This session will explore the challenges experienced by Master Gardeners in their attempts to get the right information from a homeowner in order to help them.

Jim Schuster is an Educator with the University of Illinois Extension and is based at the Countryside Center near Joliet. Jim has worked for the University Extension for 36 years. He has a Bachelors of Science in Horticulture and a Master of Science degree in Plant Pathology. Being a regional educator, Jim travels throughout the State, giving educational programs. Jim has won numerous awards for horticultural programs within and outside the State.

Answering gardening questions on landscape pests comprises a large percentage of the questions asked by homeowners. This hands-on session will be a big help towards getting more familiar with the more common landscape pests. Don't miss this important session conducted by one of Illinois Extension's experienced and popular educators.

The session will be on June 14, 2006 at Friendship Park Conservatory from 9am to 1pm. We have only 30 seats for this session so call Theresa or Eileen at 847-818-291 to make your reservations now.

- Anne Gachuhi

The Spring Gardening Workshop (Step Up Into Spring Gardening) on Saturday April 29, 2006 was well attended despite the weather reports. A total of 96 people (members of the public plus Master Gardeners) attended the all-day workshop at Harper College. Extension Educators (Maurice Ogutu, Greg Stack, Jim Schuster, Anne Gachuhi and Ellen Phillips), Master Gardener Greg Bartoshuk, as well as Harper College educators (Joyce Grattoni, Keith Siedsma and Chet Ryndak) participated. The workshop was a success due to the effort of many of our Master Gardeners that participated actively in the planning stages and during the actual workshop day. I acknowledge these contributions with gratitude.

The long term impact of the University of Illinois public outreach educational workshops, such as the Spring Gardening Workshop, is to facilitate the creation of more sustainable communities, while building green infrastructure, actively engaging communities in conservation to help improve community life. The aim of the Workshop was to provide homeowners with the tools to help them implement gardening practices that are environmentally sound and to appreciate the environmental, economic and aesthetic benefits of sustainable landscaping practices. It is important that we are at the forefront in providing education and services to the homeowner to help facilitate change in gardening knowledge and skills.

This workshop was planned in a very short time and again I appreciate the efforts of all those that participated in making it a reality. I'm looking forward to our next steps. The lessons learned will certainly help us in planning for next year's workshop. Surveys asking for your feedback have been mailed out. Please send in your feedback if you have not already done so. Your feedback will help us improve on and have a greater impact with future workshops. I also encourage you to join one of the workshop committees. A meeting date for the workshop "Debriefing and Planning Session" will be announced shortly.

- Anne Gachuhi

One of Illinois' State Symbols is the White Oak tree, one of approximately twenty native species of oak in Illinois.

In 1907, Illinois schoolchildren voted for a State Tree and selected the Native Oak. A bill made it official in 1908. In 1973, a special poll of 900,000 children changed the State Tree from Native Oak to White Oak.

White Oaks prefer rich, slightly acidic, well-drained soil. In Illinois they are found in a variety of habitats, but they grow best on uplands, slopes, and terraces. The geographic range of White Oak extends from Maine to Minnesota, south to eastern Texas and northern Florida. White Oaks can be very tall (100', 30m) with widely spreading branches, making them excellent shade trees.

The leaves of the white oak are generally between 5" – 9" long (13 - 23 cm), narrowing toward the stem with seven to nine lobes. The leaves turn red or purple in the fall.

White Oaks begin to produce acorns in the fall (about 1" long, 2.5 cm) when they are about twenty years old and provide an important food for many birds and animals.

The wood of the white oak is strong, durable and beautiful and is used in cabinetry, interior finishing and general construction. The bark is pale gray, narrowly furrowed with scaly ridges and smooth patches (the result of a fungus that invades the outer, non-living portion of the bark).

