Down the Garden Path

The holidays are right around the corner. Why not give a little nature as a gift?

What you can do in your garden now to help pollinators next spring.

Illinois in the winter is the place to be if you are looking for owls.

The University of Illinois Extension shares tips on how to protect your plants from unwanted furry guests.

While pretty to look at, Star of Bethlem is a tenacious plant that, once it gets in your garden, is a battle to make leave.

Learn how to plan before you plant to extend your home garden veggie harvest.

Learn how to identify and control squash vine borers in your garden or small farm and prepare for the following season.

Each year, many of us enjoy the fall bird migrations. It is a great time to view many interesting and rarely seen birds as they travel on their long journeys south. But there are also other hidden migrations happening all around us, they are just not as easy to see.

At its core, composting is recycling organic matter into nutrient-rich soil. Plants and other vegetative matter are broken down by insects, worms, fungi and bacteria, making the nutrients they contain available to other growing things.

These sneaky invaders seed rapidly, leaf out early, and can be difficult to treat once established.

Plant propagation is the science and practice of creating new plants.

You don’t need space for a full orchard to plant and enjoy fruit trees in the home landscape.

What if I told you that now is the perfect time to not just plan your gardens (especially if you’re thinking about planting natives), but also time to get some seeds going to save some money and take advantage of the cold and snowy weather?

Winter provides us with a different perspective on the trees all around us, especially those deciduous trees which now stand without leaves.

Knowing what plants you have and how they will affect your furry friends can go a long way in keeping your family safe.

Once the decision is made to take the tree down, you can recycle the entire tree or use pieces of it for different projects.

Have you ever wondered why we “deck the halls with boughs of holly” or kiss under the mistletoe?

A native to Mexico, the English-known Poinsettia was known to the Nahuatl and Aztecs as Cuetlaxóchitl, meaning “a flower that withers.”

The peak mating season for white-tailed deer is upon us and one of the unfortunate side effects is more collisions with them on local roads.

The Department of Agriculture has divided the U.S. into 9 zones (with sub-zones). Each zone represents a 10ºF spread of how cold the average coldest day of the year is.

Sandhill cranes are a large bird, standing almost four feet tall and weighing over seven pounds. They are tan/grey with a striking red patch on their face. They are an ancient species with the oldest sandhill fossil found being 2.5 million years old.

Americans consume nearly 400 million pounds of cranberries every year.

Fall foliage colors are wonderful, but once the leaves come down in abundance, what to do with them can be the challenge.

The most common mistake when planting a tree is digging too deep. A properly dug hole is two to three times wider than the root mass, and only deep enough that the trunk flare is above ground.

As we pack our gardens up for the year, caring for your tools now will keep them in great shape for years to come.

Bottle terrariums are a creative way to use plants and recycle old bottles, and turning them into works of art is fun and easy.

Mums in bloom require a lot of water, so keeping them hydrated is important.

In the fall, yellowjacket wasps (often mistaken for bees) have reached peak populations, becoming more noticeable as they hunt for food—often in garbage cans, hummingbird feeders or your can of pop. Why are they suddenly so aggressive and what can you do about it?

Cornus alternifolia is more commonly known as pagoda dogwood or alternate-leaf dogwood because its branches form tiers, or a conical shape.

Now is the time to look around the yard for areas that you want to fill with spring blooms.

Planting garlic is a lot like planting spring-flowering bulbs.

Monarchs will go through several generations throughout the summer, going through the cycle of egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and adult; with each stage (except for the egg) taking about two weeks to complete.

Most of us end up with more produce than we can use.

These highly invasive creatures are a scourge on our forests and gardens, and are easily spread when sharing plants from infected yards.

It’s hot. It’s humid. We’ve been gardening since April. (Remember daffodils?) Now it’s August.

Gardening is a life skill because it allows you to grow food for yourself and your family and incorporates many skills, such as math, reading, science and even history.

Did you know that you can effectively inoculate your roses against disease?

Many people struggle to grow plants in the shade. I’ve often heard, “Nothing will grow there!” Never fear, there’s a plant for every space.

Fresh fruit can be container-grown for your family in a limited space, such as a balcony, patio or small backyard.

Everyone knows that honeybees are excellent pollinators, but they’re not the only ones visiting our flowers.

I look forward to providing you with lots of interesting gardening-related information in the coming years.

If you ignore those weeds, let them flower and set seed, the landscape can begin to look like a jungle.

With new plantings and a recently created bed, perhaps the best edging is a simple one made with an edging tool or flat spade.

While doing the usual preparations and tasks, home gardeners should be aware of an invasive species wriggling across the Midwest, the jumping worm.

Mulching trees will control most weeds, conserve soil moisture and lessen the time in the yard trimming after you are done mowing the lawn.

When the weather finally decides to get warm, and stay warm, it is time to get those houseplants outdoors for the summer to recharge and to let the summer rains rinse off the dirt, dust and grime from being inside for months.

Nimblewill will not green up until both the soil and air temperatures get warmer and then it blends into the rest of the lawn.

In any year, planning when you are going to set out the variety of transplants you have grown or purchased is dependent on what you believe is going to be that average or absolute frost-free date.

Creeping Charlie, also called ground ivy, often is the No. 1 complaint I have in spring while talking lawn care with homeowners and garden club members.

Perennials also have a place in most garden designs. Hosta, bleeding hearts and ferns for the shade; coneflower, Shasta daisy, mums and daylilies for the sun.