Four Seasons Gardening program offers fall series

The fall series of University of Illinois Extension’s Four Seasons Gardening program, which focuses on environmental stewardship, home gardening and backyard food production, is now underway.. Anyone who delves into gardening or nature, comes across a plant that mystifies them in how it has adapted to the environment on which it relies. From the insect-eating carnivorous plants that grow in bogs, or invasive plants that poison the soil to fend off competition, some plants are truly wondrous. University of Illinois Extension Horticulture Educator Kelly Allsup will reveal some of the most unique plants we deal with, while giving you the newest and latest research on them.

The second session of fall Four Seasons Gardening program is titled “Small Shrubs = Big Impact and Short Work. This session will be offered twice – on October 11 at 1:30 p.m. and again October 13 at 6:30 p.m.

By using small flowering shrubs in your flower garden and shrub borders, your landscape will burst with color without the maintenance of most annual and perennial flowers. Join Extension Horticulture Educator Sandy Mason for an in-depth look at the numerous small shrubs that can be added to your landscape.

The fall series of the Four Seasons Gardening program, from University of Illinois Extension, concludes with a session titled “Garden Pond Critters – Friend and Foe.” The program will also be offered twice, on October 25 at 1:30 p.m. and again on October 27 at 6:30 p.m.

This program will cover the various animals that you may add to your garden pond and that are attracted to it. State Extension Entomologist Phil Nixon will start out with the fish you may want to put into your pond. Which ones are effective in controlling mosquito larvae, and which ones may uproot your plants. What you need to do for fish to overwinter, and which fish you will need to bring indoors for the winter. Also addressed will be mammals, birds and others that eat your pet fish such as raccoons, cats, kingfishers, herons, frogs and turtles, and how to manage them. Finally, NIxon will address identification and control of mosquitoes, midges and predatory insects that will make your pond their home.

These webinars may be viewed from home by pre-registering at go.illinois.edu/4seasons_webinars. Recorded videos of these sessions, as well as previous Four Seasons webinars, can be viewed following the program at go.illinois.edu/fourseasonsrecordings.

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