It's finally that time of year! The time to start getting seeds started indoors for transplanting into the garden this spring! I relish the anticipation of waiting for those precious seeds to germinate and the excitement when I'm finally able to plant those transplants outdoors. I'm planning to go...
Happy New Year! Did you know that each year the Garden Media Group compiles a list of the Garden Trends for the upcoming year? I look at the trends every year to get inspiration for programming and blog posts. It's really interesting to see what they think will be big in the garden world for the...
Did you know that each year, Pantone selects a color of the year? Since 2000, the Pantone Color Institute has designated a color of the year based on trend forecasting across a variety of industries and markets, including fashion,...
Poinsettias are the quintessential festive houseplant! And with Christmas now just 10 days away, this is December's Houseplant of the Month. Grab a poinsettia from your favorite garden center and enjoy! The traditional scarlet red variety may be the first to come to mind, but did you know that they...
Did you miss out on one of our in person Winter Container Garden Workshops? Don't fret! We've got a video for that! I demonstrate how to make an eye-catching winter evergreen container in this Youtube video....
It seems to be the season for odd oak galls. I've had several questions come into the office and while prepping for a fall tree walk this past week, I discovered many oak galls. Galls can be defined as irregular plant growths which are stimulated by the reaction between plant hormones and powerful...
It looks like we'll be getting a frost here in Northern Illinois on Friday, so it's time that those last houseplants make their way indoors. But this question comes up every fall: How can I bring my houseplants in from outside without bringing in spiders or other insects with it? Well...
Now is the time of year we start to notice various insect critters trying to find shelter inside our homes. The good news is that most of these insects are perfectly harmless and are simply a nuisance. In fact, many of these insects are actually quite beneficial because they eat other soft bodied...
The vast majority of calls into out help desks and hotlines this summer have been tree questions, many of them in urban settings. And that's for good reason. Urban trees have to tolerate a lesser than ideal location in many cases. Many people are aware of the environmental and psychological...
This summer I devoted an entire raised bed to growing dahlias and it's been lovely! Dahlias (Dahlia sp.) are an excellent cut flower which is why I love to grow them. Flower colors are various and foliage colors can be shades of green, but some varieties have darker foliages which...