Dear Frugal MG,

Birds are shredding my silver mound Artemisia! Then they pick up the pieces and bring them to line their nests with something soft, I guess. My little dog Toto can't chase them away enough and I don't have much faith in scarecrows. Do you have another deterrent? - Dorothy

Dear Dorothy,

If the plants are still small, the plastic pint baskets for strawberries might fit over them. You can also use the mesh bags from your store-bought oranges or grapefruit. (We've all been frugally saving them, haven't we?) Just clip off the gathered ends then cut down one side to make the bag into one flat sheet of mesh. Place it very loosely over the plant and weight the corners with small rocks. Also provide a soft and fuzzy pile of cotton string clippings that are about an inch long with their strands pulled apart. This should be equally soft for nest lining and be about as biodegradable as the rest of a natural materials nest. - FG

Dear FG,

Rabbits have dug a hole under my fence right near my Asian lilies. There they stop and nibble off the ends of every single leaf! Must I camp out there with my rifle just to protect my lilies? - Annie Oakley

Dear Annie,

First, let's close that drive up fast food window with an old brick in the hole under the fence. Then, try an old favorite rabbit guard of mine: the 2-liter, clear plastic pop bottle. Cut off the top and bottom to make a perfect cylinder. Cut down the side so you can open the cylinder and gently wrap it around the lily plant. You will probably need two of these to go around the plant without squeezing the leaves. Just staple the edge of one shield to the edge of the other to make one wider cylinder. Size it to fit and no larger. An extra tip: if you only cut off the bottom and the neck of the bottle leaving a little of the curved top on (the shoulders of the bottle), the shield will wrap much tighter: perfect for small trees that need protection from short, nibbling varmints.

Now, Annie, put away your gun and lettuce have peas. - FG

Mulch tomatoes, peppers, and squash. Watch out for tomato hornworms and handpick. If a plant wilts, remove it immediately to avoid spreading wilt to other plants.

Spray cabbage with BT (Bacillus thuringiensis) for worm control. However, if you are gardening to attract butterflies, using BT can reduce dramatically the number and variety of butterfly species. Therefore, it is safer to handpick caterpillars several times a week.

Encourage new shoots in overgrown lilacs by cutting a third of the largest branches to the ground each year for three years.

If rain is scarce, water lawns once or twice a week at a rate of 1" to 1.5" per week.

Mulch trees by applying a 2" – 4" layer of mulch to the drip line of each tree, but at least 4" – 6" from the trunk.

To keep your annuals vigorous and healthy, apply a dry fertilizer such as 10-10-10 to the plants once a month. Keep the fertilizer off the leaves and water it immediately.

Since weeds will sprout by magic in wet weather, pull weeds out as soon as you see them.

Plant pumpkins in June to be ready for Halloween.

Plant all the perennial seedlings you started indoors. If they are still too small to go into the perennial garden, grown them in a nursery bed until they are large enough to transplant.

Prune sucker growth from crab apples and fruit trees below the soil if possible. Also, prune out watersprouts.

Spring-blooming perennials (geraniums, salvias, delphiniums, and baptisia) can be cut back to promote a late-summer display of flowers.

Use biological controls such as nematodes and milky spore on grubs.

Keep herbs watered in dry times, but avoid over-watering. Pinch out the new top growth and prevent them from flowering to intensify the oils in the foliage.

Add a 2" – 3" layer of fresh mulch in early spring around all your roses. The mulch will help cover any over-wintering spores and prevent them from splashing on the leaves.

Fertilize hybrid tea and grandiflora roses in spring and again lightly when blooming. Avoid high nitrogen fertilizers and choose a rose formula with higher phosphorus.

In spring and early summer (especially on newly planted roses), take only short stems when you cut for a bouquet. Roses are sensitive to the loss of leaves during these times, and removing too many can stress the plant. Cut in early morning or evening for the longest lasting bouquets.

Watch out for wildlife babies! Take precautions when mowing tall grass, or pruning shrubs so you don't disturb a baby bird, squirrel or rabbit. If you do spot a baby, leave it alone. Be assured, that mom has fed them well and is watching from a close, undetectable distance.

- Mary Boldan

Morton Arboretum's Tree and Shrub Handbook, 2^nd Edition

The 2^nd Edition of the Morton Arboretum's Tree and Shrub Handbook is an invaluable tool for Master Gardeners offering flexibility with a three-ring binder approach to information contained in the Handbook. The subject matter is divided into four areas:

· Selection

· Horticultural Care

· Pests

· Diseases

The "Selection" portion of the Handbook includes easy reference tables for large, intermediate and small trees and shrubs plus information on natives, invasives, ornamental grasses and groundcovers. Photographs are limited but useful information is not.

