Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator If you are like me you likely have a lot of dead plants or plant parts in your yard. Last weekend while walking around my yard I noticed that one of my redbud trees in the front yard is completely dead. Today as I drove to work I...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Every year I try to provide ideas for those of you who are searching for the "perfect" gift for a gardener in your family. This year I'm highlighting some new gardening books that I recently read. Entomologist Doug Tallamy has two...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Hedge apples seem to be if great abundance this fall. I've also had some questions about using the hedge apples and the tree's wood for various purposes. This article by retired extension educator Bob Frazee, originally published in...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator May brings us our fifth gardening trend for 2014: Bee-neficials: It's all about the bees this year. News on bee and other pollinator populations is everywhere this spring. Obviously, pollinators are an essential requirement...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator I taught a Whimsical Garden Fun series for Bradley University's OLLI program this month. This one was a bit different for me because I combined the science of gardening with a bit of art and culture. The first day, during ...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator My grandma Simmons used to tell me that we should learn something new every day. I still think that is a great idea and have decided to make that my New Year's resolution this year. If you want to join me, University of Illinois...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator The droughts of 2011 and 2012 continue to take a toll on tree health. Rhonda Ferree, Extension Educator in horticulture, says that trees can take three to five years to show symptoms from a severe event such as drought....

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator The Wildlife Prairie Park Butterfly Habitat was awarded a University of Illinois Extension Master Gardener Teamwork Award at an awards banquet in Champaign on June 13th. The Master Gardener Teamwork Award recognizes groups of Master...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Pollinators are an essential requirement for many of our favorite food crops. "News on bee and other pollinator populations is everywhere this spring," says Rhonda Ferree, University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator....

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Despite making it through a brutally cold winter, knockouts and other rose varieties are being eaten by the larvae of sawfly stated Horticulture Educator, Kelly Allsup. The larvae, not a slug, is yellow- green and velvety looking, 1/...

Questions and Answers. Question. Should I do a preventative treatment on my ash tree, even though it doesn't have the pest yet? Answer. University of Illinois Extension recommends doing a preventative treatment for Emerald Ash Borer only when the beetle has been confirmed within...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Fall is an ideal time to plant many woody trees and shrubs. Before grabbing the spade and digging a hole, Rhonda Ferree, Horticulture Educator with University of Illinois Extension, suggests that there are several important factors...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Time for our next gardening trend of 2014: Fingertip Gardens. It's all about gardening using high tech with mobile apps and technology. It seems that every day I hear about a new garden-related app for smart phones and tablets. I...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Fall brings wiener roasts, festivals, and leaf removal. Rhonda Ferree, Horticulture Educator with University of Illinois Extension, suggests making good use of the fallen leaves in your yard. The tree leaves that accumulate in and...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator When you need advice from a gardening expert but a trip to the gardening store isn't convenient, check out the University of Illinois Extension channel on YouTube. Visit www.youtube.com/...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Many people consider getting plants established in shady areas of the yard as a challenge. Fortunately, this does not have to be true. There are many options available to gardeners for shady areas. Want to learn more? I will present...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Current buzzwords in the world of gardening include pollinators, butterflies, natives, and monarchs. It seems that everywhere I look I read something about the importance of pollinators and how we can protect them. One of the best...

Weekly Crop Update 7-9-14 By Mike Roegge, University of Illinois Extension, Adams/Brown/Hancock/Pike/Schuyler Strawberry harvest was completed several weeks ago, but there is still a little time to renovate the patch if you've not completed that chore yet. You want to do this as soon as harvest...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator I have been enjoying trying new foods, especially those I prepare from scratch myself. Recently I made homemade granola and several types of bread. Recipes called for ingredients that I wasn't familiar with: quinoa, flax seed, wheat...

Many Japanese beetle larvae did not survive the winter, particularly in the northern half of the state. Research has shown that Japanese beetle grubs do not migrate deeper than 11 inches into the soil for the winter. They die if the soil temperature reaches 15 degrees F or if they are...