"Which maple should I plant?" is a question I routinely encounter. My response, "None!" Maples (Acer spp.) aren't bad trees. In fact, they are great trees. Drive down most streets and you will see a maple in everyone's yard. Speaking with landscapers about their inventory and what they...
It feels like just yesterday summer showed up and now its fall and October is here and is leaving me wondering just where has 2016 gone? Cooler days means it's easier to work in the yard and of course being outdoors means we can enjoy the gorgeous colors of fall. How plants get their fall coloring...
It was a hot late-summer day. A yellow school bus plodded away, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. Songbirds sang while the leaves rustled, patiently holding on till autumn called them from their perch. The forest was still, as the crunch of leaves beneath hopscotching squirrels echoed on the...
I was out shopping the other day and what greeted my eyes – stands of spring bulbs for sale. Then you stop to look at the calendar and realize that it's almost the end of September and that the perfect time to plant spring bulbs is right around the corner. Bulbs are awesome and amazing plants to...
Chirp, chirp, chirp. In my mind, the hum of crickets chirping away outside is very relaxing. In the spring we open our windows and sleep with the soothing sounds of the night outside. Chirp, chirp, chirp. Something changes when that lone cricket enters our house. Instead of a nighttime symphony, we...
As usual some days trying to figure out what to write on can be difficult, that is until you are sent photos of a very large caterpillar that needs to be identified. A colleague of mine sent me a few photos of this very large green caterpillar that had what looked like yellow horns on its head and...
I've been receiving a lot of calls lately about trees and diseases in the last few weeks. Calls or emails usually include the statement of what's going on and how do I stop it and fix it. The first thing to remember with foliar diseases – by the time you see a problem – the leaves were infected...
If you are like me, you may enjoy the sight of deer browsing in the forest. They are fascinating creatures to observe and one of the largest wild animals in Illinois. My interest in watching deer waned one morning last week when upon opening the drapes to the backyard I found myself nose to nose...
Let it be known that in my family I hold the record for number of mosquito bites at one time. While on a vacation in the coastal swamps of Georgia (yes I said 'vacation'), I racked up over 100 mosquito bites.
So what makes a person more attractive to mosquitoes than others? Here are a few things...
August is right around the corner and by the time you're reading this it may well already be here. There are still gardening activities that we can do in August, one of which is relaxing and enjoying our gardens! Continue to water all your plants especially when we aren't getting any rain. Drought...
