University of Illinois Extension

Events (2)

Gardeners' BIG Day 2023

Sat, 04/15/2023 - 12:00

Spoon River College, Canton

pink rose

Master Gardener Plant Sale at Lytle Park

Sat, 05/13/2023 - 12:00

Lytle Park 500 S 32nd St, Mattoon, IL 61938

Blog Posts (104)

Providing winter hospitality to wildlife

Choose your garden tools to fit your needs

Methods for identifying plants is a great learning experience

Labeling is an Important feature of a plant collection

Use Mother Nature to break seed dormancy

Planting and Maintaining Perennial Mums

Right now, mums are available at local garden centers in a wide variety of colors.

Goldenrods and asters are the stars of fall

Goldenrods and asters provide some of the showiest flowers of fall, but can be aggressive in gardens if not planted appropriately.

Three simple techniques transform prized flowers into beautiful home decor

Bundles of white and pink flowers hang upside down to dry

Managing spider mites in the garden and at home

Managing spider mites in the garden and at home. Dahlia leaves covered in white webbing and red-orange spider mites.

Sunflowers symbolize summer, elevate garden displays and double as a snack for wildlife

focus on one sunflower in front of a field of sunflowers lit from behind by sun

Add some fireworks to your garden this Fourth of July

Add some fireworks to your garden this Fourth of July. Pink flowers of nodding onion.

Knowing poisonous plants can save a life

Common poisonous plants of Illinois

Plant a rainbow of color on your porch or patio

Pot of flowers on a windowsill

Caring for spring-blooming bulbs after flowering

Caring for spring-blooming bulbs after flowering. Red and yellow tulips with green foliage.

Helpful tips for creating a successful container garden

Helpful tips for creating a successful container garden. Pots with yellow, purple and pink flowers.

5 ways to attract Hummingbirds to your yard

ruby throat hummingbird feeding from flower

Native wildflowers support pollinators but may be declining at the state-level

Bluebells

How to grow sunflowers at home - A great addition to any garden

How to grow sunflowers at home - A great addition to any garden. Yellow sunflower and blue sky with white clouds.

Prune properly, your forsythia and lilac shrubs will thank you

Yellow flowers on stems of forsythia, wood chip background

Force flowering branches for an early spring show

How to properly prune hydrangeas

pruners cutting dried hydrangeas

Cut flower grower builds community with his 'more than one person' approach

What’s wrong with my seedlings? Troubleshooting seed starting problems

What’s wrong with my seedlings? Troubleshooting seed starting problems. Leggy plants reaching for light.

Want continuous blooms in your yard?

The winter garden needs planning too

How to take care of amaryllis and get them to rebloom

How to take care of amaryllis and get them to rebloom! Amaryllis flower with red on outer part of petals and white center

New Poinsettia options are a modern twist for an iconic holiday decoration

What makes plants bloom at different times of the year?

flowerhead in the sunset

Pineapple Sage

Pineapple sage is an interesting annual that is currently in full bloom, providing a rare splash of color late in the gardening season.

Fall Bulbs for Pollinators

Daffodils are one of many bulbs that need to be planted in fall for an early spring flowering display.

Fall Flowering Asters

The star shaped flowers of New England aster provide a much needed floral resource for migrating pollinators, like the monarch butterfly.

Anticipating the first fall frost in the garden

Gardening in comfort

Fall care for spring and summer bulbs

flower bulbs

How to plant flower bulbs for a colorful spring display

How to plant flower bulbs for a colorful spring display. Different types of spring-blooming bulbs

Celebrate the colors of fall with autumn flowers

Why do my mums always die? How to grow and care for fall mums in your garden

Why do my mums always die? How to grow and care for fall mums in your garden. Yellow, white, orange and pink mum flowers.

Gardening chores don't know summer is over

How to divide and plant bearded iris

How to divide and plant bearded iris. person digging a bearded iris clump

Aster Yellows on Coneflower

This purple coneflower is infected with aster yellows, which produce odd and deformed flowers that can actually be interestingly attractive at times, but must be controlled to limit infection of other susceptible species in the landscape.

