Originally published by Kelly Allsup on May 19, 2019. Mammoth dandelions, carpets of Creeping Charlie and a smattering of lambsquarters, purslane and foxtail are flourishing while we stay in our homes during the rainy spring. Weeds can be a conundrum for most gardeners and may even cause some to throw in the trowel. However, there are some gardening practices that can help you win the war against the weeds. Weed during critical periods There is a stage when weeds are little...

Perhaps my favorite thing to do during the holidays is to make my own ornaments. Glittery baubles, shiny tinsel, twinkling lights, and baroque glass ornaments just are not my style when decorating for the holidays. I am inspired by nature and entrenched in a family tradition of making art. In addition to ornaments, we make handmade wreaths, holiday pots, garland, and always have some crafty activity for the family to do together. Last year we made succulent planters, but this year we are going...

Trees are vital to our environment, and understanding their biology can help us to protect them from stresses caused by the urban environment, extending their lives and promoting their health.  The average components of the tree consist of 5 percent fine feeder roots, 15 percent larger transport roots, 60 percent trunk or main stem, 15 percent branches and twigs, and 5 percent leaves (hard to believe on a fall day). Roots 99 percent of the roots are usually found in the top 3 feet of soil...

Before I became an educator for the University of Illinois Extension, my career solely focused on growing plants in a greenhouse. High-quality poinsettias were one of the most important crops for a grower. Clients had long-standing orders for these holiday treasures, and expected long-lasting, healthy, bright, bold, and grand plants to decorate their homes, churches, and businesses. I was assigned to give them the most ideal environment to grow, a task far more complex than other crops grown...

Our unit director, Bobbie Lewis-Sibley, often says, “I wish there were a garden in every school,” a response to youths' unfamiliarity where their food comes from, and a deficiency of interaction with the natural environment. At the Unity Community Center, Extension’s after-school site in Normal, youth have harvested potatoes with glee, released butterflies with gentleness, and tracked water flow in a stream with the precision of scientists. But how does Extension connect with other youth in...

Last Thanksgiving, my family feasted on sweet potatoes, beets, Brussels sprouts, squash, and apples, all grown here in McLean County. We had a local business smoke our turkey for the holiday; our dessert featured cookies and macaroons and a festive dried flower arrangement from a local baker and florists; and my mom now loves local honey in her tea. We had a traditional feast, local-style. This Thanksgiving will be the third year of challenging myself to buy local ingredients and shop at local...

The mere mention of bats causes some people to cringe or cover their heads. That reaction likely stems from a fear instilled in us through movies and books, not reality. The bat does make a great bad guy, because it comes out at night to feed, often live in great numbers, and perhaps even drink your blood. In reality, out of more than 1,200 species of bats worldwide, but only three species of vampire bats in Central America that lap blood. No, they don't suck blood, but lapping blood seems a...

Have you ever heard a horticulturists encourage the use of plants having “multiple seasons of interest”? This might be said in response to someone’s complaints about forsythia, for example. Forsythia blooms in spring, an explosion of lemon-yellow blossoms covering the plant. But the rest of the year, it is drab and unruly. The unruliness causes many gardeners to shear the shrub into boxes (completely unnecessarily) and then when spring comes again the flower display is subpar and sparse—one...

In the world of landscaping, trees are the backbones of the landscape. They are permanent structures that have stately features, shade our homes, provide spring floral displays, and some amazing fall color. There are, however, some trees that just behave badly. You’re likely familiar with maples that drop their helicopter seeds (known as samaras) all over the neighborhood, sprouting up scattered shoots in our lawns and flowerbeds—hard to call this a bad tree with the fun they bring to children...

It’s the time of year that people adorn their homes with horror-movie-sized black spiders and webs in hopes of prompting the public’s arachnophobia — their fear of spiders. In contrast to most people, I suffer from arachnophilia — a love of spiders. This is due to my background working with beneficial insects to help lower the populations of unwanted pests in the garden. People tend to notice the spider population in the fall because they have had all spring and summer to grow and build large...

George Monibot, environmental activist, says “there is a magic machine that sucks carbon out of the air, costs very little, and builds itself. It’s called a tree. […] A natural climate solution.” The statement leaves you baffled. Simply planting a tree can help solve climate change. In school we learned that trees take carbon from the air, and through photosynthesis, convert it to oxygen, sugars, and cellulose. The oxygen is released into the air, sugar gives the tree energy to grow, and the...

Are you ready for a break from the garden? Breaking some old habits in your usual fall garden clean up could make a huge difference to butterflies, moths, bees, and other beneficial insects that overwinter in the Illinois landscape, and be a more environmentally sound practice. Bad habit 1 - Removing all fallen leaves The first habit to break is removing all the fallen leaves from your landscape. Leaves provide insulation for overwintering insects, plus organic matter and nutrients that would...

Forget itty-bitty succulents tucked into a small shallow dish. Succulent Cacti are the new trend! They are just as interesting and easy to care for but make a much larger impact on your plant-scaping efforts. Architecturally, these plants are usually naked branches without leaves, and some are known for their breathtaking, but short-lasting, blooms. Their superpower is that they grow big and may even need to be potted up every two or three years. A pencil cactus (Euphorbia tirucalli) has...

Get your gardens buzzing next spring by planting bee-friendly bulbs and spring bloomers this fall. Bumblebee queens, honey bees and solitary bees start emerging from their winter homes ready to feast on the landscape as early as March. Feed them from your garden by planting a mix of crocus, snow drops, Siberian squill, grape hyacinth, bluebells with spring flowering hellebores and primroses to ensure many sources of nectar. Crocus and snow drops are a favorite gardener’s standby because they...

In Illinois, we plant hardy spring-flowering bulbs like tulips and daffodils in the month of October. For the most part, these can be easy ways for gardeners to add color, and non-gardeners to be successful in growing flowers because they really need little care aside from a few tips. Even though most bulbs thrive in full sun, it is a myth that you cannot grow spring-flowering bulbs in the yard’s shady areas. Grape hyacinth, crocus, winter aconite, snow drops, and siberian squill can all be...

Daffodils, Tulips, Crocus and Hyacinth bulbs seem to materialize from snow on the saturated ground, provoking gardeners to celebrate the coming spring. However, gardeners are not planting these hardy bulbs in the spring soil, but the previous fall to over-winter in their garden beds. Bulbs require a chilling period in order to grow and flower. The optimal time for Illinois gardeners to plant bulbs is the month of October. Too early and you risk an issue with Fusarium bulb rot, which causes...