Home and Garden – Page 4

By simply raking fallen leaves onto your garden beds, you can provide your plants with a healthy, protective, soil-building layer of free mulch. (Beth Botts/The Morton Arboretum)

Don’t let fallen leaves go to waste

By Beth Botts

October 25, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Nature never wastes a leaf.

Fall tree color at the Chicago Botanic Garden. (Jeff Carrion/Chicago Botanic Garden)

Peak fall color in Chicago area now on display

By Tim Johnson

October 24, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

When you understand the basics of fall color and monitor the weather, you will be...

Rats walk through an alley on the 1900 block of North Halsted Street Tuesday Aug. 12, 2025, in Chicago. The village of Franklin Park is seeking input from residents via an advisory referendum on if it should ban fruit trees in residential neighborhoods to help reduce rodent populations that might feed on fallen fruit. (Armando L. Sanchez/baiduhai)

Franklin Park seeks voter input on potential fruit tree ban to combat rodents

By Alicia Fabbre

October 23, 2026 at 2:13 p.m.

Franklin Park voters are being asked in an advisory referendum if the village should ban...

Leaf damage to arrowwood viburnum by viburnum leaf beetle larvae. (Tom Tiddens/Chicago Botanic Garden)

Avoid blanket pesticide sprays in your garden

By Tim Johnson

August 15, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Integrated pest management will result in healthy plants under less environmental stress, and presents fewer...

Members of the Chicago Nature Journaling Club look at journal entries during an outing in fall 2023 at Gompers Park on the Chicago River in Chicago. (Ruta Daugavietis)

Nature journaling club members ‘fill their cup’ by noticing natural world

By Melinda Moore

August 11, 2026 at 9:50 a.m.

Maureen Murphy created the Chicago Nature Journaling Club in 2021, which documents experiences in Forest...

Power tools such as lawn mowers and string trimmers used to care for grass around trees can cause serious, sometimes fatal, damage to the trees’ bark. To protect them, replace grass around trees with a wide, even area of mulch where power tools won’t go. (The Morton Arboretum)

Protect tree bark from power tools with mulch

By Beth Botts

August 9, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

One of the biggest threats to trees in summertime is lawn care. A good way...

Virginia creeper in fall color. (Jeff Carrion/Chicago Botanic Garden)

Virginia creeper can cover bare area

By Tim Johnson

August 8, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Virginia creeper is a native vine that would work to cover empty space in your...

A plant such as Honorine Jourbert Japanese anemone can be aggressive without being invasive. Understanding the meanings of words used to describe plants’ behavior is important to good gardening. (Beth Botts/The Morton Arboretum)

Learn the right terms for problem plants

By Beth Botts

August 1, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Even a plant that we value in one place may be a nuisance if it...

Judy Schanck, left, of Alsip, a member of Heritage Quilters Guild of South Suburbia for more than 30 years, shows off her fall-themed quilt featuring acorns and leaves with fellow member Reba Spilis during the Guild's July meeting in South Holland. (Melinda Moore/Daily Southtown)

Crafting leads to community for members of Heritage Quilters Guild of South Suburbia

By Melinda Moore

July 29, 2026 at 1:39 p.m.

The Heritage Quilters Guild of South Suburbia draws members from the south suburbs and northwest...

Cicada killers are solitary wasps. (Tim Johnson/Chicago Botanic Garden)

Cicada killer wasps no cause for concern in garden

By Tim Johnson

July 26, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Too many people initially respond to seeing wasps or hornets in their garden by calling...

Carolina allspice blooms in summer with large dark red flowers and its leaves have a distinctive spicy fragrance. (Beth Botts/The Morton Arboretum)

Blooming shrubs light up the outdoors

By Beth Botts

July 25, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Here are some suggestions for shrubs that flower in late June, July and August.

The trunk flare is a widening of the trunk just above the roots.
(RJ Carlson/Chicago Botanic Garden)

Nursing a sick tree? Here’s what to do.

By Tim Johnson

July 19, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

There is not one generic method to treat all trees that are diseased or struggling...

Soldier beetles, often seen on flowers, are among the many beneficial insect predators that help limit populations of insects that are harmful to plants. (Sharon Yiesla/The Morton Arboretum)

Bug-eating insects are allies in the garden

By Beth Botts

July 18, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Go slowly and think hard before spraying any insecticides in the garden.