Skip to main content

Landscape Design

calamint and Echinacea

Perennial plant of the year: Calamint

Sun-loving, season-long blooming, low maintenance, dependable and pollinator-friendly. Sound like a perfect perennial to add to your garden?   Calamint (Calamintha nepeta ssp. nepeta), selected as the Perennial Plant Association’s 2021 plant of the year, is a garden-favorite of many...
Finish this story
Photo by Nick Windsor via Unsplash

Tender bulbs make for summer delights

For vibrant cut flowers this season, plant summer bulbs like dahlias, gladiolus, and lilies. These summer-blooming tropical bulbs are called ‘tender bulbs’ because they can be killed by our cold temperatures if left outdoors during the winter, or if they’re planted too early in the spring. They do...
Finish this story
Amorpha canescens - Lead Plant - Layne Knoche

9 native Illinois shrubs for sun and shade

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...
Finish this story
Callery Pear on forest edge - Photo by Chris Evans, University of Illinois Extension

A certain air around Callery Pear

Do you see those beautiful white flowering trees lining the streets and backyards? These delicate white blossoms, made brighter by the months of winter endured, are actually an environmental hazard to the Illinois wilds. Callery Pear season is upon us. It’s actually the seeds of these flowers ...
Finish this story
witch hazel (fothergilla) flowers - photo by kelly allsup

Smart tips for shrub success

When creating a landscape, shrubs make up a large portion of the design. Shrubs are a great way to start building the blue print and creating a framework in you landscape design. Most landscapers plant them in groups and always account for mature size rather than trying to control size with pruning...
Finish this story
tree cookies hanging from woody vine

What to do with live Christmas tree after the holidays

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...
Finish this story
bulbs, pixabay

Plant spring bulbs now

As many perennial plants are getting ready to go dormant for the winter, it is time to start thinking about next spring’s floral display and plant spring-flowering bulbs. The best time to plant spring bulbs is late September through October to allow sufficient time for a good root system to develop...
Finish this story