Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
University of Illinois Extension and several other organizations answered questions about the emerald ash borer at a recent Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) event.
Homeowners, tree care professionals, municipality officials, and more...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
Theme gardens are really fun and are becoming more and more popular. I've written about various themes in the past, including literary gardens, tea gardens, reunion gardens, evening gardens, and more.
Theme garden possibilities are...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
Last week I drove my son Tyler back to college for his fall semester at University of Illinois in Champaign. Along the way, he asked me what the blue flowers were along the roadside. Have you noticed the beautiful flowers blooming...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
The best time to seed a new lawn or overseed an existing lawn is in late summer. In Central Illinois, seeding in late summer (August to September) has a much higher success rate than seeding in spring. "Warm days and cool nights...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
Our family has been battling paper wasps near our gazebo and pool area all summer. Unfortunately my son Derek and my husband Mark have both been stung.
It seems a bit ironic that I am battling a pollinator during a year when...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
A 2014 garden trend as stated by the 2014 Garden Media Group report was called Frac'd Up: A rejection of the neat and tidy. In other words, a messed up garden is okay and maybe even preferable in some cases. I like this...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
My iris were especially pretty this year, and I think I need more! My colleague Elizabeth Wahle, University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator, explains below why late summer through early fall is the best time to divide and...
Important Points! EAB was detected in Peoria and Tazewell counties in 2014. Once a county is added to the quarantine list additional sightings don't need to be reported. IL Dept of Ag would be flooded with these calls. The important find is the first one - after that assume...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
Hornets are one of those insects that many people are afraid of, but they are also very important in our natural world.
Extension Entomologist Dr. Philip Nixon summed this up well in answering a recent question about how to kill...
