Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
I enjoy shopping for plants each spring. In addition to our usual local spots, my husband and I like to visit new garden centers each year. This year's garden shopping trek included Jacksonville, Springfield, Champaign, Danville, and...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
On a recent trip to visit my son Derek in Monterey, California, we hiked among the giant redwood trees in Big Basin Redwoods State Park. It was a rainy day, which enhanced the overall experience. It also brought out a banana slug for...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
Earth Day falls every year on April 22. As you use this day to reflect about our world around us, you might try to look at a small piece of our world from a completely different viewpoint.
Take dandelions, for example. To...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
Arbor Day and Earth Day happen each April. This year Arbor day is April 28 and Earth Day is April 22. Both offer an opportunity for us to step back and enjoy our natural world.
Arbor Day was founded about 145 years ago in Nebraska,...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
I love rhubarb! Also known as the pie plant, rhubarb is a very hardy perennial garden vegetable that grows extremely well here. Although considered a vegetable, rhubarb is used as a fruit in pies, tarts, cakes, and sauces.
Rhubarb...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
Our abnormal spring temperatures have many folks antsy to begin gardening, but remember that we could still get freezing temperatures. How early you can plant depends upon the hardiness of the vegetables and the date of our last...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
The spring series of University of Illinois Extension's Four Seasons Gardening program focuses on environmental stewardship, home gardening, and backyard food production.
The first session of the series is titled, Growing...
Each year I am more distressed by the number of volunteer ornamental pear trees I see growing in fields, roadsides, and other places where they shouldn't be. This is yet another example of a plant that has escaped cultivation and become invasive. Below is an article written by my colleague Jason...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
We get lots of questions each year about abnormal growths on oak and other trees. These abnormal growths, called galls, can be very disturbing to the people whose plants are affected. Fortunately, most galls affect only the...