Zinnias

Zinnias are spectacular annuals that produce abundant blooms throughout the season.

Plant stereotyping

Iris for collecting and asparagus for eating

Thank an ant for spreading your Dutchman's breeches

Winter bloomers add a spot of cheer

Edible flowers can add unique color and spice to your dish

Chive flowers

Garden tasks to help get your landscape through the summer

Garden tasks to help get your landscape through the summer. vegetable and flower garden with mulch path in-between.

Think local for eco-friendly and beautiful wedding flowers

wedding bouquet using local blooms

Wild columbine attracts both beneficial pollinators and non-native pests

Wild columbine is in bloom this week across central Illinois

Give back to your spring flowering bulbs

Everything is coming up roses

Perennial plant of the year: Calamint

calamint and Echinacea

Gifts for gardening mothers

Million Bells, by Emma Gossett, via Unsplash

Tender bulbs make for summer delights

Photo by Nick Windsor via Unsplash

Spring brings spring beauties to the landscape

Spring brings spring beauties to the landscape - a clump of blooming spring beauty plants in turf

Heirloom flowers provide fragrance, beauty, pollinator support

field of pink cosmos

5 Tips for a successful second year gardener

garden with fruit and veggies

Plant cool-season annuals now!

cool season blooms - photo by Terrance Raper on Unsplash

How to create butterfly habitat in your garden

Gray hairstreak butterfly (Strymon melinus) feeding on a Coreopsis flower. Flower has bright yellow petals with a dark red center

How to make homemade seed cards for Valentine’s Day

pink seed cards made for Valentine's Day

Why buy flowers if they're just going to die?

assorted cut flowers in a wide mouth jar. credit:

Blooming plant ideas to gift this Valentine’s Day

Photo credit Pixabay. Cyclamens have unique heart-shaped leaved and showstopper flowers that can bloom for four to six weeks making them a great Valentine’s Day gift.

How plants survive freezing temperatures

Angiosperms vs Gymnosperms

Gymnosperms, like this Colorado blue spruce, are a group of nonflowering plants that emerged several hundred million years before flowering plants (angiosperms) entered the evolutionary history of the plant kingdom.

Edibles or ornamentals? Container trends for 2021

growing crops in bags

Ordering seeds from garden catalogs

New plants for a new year - try growing something new in 2021

2021 All-American Selections winners

Winter blooming hellebores

Gardening grew in 2020

Evergreen leaves live longer lives

Sticky seed dispersal and plants with eye-catching leaves

Editing aggressive plants in the garden

DIY dried flowers for Thanksgiving

Dried flowers in vase

Overwintering potted plants

pots with dormant plants covered in snow clustered together on a porch

Force bulbs indoors for holiday decor

paperwhite bloom (Narcissus papyraceus)

Handling pumpkins, mums and other fall decorations

pumpkins and mums

Plant spring bulbs now

bulbs, pixabay

Overwintering your favorite garden plants

joseph's coat

They’re not just in spring: Fall blooming bulbs

Pink, purple, and yellow blooms of fall blooming bulbs. Autumn crocus, Crocus speciosus, Autumn crocus, Colchicum autumnale, Hardy cyclamen, Cyclamen hederifolium, and Saffron crocus, Crocus sativus

Take your butterfly garden to the next level

Advanced butterfly gardening

silvery checkerspot by kathy dumler

Settling into a summer rhythm

Magnolia Pollination

Saucer magnolia is currently in full bloom in our area with an abundance of white to pinkish, showy flowers

Welcome to My Jungle - April, 2020

Welcome to My Jungle - March, 2020

Even Gardeners Have Their First Days

LEGO art in the garden. Photo by Kelly Allsup.

