Gardening

There are some remarkable gardens on the 22nd annual Illinois Symphony Garden Tour in Springfield. “A Symphony of Country Gardens” will be held from 11-4 Saturday, June 18. Shelly and Ken Hoffman’s garden south of Chatham is the most mature, the Hoffmans having moved into their shingled Cape Cod home next to a cornfield in […]

Spring rains, sweltering summer heat and those dang Japanese beetles made this yet another challenging year to be a flower gardener in central Illinois. And yet nearly 80 individuals and organizations stepped up and entered a project in the 2010 Springfield in Bloom competition. This is the sixth year of this friendly beautification contest originated […]

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, lawn and garden watering makes up nearly 40 percent of total household water use during the summer. One way to reduce outdoor water usage and conserve water is to collect rainwater. A rain barrel is a system that collects and stores rainwater. A typical 1/2 inch rainfall […]

This is the sixth year for Springfield in Bloom, the community-wide beautification program that challenges homeowners, businesses, neighborhood associations and nonprofit organizations across central Illinois to bring beautiful new color and life to their street-side yards. Illinois Times is proud to be the primary sponsor of this program that works in cooperation with Mayor Tim […]

With Father’s Day weekend approaching, the Illinois Symphony Orchestra has been blooming with anticipation for parents and children to come mark the occasion at its annual garden tour. The 20th annual fundraiser for the orchestra is this Saturday, June 20. Tickets are $15 per adult and children are free. The tour will be held from […]

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, […]

Are you sad at the thought that your cheery geraniums will soon fall victim to winter frost? Why not take them inside for the winter? Gardeners have several alternatives, including potting the plants, taking cuttings from them, or storing the plants as bare-root specimens. It’s important to make sure that the plants are vigorous, healthy, […]

Bulbs provide a good investment for the money spent and they supply years of spring color in your yard. Fall is the prime time for planting hardy spring-flowering bulbs. Most bulbs can be planted until the ground is frozen. Good soil drainage is essential for raising bulbs. If you have a soil with a high […]

Regular IT readers are familiar with Springfield in Bloom (SIB), the friendly contest encouraging streetside beautification projects which will be in its fifth year in 2009. Hundreds of neighborhood and business-related projects have been completed during those first four years. The city’s beautification effort, Springfield Green, which has been a partner with Illinois Times in […]

Untitled Document Every fall, people get upset when their evergreens undergo dramatic changes in color. “People are convinced that their plants must have some type of virus or fungus and want to know what can be done,” says Martha Smith, a horticulture educator with the University of Illinois Extension. “There is really nothing to be […]