On August 29, 2005, I had the pleasure of touring The Gardens at Ball. I hope many of you took advantage of their open days held each Friday in August. They have accomplished so much in such a short time, especially considering the summer heat and drought. The plants, designs and hardscape are fantastic. For me, it is just what I needed to get me back in the swing of gardening. This year, the summer weather nearly got the best of me, but I've been rescued and now back on the hunt---watch out mums and kale, here I come!

Newsletter via email

If you think you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please call the office and talk with Joan. She will start a separate mailing list just for email. We would like to pilot this idea for the November/December issue.

Upcoming Horticulture Classes

If you are interested in attending one of these classes, be sure to call the office right away to register. If you have signed up but are unable to attend, please let us know. Some classes have a wait list and we would like offer that space if we can. We appreciate your cooperation on this.

· Spring Bulbs for the Home LandscapeThursday, Sept. 15, 2005 10 a.m. – noon (Susan Grupp, instructor)

· Fruit Trees for the Home GardenThursday, Sept. 22, 2005 7-8:30 p.m.

· Easy Care Native Plants Thursday, Oct. 6, 2005 7-8:30 p.m.

There is a $5. fee for the above programs.

Also available are pre-recorded telenets. Power point slides and instructor audio can be accessed on the Master Gardener computer. This is available when Master Gardeners are not working the Help Desk. Please call the office to reserve a time.

Topics:

• Fall Lawn Care
• Ornamental Vines
• Wildlife Management
• Spring Wildflowers
• Strawberries & Brambles
• Vegetable Design
• Reblooming Holiday Plants
• Pests of Woody Plants
• Low Input Groundcovers
• Lawn & Garden Weeds (Weed ID)
• Sudden Oak Death

Reminder

All volunteer time in the office should be recorded on the 5x7 "time cards" only. These cards are located in a small black box in the Master Gardener office area. All other volunteer work should be recorded on the golden Volunteer Activity Forms. You may download the Volunteer Activity Form and the Enrichment Training Form on our office website, under Master Gardener.

MG Intern Graduation and Fall Wrap-up

All of you should have received the post card announcing the date for the MG Intern Graduation/ and Fall Wrap-up program. This will be held Wednesday morning, Nov 2, 2005. An Invitation will be mailed at the end of September.

Re-certification

An invitation to return in 2006 will be sent to you later in October. Be sure to have all your volunteer time and training time (veterans) submitted. We hope ALL of you will return!!

IL State Master Gardener's Convention:

The 2005 IL State Master Gardener Convention will be held Sept 22^nd – 24^th in Collinsville, IL (outside St. Louis). Susan will be attending and looks forward to seeing you there.

Volunteer Opportunity

Two volunteers are needed for a MG Help Desk on Wednesday, October 5, from 4 - 8 p.m., for the 9th Annual Family Health and Safety Fair, Glendale Heights Sports Hub, 250 Civic Center Plaza, Glendale Heights. The Sports Hub is located at the northeast corner of Bloomingdale and Fullerton.

Setup takes place from 4 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. A complimentary dinner will be served for vendors and all volunteers at 4:30 p.m. The fair is open to the public from 5 - 8 p.m. A tote will be readied for this fair. One of the MGs will need to pick it up from the office prior to the fair and return it to the office the next day.

If you would like to volunteer for this Help Desk, please call the office at 630-653-4114. First come, first served!

LOST AND FOUND

• We have a few items that were left from the picnic -- 2 silver serving spoons, 2 black serving spoons, 1 white spatula, 1 plastic storage container and a large round silver tray. If any of these belong to you, please come into the office and pick them up as soon as possible. We also have a portable green umbrella. If it's yours, please claim it. Thanks!
• Found at Kline Creek - Brookstone trowel. Please claim at the Extension Office.
• Lost: 1 folding saw, red handle. Possibly left at Kline Creek. If found, please contact MG Intern Carol Lathrop.

Insects Through the Seasons by Gilbert Waldbauer

Gilbert Waldbauer is Professor Emeritus of Entomology at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. He is also a dedicated birder and a life-long naturalist. For the reader, his blending of the naturalist and entomologist results in a consuming interest in these chronicles. This is a very readable book, full of interesting anecdotes about many well known and some not-so-well-known insects, and how they interact with humans, animals and other insects. The author says insects are the most successful and dominant animal group on earth. Only about 2% are bad or are a nuisance. All the rest are necessary for the survival of humans. We cannot survive without them.

The author skillfully narrates the role insects have played in the course of human history.

