Gardeners grow their houseplants all summer to get them healthy only to see them slowly decline all winter with the hope they are alive come spring. Late fall through December bring...
How do you get a flower garden to be in bloom all summer or even longer? The simple answer is – by planning for it.
Know your space
Even if you do not have that long, deep bed seen in the gardening books or on Pinterest, you can accomplish your flowering goals. When beds are big and deep, you...
Note: This is the second part of a series on indoor pests. Read part 1 on pantry pests.
Drain flies and fungus gnats are another couple of household nuisance pests. They...
January is not too early to start to plan for a new home orchard or to consider replacements for aging fruit trees in an existing home orchard. There are several different kinds of fruit trees to consider, apple, cherry, peach, pear, and plum.
Since we are in the northern portion of Illinois,...
Now that you have cleared off the coffee table and the kitchen counter from the holiday catalogs, the next pile will be gardening solicitations and more catalogs.
Historically, this time of year was when gardeners ordered to get the hard-to-find seeds, perennial plants, and certain...
Shortly you will begin to see Christmas trees sitting by the curb, waiting for the assigned pick-up date to be collected and mulched. This is one way to be sure your holiday tree gets recycled.
If you get your tree composted in a community program, don’t...
Rabbit damage
In a typical year, this column in the middle of December would focus on how to deal with wildlife damaging valuable landscape plants. This year, the ground is clear, and lawns are still green. While the weather remains favorable, rabbits will feed on the diversity of plant material...
Part of holiday tree history
Decorating evergreen trees at Christmas is an old German custom that originated in the region along the upper Rhine River. The Christmas tree was first brought to America by Hessian troops during the Revolutionary War and, another early account tells of American...
