Garden – Jennifer Fishburn

Untitled Document One of my favorite flowers is the rose. Roses are beautiful, but they require a great deal of time and maintenance. Growers must spray for diseases and insects, prune, water, fertilize, and provide protection during the winter. For this reason, the only rose I have in my landscaping is the Knock Out rose, […]

Untitled Document Gardeners are encouraged to mulch around their plants to conserve moisture, moderate soil temperature, reduce weed-seed germination, and beautify the landscape. With the recent heavy rainfall, however, many gardeners are finding unwanted guests in their mulch. Wood mulch, bark mulch, and other organic matter can be a source of interesting fungi and funguslike […]

Untitled Document Drive through town, and you might get confused about the seasons. Under some trees, it looks like fall. Other trees seem to be just getting started on spring. Most sycamores, for example, have lost their mature leaves and are now producing new ones. The cause of this odd phenomenon is anthracnose, a group […]

Untitled Document We’ve all heard of the three R’s — reduce, reuse, and recycle — but many people have added a fourth R: rot, the recycling of food waste and other organic material through composting or vermicomposting. When these products are allowed to rot into compost, they are cycled back to the earth, thereby keeping […]

Untitled Document In the past couple of years we’ve begun hearing such phrases such as “Think local, eat local,” “Buy local, eat healthy,” “Buy fresh, buy local,” “100-mile diet,” “Eat-local challenge,” and “Eat close to home.” Essentially they’re all saying the same thing: It’s good to buy and eat locally grown produce. There are many […]

Untitled Document If you are like me, you still haven’t decided what to get your mom for Mother’s Day. By far the most cherished Mother’s Day gifts are ones that young children make at school. They don’t cost much, but time and love go into these cherished gifts. As an adult, how can you make […]

Untitled Document The recent warm temperatures, it seems, have caused all of our spring-blooming plants to flower at once. Some of the most noticeable bloomers right now are the crabapple, flowering dogwood, and redbud. These trees are showstoppers, adding splashes of brilliant color to the landscape. Although it is tempting to select a tree on […]

Untitled Document One of the first plants a child learns to recognize is the dandelion. Its bright-yellow flowers make it easy to spot — and what fun it is to pick a “puffball” (the dandelion seed head, blow on it, and see how far the seeds will fly. The dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), a deep-rooted cool-season […]

Untitled Document Spring is my favorite time of year. Daffodils are blooming, lawns turns bright green, and it’s time to plant a vegetable garden. Spring greens, such as lettuce and spinach, are easy to grow in a sunny location in your back yard or in a container garden on a patio. You are sure to […]

Untitled Document You may not be able to engage in many garden activities outdoors right now, but this is a great time of year to learn more. Here are some programs gardeners will enjoy: • Garden Basics — The University of Illinois Extension Sangamon-Menard Unit and the Springfield Civic Garden Club will sponsor this series […]

Untitled Document Though the poinsettia may be the most popular holiday plant, the holiday cactus is a tradition for many families. These easy-to-care-for cacti generally live a long life. In fact, I often hear about holiday cacti that have been passed down from generation to generation as family heirlooms. Holiday cacti include the Thanksgiving cactus, […]

Untitled Document With gardening being America’s No. 1 hobby, it is likely that you have several gardeners on your gift list. Here’s a short list of items that most gardeners will appreciate. • Garden knife. A garden knife can be used for a variety of gardening activities, including digging, weeding, and cutting. Desirable features include […]