It's been a whirlwind month for everyone in the horticulture program. Worm lessons, MG Help desks, Speakers Bureau, on-going maintenance at our various garden projects, the MG help line, and our horticulture program marketing campaign, etc. continue on through the fall season. I used to see a slow down in fall, but no more. Even if the phone calls diminish, our other projects keep on going. Sarah has jumped right in to help and we are all delighted to have her on board.

In mid October our entire lower level office was repainted. This meant all furniture, equipment, etc. had to be moved away from the walls. Also some staff moved to new spaces. Sarah's office is in the space immediately behind the MG area and Mary is in the corner office down the hall. You can imagine how much work this was. We took advantage of the opportunity to re-evaluate the layout, etc. of the MG area. The new arrangement looks great thanks to Sarah and Mary's efforts.

On Wednesday, November 2, 2005, 105 MGs and guests attended our 14th Annual Master Gardener Fall Wrap-up and Master Gardener Graduation program. We celebrated the accomplishments of the MG program, including the graduation of 37 MG Interns. Congratulations to the 2005 MG class. Our

Interns volunteered over 2,900 hours between April and October and our veteran MGs volunteered over 4,400 hours, bringing the total number of volunteer hours to more than 7,300. This is the equivalent of more than three full time staff. You really do build our capacity. We could not reach the thousands of people we do were it not for all your volunteer support. Thank you for making 2005 such a successful year.

I am so excited to be on staff at the Extension Office. My office hours are scheduled so I can be available to support the Help Line and Garden Clinic volunteers as needed. I am in the office Monday – Thursday from 8:30am-2:00pm. You can find me in my freshly painted new office (formerly known as the work room) at the back of the MG area.

I was fortunate enough to come onboard just in time for the office painting and furniture moving! We have everything back in place with just a few improvements. The volunteers who have come into the office recently seem to approve of the new furniture arrangement. Thanks to all the Master Gardeners who worked among the boxes and "organized" mess.

I look forward to working with all of you. Please let me know if I can help you in any way. You can reach me at sarahnav@uiuc.edu

- by Sarah Navrotski

Volunteer and Training Reports: Thank-you! Nearly everyone submitted their volunteer hours on time; all of us really appreciate your attention to this.

Remember, the gold volunteer reporting sheets are used for all volunteer activities that are conducted out of the office. When you volunteer in the office, for the MG garden help line or the garden clinic, please use the time cards located in the MG office--do not record your office time on the gold sheets.

Soil-it's more than just Dirt! In late September a team of MGs and Educators Ellen Phillips and Susan Grupp spent the entire day at Cass Middle School with 7^th graders leading them through a neat lesson on soils. It was a great day and the kids really enjoyed the experience. The school district superintendent came by and was very impressed with the lesson and the experience his students were having. . Special thanks to Team Leader Larry States, and Kelly Bryant, Dortha Ogborn, Warren Senneke, Stu Vogel, and Bill Woulfe for dong such a terrific job with all 5 classes of students.

Re-certification: Beginning Nov 1^st, all MG activities will be recorded as 2006 program efforts. For a quick review, please note the following: A minimum of 10 approved continuing education hours will need to be completed by Nov 1, 2006. For approval, please complete the pink MG Training form 3 weeks in advance of the class. Workshops, classes and tours offered by U of I Extension and other credible horticultural institutions such as Morton Arboretum, College of DuPage, Joliet Jr. College, Chicago Botanic Garden, Forest Preserve District and Cantigny Gardens would qualify, but need to be submitted for approval.

Horticulture Classes: We will be offering several classes this winter and spring. We will be sending a brochure soon. All of these classes will qualify as continuing education for MGs.

Holiday Closing: The Extension office will be closed November 24 and 25, 2005 for the Thanksgiving holiday.

"No one can conceive the emotion that rises up in the bosom of the traveler as he stands on the broad prairie, and sees the horizon settling down upon one wide sea of waving grass and can behold around him neither stone, nor stump, nor bush, nor tree, nor hill, nor house."

John Clark, Gleanings by the Way, 1842

What a wonderful visual to consider! However, the prairie landscape that existed in the early part of the nineteenth century is all but gone today. In fact, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources reports that in 1820, Illinois had 22,000,000 acres of prairie. By 1978, less than 2,300 acres remained. Most of the undisturbed prairie sites today may be found along railroad rights-of-way, in pioneer cemeteries or on sites unsuitable for farming.

