Although our Halloween snow provided a beautiful wintry accent to autumn leaves, it marked a stark end to the growing season for most plants. Many area gardeners were tuned in, harvesting the last of their still-viable vegetable crops ahead of the snow.
Herbs are one crop that is often overlooked...
This past week, the vivid red leaves of our native maples have really stolen the show, reaching near peak fall color for the year. I have always loved the brilliant red colors of autumn leaves, making burning bush (Euyonomous alata) an old favorite of mine. However, in recent...
Fall color is beginning to paint tree canopies around central Illinois, making the next few weeks prime time for taking in the beauty. Among our native trees, sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua), red maple (Acer rubrum) and sugar maple (Acer saccharum)...
Fall annuals can breathe life into waning gardens late in the growing season, filling in among fading flowers to add beauty and interest. Mums seem to be the quintessential fall annual, although perennial in our area if established early enough in the season, packing the garden centers with...
This past week, I visited several Central Illinois prairies to catch a last glimpse of waning flowers and look for pollinators. I was pleasantly surprised to see an old favorite in full bloom as the beautiful and minute, yet brightly yellow flowers of Partridge pea (Chamaecrista...
Urban trees provide beauty and definition to our cities and most of us have a love and appreciation of these denizens of the boulevard and backyard. In recent years, a body of research has emerged showing even greater benefits than previously understood to both the environment and our...
Most folks think of spring as the ideal planting time for trees and shrubs. However, fall offers a nice planting window with some added benefits over the spring season, making it my favorite time of year to establish woody plants.
Fall weather can create ideal planting conditions, with...
This time of year, daylilies are far from the center of attention in most landscapes. The beautiful, vibrant flowers that adorn the scapes of most traditional varieties earlier in summer have long faded, leaving a much less interesting plant that very much resembles a clump of grass. As their...
On a beautiful, fall-like morning last week, a group of East Central Illinois Master Naturalists met around the tailgate of a truck at Meadowbrook Park in Urbana. Everyone was handed a pair of hand pruners and a few paper bags before heading out into the Meadowbrook prairies. Urbana Park...
In the last few years, my wife has added sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) to various locations in our landscaping and vegetable garden as an impromptu filler where we had unused space or an empty spot from something that didn’t make it through the winter. The towering plants adorned...
