University of Illinois Extension offices always know when spring is on the way based on kind of questions emailed to our Master Gardener Help Desk. As the weather warms up, the messages increase, and here are two common questions this time of year: Q: How early is too early to...

Recent warming temperatures signals the beginning of the pruning season. Gardeners may need to just help nature shape up a shrub that did not read the rule book on how it should look, or they may begin...

Note: this is the fourth post in a series on fruit trees. Read part one. For fruit growers, nothing may be more disappointing than finding insect and disease damage on our...

Note: this is part three of a series on fruit trees. Read part one. Whether you have an orchard or just a few fruit trees in your...

Note: this is part two of a series on fruit trees. Read part one. Whether you have a single fruit tree or a...

Note: this is part one of a series on fruit treesYou don’t need space for a full orchard to plant and enjoy fruit trees in the home landscape. However, where you place those fruit trees – whether it’s a whole...

January finds us thinking we have already had our share of cold, and this year, some snow. Yet the colorful gardening catalogs keep us thinking that spring will return. The vegetable and...

As we approach mid-January, there may be more going on inside than outside for gardeners. Perennial beds covered in snow enjoy the protection from drying winter winds and the winter sun (if we ever see sunny days anytime soon). For some of us, traditional...

January begins the annual flight of vegetable, flower, and fruit tree catalogs to your mailbox (or your email inbox). Depending on your level of gardening, the catalogs may arrive frequently and in mass. It used to be you received a...