The silkworm of commerce is the caterpillar of the silk moth. It is fairly closely related to the Cecropia. This silkworm has been domesticated for thousands of years in China, and it no longer exists in the wild. However, people still culture the silkworms just as they did for thousands of years. It seems clear that it was first domesticated in China. Chinese tradition has it that a Chinese empress discovered the usefulness of silk. The Chinese successfully guarded the secret of silkworm culture for thousands of years. Eventually, two Christian monks from Persia were able to smuggle some silkworm eggs out of china into Constantinople. Silkworm culture then developed and thrived in many European countries, and eventually the United States.

There are many types of fleas. All of us have heard of many of them. However, the most notorious is the Oriental rat-flea, which has had a calamitous effect on history. Their bite transmits the bacterium from rats to humans; and thus it caused the bubonic plague – the Black Death. In 40 years during the 1300s the plague swept across Europe and killed 25 million people. The resulting political upheaval resulted in the disintegration of the feudal system.

Aphids also have had an important impact on the course of human history. Aphids often occur in such large numbers that their honeydew is abundant and ubiquitous. Honeydew is regularly used for food by other insects – bees, flies and ants, and also by humans. In near eastern countries, honeydew is collected for human consumption. In Hebrew honeydew is known as "man". An Israeli entomologist proposed that it was this "manna" that sustained the ancient Israelites as they crossed the Sinai Desert in their flight from Egypt. It is claimed by some Middle Eastern people that prepared honeydew is indeed delicious.

The most evolutionarily advanced insects are the social insects – bees, termites and ants. While each group has its own unique social organization, they also live in organized groups, which cooperate to raise the young of the colony. The individuals act in such harmony that the colonies have been called super organisms. A queen who lays the eggs heads each colony. The eggs are cared for by a non-reproductive caste of many workers, which are all sterile females. The colony is organized to feed itself and grow; it must protect itself from destruction; and it must reproduce itself.

A unique species of fly is the black blowfly. The larva-maggots have played an important role in the practice of medicine. These maggots are carrion feeders and thus eat only dead tissue. Important maggot therapy goes back to World War I. Army physicians to cleanse battle wounds used the therapy. Antibiotics have now largely replaced maggot therapy. However, maggot therapy is still used when antibiotics fail.

So the author has demonstrated considerable skill in his narrations of the role of insects and their association with humans in the course of human history.

Submitted by: Bill Mark

- by Bill Mark

Parsley, sage, rosemary.....but no, not thyme. I may rue the day, but since I wrote about lemon thyme some issues back, this column will be about....rue. We use this herb's name to mean regret, a meaning loosely derived from the fact that branches of rue were, long ago, thrown in the face of one's enemy while heaping curses upon him – actions which probably led to regret on the part of the thrower!.

Rue is ruta graveolens, also sometimes called "herb of grace" (regret leading to repentance leading to grace in Christian theology). It is a short-lived perennial, growing in a rounded form up to two feet high. Rue likes a sunny spot in our alkaline soil. What makes it a particularly beautiful addition to the herb patch are its leaves – rounded leaflets, fernlike, a luscious blue green. Rue also has lots of showy stalks of bright yellow blooms in mid to late summer, followed by seed capsules, which dry four-lobed, brown and quite decorative.

Although rue is not bothered by insects, and was in fact used as one of the Romans' chief medicinal plants, in large doses it is poisonous, and may cause blisters on the hands of susceptible persons – use your garden gloves while handling this one.

Rue was believed to improve eyesight; both Michaelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci claimed to have taken the herb. Several available cultivars include the compact "Blue Mound", "Blue Curl" with very finely dissected foliage, and "Variegata", which has white-margined foliage, and which propagates true from seed.

- by Sandy Lentz

Graue Mill

As you travel south on busy York Road approaching Spring Road, it would probably surprise you to look to your right and see a patch of corn and various grains growing not so far away from the road. But as you turn onto winding Spring Road, and take a peek to the right, you'll be greeted with an even more uncommon sight in the surrounding suburbs: a working waterwheel grist mill.

As you park and cross the street, you may feel as if you've traveled back to another time. If so, the volunteers at Graue Mill have done their job. At the entrance to Fullersburg Woods is an enchanting structure surrounded by gardens–Graue Mill. Its gardens are tended to with care by our own Master Gardener volunteers.