Here in DuPage County, there is a group trying to reclaim a small part of what was lost. For the past seven years, the Lombard Park District and Lombard Garden Club have worked together to transform Terrace View Park into what it was before pioneer settlement. They have carved out several large areas where native species are planted to create a prairie.

This past September 24^th, they invited the community to learn about their work during an event called "Prairie Days." With a full day of programs and demonstrations, there was plenty to do. There were also exhibits where our own Master Gardener table was on display! Of course, there was a tent set up for food along with music by the "Old Plank Road All Volunteer String Band." The event was well attended by both young and old alike.

Having been there myself, I picked up some interesting information. Did you know that the word "prairie" comes from the French word for meadow? Or have you ever wondered why Illinois is called the Prairie State? It seems that Illinois was the first state that settlers from the East traveled to that had such large areas of grasslands; thus the name. And do you know that Big Bluestem is the state prairie grass? It actually grows up to 12 feet tall!

What a great day to "...celebrate the return of the tallgrass prairie to Lombard!"

- by Margi Kaminski

Horticulture Therapy

In the beginning, there was the Horticulture Therapy program...

The Horticulture Therapy program was one of the very first Master Gardener volunteer opportunities. At first, the program was only offered at the Terrace nursing home in West Chicago. Betty Jeppsen has run this program from its inception 20 years ago. Their mission has been to give the patients something to look forward to and offer them a chance to garden, perhaps an activity that they may have loved in the past. Betty recalls thinking that first year that the interested residents would be "little old ladies who gardened or who grew up on a farm". She learned that 49% of nursing home populations are non-violently mentally ill and not necessarily old. So her clients are the young and old, men and women, people who are sharp and people who are childlike. The same clients can be in the program for years.

The program is open to all the residents who would like to participate. It runs seasonally and begins in March. Residents plant seeds in trays which Betty takes home to nurture. Then in May, she brings the seedlings back and each client gets his or her own 30 gallon barrel to plant in. The barrels were donated many years ago through the efforts of Jim Schuster, who Betty says "knows everyone".

In the back of the nursing home they also plant pumpkins. In mid-October they harvested 15 pumpkins and 200 gourds!

For many years Betty and Pat Hussey did the entire program by themselves. Now that there are more volunteers, they use extra helpers for the startup and cleanup of the gardens–and the harvesting!

The other Hort Therapy program run by the Master Gardeners is located at Marianjoy in Wheaton. The programs are similar in that they allow patients some "therapeutic recreation". They are different in that they serve two different populations. Marianjoy is a rehabilitation center for various ailments. People are usually there on a short term basis, so the clientele is always changing.

Caroline Jacobsen and her team, Manijeh Mieville and Judi Pines, have been working at Marianjoy in Wheaton for about 15 years. They are there every other Wednesday afternoon for about two hours. This is a year round commitment. They usually serve ten to twelve people and usually teach the same crafts repeatedly, since they have new people every time. They have made nosegays using herbs from their own gardens (called "tussy mussies") and grapevine wreaths with dried flowers. Occasionally they will have a more in-depth program; for a group of cardiac patients, for example, they had a seed planting session.

Caroline is very proud of the fact that they can provide this service at no cost to Marianjoy. Being avid gardeners, they supply cuttings from their own gardens for their projects and always bring plenty extra in case the patients bring a guest or caregiver with them.

Both coordinators find their committees very rewarding–as you might imagine, since together they've been doing this for over 15 years!

- by Debbi Heinze

New Handbook on Selecting Roses Available:

The secret to growing good roses is to choose the roses that will grow best for you. With ratings for more than 3,000 commercially available roses, the American Rose Society's "2005 Handbook for Selecting Roses" is a must before you buy your next bush.
Compiled from an annual survey of ratings by thousands of ARS members from across the country, the handbook is the source rosarians turn to time and again to choose roses for their gardens.
The 2005 edition is available now, for $5, including shipping and handling.
The American Rose Society has over 20,000 members nationwide and supports 380 local societies offering rose-related activities and information at the local level.

