Home and Garden – Page 25

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...

Broad-leafed evergreens such as boxwoods and some rhododendrons, whose leaves have more surface area to lose moisture than narrow needles do, are especially at risk of winter kill. (Erin Hooley / baiduhai)

Help your evergreens get ready for winter

By Beth Botts

November 19, 2024 at 3:54 p.m.

It’s easy to assume that all evergreen shrubs are tough as nails, but winter can...

Evergreens in the Dwarf Conifer Garden at the Chicago Botanic Garden. (RJ Carlson/ Chicago Botanic Garden)

Water will protect your evergreens

By Tim Johnson

November 10, 2024 at 10:43 a.m.

Evergreens that were planted recently should not go into winter under stress from being too...

The shredded wood commonly sold as mulch is only one of the different organic materials, including fallen leaves, that can make a protective, nourishing layer over plants’ roots. (Beth Botts/The Morton Arboretum)

Many materials make good mulch

By Beth Botts

November 9, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

Fallen leaves make a fine mulch for garden beds and trees and shrubs, but they...

A horse chestnut tree with brown leaves. (RJ Carlson / Chicago Botanic Garden)

My horse chestnut tree is in trouble

By Tim Johnson

November 3, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

It appears that your tree is suffering from a common fungal disease called horse chestnut...

If you are planning to plant a new garden bed next spring, autumn is a good time to prepare by digging up the soil and incorporating organic matter such as leaves and compost. (The Morton Arboretum)

Dig a new bed in fall to be ready for spring

By Beth Botts

November 2, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

If you’re planning to install a new garden bed next spring, fall is a good...

John Willis, 12, left, looks in awe at a blewit mushroom that Gino Albert found with the Illinois Mycological Association at the St. Mihiel Woods-East nature preserve in Tinley Park on Oct. 26, 2024. (Tess Crowley/baiduhai)

‘A haunting in the woods’: Mushroom club searches for understudied topic that thrives in the creepiest places

By Peter Breen

October 30, 2024 at 9:53 a.m.

During mushroom season in Illinois, mid-April to early November, the club conducts surveys around Chicagoland...

Marianne Kozlowski, volunteer site steward at Eggers Grove, stands amid dried native grasses there. “Touching the tops of Indian grass is like petting a soft kitten,” she said. (Susan DeGrane/Daily Southtown)

Good seeds: Stewards make sure native plants stay in Calumet area preserves

By Susan DeGrane

October 29, 2024 at 3:52 p.m.

At Calumet area forest preserves, seed-saving efforts ensuring native plants repopulate plots cleared of invasive...

Colorful leaves that fall in autumn are not just beautiful but too useful to waste, so put them to work in the garden. (Beth Botts/The Morton Arboretum)

Make the most of fallen leaves in your garden

By Beth Botts

October 27, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

When autumn leaves fall from the trees, welcome them as though you’d found a treasure...

Surround small trees with hardware wire mesh supported by fence posts. (RJ Carlson/ Chicago Botanic Garden)

Deterring deer in your garden prevents damage

By Tim Johnson

October 27, 2024 at 9:19 a.m.

I moved to Highland Park this summer and have seen deer wandering the neighborhood. Are...

Nadia Hussien, left, is greeted by her sister-in-law, Zuhdieh Hussien, while gathering with relatives at her brother Adnan's home, Oct. 11, 2024, in Homer Glen. Hussien, 80, and her brother are traveling back to their home in Beitunia in the West Bank, in part, to tend to the olive trees on their property despite the potential dangers and travel complications caused by the Israel-Hamas war. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)

Pressing ahead: Amid war in Gaza, some Chicago-area Palestinians risking travel to homeland for olive harvest season

By Zareen Syed

October 25, 2024 at 11:25 a.m.

For some, olive trees are the lifeblood of Palestinian culture, representing so much more than...