Nothing says summer like a brightly blooming sunflower (Helianthus annus). Often considered a weed in a farmer's field, many homeowners find joy filling their landscape and gardens with these majestic giants. The colorful, sunny blooms elevate a garden display and double as a snack for you and your garden wildlife.
Once a common crop among Native American tribes, sunflowers are now grown for their ornamental and commercial value. Certain kinds of sunflowers are grown as food (for...
Summer is officially here, and it’s time to get out to your favorite walking or hiking spot! That may entail walking through tall grass and woodland brush, depending on where you go. Protect yourself from Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain fever by following tick prevention advice of forest enthusiasts and agricultural professionals.
If a tick gets past your preventative methods, take an image of it so that you can identify it and know your disease risks. Although it is important to keep...
Originally published by Kelly Allsup on April 30, 2021
Whether you have an area around your home that gets full sun or shade, is wet or dry, there is a native shrub option for you. Native shrubs are touted as easier to care for and provide ecosystem services like flowers for pollinators and berries for birds. When planting native shrubs, plant in groups and water during the establishment period.
Full sun but need additional water during drought:
Red twig...
Anyone can make their holiday season a little more earth friendly with a new family tradition: recycling the tree!
Put it on the curb. The easiest way to properly dispose of your tree, most waste collection programs allow residents to recycle holiday trees by placing them at the curb for pickup to be mulched. Be sure to remove all your decorations first! If this is not available where you live, contact your nearest recycling center. Holiday trees are biodegradable and if you...
Creating simple, homemade birdfeeders is a great way to support feathered friends during the cold winter months when food sources are scarce. It also allows us to be creative, resourceful, and engage with nature while stuck indoors. Make your backyard more wildlife-friendly by making a few of these natural, DIY birdfeeders.
Citrus Feeder
Select any citrus fruit to create this feeder. My favorite is grapefruit because they are large and smell delicious. Cut the fruit in half...
Originally published by Kelly Allsup on October 23, 2020.
You have likely spied upon, or even befriended, praying mantises in your garden this growing season. Although most adults die out during the late fall and early winter, they likely left behind a foamy garden ornament in your landscape.
Alien-looking mantises all have a pair of fierce grasping legs that allow them to catch their prey, long legs that allow them to lunge, and a triangular head that twists 180 degrees around so...
Proactive strategies can lessen the extent of wildlife damage to your gardens through fall and winter.
Once the ground is frozen, rabbits will have fewer places to take shelter or hide, and will forage for food a lot closer to the protection of their winter home. They will go for anything green but once that is gone, they will go for thin-skinned bark and small branches. Feeding damage can be prevented using chicken wire fencing, burying a few inches to thwart digging.
Squirrels are the...
In this time of social distancing and limited activities, enjoying nature should be made a priority for all who need a bit of stress release. Have you bathed in the forest lately, hugged a tree or had a therapy session with an oak?
Forest bathing is Japanese practice of immersing yourself in the forest air. For University of Illinois Master Naturalists, we call it hiking the woods and prairies of Central Illinois, a hobby these volunteers cannot do without. After connecting with the forest,...
