Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Holly and mistletoe are symbols of the Christmas season. They are very different plants, but both quite beautiful in their own unique ways. Mistletoe is actually quite a pest in the South. It is most often found in the South,...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator My son Derek just moved to Monterey California to attend graduate school at the Middlebury Institute for International Studies. California has been in a drought for a very long time, and so water conservation is a real concern there...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Happy New Year! Where did 2016 go? Whether you toast in the New Year with sparkling grape juice or a more spirited drink, it is interesting to think of all the plants that make up spirits. Spirits are actually named by the fermented...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator My January Plants of the Day will all be of tree bark, which is more visible and often times even more beautiful in the winter. These will post daily in the 6 pm hour on my ILRiverHort...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Beekeeping is an increasingly popular backyard hobby. It also fits the growing trend to protect pollinators, which are so important to our food supply. There are many different types of bees. Bumble bees are the only truly social...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator As a plant geek I am often fascinated by how plants work. Take vining and climbing plants and the methods that they use to grow vertically. In broad terms, climbing plants are either clinging or non-clinging. As the name implies,...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator I enjoy the focus on green, shamrocks, and clovers that St. Patrick's Day brings each year. It reminds me of the hours I'd spend as a kid searching for four leaf clovers in our yard. There are many different types of clovers that...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Are you searching for the "perfect" gift for a gardener in your family? Rhonda Ferree, Horticulture Educator with University of Illinois Extension, provides the following some ideas that might prove helpful. Gardeners always love...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Recently, I've had several people send me pictures asking, "What is this beautiful plant with purple berries?" My answer each time was beautyberry. The beautyberry (Callicarpa sp.) has show-stopping purple fruit in the fall. In fact...

Visit the University of Illinois Extension Local Food Systems and Small Farms website for Farmers Market resources at https://web.extension.illinois.edu/smallfarm/farmersmarket.html

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator In 2015, 163 Master Gardener volunteers contributed 12,863 hours in the Fulton, Mason, Peoria, and Tazewell Counties. Their volunteer service is valued at $296,749 (using an estimated dollar value of volunteer time of $23.07 per hour...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator If you plan to add an evergreen tree to your landscape next year, consider using it as a Christmas tree now. Unfortunately, this isn't as easy as it sounds. It requires some planning ahead, and only allows a Christmas tree in your...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator On a recent trip to Ft. Myers, Florida I visited the Edison & Ford Winter Estates where I toured their homes, gardens, laboratories, and museum. The plant collections there are fascinating, especially all the rubber trees they...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator What is a Christmas Rose? It may be roses given at Christmas or a particular china pattern. It could also refer to a perennial plant called the Christmas Rose or Lenten Rose. The Christmas and Lenten Roses are Helleborus plants that...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator If you grow strawberries, you may be wondering when to cover them for the winter. Recently retired University of Illinois Extension Local Foods and Small Farms Educator Mike Roegge provides the following tips. Straw is traditionally...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Winning at a county fair brings great notoriety. Remember how excited Farmer Zuckerman was in the book "Charlottes Web" when Wilbur won! The county fair is meant to bring together exhibitors in many categories across the county to...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator As I've written in previous blogs, the droughts of 2012 and other recent weather events continue to take a toll on tree health. Trees can take three to five years to show symptoms from a severe event such as drought. Unfortunately...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator We can grow edible plants in many ways beyond the traditional row-type vegetable garden. Many food plants are beautiful and work well integrated into the landscape. By combining fruit and nut trees, vegetables, herbs, edible flowers...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Each winter our garden pond attracts many different types of birds. We keep a small area of open water in the pond, which the birds love. The past couple of weeks we have been inundated by robins. We also commonly see Eastern...

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator I remember when my sons Derek and Tyler used to play Pokémon on their Gameboys and collect the trading cards. I never really understood it then, and I'm not sure I fully understand it now; but, I did download Pokémon Go on my phone...