Garden - Jennifer Fishburn | Thursday, September 23,2004

Get busy now, do less next spring

I haven't met a gardener who has ever found the end of his or her "to do" list. September is a good time to complete projects we didn't get done this summer. The first garden chore I recomme

Garden - Jennifer Fishburn | Thursday, September 9,2004

On the mole patrol

By Jennifer Fishburn

Every summer, gardeners envision a beautiful lush green lawn and flower gardens abounding with color. Then along come four- and six-legged creatures to dine on the smorgasbord provided for them

Garden - Jennifer Fishburn | Thursday, September 2,2004

Apple appeal

By Jennifer Fishburn

School has started, cooler temperatures are just around the corner, and apple-picking time has begun. Your idea of a fresh apple may be a Red Delicious from the grocery store -- if so, expand y

Garden - Jennifer Fishburn | Thursday, August 26,2004

That burning sensation

By Jennifer Fishburn

If you want zip and heat in your favorite entrée, add a chile pepper. Peppers come in a variety of shapes and colors and range in taste from sweet and mild to hot. Bell peppers are often pic

Garden - Jennifer Fishburn | Thursday, August 19,2004

Friendly competition

By Jennifer Fishburn

Tucked away on the east side of the Illinois State Fairgrounds you will find the Hobbies, Arts, and Crafts building. During the fair, some of Illinois' finest baked goods, textiles, hobby colle

Garden - Jennifer Fishburn | Thursday, August 12,2004

Ramble through the brambles

By Jennifer Fishburn

Fresh blackberries and raspberries, from plants often referred to as brambles, are currently available at local produce stands. Because blackberries and raspberries belong to the same genus, Ru

Garden - Jennifer Fishburn | Thursday, July 29,2004

When size does matter

By Jennifer Fishburn

Recently a fellow gardener proudly showed me her six-pound zucchini. Though impressive, this mammoth green monster is better suited to the compost pile than to the kitchen. "Big and green" are

Garden - Jennifer Fishburn | Thursday, July 22,2004

A stroll in the garden

By Jennifer Fishburn

This year, the Master Gardener Demonstration Garden at the Illinois State Fairgrounds features several changes and additions, including a new landscape design in the Identification Garden, a Sh

Garden - Jennifer Fishburn | Thursday, July 15,2004

Meet (and beat) the beetles

By Jennifer Fishburn

They're back! The latest invasion of leaf-devouring Japanese beetles has begun. These half-inch-long eating machines have been found helping themselves to roses in the Springfield area, but you can ex

Garden - Jennifer Fishburn | Thursday, July 8,2004

Botany according to the Bard

By Jennifer Fishburn

William Shakespeare, the greatest writer in the English language, lived during the Elizabethan period (1533-1603), a relatively peaceful political time that gave birth to enormous developments