Get timely tips from Extension horticulture experts to keep your garden happy.

Gardeners Corner is a quarterly newsletter from the Illinois Extension team of horticulture experts. Each issue highlights seasonal recommendations and how-tos that will make your houseplants, landscape, or garden shine in any season.

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Our Current Issue: Spring 2023

• Grow the best new flower and vegetable varieties with 2023 All-America Selection Winners
• Make the most of mulch by choosing from living, synthetic, inorganic, or organic
• Grow confidence when choosing seed packets for your garden
• Sustainable community gardens benefit local growers, ecosystems, and communities
• Plant trees for every season
• Plant top annuals of 2023 to create craveable container gardens
• Bugged by houseplant pests? Give carnivorous plants a try
• What’s in a name? The roots of fruit and vegetable names are long and intertwined
• Identify, avoid, and manage troublesome wild parsnip
   

Read our past Gardeners Corner issues.

Winter 2022-23
Read more about:

• Protect trees from winter’s wrath with a few preventive steps
• Indoor gardening can brighten winter doldrums
• Burning local firewood this winter can save forests
• Give someone a green holiday season with the gift of plants
• Planning a new perennial garden? Plant for the whole garden ecosystem
• Fruit trees need an annual trim to bear best fruit
• Flowers are a forgotten love language
• Tree bark adds visual bite to winter landscapes
• Sow seeds of change, learn how to save garden seeds
   

Fall 2022 
Read more about:

• Grassy weeds becoming more common in lawns
• Keep plants hydrated going into fall
• Extend the season with fall flowers
• Plant fall salad greens
• Prepare trees for severe weather
• Store summer-blooming bulbs overwinter
• Try growing a loofah sponge
• Create a sensory garden
   

Summer 2022 
Read more about:

• Microclovers making a comeback as lawns grow in biodiversity
• To outsmart weeds in the garden, take multiple approaches
• Support pollinators with cheerful viola flowers
• Feed your community by safely donating homegrown fruits, vegetables
• Tips for harvesting garden vegetables
• Create backyard paradise with tropical plant garden
• Overwhelmed by garden produce? Pickle it!, 
• Leaves of three? Keep poison ivy out of the home landscape
• Taking time to select plants for difficult growing conditions helps long-term success
• Native prairie grasses create distinct, breezy aesthetic in home landscape. 

Spring 2022 
Read more about:

• Plant with confidence with 2022 All-America Selection Winners
• What is pelleted seed
• Start an indoor kitchen garden
• Flavor your meals with low-maintenance homegrown herbs
• Scale up your garden’s health with fish emulsion fertilizer
• Early blooming spring ephemerals flowers welcome warmer weather
• Give caterpillars a chance with soft landings under trees
• Grow curly willows
• Magnolia blooms
• Beetles are nature’s spring flower odd couple
• Prevent floods with rain friendly landscaping

Winter 2021 
Read more about:

• Keep worms warm for winter vermicomposting
• Watering trees, shrubs in the fall and winter is a balancing act
• DIY bottle terrariums make great holiday gift
• Low-maintenance, winter blooming holiday cacti are gift that keep on giving
• Poinsettias add a rainbow of color options to holiday décor
• Give Christmas trees a second life after the holidays
• Use DIY kokedama moss balls to grow houseplants
• Plant cover crops at home for healthier soils
• Garden catalog season gives gardeners chance to explore, shop for next year's seeds
• Trim trees, shrubs in the dormant season for stronger, healthier plants

Fall 2021 
Read more about:

• Plant asters for unique display of fall color
• Small bees attracted to small flowers
• Tips for planting balled-burlapped trees for long-term health, success
• Some trees weather wet soils, floods better than others
• Fall is for feathered friends, fireplaces
• Healthy gardens start with sensible soil testing
• Proper maintenance extends lifespan, save money on garden tools
• Don't rake fall leaves, recycle them

Summer 2021 
Read more about:

• School gardens
• Watering summer lawns
• Plant a salsa garden
• Large yard not required to support pollinators
• Prevent tomato blossom end rot
• Get to know Illinois milkweed
• Irrigate gardens to beat summer heat
• Our love-hate relationship with dandelions
• Hire tree care professional with confidence
• Create a bird-friendly yard

Spring 2021 
Read more about:

• Make way for 2021 award-winning All-America Selections plants
• Gardening benefits body, mind, wallet
• Tips for starting your spring garden off strong
• The time is right to plant cool season vegetables
• Callery pear have no home in landscape designs
• Refresh your raised bed soil
• Heirloom flowers provide fragrance, beauty, pollinator support
• Small-space containers big with new gardeners
• Small-batch culinary herbs add flavor to the gardening menu
• Planning and designing a native garden
• Create a moonlight garden

Winter 2020 
Read more about:

• How to care for a living Christmas tree
• Grow a living Christmas tree with Norfolk Island Pine
• Picking the perfect Christmas tree starts at home
• Perennial plant of the year Calamint, a perfect pick for pollinators
• Blooming plant ideas for Valentine’s Day
• How to create a fruit garden
• Preventing fruit tree diseases starts in the dormant season
• Winter pruning boosts blackberry and raspberry harvests
• Small but mighty microgreens are easy to grow indoors
• Keep houseplants happy with simple solutions
• Keep poinsettias plentiful long after the holidays

Fall 2020 
Read more about:

