Evergreens are always a nice addition to the landscape. They provide a pop of green foliage in the winter when everything else in the landscape is without leaves or winter interest. But these evergreens are more than just for landscape use, evergreens can be easily cut and harvested for use...

Were you able to dry some of the herbs or flowers you grew in your garden this summer? If so, there are a multitude of easy gifts you can make for the holiday season using those herbs. And if you're not an herb grower, don't worry, they're just as easy to purchase at the grocery store! We made the...

Reading my weekly newsletters this week I came across a good article with some tips on overwintering perennials in containers. I for one love to add perennials, like Coral Bells which has excellent foliage color choices, to my container mixes, but I always remove them early enough to get planted in...

Now that fall has arrived and the winter season is approaching, many of us 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...

Plant of the Week! This week's plant is an unusual one that you don't see planted too often. The Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) is a perennial, hardy to zone 7, which is closely related to globe artichoke. I've seen this unique vegetable growing in various...

Plant of the Week! This week's plant is not only an ornamental, but it's also edible. Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla) will produce fresh white, orange, yellow, pink, or red leaf stalks making it a colorful addition to the vegetable garden, as...

The popular First Detector Program, is returning to northern Illinois next year, this time with more new topics. Kelly Estes, Agriculture Pest Survey Coordinator, announced the dates for the 2015 Illinois First Detector Workshops last week. This is the third year the First Detector Workshops will...

The questions about Maple Tar Spot have started to come in to our local Extension offices, which is a standard occurrence this time of year. Several different fungi in the genus Rhytisma infect the leaves of maples and cause raised, black spots to form on upper leaf surfaces. The diseases...

Plant of the Week! This week's plant is a lovely shrub, the Shrubby Cinquefoil or Potentilla, (Potentilla fruticosa). I have this shrub surrounding my mailbox and its blooming now with lovely yellow blooms. The great feature of the potentilla is its...

Plant of the Week! If there ever was a quint-essential perennial that instantly reminds me of summer, it's got to be the Black Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida). This dependable perennial is blooming beautifully right now. More than likely if you've got...