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Violin in a garden

Garden's make beautiful music

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator I love sitting in my backyard listening to the many garden sounds. Wrens sing. Frogs croak. Grasses rustle. Bees buzz. The longer I listen, the more sounds I hear. In addition to natural sources, you can design music into the garden...
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Plants That Inhibit Other Plants

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Some plants don't seem to play well with others. In particular, a few plants release chemicals to try to keep other plants from growing too near. This botanical war tactic is known as allelopathy. Excerpts from...
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Fall is a Great Time to Plant Trees, Shrubs, and Bulbs

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Fall is known for planting spring flowering bulbs such as tulips and daffodils. According to Rhonda Ferree, Horticulture Educator with University of Illinois Extension, fall is also an excellent time to plant woody plants and some...
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Sunflowers

Gardening in August

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator While walking around our yard last night my husband Mark commented that our gardens look better than ever. We usually spend August enjoying the garden instead of working in it all the time. Still there are several activities that can...
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spider web

Spiders: fascinating, yet frustrating

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator I have a love-hate relationship with spiders. I am continually fascinated when watching a spider spin its web. However, cleaning up cobwebs can be very frustrating. Spiders are abundant (over 1,000,000 individuals per acre in a...
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Spotted Wing Drosophila Can Ruin Berry Crops

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Everyone growing blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries should be monitoring for spotted wing Drosophila, a relatively new invasive pest that infests thin-skinned fruits as they ripen. For the past several years, this invasive...
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Hosta Slugs

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator While hiking at Turkey Run State Park with friends recently, we found a lot of snails sitting on stinging nettle leaves along the trails. Many of the snails had their head and antennae out of their shell, inviting us to stop...
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Growing plants to attract insect predators

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Not all bugs are bad. Many gardeners are learning to leave good bugs and tolerate a bit of plant feeding. Some of us are also using plants to attract the good guys. My colleague Richard Hentschel, University of Illinois Extension...
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Four Seasons Gardening Program Offers Summer Series

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator The summer series of University of Illinois Extension's Four Seasons Gardening program, which focuses on environmental stewardship, home gardening, and backyard food production, gets underway soon. As always, programs are available...
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The Incredible, Edible Rose

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Roses are beautiful, but did you know that they are also edible? Rose flower petals and fruits (hips) add color, texture, scent, and flavor to various dishes and beverages. My go-to edible rose is the rugosa rose (R. rugosa...
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