Start to Finish: Growing a Cut Flower Garden

Field of sunflowers

Designing Around Specific Colors and Plants

nodding onion

Starting a Garden: Seed Starting

blazing star seedlings under grow lights

Kick off spring in Pontiac with Livingston County Master Gardeners

Mysterious Orchids

The yellow lady’s slipper orchid is an Illinois native that can be grown in cultivation. Photo credit: Chris Benda.

Creating an Edible Landscape

Scarlet runner beans growing on a fence

Help your Valentine’s Flowers Last Longer

red roses

Bringing Spring Indoors - Forcing Branches

branches from cherry tree blooming indoors

New Garden Plants for 2020

pictures of the 2020 AAS Winners Cucumber Green Light F1, Pumpkin Blue Prince F1, Tomato Apple Yellow F1, Tomato Celano F1, Tomato Early Resilience F1 Watermelon Mambo F1, Coleus Main Street Beale Street, Echinacea Sombrero® Baja Burgundy, and Rudbeckia x American Gold Rush

Spooky and Scary Plants

Spooky and Scary plants with doll's eyes plant berries

Ornamental Fall Berries Provide Year-Round Awe

brandywine viburnum

This Weather and Bulbs

Spread Out the End of Season Work

Time to Divide Iris

bearded iris

Fall is for More than Tree Planting

Fall planted bulbs welcome bees with early spring bloomers

Easter Lilies Signal Spring

It's Peony Time!

News Releases (51)

Give someone a green holiday season with the gift of plants

Flowers are a forgotten love language

Give summer-blooming bulbs a second chance, store them over winter

Extend the season with fall flowers for your beds, borders, and containers

Fall gardening is your time to plan for beautiful spring

Take care of a few details now to prepare for spring garden season

Support pollinators with cheerful viola flowers

Every bloom matters when it comes to helping pollinators

Visit the Master Gardener Help Desk to have all your garden questions answered

Visit the Master Gardener Plant Sale for quality you can trust

Plant Sale and Local Vendor Event at Dixon Springs Agricultural Center

Spring Centerpieces

Magnolia blooms, beetles are nature’s spring flower odd couple

Early blooming spring ephemerals flowers welcome warmer weather

Plant new fruit, vegetable, and flower varieties with confidence with 2022 All-America Selection Winners

How to use the 9 flower shapes to make your landscape something special

Flower bulbs can bring colorful blossoms into the home during winter.

Small bees attracted to small flowers

Plant asters for unique display of fall color

Go back in time with free historical cottage garden tour

Weeds or wildflowers? It's a matter of perspective

From wish to weed: our love-hate relationship with dandelions

Large yard not required to support pollinators

Researchers call on backyard scientists to help save pollinators

Learn how to attract pollinators to your garden and why it is important

McHenry County Extension Master Gardeners Launch Seed Library

The gardening methods you need to tell goodbye

Log on to the McHenry County Virtual Gardenfest on April 10

Extension is here to share in your gardening triumphs and woes

Lake County Extension Master Gardener Spring Plant Sale June 12

Add interest by creating a moonlight garden

Planning, designing a native garden

Heirloom flowers provide fragrance, beauty, pollinator support

Refreshing raised bed soil generates exceptional results

Tips for starting your spring garden off strong

Gardening benefits body, mind, wallet

Gardening interests bloom in 2020

Blooming plant ideas to gift this Valentine’s Day

Select and plant spring-flowering bulbs now

Rescue plants from extreme heat

Find beauty during 'dog days' of August

Choose perennials that love sun for summer glory

For showy blooms, pruning hydrangeas is all about the timing

Showy Annabelle hydrangea has historic roots in Illinois

Growing irises: How to plant, grow and care for iris

Create a caterpillar cafe out of your butterfly garden

Pollinator support tips for gardeners and homeowners

Improve your gardens: Four Seasons webinar offers tips

Overwintering tropical plants

Aralia cordata ‘Sun King’ 2020 Perennial Plant of the Year

2020 All-America Selection Winners

Staff (2)

Christopher Enroth

Christopher Enroth

Horticulture Educator

Sarah Vogel staff photo

Sarah Vogel

Horticulture and Natural Resources Educator