Knowledge and resources about plants and planting are so vast they can be overwhelming. The best approach is to take advantage of information based on your areas of interest and then seek the guidance of a plant professional. Your local nursery or garden center has inspired people ready to offer advice.
As blazing summer heat retreats and the idea of being in the garden becomes appealing again (fun even?), a truly time-sensitive question arises. “Should I plant now or is it better to wait ‘til spring?” For those eager to “make their garden better” now, but are seeking a horticultural blessing, read this and go forth shovel in hand, confident you’ve made a sound decision.
Here are 9 Tips to Choose the Right Plants for Your Landscape
The mighty oak. They don’t call this tree mighty for nothing. The oak is known for being strong and living long. A healthy oak can even withstand strong weather. Its solid wood has been used to make furniture, boats, and even homes.
Growing garlic for the first time can be an exercise in patience, but once it’s ready for harvest, you’ll be so glad you took the time to cultivate it. Nothing beats fresh garlic, as not only is it flavorful, but it’s incredibly healthy too.
othing beats the light and airy look of tall, distinctive grasses in a landscape arrangement. The fluffy seedheads and slender, attractive stems practically dance in the wind on breezy days, adding texture as well as a structural element to any landscape bed.
Oak trees help create healthier communities. Trees clean our air by removing air pollution, purify our drinking water and keep us cooler in the summer. Our oak trees can help reduce water pollution, reduce asthma, and improve our overall health.
Big leaf hydrangeas produce some of the best-loved summer flowers: big, blousy orbs of pink, purple, or blue. Everyone, it seems, has one, but not everyone has found equal success in getting a yard full of fabulous flowers. This is why the number one question we are asked every year is, “Why isn’t my hydrangea blooming?” It’s a pretty easy question to answer yourself, once you have some basic knowledge of the one characteristic that makes these beautiful bushes a little bit different than the others: they bloom on old wood.
Here are 5 quick tips one of our long-time hummingbird garden experts!
October was officially proclaimed Oak Awareness Month in Illinois by Governor Bruce Rauner in 2015 through the amazing advocacy efforts of The Chicago Region Trees Initiative and its partners. The purpose of Oak Awareness Month is to raise awareness of the decline in the Oak tree canopy in Illinois and the importance of their role in our very fragile ecosystem.
When spring’s flowering trees and shrubs start winding down, landscapes can fall short on color – unless you plan ahead. Shrubs that begin blooming as spring comes to an end provide beauty and color just when you need it. These five low-maintenance flowering shrubs light up landscapes with months of summer blooms. As an added bonus, these beauties are pollinator favorites, too.
