Spring pruning can drain your tree’s energy savings account.
With the right clues and some practice, you’ll be an ace at tree IDs.
Local natural areas are full of wildflowers that are starting to show life.
Plant seeds, plugs or potted plants. Plant something.
Proper after-care is vital to extending life span of newly planted trees.
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Orchids, ubiquitous in cultivation, are a rare find in their native habitat.
People who go looking for beauty in the woodlands of central Illinois tend to get excited about the months of April and May, when showy beauties like Virginia bluebells carpet the woodland floor. But if you wait until April to get out, you may already be a month late for the emergence of the…
Chinese witch hazel provides a fresh bloom display during the cold months.
Trees have many interesting tools for preventing their cells from freezing.
Getting your hands dirty may give your immune system a boost.
Now’s the perfect time to get this season’s seeds on their way.
Use the dead of winter to make plans for bringing your landscape back to life.
Illinois has eight native conifer species, though several are quite rare.
A fascinating publication from 1915 titled 'The Prairie Spirit in Landscape Gardening' provides an interesting view of landscape design from the past.
The use of native plants in landscape design is a growing trend as gardeners and landscapers learn more about sustainability and the important ecological role native plants provide in the environment. But though the concept may finally be gaining momentum, it is not new to landscaping.
There is a growing body of research supporting the use of native plants in landscaping to preserve local biodiversity and sustain native wildlife populations. Currently, much of our urban plant composition is not composed of native species, based on a historical preference for non-native, ex…
The colorful winter plant has been associated with holiday traditions since Pagan times.
With the right care, they’re the gift that keeps on giving.
The UI Extension's next round of Master Gardener classes starts at the end of January.
The tubers that are a staple on Thanksgiving tables are also a critical food-security crop worldwide with a history dating back 10,000 years.
As temperatures dip outside, it's important to monitor conditions inside as well.
Those trees that wait until spring to drop their leaves have their reasons.
Although leaf raking can really spruce up the landscape, consider leaving some fallen leaves as winter habitat for many insects, arachnids (spiders), small mammals, amphibians and birds.
Most can persist beyond a first frost to be harvestable a little later than other, more tender garden crops.
Burning bush (Euyonomous alata) has developed a bad reputation, but there are many alternatives.
Staff writer Paul Wood chats with the retired UI Geography Department staff cartographer and lecturer and latest winner of the Illinois Arts Legacy Award. He's had a long relationship with Japan House, whose gardens he designed, donated, and constructed and continues to maintain.
Fall color is beginning to paint canopies around central Illinois, making the next few weeks prime time for taking in the beauty.
Ornamental cabbage, kale and red mustard allow you to beautify your garden and put food on the table at the same time.
Partridge pea, an annual native plant that frequents prairies, has special nectar glands outside its flowers that attract ants, which defend it against leaf herbivores and seed predators through aggressive, defensive behavior or by removing herbivore eggs directly from the plant.
In recent years, a body of research has emerged showing even greater benefits than previously understood to both the environment and our existence as humans.
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