An A to Z approach is taken with the three remaining sections in the Handbook. "Horticultural Care" topics range from animal control to wounds; "Pests" from aphids to tent caterpillars; and "Diseases" from anthracnose to wetwood listing symptoms, causes, and control measures.

- Reviewed by Colleen Graudins

Master Gardeners toured Pesche's Garden Center in Des Plaines on May 5^th. Helen Henry, Master Gardener and Pesche's employee, gave the tour which included the history of the garden center. Pesche's a good neighbor and donates plants to many of our programs.

On May 8^th, Toby Koch gave a presentation on container gardening at the Arlington Hts. Memorial Library to the American Association of University Women. The program was well received.

On May 9^th, Kathy Uszler gave a presentation to the Mt. Prospect Chamber of Commerce on container gardening. Also on May 9^th, a presentation on container gardening was given to St. John Breufeuf Church in Niles by Colleen Graudins. Both programs were very popular and had large audiences.

On May 15^th, Mary Ellen Murphy and Kathy Uszler presented a container gardening demonstration at the Palatine Public Library to an appreciative crowd of over 40 people.

MGs answered gardening inquiries and distributed brochures and contact information for Friendship Park Conservatory and the Rolling Meadows Master Gardener office at the Villa Park Men's Garden Club and the FPC Annual Mother's Day Sale on May 13^th.

On May 19^th, MGs, Karen Reid, Mary McAlevy and Greg Bartoshuk staffed a Q&A table at St. Matthew's Center for Health in Park Ridge. Our presence was a great success! MGs also supplied gardening information at the Rolling Meadows Hometown Flower and Craft Sale on May 20^th.

On Tuesday, May 23^rd at 9:30 am, MGs dug in and planted the vegetable garden at FPC. Thanks for all your help and dedication. (See article below.)

Don't forget to signup for the Elk Grove Village Farmer's Market and The Palatine French Market. A planning meeting will be held at the Rolling Meadows Master Gardener office on Friday, June 2^nd at 9:30 am to schedule Master Gardeners for time and dates. (See June Calendar.)

- Theresa Jones

We're spotlighting the vegetable garden at Friendship Park Conservatory this month because so much sweat and plain old hard work on the part of our volunteers went into it.

The garden has been moved from where it's originally been so it took more effort than usual on the part of our volunteers to break up the soil and prepare it for the plants. We hope to have a bumper crop of veggies and herbs for pickin' come late summer. All of the food harvested will go to the Des Plaines Food Depository (or like institution) for distribution to the hungry. As in the past, this effort by our dedicated volunteers pays off big in the satisfaction that all of their hard work will produce food for families in need.

Articles To Print In the Hort Happenings Newsletter We need input from fellow Master Gardeners in order to provide articles and facts for you to enjoy and read! Please consider sending articles, information, interesting facts, as well as garden jokes, cartoons, tips and Q&A. Submissions must be researched articles in line with University policy. All jokes/cartoons must be in good taste. Information cannot promote or recommend a company or product. You must own or have the author's permission to use any and all materials. Submissions are due on the 15th of each month, and may be subject to editing. Articles received after the deadline will be retained for the next newsletter.

- Send articles to Eileen Witt, ejwitt@extension.uiuc.edu

The increasing cost of postage has forced us to change the means of distribution for HortHappenings. Listed below is a timetable of the changes.

June Edition: Hard copies will be sent to all Master Gardeners as normal. Master Gardeners with an email address will also receive an electronic copy. For those receiving copies via e-mail, please send us your feedback on this method of delivery.

July Edition: A hard copy of a condensed version will be mailed to Master Gardeners without an e-mail address; full copies will be send to Master Gardeners with e-mail.

August Edition: "Snail-mail" distribution of paper copies will be discontinued. Hard copy of full editions will be made available to Master Gardeners without email at Friendship Park and Rolling Meadows. Electronic distribution of the newsletter will continue for Master Gardeners with e-mail. Additionally, HortHappenings will be posted in a new location on our web site (the URL will be published shortly).

As a suggestion, Master Gardeners without e-mail could "buddy up" with one who does to view and/or print a hardcopy of the newsletter.

If you have further suggestions, please let us know. Thanks for your understanding.

- Submitted by Anne Gachuhi