Sunflowers (Helianthus annus) are a great addition to the home garden. Not only do they provide colorful flowers, but they can also be a potential food source for people and wildlife. With various shapes, sizes, and bloom colors, sunflowers are an easy plant to incorporate into your...

When pruning species that bloom on new wood such as panicle and smooth hydrangeas, you can remove as much as one-third to one-half of the total mass of the shrub. Hydrangeas are a popular blooming woody shrub that add attractive foliage and large, striking blossoms to landscapes. An important part...

Winter is a time for reflection. We often spend more time inside looking outside during the Illinois winter. Perhaps one of the most popular past times for many of us is watching the birds, which often stand in stark contrast to the still winter landscape. It is through this, that I learned...

For many of us, the desire to start gardening gets stronger and stronger as we near spring. Seed starting is a popular way to kick off the gardening season. Despite the advantages and relative...

Whether you are a lover of science, nature, data, or all the above; citizen science is a great way for people just like you to participate in scientific processes by collecting data through programs such as  the tracking of native butterfly populations, identifying native plant species and...

Winter may be an odd time to write about an insect that we only see during the warmer months of the year. Yet, I can’t help but marvel at the architecture of the baldfaced hornet’s nest, which has been revealed in the canopy of trees after leaf drop. This winter I have seen several baldfaced hornet...

Garden and seed catalogs have been arriving for a while now. When flipping through catalogs, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the choices. Unfortunately, you probably don’t have room (or time) to grow everything you see, no matter how amazing it seems. So how should you go about choosing what...

Have you ever planted seeds, and nothing sprouted? This could be the result of many different things such as soil moisture, seed viability, soil temperature, planting depth, and many other factors; however, not all seeds are ready to sprout as soon as they are planted in soil. Some seeds require a...

We often don’t think much about insect pests outside of the occasional pantry pest or accidental invader during the winter months. Despite it being the middle of winter, that doesn’t...

A new year provides the opportunity to try new plants in the garden. With all the plant and seed magazines coming in, it can be difficult to decide on what varieties to pick of your favorite vegetables and flowers. Fortunately, the All American Selections (AAS) is an independent non-profit...

“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” This quote, which has likely made it onto posters in classrooms and by the coffee pot in the breakroom, is from philosopher William James. A new year is often heralded with a renewed sense of hope. A restart! However, the older I get, I am...

When determining what mulch is best for your vegetable garden, you may encounter all manner of solutions online and suggestions from fellow gardeners. But what mulch works the best for growing big tasty veggies while keeping the weeds down. Following are some of the most common mulches used in the...

Depending on your soil test results; nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are nutrients we supply year after year to our corn crop; however, there is a nutrient we might be overlooking when making fertilizer applications. Sulfur is considered the fourth most important nutrient needed by plants. With...