Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
In 2015, 163 Master Gardener volunteers contributed 12,863 hours in the Fulton, Mason, Peoria, and Tazewell Counties. Their volunteer service is valued at $296,749 (using an estimated dollar value of volunteer time of $23.07 per hour...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
I cringe when I see topped trees. Not only is it unsightly to see a tree in such an unnatural state, it is also harmful to trees. Correct pruning is an essential maintenance practice for ornamental trees and shrubs. However, most...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
We can grow edible plants in many ways beyond the traditional row-type vegetable garden. Many food plants are beautiful and work well integrated into the landscape. By combining fruit and nut trees, vegetables, herbs, edible flowers...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
I have been enjoying trying new foods using recipes that often call for ingredients I'm not familiar with. Last week I learned that quinoa is a grain-like seed with high protein value. Now, let's take a closer look at flax.
Flax is...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
Eight trends are featured in this year's 2016 Garden Media Group garden trend report. I'll write about each trend sometime this year.
The 2016 trend report is titled Syncing with Nature. I agree with the report's findings...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
Each winter our garden pond attracts many different types of birds. We keep a small area of open water in the pond, which the birds love. The past couple of weeks we have been inundated by robins. We also commonly see Eastern...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
Beekeeping is an increasingly popular backyard hobby. It also fits the growing trend to protect pollinators, which are so important to our food supply.
There are many different types of bees. Bumble bees are the only truly social...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
Believe it or not, there are actually a lot of gardening tasks you can do in January. Here are some to consider.
For those of you who received poinsettias or other flowering holiday plants, be sure that they are near a bright window...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
Winter is so unpredictable anymore. Snow is pretty, heavy snows and cold temperatures do affect plants as well as humans. Fortunately, most of our landscape plants are well adapted to the snow and cold.
Accumulations of snow can...