To order the "2005 Handbook for Selecting Roses" or to receive information about growing roses, write: American Rose Society, P O Box 30000, Shreveport, LA 71130-0030; or call 1-800-637-6534; or visit www.ars.org.

Fall is the time of year when gardeners start thinking seriously about composting and mulching as a means of recycling garden waste, particularly freshly fallen leaves. Composting styles vary greatly from one gardener to another. Some are comfortable throwing anything biodegradable into the pile, even cotton t-shirts and old socks. I refer to this as the slow cook method – the process can take years. Personally, I am a slow cooker (also known as a lazy composter) and never fret about shredding leaves, chopping debris into microscopic pieces, or perfect alternating layers of brown and green. Time and space are both on my side, so I just toss it in and wait a few years. If you wait long enough, anything from the yard will decompose – or will it?

Black Walnut trees produce a toxic chemical called juglone. Juglone permeates all parts of the tree -- leaves, stems, nuts, inner bark, and roots. If you have a black walnut tree on your property, you may notice that many plants wilt and die when planted in its root zone. According to the Ohio State Extension's "Black Walnut Toxicity Fact Sheet," juglone's toxic effect on surrounding plants is related to root contact. Some plants are more tolerant to juglone than others, but not many are completely immune to its effects. Even though most of the poison is in the root zone, leaves and nut hulls have some too.

So what does this mean for the composters among us with Black Walnut trees on our property? Do we need to sort leaves like the laundry? Some of the pickier composters among us may find a workable system, but that would be over-the-top for most.

Although disagreement on the safety of using fresh black walnut sawdust, bark, or wood chips as mulch is widespread, most researchers agree that composting will eventually destroy the Juglone. According to the Ohio State Fact Sheet, "Walnut leaves can be composted because the toxin breaks down when exposed to air, water and bacteria. The toxic effect can be degraded in two to four weeks. In soil, breakdown may take up to two months." Saw dust, bark or wood chips should be composted for six months.

If you do compost leaves and are leery of the juglone in your harvest, you can test the finished product by planting juglone sensitive seedlings in it. Tomato plants for example, are hyper-sensitive to juglone and will perish in small amounts of it. If the plants thrive, your compost is safe.

As for the nut hulls, anyone with a walnut tree knows that one tree can produce several cubic yards of nuts. Composting nuts can be a problem because of sheer size – they won't decompose quickly without crushing or grinding, but the juglone will eventually dissipate. In case you are wondering, juglone is not known to be toxic to humans and squirrels do not seem to mind it; horses, however, show symptoms of toxicity when black walnut wood shreddings are used in their bedding. This powerful chemical has been used throughout history as an herbicide, insecticide, and as a natural remedy to cure a variety of human ailments.

For more information on black walnut toxicity, check out The University of Illinois Extension and the University of Ohio Extension web sites on-line:

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/stateline/991028.html

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hygfact/1000/1148.html

- by Sharon Cook

I moved into my new (25-year-old) house last spring and have been busy changing grass to other things, like the arbor, bridge and pond in the picture below. They've replaced the dilapidated fence that sat on the southwest corner of my house. I've replaced the remainder of the fence that surrounded the rest of the back yard, but decided to make this area an inviting entrance to the back. It seems to be working as I often spot neighbors peeking in.

This corner was the most challenging: the sump pump discharged water constantly on my and my neighbor's yards. The previous owners had run an unsightly hose to the property line and allowed erosion and standing water to make a boggy mess. The sump pump now discharges into a small stream (under the bridge in the picture) and ends in a small pond, complete with thriving gold fish which entertain the curiosity of the kids of the neighborhood.

This is only one of the "gardens" I've installed in the past year. But, I get ahead of myself. Last spring when I bought the house and yard, I "upsized" from a condominium to the first house I've ever owned. (Condominium living is very frustrating for us avid gardeners!) I bought the property because there was little there but grass and a couple of maple trees on a quarter acre.

I took care of the hardscape last year by replacing the dilapidated fence and installing a 12' x 18' deck in back. Then I spent the winter planning the gardens. The kitchen/herb garden sits off the west side of the deck, with the pond just to the west of that, and a butterfly garden is on the east side of the deck. A rain garden might capture the storm water–if it ever rains–as it drains from the north and east to the far southwest corner of the lot. A prairie/wildflower garden has begun to grow on the utility easement along the back fence. A shade garden is in the shadows of my neighbor's pines near the shed.