• Prolong the shelf life of garden-fresh produce with good harvest habits
• Benefit your health and environment by growing your own vegetables
• Harvest abundant squash for food, decoration
• Hold on to summer with home hydroponics
• Harvest milkweed pods; plant Monarch butterfly garden
• Bring houseplants indoors before the first frost
• Select and plant spring-flowering bulbs now
• Plant native perennials in the fall for healthy spring growth
• Planting trees boosts curb appeal and benefits the urban environment
• Fall flowering witch hazel charms home gardens
• Exfoliating bark trees add great appeal
• Fall is a great time for planting trees
• Select the right tree for fall planting in Illinois
• Put fall leaves to work as compost
• Fall garden cleanup lays groundwork for a successful spring
• How to pick the perfect pumpkin

Summer 2020 
Read more about:

• Growing a rainbow vegetable garden
• 5 ideas to add shade to your backyard
• ‘Annabelle’ hydrangea: A showy shrub with historic roots in Illinois
• Drought tolerant plants for the landscape
• Growing irises: How to plant, grow and care for iris
• When to prune hydrangeas

Spring 2020 
Read more about:

• Perennial Favorite Named Plant of the Year
• Why You Should Think About Sequence of Bloom
• Designing a Sensory Garden
• Wildlife-Friendly Gardens
• Soil Temperatures for Spring Planting
• Protecting Tender Plants from Spring Frost

Winter 2019 
Read more about:

• Growing Ferns Indoors
• Ice Storms and Tree Damage
• Pantry Pests, Maintaining Garden Tools
• Make a Statement with Succulent Cacti
• How to Manage Winter Houseplant Insects

Fall 2019 Read more about:

• Summer Bulbs: Care and Overwintering Tips
• Crop Rotation in Home Vegetable Gardens
• Establishing Perennials in the Early Fall
• Chrysanthemums Add Fall Color to the Garden
• What Can a No-Till Garden Do for You?
• Signs of a Dead or Dying Tree

Summer 2019 Read more about:

• Fruit Tree Planting
• Install a Rain Barrel This Summer
• Garden Design with Native Plants in Mind
• Beauty For a Day
• Living with Japanese Beetles
• The Versatile Elderberry

Spring 2019 Read more about:

• Spring Tree Planting
• Tips for Growing Ginger
• Add Beauty to the Garden with Cool Season Annuals
• Spring Lawn Care
• Annual Flowering Vines
• 2019 Perennial Plant of the Year

Winter 2019 Read more about:

• Try Worm Composting This Winter
• Caring for Amaryllis
• Norfolk Island Pine
• Winter Watering of Trees and Shrubs
• Who is Spending Winter in Your Garden
• Houseplant Expectations During Winter

Fall 2018 Read more about:

• Fall Seeding of Lawns
• Ornamental Kale At-Home Tissue Culture
• Top Perennials for a Fall Cutting Garden
• Five Valuable Tips for Fall Lawn Care
• Overwintering Tender Plants Indoors
• Fall Browning of Evergreen Foliage

Summer 2018 Read more about:

• Taking Care of Spring-Planted Trees, Shrubs, and Evergreens
• Pineberries: Pineapple-flavored Strawberries
• The Basics of Straw Bale Gardening
• Be on the Lookout for Ticks
• Conserve Water this Summer
• Gardening with Reptiles

Spring 2018 Read more about:

• The Sweet Story of Strawberry Success
• Growing Vegetables in Raised Beds
• Organic-Based Soil Fertility: A Primer, Kitchen-Scrap Gardening
• ‘Millenium’ Allium—2018 Perennial Plant of the Year
• The Super-Cool Leaves of Vegetable Greens

Winter 2018 Read more about:

• Choosing and Caring for Your Christmas Tree
• Please Help with BMSB Identification in Illinois
• Keep Gardening All Winter Long
• Understanding Photoperiodism
• One Key to Plant Flowering Propagating Houseplants to Expand Your Collection
• Caring for Your Houseplants in Winter
• Meet Me Under the Mistletoe

Fall 2017 Read more about:

• Keeping Your Vegetable Garden in Shape in the Offseason
• Making Your Own Tissue Culture Medium
• Soil Testing: A Key to Good Gardening
• Garden Preparations for Winter
• Tulips: Worth More than Gold!
• Consider Edibles for Fall Container Gardens

Summer 2017 Read more about:

• What’s the Buzz About Illinois Bees?
• Identifying and Managing Your Garden Weeds
• Beware of Dangerous Carrots!
• Butterfly Weed: Perennial of the Year
• School Gardens: Cultivating Produce and Passions
• Spice Up Your Landscape with Ornamental Peppers
• Tree Foliage Diseases May Look Bad, But They’re Rarely Fatal

Spring 2017 Read more about:

• Top Five Cool-Season Annuals for Containers
• Fire Blight of Apples and Pears
• How Can I Support Pollinators?
• Accessible Edible Gardens
• Moss Gardening
• Corriandrum: 2017 Herb of the Year

Winter 2017 Read more about:

• Don’t Toss that Poinsettia: Try a Little After-Holiday Care
• Grow Tillandsias for the Holiday Season
• Choosing Plants with Winter Interest
• Living with Your Houseplants and Their Insect Relatives
• Orchids Are Elegant Houseplants
• Grow Your Own Birdseed

Fall 2016 Read more about:

• Key Garden Tasks for Fall
• Fantastic, Funky Spring-Blooming Bulbs
• Daffodils, Narcissus, or Jonquil?
• Ready Garden Tools and Equipment for Winter
• Why Not to Cut Your Perennials This Fall
• Handling Your Fresh-Picked Produce
• Fall Preparation for Vegetable Gardens