Before the Master Gardeners became involved, the gardens were groomed and included many non-native plants. Two years ago, the DuPage Forest Preserve District and Graue Mill Foundation met with Susan Grupp and requested Extension assistance with redeveloping the garden areas surrounding the Mill. The Master Gardeners, headed by Carol Garrett-Strelecky, planned to allow the areas around the mill to evolve into a more natural garden. The mission of the gardens is to preserve plants that are indigenous to the area but are not invasive. Carol drew up plans for the garden, doing extensive historical research at the Morton Arboretum, where she volunteered as a docent. There were already hosta and daylilies in the gardens; although they are not native, Carol couldn't bear the thought of just removing all those healthy plants! So, native plants were interspersed around them. Her plan was to include plants that were grown in our area around the time Graue Mill was a working mill, the years between 1850 and 1899.

The area surrounding the mill is generally shaded. Planted in the only sunny spot near the mill are grains that would have been processed by the mill: barley, buckwheat, oats, rye, sorghum, timothy, corn, broom corn, flax, and wheat. The grains are planted in two plots containing five rows apiece–about 40' by 12'! Master Gardener Cathie Leszinske (Carol's right-hand woman) created plant identifiers by pressing letters into bricks. This allows visitors such as children on school field trips a chance to see and identify the plants most people wouldn't recognize these days.

The Graue Mill gardens are a work in progress. This year, in addition to planting grains, the Master Gardeners moved existing plants to create a path in order to allow visitors to view the garden better. They have cut out many invasive weeds, and spend three days a week weeding and watering. In upcoming weeks the Master Gardeners will be sowing winter wheat and planting donated perennials.

If you have any of the plants listed below that you would like to share from your own garden, please deliver them to MG Carol Garrett Strelecky. Master Gardeners have already donated Echinacea,Asters, Filipendula 'Flora Pleno',Asclepias, tall Phlox, Rudbeckia, and White Coneflower.

Here are plants they are looking for if anyone wants to dig and share:

Anenome canadensis, 'Meadow Anemone'
Andropogon scaoparius, 'Little Blue Stem'
Arisaema atrorubens, 'Jack-in-the-Pulpit'
Asclepias, 'Butterfly Weed'
Achillea millefolium, 'Yarrow'
Boltonia latisquama, 'False Aster'
Carex, any
Echinacea pallida, 'Purple Coneflower'
Erigeron strigosus, 'Daisy Fleabane'
Gentiana, any
Liatris pycnostachya, 'Marsh Blazing Star'
Sporobolus heterolepis, 'Prairie Dropseed'
Trillium recurvatum or grandiflorum, 'Red and White Trillium'
Uvularia grandiflora, 'Bellwort'

If you have any questions, please contact Carol Garrett-Strelecky at 942-1402 or cgstrelecky@yahoo.com.

- by Debbi Heinze

• Number of years as a MG: 5
• Occupation: Work for an insurance broker in Chicago
• Favorite annual: Petunia
• Favorite perennial: Iris
• Most humbling garden experience: The drought
• Greatest gardening accomplishment: Harvesting for plant a row for the hungry
• Best gardening tip: I have a serrated kitchen knife I use for everything...edging, digging out weeds, etc.
• If I am not gardening you will find me: Doing housework or reading
• Personal Hero: My mom
• Outside of MG, other gardening involvements: I read a lot

- by Pat Miller

As the summer winds down, stop to consider all the potential remaining in your garden. Within those tiny, brown dried bits leftover on your blossoms, an entire new crop lays waiting for the proper conditions to flourish. By spending a few extra minutes this fall, you'll have multiplied plants for your garden or gift plants for friends next spring. Seed saving is fun and easy to do!

When the flower fades, allow the petals to dry up and fall naturally. Eventually at the base of the flower, you'll notice a slight swelling. This is where the seeds are forming. Once the stem and the swollen base turn a papery-brown, the seeds will soon be ready for harvest. Basically, the plant has completed its reproduction cycle by producing viable seeds. Since flowers are no longer requiring energy, the plant doesn't send its sugars and water up the stem any longer, thus the papery brown color change.

As the drying action continues, you may notice the pod start to open. All flower pods will open in some manner when the seeds are ripe so they may disperse their seeds. The trick is to catch the seed pod before it scatters its "self seeders." When you notice the pods and stems are brown in color and the pods are beginning to open, it's time to collect. Any plant that you have to tug at the pod or seed cluster to remove the seeds has not yet matured. Be patient! Also, be sure to properly label your collection.

