The snow-blanketed wintertime landscape often lacks the beauty we can recall from other times of the year when plants were in bloom or filled with wonderful green foliage. It leaves both humans and wildlife searching for plant life that retains interest either in the form of ornamental beauty...
With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, many of us are seeking floral gifts to express our affection for family, friends, and significant others. While nothing beats the spectacular blooms and intricate arrangements that cut flowers offer, we all know their lifespan is limited. ...
What will your 2021 vegetable garden look like? Where will you source seeds or plants? What new crops are you interested in planting this year? All these questions are on the minds of many gardeners this time of year. In 2020, there was an unprecedented interest in all types of...
The plant kingdom has not always had the diversity we know today. It has taken hundreds of millions of years of evolution to bring about the diverse, complex group of flowering plants known as angiosperms. And for many millions of years prior to the emergence of angiosperms, the plant...
Plant names provide the botanical vocabulary we use to describe the plant world to each other. They are important descriptors that facilitate both backyard gardening and scientific study by establishing a widely agreed upon naming convention of species. In our current system of plant...
Deicing salts are essential to winter travel in Illinois and provide necessary safety in a landscape setting by melting dangerous ice on precarious steps, sidewalks, entryways, and other areas of frequent foot traffic. However, winter damage from salt can be a major problem in some landscapes...
Freezing rain is a regular part of winter weather patterns in central Illinois, resulting in occasional ice storms that can damage property, take out utilities and wreak havoc on tree canopies. By meteorological definition, an ice storm occurs when ice accumulation is greater than 0.25 inches...
Poinsettias are a symbol of the holidays that have adorned wintertime homes in the US since their rise in popularity almost 200 years ago. These gorgeous plants are native to Mexico and naturally reach full bloom near the holidays, making them a ubiquitous plant of the holiday season. ...
Woody plants are some of the largest and most long-lived plants in the landscape, forming the majestic and expansive canopy of our urban and natural forests. With all of this wonderful woody growth, have you ever stopped to think about why woody plants attain greater height than their smaller...
Native plants are becoming a larger part of our built environment each year as more and more gardeners begin to recognize their value. Natives support local ecosystems and wildlife habitat in ways that are increasingly important as our human footprint on the landscape grows. From...
