Horticulture

Homeowners looking to enhance their landscape this year while managing stormwater have options available. Green infrastructure options include permeable pavement, rain barrels, large trees, green roofs, raingardens, bioswales, and more. Each of these systems is designed to utilize technologies or...

Columbines are popular garden plants. They can be found in a variety of colors, ranging from red, pink, yellow, white, purple, and blue, and they can help fill the gap between early spring blooming plants like tulips and daffodils and the summer blooming plants that dominate our landscapes....

Trees are an essential element of a healthy, vibrant community. Trees, large and small, help clean our air, shade our landscapes, provide wildlife habitat, and improve our mental and physical well-being. Planting trees throughout our community, in parks, along streets and trails, at civic buildings...

How do you take care of a newly planted tree?Lots of trees get planted in April, at least in Illinois. What follows is a ‘will they, won’t they…survive?’ In multiple instances, I’ve come across a tree that gets planted and maybe watered once to a handful of times that year. What most people don’t...

Shaded areas can be difficult areas to landscape, especially when it comes to groundcovers. Turfgrass often struggles, and many commonly used groundcovers, like lily of the valley, wintercreeper, periwinkle, and English ivy, can become problematic because of their aggressive spreading and potential...

In addition to the spring flowers blooming outside, many enjoy the fragrant flowers of a Lilium longiflorum (Easter lily) as a symbol of spring and the Christian holiday Easter. Growers manipulate the growth cycle and force them to bloom so that we can enjoy these...

Are you daydreaming of future cobblers, crumbles, jams, jellies, and pies? If you grow your own cane fruit/brambles in early spring, while the plants are still dormant, it is an important time for plant pruning and care. These tasks need to take place before plants leaf out, which means if you...

Forsythias are planted for their stunning floral display in early spring. Have you ever seen a forsythia bush, and for some reason, there are only blooms at the very top or sparsely scattered around the plant? Or maybe wondered why it didn't bloom at all? While forsythia will produce an...

Daffodils are among the most beloved spring flowers known for their bright blooms and easy cultivation. Beginner gardeners to experienced horticulturists alike have delighted in daffodils for centuries. As our spring advances, we take a closer look at the flower that has become an emblem of...

One of the most favored hobbies of outdoor enthusiasts, gardeners, and wildlife lovers is feeding the birds. Setting out a bird feeder with seed or suet cakes is a popular way many people use to feed the birds, but there are other ways to feed birds. Birds scavenge seed from plants, they will get...