Soil microorganisms are an integral part of all ecosystems worldwide, but they often go unnoticed. These tiny pillars of the soil environment perform a variety of incredibly important ecosystem functions, such as carbon sequestration and nutrient cycling. In addition, they also help to build...
This past Saturday, we celebrated 15 new graduates of our Master Naturalist Training. The graduation day festivities included group presentations to showcase outreach projects they worked together to develop over the past few months. There were some very well-developed projects presented, and...
Herbs are a wonderful garden addition that provide easily accessible, fresh herbs for culinary use. However, I find that herbs are too often overlooked in most garden plans and can really provide a ton of ornamental and ecological benefits as well.
In general, herbs are pretty tough plants...
Over the next few weeks, some of central Illinois will experience a rare phenomenon that only occurs every other decade. As soil temperatures warm, millions of insects will emerge from the ground in forests, city parks, yards and gardens. They will carefully navigate the terrain and...
Spring is a time of abundant blooms as well as one of the best times of year to establish new woody plants in your landscape. This year, consider adding one, or all, of my favorite Illinois native spring-flowering trees to your landscape, and you’ll enjoy spring floral displays for years to...
The ‘Annabelle’ hydrangea has been a mainstay of the ornamental shrub world since its release in the 1960’s. This showy shrub is filled with beautiful snowball-like flowers that adorn its spindly branches each summer. The blooms begin as pretty green puffs that turn white at maturity,...
Every spring, the awakening plant world has those hard-to-miss harbingers which alert us that winter is over and help to welcome spring. In native plant communities, I think of spring ephemeral wildflowers as the primary signal and watch intently for their blooms each year. However, in...
Every spring, a group of enthusiastic woodland hunters frequent forests across Illinois in search of a mysterious and elusive fungi – the morel.
Many are armed with years of practical knowledge and experience to inform the success of their hunt. Many, like me, simply get lucky by stumbling upon...
Hydrangeas are one of the most popular landscape shrubs in the US. They are known for their exquisite flowering display, with many offering a season of beautiful blooms that remain attractive into winter. Beyond flowers, these amazing shrubs offer additional ornamental beauty from neat...
As spring continues to bring warming temperatures, home gardeners begin the tricky business of deciding when to plant what in their vegetable garden. In the past week or so, I have started receiving questions from anxious gardeners ready to get the season started.
While there are some...