Bring the seed pods indoors and allow them to dry even further. I like to use paper plates placed in an out of the way location. Make sure the area you choose is open and well ventilated so the moisture will slowly evaporate. Once the pods have dried for a week or two, remove the seeds from the pod. Remove as much of the chaff as possible. To make sure the seeds are thoroughly dry, allow them to stay on the paper plate for another day or two. If you have a large amount of seed, stir it periodically so the entire batch dries thoroughly.

The most important aspect of seed saving is to make sure your seeds remain dry and away from severe heat fluctuation. Avoid direct sunlight. I use colorful cardboard photo boxes and have a box each for Annuals, Perennials, Vegetables and Herbs. You may want to alphabetize the collection within each box, too. Packets of silica gel (like those found in a new purchase of a pair of shoes, a purse, or prescription drugs) will help keep moisture from your seeds. Silica gel packets may also be purchased in luggage shops or craft stores.

Good luck with your seed saving!

- by Kelly Bryant

Driving down the street on a recent Sunday evening, I noticed something amiss in my neighbor's landscape. My rearview mirror displayed a large mass of lime green stems sprouting from the driveway. I slowed down. Did a double take. Hmmm, I thought. A massive container garden planted up in giant green bins. "Look Sweetie, Mr. Smith is doing some landscaping. Isn't that nice?"

The tween in my backseat was not impressed. Tired of my frequent gardening chatter, she rolled her eyes. "Duh, Mom. H-e-l-l-o. Tomorrow is garbage day."

That's when I hit the brakes hard and pulled a fast u-turn. Indeed, those were not potted plants, but garbage cans with city refuse stickers. And the plants had roots! This little drive had just turned into a 911 rescue mission.

"Let's go check it out," I said.

"Oh no, Mom. You are not actually going to take those plants are you? I cannot believe this! I am so embarrassed. I'm walking home."

I let her go. Rescue missions of this proportion are not for 12 year old girls wearing flip-flops. They are for grown-ups who wear closed-toe shoes and carry shovels and tarps at all times.

Upon closer examination, I identified Mr. Smith's discarded plants as one of my favorites, Japanese Kerria (Kerria japonica). This heirloom shrub has a tenacious temperament that thrives in almost any garden soil, in sun or shade. Its graceful, arching stems are covered with bright yellow flowers for two to three weeks in spring and sporadically through summer and early fall. Lime green stems provide winter effect. It is an especially nice plant to brighten up shady spots and is stunning in front of the dark green of yews or hemlocks. Its delicate texture is a dynamite contrast to hydrangea or hosta and blends with ferns of all types. What's not to like?

The problem with Kerria is that, like most plants, they are not maintenance free. Without regular pruning, they can become leggy and unattractive. They sucker freely and in the right conditions can become invasive. I can easily understand how a neatnick like Mr. Smith could let this plant get out-of-control, then give up and pull it out in frustration. In fact, I know others who have done the same.

What Mr. Smith may not have known is that, like many other freely suckering shrubs, an overgrown Japanese Kerria can be cut to the ground after flowering. This hard pruning renews the plant and causes it to send up fresh new stems that will flower again the next year. To maintain a nice form, prune kerria every year just after it flowers and cut out one third of the oldest stems at the base. They are easy to propagate from rooted suckers. The buds can be forced indoors in early spring and the bright stems look great in a vase even without flowers.

There are a few varieties of Japanese Kerria to choose from. Kerria japonica 'Plenifora' has a double, pom-pom like flower. It can grow up to eight feet tall and is quite vigorous. The species is a bit more delicate and has single flowers. 'Golden Guinea' has single flowers that are larger -- more than two inches across. 'Picta' is another single-flowering form but has variegated leaves.

Mr. Smith left five garbage cans full of "Plenifora" that had been pulled out by the roots. I planted several of them in a shady spot in my own back yard, pruned them to several feet off the ground, and staked some of the flimsier stems. I also chose one to train against an east-facing wall. It's going to take a while, maybe two seasons, but eventually, I will have a lovely mass of arching green stems covered with yellow blooms in spring.

Thank you, Mr. Smith, for leaving the roots attached!

- by Sharon cook

In Search of Great Plants: The Insider's Guide to the Best Sources in the Midwest

By Betty Earl

Cool Springs Press (July 2004)

ISBN: 1591860946 $19.99

Searching out new plant sources is something we all do and Betty Earl has gathered together a great collection of Midwest nurseries. These are the kind of great places that gardeners, whether beginner or seasoned pro, can find robust, healthy plants that are acclimated to our region, grown by people who have a passion for what they do. There is something for everyone in this book; perennials, bamboos, miniature conifers, specialty bulbs, herbs, trees/shrubs and so much more.