Since the property abuts a busy road (although technically I'm at the end of a cul-de-sac), the east front area posed a particular challenge because almost everyone used this part of my yard as a short cut to the Dairy Queen down the road. The "walk" garden, as I call it, now has 60 shrubs and numerous perennials; and, people now use the walk instead of cutting through. As I watered this garden this summer, many people stopped to visit and pay compliments; one driver even stopped in the middle of the busy road and shouted her compliment over the traffic noise!

Selecting the plants was a very enjoyable way to spend some of last winter's dreary days. I poured over many catalogs and ordered over 400 plants from several of them. Despite the drought and only by daily watering, I can claim a viability rate of over 80%. I'll be testing the guarantee provisions of some of the catalogers and local retailers. The best source, however, has been fellow gardeners: neighbors, relatives, garden club members, and fellow Master Gardeners. I owe a special thanks to Warren Senneke and Caroline Jacobsen for sharing some of their "babies" with me. You can see Warren's gift of ornamental grass on the flanks of the arbor in the above picture, and if you squint hard enough you may catch a pixel or two of Caroline's horse-chestnut tree in the background. Garden club members provided some plants for the prairie/wildflower garden, including cup plant, queen-of-the-prairie and even tall bluestem, all of which flourished their first year. A friend gave me a 15' sugar maple; all I had to do was dig it up and move it. It took four men, a pickup truck and strong dolly to move it. I was also able to successfully transplant two, 25-year old Alberta spruce trees that were crowding the foundation of the house to anchor the corners of my deck. I sprayed them with an anti-transpirant and watered them during the winter dry spells. (Have my water bills been high?!?) Naperville's spring tree sales have also been a good source for the more than 30 small trees I've planted in my yard.

Success can be measured by the survivability of the plants. When others enjoy my garden as much as I do, that means so much more! I also enjoyed the recognition from The Conservation Foundation by being certified in their Conservation@Home Program for storm water management (rain garden and pond), use of native plants (tall blue stem, coneflower, etc.), and habitat restoration. I didn't have to do anything to have the bunnies feast–from crocus to coneflower–they ate their way through a smorgasbord all summer long. Nor was I happy when the raccoons devoured a couple generations of gold fish. I was pleased, however, when the hummingbirds feasted on the cardinal flowers and the monarchs found the milkweed plants.

What about next year, you may ask? You know a gardener's work is never done, and I've still got plenty of grass where gardens could grow. The front could also use some "curb appeal" where I threw together much of my hosta collection when I moved in. I'm sure this winter's catalogs will be bulging with new cultivars that I just have to have next spring!

- by Ron Ory

An odd coincidence provides the subject for this month's column. Bear with me for a little background.

This past week, while helping with plant and seed orders for the Friends of the Oak Park Conservatory's annual herb and scented plant sale, I ran into more than one set of confusions about botanical names. Remember, those are the absolutely correct, immutable names we are supposed to use to prevent the confusion caused by the existence of several common names for the same plant??? Immutable, maybe, until the botanists or whoever they are decide that some plant belongs to a different genus or species than everyone had thought they belonged to all these years. "Chrysanthemums" are a current example. We all know what these flowers are – bloom in the Fall, rounded, warm-colored flowers, distinctive scent...right? Well, the Linnaean powers that be recently decided that some of these familiar plants are really leucanthemums, except when they're morifoliums or Shasta Daisies (C. superbum, or maybe C. maximum), or...

Two relatively familiar herbs (the search for seeds for which started all this) are also part of the chrysanthemum confusion: tansy and costmary. In my sources, tansy is listed as "Tanacetum vulgare (Chrysanthemum vulgare)" and costmary (also known as alecost) is "Chrysanthemum balsamita (Tanacetum balsamita)". Confused yet?

Now the coincidence. Last night I was hunting through one of my favorite cookbooks (Christopher Kimball's "The Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook"). In a discussion of the summer herb garden he writes "...my favorite, costmary, used as bookmarks in Bibles because its fragrance reputedly kept churchgoers awake (it is also called alecost and was used to spice up beer)." So I think I'm supposed to write about costmary.

