Elderberries grow in the wild on both sides of the Atlantic, and have been cultivated in the garden for thousands of years. But these beautiful shrubs remain a mystery to most contemporary gardeners. Here’s a guide to growing elderberries—with a focus on the benefits...
Anything you leave outside is bound to get weathered, whether it’s a ceramic pot, a pair of shears, or even the leaves on a tree. While a tree can shed old leaves and grow new ones, your garden pots won’t magically renew themselves. They need to be cleaned and...
Leafy trees get most of the praise in the summer, while evergreens stand modestly in the background. In comparison to their leafy cousins, evergreens seem subtle, hard to get to know, and even boring. But when you take a closer look, these stalwarts of the tree world...
Bulbs are those beautiful perennials that grow from a fleshy root, bloom each year, and die back to the root. Some bulbs are “hardy,” which means they survive our winter. Others are “tender,” meaning they won’t overwinter in Illinois without some help. Which ones are...
A healthy tree in our yard does more good for us than we can imagine, but when it starts to show signs of decay, it becomes a major hazard. Sometimes a tree can be saved by pruning off the problem. Other times the whole thing needs to come down. So how do you tell if...