Earl's book has plant sources grouped by state, covering Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin. Each entry has lavish descriptions of the plants the nursery specializes in, interesting stories about the nurseries and the owners, plus an extremely comprehensive general information box that lists contact information, hours, whether they have printed or online catalogs, if they do mail order and whether they have display gardens you can visit. They even have the GPS location.

One thing I particularly enjoyed is that some of the entries include an "Extras" box that highlights classes, festive events and other services the nursery has to offer. Plus she sometimes has some great tips on sales and specials that the nurseries offer. This info alone is worth the price of the book to me – who can't resist a bargain?

This book already has me planning some "Road Trips" for next year. Earl also offers some ideas in her "Side Trip" boxes of places of interest near a featured nursery – public gardens, historical stops and even a few recommendations of places to shop and eat.

One word of advice – before you go to visit any of the nurseries listed; please recheck by phone or website to confirm hours of operation and such. I did some checking on the web and found most of the information up to date. However, things do change and as this book was published a year ago, the last thing you want to do is plan a trip and find that they are not open when you get there.

- by Debbye Simpson

Floating plants serve many purposes in the water garden. They provide habitat for fish fry. Fish also can eat the roots. They shade the water helping to control algae growth. They also filter ammonia and other toxins from the water. They are so good at this that you can use them as the only source of filtration for your pond.

Examples of water plants available in our area are as follows:

Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes )-Glossy foliage with balloon-like petioles and long trailing roots. These also have beautiful bluish-lavender flowers that have yellow accents. Do not plant these where Koi have access. They will eat them and make a mess of your pond.

Water Lettuce (Pistia stratiotes)-Velvety bluish-green leaves that form a rosette and look like an open head of lettuce.

Duckweed (Lemna)-Very small plants that can grow to cover the garden quickly. They are a favorite food of fish and birds.

Fairy Moss (Azolla)-These look a little like Duckweed, but are actually ferns. Some of the ones that are more cold hardy can drop to the bottom of the pond and survive the winter if they do not freeze solid.

These plants grow prolifically. One Water Hyacinth can become 8 within days. While in the Chicago area they make great compost, it is illegal to possess them in the warmer parts of the country. In Texas, possession of one Water Hyacinth can cost you $2500 and 6 months of your time.

All of these are planted by just placing them on top of your pond with the roots submerged. You can bring Duckweed or Fairy Moss in for the winter and put them in a fish tank, but not Water Lettuce or Water Hyacinth. They need warm water (75 degrees or warmer) and about 18 hours of light a day to grow indoors. It is usually more cost-effective to just buy a plant or 2 when your pond has warmed up in late spring.

- by Pat Kosmach

SEPTEMBER

General:

• Be alert for wasps.
• Start compost pile with fallen leaves and garden debris.
• Put up bird feeders.
• Pick Your Own Apples – listing of sites at: http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/apples

Flowers:

• Plant pansies, chrysanthemums, ornamental kales and cabbage for fall color.
• Plant trees, shrubs and perennials.
• Plant lilies and peonies.
• Keep tulip bulbs cool in fridge until planting time.
• Divide and transplant most perennials.

Veggies/Fruits & Herbs:

• Plant lettuce, spinach and radishes for fall harvest.
• Plant garlic in late September.
• Plant cover crops such as oats or annual rye in empty garden areas. Dig in next spring.
• Harvest gourds when shells become hard or turn brown.
• Sowing seeds of radish, lettuce, spinach and other greens in a cold frame will prolong fall harvests.
• Add manure, compost or leaf mold to increase the organic matter in your garden soil.
• Propagate black raspberries by layering.

Lawn:

• Overseed lawn or do lawn renovation in early September.
• Fertilize established bluegrass or fescue lawns. Use a slow release formulation. Apply broadleaf weed killers.
• Core-aerate your lawn if thatch layer is greater than ½ inch.

Indoor Garden:

• Fertilize houseplants for the last time until spring.
• Take cuttings of coleus, begonias, and impatiens for winter houseplants.
• Bring houseplants indoors before night temperatures regularly dip below 50 degrees F. Watch for insects.
• Repot houseplants in the same pot or a pot one size larger.
• Poinsettias can be forced into bloom for Christmas if they are moved indoors now to a sunny location. Each night, for 8-10 weeks, they must be kept in a cool, dark place where there is no light for 14 hours.
• Start the dormant period for your winter flowering amaryllis. Place them in a cool, dark location and let them dry so the foliage will die back. They should be dormant until December.

