Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
I grow several different types of basil, and try new ones each year. Usually, I end up preferring the basic sweet basil to other kinds, but not this year. A new favorite this year is lime basil.
Basil (Ocimum basilicum) has many...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
Have you noticed the huge hibiscus blooms this summer? Hibiscus has magnificent flowers that make quite an impressive display each summer.
There are many different types of hibiscus. The rose-of –Sharon (Hybiscus...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
I'm growing several summer bulbs this year. These include cannas, caladium, and elephant ears. Summer bulbs are summer-blooming plants that have some type of underground storage structure, but most of them don't look like bulbs.
The...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
I recently attended an Illinois State Horticultural Society summer field day at Christ Orchard near Brimfield. The day included tours of apple orchards, current pest management information, and new technologies for the fruit industry...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
Master Gardeners are a special group of people who all have a common interest – a love of gardening and nature and the desire to share that knowledge with others. The Master Gardener Volunteer program is a very successful University...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
Rain barrels and rain gardens are becoming more and more popular by those wanting to recycle and conserve natural resources.
According to U of I Extension Educator Duane Friend, when we receive rain, a lot of it falls on surfaces...
Ticks! We all dread getting them. To help us better understand these nasty critters, here is part of an article written by Dr. Phil Nixon, recently retired University of Illinois Extension Entomologist.
Deer tick, the northern subspecies of the black-legged tick, spreads Lyme disease, perhaps the...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
Old-fashioned flowers and flowering shrubs like roses, hydrangeas, sweet pea, lilac, and more have always been common garden plants. Technically, an heirloom is defined as a plant that is open-pollinated. These are pollinated by...
