Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
I grew up thinking that a green bell pepper was called a mango. It wasn't until my sister Lynn Miller moved to Florida that we realized there was also a fruit called a mango.
Now that I have seen and tasted a mango, it seems odd to...
View Rhonda Ferree's MUM YouTube video at http://go.illinois.edu/ferreevideos
Have you ever had a fall blooming mum that doesn't look at all like what it is supposed to come September? Is it tall, leggy and flopping over with a few flowers at...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
Spring flowers have been very welcome this year after the hard winter.
"Many of those also add great scents to my outdoor gardens," says Rhonda Ferree, University of Illinois Extension educator in horticulture. "Adding fragrance to...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
May brings us our fifth gardening trend for 2014: Bee-neficials: It's all about the bees this year. News on bee and other pollinator populations is everywhere this spring. Obviously, pollinators are an essential requirement...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
If you are like me you likely have a lot of dead plants or plant parts in your yard. Last weekend while walking around my yard I noticed that one of my redbud trees in the front yard is completely dead. Today as I drove to work I...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
When you need advice from a gardening expert but a trip to the gardening store isn't convenient, check out the University of Illinois Extension channel on YouTube.
Visit www.youtube.com/...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
April brings us our fourth gardening trend for 2014: Dress up Your Yard. I often talk about my various outdoor garden rooms. Outdoor spaces are truly an extension of your home. You might have a kitchen for barbeques, a...
Edible landscaping is becoming more and more popular. One way to use fruit trees to small gardens is by using the espalier technique of training fruit trees. I plan to espalier a couple fruit trees along my garage. The following information is from an article from Oregon State Extension. See the...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
Unfortunately, the winter has taken a toll on many plants. Evergreens are especially impacted, many showing significant winter desiccation or even death. The severe cold winter compounded plant stresses already inflicted by recent...
Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator
Trees and shrubs are popping up at retail sales areas throughout Illinois.
"Retailers sell a variety of plants in a variety of packages or market forms," says Rhonda Ferree, Horticulture Educator with University of Illinois...
