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The Garden Scoop

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A trowel stuck in the soil.

Garden Soil Testing: essential steps for healthier plants

As the gardening season winds down, it’s a great time to reflect on the past year and look toward the future.  Soil tests are a great way to put some data and insight behind decisions for next year. I often test in fall under the assumption that my tests will account for the past year’s...
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A pawpaw tree outside a brick building

How sunlight can change tree shape

Several years ago, we had an extra pawpaw tree (Asimina triloba) after all the plants were distributed at the East Central Illinois Master Naturalist’s Annual Native Tree and Shrub sale. Since this poor tree had no home, we decided to plant it outside one of the staff entrances at the...
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Brown leaves hanging off an oak tree that were damaged by cicadas

How to identify cicada damage on trees

The signs of this year’s historic cicada hatch are still around, although all of our periodic cicadas are now quietly underground, feeding away on tree roots for the next 13 years.  After piles of molted shells and dead adult cicadas earlier in the summer, we are now seeing their signature on...
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An evening primrose bush.

Discovering the Common Evening Primrose

In recent weeks, I have noticed an unfamiliar yellow flower around central Illinois.  It seems to be everywhere I go from ditches and roadsides to local natural areas or even around public gardens.  With its prevalence along my routine travel paths, such as the I-72 or I-74 corridors, I’d...
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Magnolia scale on a magnolia tree.

Managing Magnolia Scale

Magnolias are some of the most popular ornamental trees across the US.  Known for spectacular flowering displays, they come in various shapes and sizes, from smaller shrub-sized plants to medium-sized shade trees.For the most part, these trees are usually a pretty safe bet in Illinois gardens...
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Rose vervain.

Native Rose Vervain adds color and blooms to your garden

From time to time, there is a plant you may stumble across and bring home to try in the garden that far exceeds expectations and becomes a new “favorite.”  Rose vervain (Glandularia canadensis), also commonly referred to as rose verbena, has played that role in our garden space in the...
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A basket full of red tomatoes.

Maximizing Tomato Production

Based on our updated frost-free dates, most of the risk of spring frost has nearly passed, and it's time to start thinking about planting cold-sensitive vegetable crops.  Tomatoes are perhaps one of the most popular warm-loving plants in the home vegetable garden.  With their time in the...
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Callery pear trees in bloom on a hill.

Beyond the blossoms: The invasive threat of Callery Pears

If you’ve been out and about in central Illinois this past week, you’ve probably noticed quite a few things in bloom. Early blooming plants are easy to spot since most of the rest of the landscape is bare now, and most plant lovers are anxiously awaiting the arrival of spring, with anything...
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