It seems to be the season for odd oak galls. I've had several questions come into the office and while prepping for a fall tree walk this past week, I discovered many oak galls. Galls can be defined as irregular plant growths which are stimulated by the reaction between plant hormones and powerful...

This week's Plant of the Week is Love in a Mist (Nigella damascena), a great blue flowered addition to the landscape. As gardeners know, blue is not a common color in flowers, so this flowering annual is a great choice. Love in a mist can be easily grown in...

This summer I devoted an entire raised bed to growing dahlias and it's been lovely! Dahlias (Dahlia sp.) are an excellent cut flower which is why I love to grow them. Flower colors are various and foliage colors can be shades of green, but some varieties have darker foliages which...

This week's plant of the week is one of my favorite flowers, the Strawflower (Xerochrysum bracteata). As a florist, I've come to appreciate flowers that hold up really well as a cut flower, as well as a dried flower, and strawflower is great in both categories. It...

It looks like we'll be getting a frost here in Northern Illinois on Friday, so it's time that those last houseplants make their way indoors. But this question comes up every fall: How can I bring my houseplants in from outside without bringing in spiders or other insects with it?   Well...

This past weekend I was overcome with zone envy while visiting Los Angeles on vacation. Neighborhoods were abloom with trees full of stunning bluish purple flowers. After some google research, I identified the trees as Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia). While beautiful on the west coast,...

This week's Plant of the Week caught my attention in an herb garden while visiting the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix a few weeks ago. The way the flowers were circling the stem was very intriguing. Upon inspection I realized that the perennial was Jerusalem Sage (...

I discovered this week's Plant of the Week while checking out the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin last week during a conference. I had seen this plant several places around town and finally found one with a sign that I could identify...

I've noticed several cases of White Mold (Sclerotinia sp.) over the past few days. While at a field day last week, I noted several different annual flowering plants dying as a result of this fungus. And another email today concerning green beans looked like a similar problem. This...

This week's Plant of the Week is Beardstongue (Penstemon digitalis). I've noticed many beautiful Beardstongues blooming in landscapes this past week. Several species of Beardstongues can be found in the garden, but Penstemon digitalis is a pretty solid...

Reading through my weekly Perennial Pulse newsletter written by Paul Pilon, I came across a great little article about incorporating some edible perennials into the landscape this year. We think of perennials as...

This week's plant of the week is Bergenia (Bergenia cordifolia). I love Bergenia for multiple reasons, but mostly because another of it's common name is Pigsqueak. How cute is that! The name comes from the fact that the leaves are very glossy and...

So you received some beautiful flowers from a special someone this Valentine’s Day? Lucky you! They are probably looking gorgeous on your desk or dining room table right now. But have you thought about how long those flowers will last? Here are a couple of tips to help lengthen the life of your...

I didn't get around to Plant of the Week on Friday, so here is last week's Plant of the Week, the Pasque Flower (Pulsatilla vulgaris, also known as Anemone pulsatilla). I just planted a pasque flower in my landscape and I'm loving it so far!   Pasque...

Limited on space or don't want the hassle of having to dig potatoes to harvest? Try growing potatoes in containers. I've done that the past few years in my garden with great success. Any sized container will work, but obviously the bigger it is, the more potatoes you can get....

Did you know that each year, Pantone selects a color of the year? Since 2000, the Pantone Color Institute has designated a color of the year based on trend forecasting across a variety of industries and markets, including fashion,...

The vast majority of calls into out help desks and hotlines this summer have been tree questions, many of them in urban settings. And that's for good reason. Urban trees have to tolerate a lesser than ideal location in many cases. Many people are aware of the environmental and psychological...

This week's Plant of the Week, the American Bellflower (Campanulastrum americanum) I noticed on a walk along the prairie at the Apple River Fort Museum in Elizabeth. I was struck by the blue color of the flowers, but wasn't sure exactly what it was, so I pulled out my...

A few weeks ago, lawns were a sea of beautiful blue because of the Siberian Squill blooming. This week while walking through my neighborhood, I noticed a different sea of purpli

Cacti and Succulents are by far my favorite group of plants. The colors, flowers, and interesting growth habits are like nothing else in my opinion. But one of my favorite things about this group of plants is the ease in which you can make more plants. Through the use of cuttings or division, you...