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Pollinator Habitat

Jnnifer Bass and Nancy holding Conservation at Home sign

Conservation@Home Member Spotlight: Jennifer Bass

By Jennifer Bass, Extension Master Gardener and Master Naturalist serving Fulton, Mason, Peoria, and Tazewell counties“It Seemed the Natural Thing to Do!”When I was growing up, I lived on a farm with a large yard and two wonderful timbers. My mother had many flower beds with some natives...
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Ellen Denler standing next to her Conservation at Home sign

Conservation@Home Member Spotlight: Ellen and John Denler

By Ellen Denler, Extension Master Gardener, serving Fulton, Mason, Peoria, and Tazewell countiesMy husband John and I live in the house in which I grew up. The original part of the house was built in 1878 and has had five generations of my family living here. Located on a corner lot (105' X 55') in...
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Beautiful flower with insects and butterflies

Pollinator gardens grow in popularity

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator News on the importance of bees, butterflies, and other pollinators continues to grow. Most people think of bees and butterflies when thinking about pollinators, but bats, beetles, moths, flies, hummingbirds, wasps, and more also...
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Butterfly Gardening

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Butterfly Gardening Butterflies are such beautiful creatures and watching them flit from plant to plant brings joy and relaxation. This is why butterfly gardening continues to grow in popularity. Rhonda Ferree,...
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Bee-nificial Bees!

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Beekeeping is an increasingly popular backyard hobby. It also fits the growing trend to protect pollinators, which are so important to our food supply. There are many different types of bees. Bumble bees are the only truly social...
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Pollinators

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator You'd have to be living under a rock not to know that pollinator decline is big news right now. I've learned through meetings and other reliable sources that many factors contribute to this decline. Below are some facts I've found...
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Butterfly Larvae Food Plants

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Efforts to save the monarch butterfly are everywhere with many people pledging to plant milkweed for monarch larvae to eat. There are two different types of plants you can grow for butterflies: nectar food sources and larval food...
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