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Landscape Design

Eliana' Garden memorial rock in her garden

Gardening can help you heal while grieving

In August of 2020, I received a call with the news that is every mother’s nightmare. There had been an accident and my six-year-old daughter did not survive. That week, her lovely kindergarten teacher brought us five plants to start a butterfly garden. Although I already loved gardening, at that...
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spring flowers in a flower bed with mulch

Select the best mulch for your garden

There are many types of mulch that can be used in landscapes and gardens. Here are some things to consider as you choose the mulch that works best for your space. Benefits of mulch Even though there are different types of mulch, they do have some important things in common.  One of the big...
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Low-water use landscapes

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...
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Chicago Landscape Design Styles

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Recently I helped lead a bus trip to Chicago for Bradley's OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) program. On the way to Chicago I spoke on the bus about the history of landscaping in Chicago. Although we are far from Chicago, some...
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Annual herbs as landscape plants

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Herbs taste great, but they also make great landscape plants. I think that herbs are some of the easiest plants to grow. They have very few pest problems and grow in many types of gardens, from formal herb gardens to small patio...
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Twisty Curvy Plants

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Twisty curvy and weeping plants are fun to look at, but hard to use in the landscape. They are so unique and special that they must have a special spot to really work. Most should be used as a planned focal point, since they...
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Edible Landscapes

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...
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Bed Edges

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Landscape edging plays an important role in pulling the landscape together. Edging function is simply, says Rhonda Ferree, Horticulture Educator with University of Illinois Extension. "It forms a clean, neat line between planting...
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Update Your Home with New Foundation Plants

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Are plants around your house foundation old, overgrown and in need of a change? Rhonda Ferree, Horticulture Educator with University of Illinois Extension, provides the following tips for updating your homes foundation plantings. "...
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