Central Illinois. According to the National Gardening Association, about 35...
The droughts of 2011 and 2012 continue to take a toll on tree health. Rhonda Ferree, Extension Educator in horticulture, says that trees can take three to five years to show symptoms from a severe event such as drought. Unfortunately trees under stress are less able to fight off insect and...
University of Illinois Horticulture Educator, Kelly Allsup encourages gardeners to collect seeds from milkweeds to add this much needed plant to the landscape for Illinois monarchs. Kelly warns that you may see butterfly enthusiasts along roadsides collecting seeds from coveted weeds and prairie...
Sign up today for Master Gardener Would you like to learn about growing vegetables, landscaping, trees, insects or turfgrass from the University of Illinois Extension? The McLean County Master Gardeners want you to join their training program this winter and take you on a amazing...
Get your gardens buzzing next spring by planting bee-friendly bulbs and spring bloomers this fall.
Bumblebee queens, honey bees, and solitary bees start emerging from their winter homes ready to feast on the landscape as early as March. Feed them from your garden by planting a mix of crocus, snow...
If you added herb plants into the matrix of your vegetable gardens this year, you may, like most zucchini and tomato growers, have more harvest than you can handle. Your basil may have started flowering because it wasn't pinched, parsley leaves may be yellowing because it needs some fertilizer...
Fall is a great time to test the soil and alleviate questions about fertility in your vegetable gardens or beneath that beloved shade tree. Fall soil testing allows the gardener to make additions to the soil before winter. Individual types of plants (vegetables, trees and flowers) require...
Populations of adult Japanese beetle continue to be light in most of Illinois. Although leaf feeding damage on linden, crabapple, rose, and other trees and shrubs is obvious in some areas, the amount of damage is less than in most years and not as widespread. The reduced number of adult beetles...
When most gardeners are dealing with the remnants of their summer harvest and preparing the garden bed for winter, most professional vegetable growers are about to have their most productive growing season of the year: fall. The fall offers a second chance at growing cool-weather vegetables...