OCTOBER

General:

• Do soil testing, for all planting beds, and make soil corrections as needed.
• Make a map of your garden and start your planning for planting for next season.
• Mow, mulch, shred or compost leaves as they fall.
• Continue to provide moisture to all landscape plants, especially evergreens.
• Clean your tools.
• After frost, clean up garden areas and compost debris.

Flowers:

• Plant spring-flowering bulbs. Bulbs can be planted until ground freezes. Stagger the bloom time with a selection of bulbs. Choose a well-drained site. Check out our Bulbs and More website at: http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/bulbs for tips on growing spring bulbs.
• Allow roses to harden off.
• Dig and store dahlias, cannas and caladiums in frost-free location.
• Remove dead annuals.
• Cut back and clean planting beds.
• WAIT until the ground is frozen before mulching perennials heavily.

Veggies/Fruits & Herbs:

• Remove dead vegetables.
• Pick up dropped fruit to avoid attracting critters.
• Wrap unblemished, green tomatoes individually in newspaper to ripen.
• Spread a 2-4" layer of organic matter over garden and dig in 6-8" deep.
• Pot up herbs and bring inside.
• Dig sweet potatoes before a bad freeze.
• Harvest winter squash and pumpkin when fruits are a deep solid color and rind is hard.
• Plant garlic and shallots for next year's harvest.

Lawn:

• Apply broadleaf herbicides to control cool season weeds such as chickweed and dandelion.
• Continue mowing lawns until growth stops.
• It's too late to seed. Sodding can continue throughout the month.

Trees & Shrubs:

• Transplant deciduous trees and shrubs after leaves fall.
• Apply tree wraps for newly planted trees to minimize cold injuries to tree trunks.
• Protect tree trunks from animal injury.
• Keep mulches away from base of tree trunk.
• Fertilize trees.

Indoor Garden:

• Give Christmas cactus cool temperatures and 14 hours of uninterrupted darkness to initiate flowering for the holidays.
• Pot bulbs for indoor forcing for holiday blooms.
• Christmas cactus, potted azaleas and kalanchoe may be left outdoors until night temperatures drop to about 40 degrees F.

Phew, what busy months for us... This is a great time to be improving soils with organic matter, taking inventory of our planting beds, planning for next season and kickoff our indoor gardens. While we are all busy adding new, wrapping up and preparing for the cold, remember to rock in a chair or swing in a hammock and pat yourself on the back for making it through a tough summer. On more than one occasion I tossed in my gloves – fortunately my retriever brought them back!

- by rosemary Sedlak

If you have an event you want everyone to know about, please contact Deb McCullough. I need the info one week before material is due in the office.

Many of these events require advance registration and/or fees. For more information or directions to these locations, please call them...

September 15, 2005: Cantigny – Getting Healthy with Houseplants

September 16, 2005: Morton Arboretum – Lifelong Gardening

September 17-18, 2005: Cantigny – Bonsai Show

September 22, 2005: Morton Arboretum – Bulbs & Viewing Grand Gardens

September 24, 2005: Morton Arboretum – Getting the Better of Weeds

September 24-25, 2005: Chicago Botanic Garden - Central States Dahlia Society Show and Illinois Orchard Society Fall Show & Sale

September 30, 2005: Chicago Botanic Garden - 15th Annual Perennial Plant Symposium

October 1-2, 2005: Chicago Botanic Garden - Lake Shore African Violet Society Show and Sale

October 1, 2005: Cantigny – Fall Festival

October 2, 2005: Garfield Farm Museum – Harvest Days

October 6, 2005: Morton Arboretum – Fall Flowers and Foliage

October 6-7, 2005: Morton Arboretum – The Vanishing Oak-Saving a Living Legacy

October 8, 2005: Morton Arboretum - Foolproof Plants for the Busy Gardener

October 10, 2005: Cantigny - Fall Kaleidoscope of Color Cart Tour

October 12, 2005: Cantigny – Attracting Birds to your Home

October 22-23, 2005: Chicago Botanic Garden - Midwest Daffodil Society Bulb Sale; Midwest Fruit Explorers Display Sale; Wisconsin-Illinois Lily Society Bulb Sale

- by Deb McCullough

"The Garden Thymes" is the official newsletter for DuPage area MG's. If you misplace your copy, it can be found at our DuPage County Extension website. From time to time, you may have something you would like to share with fellow MG's or perhaps include an article of your own. We would love to hear from you!! As always, your comments and suggestions are most welcome.

· Issue #6 - October 28, 2005