Home and Garden – Page 23

A monarch butterfly climbs on verbena blooms Sept. 9, 2025, in Oak Park. Land managers of rights-of-way throughout the area are increasingly implementing monarch-friendly practices such as installing native plants and mowing less frequently. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

As monarch butterflies head south, they’re getting an assist along utility rights of way, roadways

By Susan DeGrane

October 9, 2026 at 9:52 a.m.

The Illinois Department of Transportation, ComEd and other agencies are implementing practices along rights of...

Even spectacular bulbs such as these peony-flowered tulips are most effective groups. Plant them in fall for spring bloom. (Beth Botts/The Morton Arboretum)

Plant bulbs now for spring bloom

By Beth Botts

October 4, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

There’s no more satisfying way to spend a crisp fall day than planting bulbs for...

Ageratum is a sun-loving annual that can provide color in gardens that are challenged by rabbits. (Jeff Carrion/Chicago Botanic Garden)

Rabbits nibbling your garden? Here’s what to do.

By Tim Johnson

October 3, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The best way to prevent rabbit damage in the growing season is to exclude them...

River Forest residents Connor and Karen Faust try to find the queen in a hive of bees rescued from a Naperville home that have become part of a new exhibit at Brookfield Zoo Chicago. (Steve Metsch/Pioneer Press)

Even in winter, bees creating a buzz at Brookfield Zoo

By Steve Metsch

January 7, 2025 at 5:02 a.m.

About 40,000 bees rescued from homes in Naperville and Lincoln Park are now buzzing away...

Adding a few native plants to your garden is one easy resolution to keep in the coming growing season. Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) provides habitat for monarch butterflies. (Beth Botts/The Morton Arboretum)

Resolve to plan ahead for this year’s garden

By Beth Botts

January 5, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

A new year is a good time to make some resolutions for a lovelier, more...

Wrap plant trunks with fine mesh hardware cloth or wire fencing with holes ¼ inch or less in diameter. (RJ Carlson / Chicago Botanic Garden)

Don’t let up on plant protection this winter

By Tim Johnson

January 4, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Many gardeners drop their guard in winter, giving animals an opportunity to do significant damage...

Certain varieties of amaryllis may take more time to sprout. (RJ Carlson / Chicago Botanic Garden)

Large and showy amaryllis takes time to grow

By Tim Johnson

December 29, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

Amaryllis flowers are dramatic, which is a big bonus for the winter months.

City contractors feed discarded Christmas trees into a wood-chipper on Jan. 9, 2013, at a recycling facility on the North Side of Chicago. (Chris Walker/baiduhai)

Christmas trees go on to do good

By Beth Botts

December 30, 2024 at 10:37 a.m.

When it’s time to say goodbye to your Christmas tree, where will it go?

Paperwhite bulbs do not need much space. (RJ Carlson/Chicago Botanic Garden)

Paperwhites are an easy indoor plant for winter

By Tim Johnson

December 22, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

One pot of paperwhites is usually plenty for one room.

Common winterberry (Ilex verticillata) is a native species of holly that loses its leaves in winter but makes up for it with vivid red berries. (Beth Botts/The Morton Arboretum)

Get jolly for holly in your yard

By Beth Botts

December 21, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

The holly traditionally associated with Christmas is native to England and other parts of Europe,...

Little ones stare through the window of a Chicago store’s toy display in December 1936, watching the antics of a clown in the background and at the same time inspecting the goods on Santa’s counter. (Chicago Herald and Examiner)

Elaborate State Street windows display a memory of Christmases past

By Ron Grossman

December 16, 2024 at 6:46 p.m.

The Christmas window displays at State Street department stores once drew thousands of holiday revelers,...

A large planting of hosta around an oak tree that is not cut back. (Tim Johnson / Chicago Botanic Garden)

For winter interest in your garden, wait until spring to cut perennials

By Tim Johnson

December 15, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

Many gardeners cut back their perennials much too soon in early fall and miss out...

Cold damages plants because it freezes water into ice inside their tissues and in the soil. Winter-hardy trees and shrubs such as this saucer magnolia shield their buds with furry insulation or tough bud scales to protect them from the cold. (The Morton Arboretum)

Winter is coming, but the right plants can survive

By Beth Botts

December 14, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

Some hardy plants can withstand a light freeze, but a hard freeze will kill any...