Skip to main content

Forestry

Trillium: Good things come in threes group of white trillium blooming on woodland floor

Trillium: Good things come in threes

In my last blog post, I shared my affection for bloodroot and boldly claimed that “among the myriad of spring blooms, few thrill me as much as Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis).” That sentiment was sincere, however, I must confess that there are others that are equally as exciting. This...
Finish this story
Urban Forest: Not a contradiction but a critical resource overhead photo of a community with low residential buildings and many trees blue sky with a few white clouds

Urban Forest: Not a contradiction, a critical resource

By definition, a forest is a large area of land covered with trees and understory growth. Traditionally, these parcels of land are often imagined as plant-dense woodlands with a diverse mix of species layered from tall trees down to mosses on the woodland floor. These plants are growing where seeds...
Finish this story
Bald cypress tree

One tough tree: Bald cypress

Lessons learned: Bald cypress is a tree to know Don’t you wish you knew then what you know now? Speaking from experience, when I first began studying plants, people would ask me lots of gardening or landscaping questions. Did I as a first-year student know the answer? No. Did I pretend to? Yes. It...
Finish this story
truck hauling firewood

Emerald Ash Borer: Is it okay to move firewood yet?

Many years ago, when emerald ash borer (EAB), had just arrived in northern Illinois, a colleague came across a flatbed trailer loaded with cut ash trees at a gas station. At that time Illinois counties confirmed with EAB had a quarantine that restricted moving ash wood outside of the county. Most...
Finish this story
Winter Dormancy

Winter Dormancy in the Landscape

By mid-November, the last of the leaves float down to the ground and the landscape appears stark. All is quiet and nothing is growing as our gardens have been put to bed. Or are they? As I walk outside in the frigid cold, it is obvious my body has yet to adapt to colder temperatures, yet the turf...
Finish this story