… summertime favorites, like tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash, and cucumbers. They plant them in May and by Labor Day, they’ve finished harvesting. But if you only grow warm-season crops, you’re missing out on cool-season edibles that can be grown in the spring and again in summer for an enjoyable fall harvest. Cool-season crops include … for Thanksgiving,” Hilgenberg says. Whether you sow cool-season crops from seeds, or buy transplants from your local garden center, they should be placed in fertile, evenly moist …
Type: Plant Info
… to some plants this year. (You may recall that the Garden was closed for two consecutive days in late January due to extreme weather conditions.) Japanese maples and boxwood were hard hit across northeastern Illinois. Two sycamore trees in the Sensory Garden developed dramatic frost cracks. In the Crescent Garden, the boxwoods that gave shape to the curving beds all died this winter and …
Type: Plant Info
… You type seeds into your search engine—only to get 257,000,000 results. Next you type in seed catalog . Hmm, down to 19,100,000. You need an editor. That's where we come in. An Exclusive Database Found only at our Lenhardt Library, the Nursery Catalog Database—and … since 1932." noursefarms.com Ball Horticultural Company. Although home gardeners can't buy directly from this local (based in West Chicago) resource, the website has a helpful "Plant …
Type: Plant Info
… by growing roses, and the idea of incorporating ecofriendly techniques is just another thorn in their sides. Nothing could be further from the truth! Rose care requires work, but it is … ensure good air circulation, which will lessen the threat of disease. Prune your roses early in spring, once the ground has thawed and swelling buds are visible. Prune Prudently. When … leaves as well, which are often sources for reinfection. Consider composting: no need to buy compost when you can make your own! You can add the fallen rose leaves to your compost pile, …
Type: Plant Info
… during the season. Given good weather, tens of thousands of these spring migrants may fly over in one night alone. You might not see them right away, but at dawn and dusk, they put on a great performance with myriad melodies and courtship calls. Invite them in You can encourage migrating as well as year-round birds into your garden by offering them … the ground.) Spring is an important time of year for bird feeding. That’s because the seeds in many natural areas and forest preserves are often depleted by now. Sunflower seeds, millet, …
Type: Plant Info
… and maintaining healthy soil is fundamental to good gardening, but too often it is overlooked in the frenzy to get those plants in the ground. Since many plant problems can be traced to poor soil, compacted soil, depleted … topsoil to your garden. This requires working with local nurseries to source out where they buy their topsoil and finding a nursery with soil that matches the native soil of your area. When …
Type: Plant Info
… Frost descended on area pumpkins shortly before Halloween. Our gardens will soon settle in for a winter’s sleep, but for now, let’s carry the taste of summer into our holiday mocktails … brought the pots indoors. But if you didn’t, there are plenty of stores that sell fresh herbs. Buy them in small pots and place them on a sunny window, or on a kitchen counter near under-cabinet …
Type: Plant Info
… As days grow longer in early spring, gardeners get itchy. And for vegetable gardeners, late March is not too soon to … just anything Only a few crops, mainly greens and root vegetables, have seeds that will sprout in cool soil — and to a seed, it's the soil temperature, not the air temperature, that matters. A brief spell of T-shirt weather in late winter or early spring may bring a gardener out of hibernation but won't do much to warm …
Type: Plant Info
… A favorite flavoring all over the world, pepper is used in a different way by each cuisine: Caribbean chefs flavor their dishes with habanero; in Thailand they prefer prik kee noo; in Ethiopia they enjoy piri piri; and the Brazilians use … forget to save those seeds! Looking ahead: sowing your own seed Most home gardeners prefer to buy peppers in pots at their local garden center—and let's face it, not everyone wants to start …
Type: Plant Info
… Mending Wall by American poet Robert Frost (1874-1963) Who doesn’t like a little privacy? In urban areas, some homes are so tall, narrow and close together that homeowners feel like they’re living in a fishbowl. Fences corral suburban backyards, often blocking views of the neighbors’ back … with spring-blooming bulbs, like daffodils and snowdrops, is icing on the hedge. Before You Buy (Or Plant) First, note the location of your property lines. Call JULIE (dial 811) to …
Type: Plant Info
