The Lincoln-Herndon law offices must have been like the “fun cabin” at summer camp: always messy, rarely dull and the best place to hear something interesting. William Herndon was Lincoln’s last law partner and nine years his junior. Although Herndon was a brand new lawyer when he joined Lincoln (and proved to be a problem […]
Community & Lifestyle
Posted inArts & Culture
Native prairie grasses make for a carefree garden
Native grasses can be welcome additions in the landscape, adding beauty, movement and sound. Let’s define “native” plant. The only truly native plants are ones that still grow where they originated. Most literature refers to native plants in the United States as plants that existed in an area prior to the arrival of European settlers. […]
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How to lure insect beauties to your butterfly garden
Butterflies add surprise, beauty, color and motion to a garden. Why not invite them to your backyard? Butterflies are nature’s decoration. Planting a butterfly garden is a great way for children to learn about the life cycle of butterflies and learn to share an interest in nature. Luring and maintaining butterflies requires full-sun gardens with […]
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Plant a rain garden
A lot of rain falls on impervious surfaces that can’t soak up water. Instead of allowing all of this water to uselessly drain away, home gardeners can create an aesthetically pleasing area that will allow the water to drain back into the ground, away from the house. This is the idea behind a rain garden. […]
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2009 spring garden events
Ongoing: Join Project BudBurst Apr 13-Sep 30, Register to become a Citizen Scientist from Project BudBurst. Collect important climate change data on the timing of leafing and flowering in your area, targeting native tree and flower species. For info, visit www.windows.ucar.edu/citizen_science/budburst. The Great Sunflower Project Apr 13-May 31, Watch and record bees at sunflowers in […]
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The long road
Ask Deidre Lockhart how tall she is, and she will tell you she’s just under 5-foot-10. You don’t even have to verbalize the follow-up question. With a tone that says “I get this all the time,” Lockhart will answer your look of disbelief: “I know — I’m not as tall as I appear,” she says. […]
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There’s garden help waiting on the Web
Growing interest in home vegetable gardens from the White House to the house next door is likely to send many folks digging in the ground this spring. Chances are that when they do, sooner or later questions will come up. “University of Illinois Extension has four excellent Web sites that can help vegetable gardeners get […]
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Victory of the vegetable garden
While Washington, D.C. talks about “shovel-ready” projects, few projects are more “shovel ready” than that of vegetable gardening, said a University of Illinois Extension horticulture specialist. “It is now fashionable to vegetable garden and it seems more home gardeners are once again becoming very interested in growing produce at home,” said Greg Stack. The National […]
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Let%uFFFDs plant the town red%uFFFD
Springfield in Bloom — the community-wide beautification program that challenges homeowners, businesses and nonprofit groups to bring beautiful new color and life to their street-side yards — is now in its fifth year. Since 2004, hundreds of projects have been completed in this friendly competition, creating lush new landscapes in neighborhoods and central city boulevards, […]
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Worming into good soil
We have all heard of the three “r”s: reduce, reuse and recycle. There is a fourth “r” of integrated waste management: rot. This “r” also eliminates waste from entering landfills. Rot refers to recycling food waste and other organic material through composting or vermicomposting. By allowing these products to rot into compost, materials are cycled […]
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Container gardening with flavor
A container garden on your patio, balcony or roof top, a hanging basket or window box, all can be converted from flowers to edibles, said a University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator. “Don’t have the space to put in a vegetable garden? Is your large garden too much work but you still want handy fresh […]
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Give me Liberty or give me my identity
Untitled Document Normally, if somebody offered to bring me a sack of trash, I’d find a polite way to say no thanks. But when Glenn Sisco called me, his trash sounded intriguing. The way he described it, he was at work and decided to step outside for a smoke break. When he went to throw […]