Costmary (Chrysanthemum balsamita or Tanacetum balsamita) is a hardy, herbaceous perennial, growing 24 to 42 inches tall. Costmary likes full sun, and a dryish location, though it will do well in a richer soil than many herbs prefer. Its leaves can grow up to a foot long; they are finely toothed, oval, pointed, silvery green in color and spearmint-scented. The flowers are small heads of insignificant yellow blooms, (a member of the compositae family, that they're sure of) appearing in late summer. Cutting back flowering stems encourages the growth of young shoots of tender leaves. These, when dried, have a refreshing, minty lemon scent.

Costmary was a popular medieval strewing herb for its insect repelling properties and lasting scent. It was also used to clear, flavor and preserve beer. The "cost" part of the name comes from "costum" Latin for "spicy herb", so alecost means a spicy herb for ale.

"Costmary" is Mary's (or women's) spicy herb, as it was used to ease childbirth. Whatever its name, it sounds like a beautiful addition to the herb patch.

- by Sandy Lentz

Number of years as a M.G.: 2006 will be my 10^th year.

What prompted you to become a MG: I have always been an avid gardener. After retiring from nearly 20 years in the Structural Pest Control Industry, I wanted to utilize my knowledge of insects and pesticides, as well as learn new information about horticulture. The opportunity to continuously gain new knowledge while helping others is a significant enticement for me.

Occupation: Currently I am completing my Masters degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Science from U of I (Champaign). Additionally, I read and record college textbooks for blind and dyslexic students.

Favorite annual: Zonal Geraniums - they are reliable in their growth habits and friendly to look at.

Favorite perennial: The list is long; suffice it to say there are few I do not appreciate.

Most humbling garden experience: That's a tough question, destructive damage from rampaging wildlife has certainly tested me through the years; however, the drought of 2005 was overwhelmingly devastating to many of the plants in my yard as well as to my gardening spirit. No matter how much or how deeply I watered, the garden exhibited symptoms of drought stress.

Greatest gardening accomplishment: Turning my yard which had been filled with Buckthorn and other invasive species by the previous owner, into a lovely and diverse landscape, that also accommodates play room for a large dog.

Best gardening tip: Soil preparation in a bed BEFORE you plant. With a new bed you only have ONE opportunity to completely work the soil over... don't rush into the planting stage. Personally, I like to begin preparing a new bed in the fall by turning over the soil and adding amendments of compost, horse manure, vermiculite and perlite. Coarsely mix it all in, then let the freeze/thaw action of winter mix it further. In early spring after some light tilling the bed is ready for planting and I can get a head start on the season.

If I am not gardening, you will find me: Studying (lots of studying), reading (I love to read), or researching information regarding recycling and HHW collection events.

Personal Hero: Although he is no longer living; Floyd Swink was a true renaissance man. He had a rapier wit, was able quote great scholars and could ID just about any plant by its genus, specific epithet, and associated habitat.

Something about me not too many people know: I talk with squirrels.

Outside of MG, other gardening involvement: During the summer months, I monitor butter flies for the Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network.

- by Pat Miller

Love the smell of evergreens inside on a cold winter day? Making evergreen sachets for yourself or as gifts has become extremely easy to do thanks to the many craft stores in the area. You can find small drawstring bags at your local craft store that are made of lovely materials like organdy or other gorgeous fabrics and simply fill them with evergreen materials from your yard or local nursery.

You will need a couple of weeks to dry the evergreen branches you want to use. Lay them out on a screen and let dry until needles drop off the branches. Then you simply scoop your evergreen needles into your drawstring pouch and tie the drawstring shut.

If you have purchased a translucent drawstring bag you can combine the evergreen needles with other dried materials like seed pods, rose hips or holly berries for a more decorative look.

The sachets will release more of their fragrance if you place them in a warm spot like near a heating vent. But remember that you don't want them to get too hot as they can burn and of course keep away from open flames.

- by Debbye Simpson

Website to check out: www.kew.org

Now that the weather is turning colder, The Royal Botanic Gardens has a great website that is not only a joy to look at but offers lots of plant data. The box for the "Chilhuly Garden of Glass" has breathtaking photos of both the glass and the garden settings. The show is different from what you may have seen at our own Garfield Park Conservatory, as many of the pieces changed for each show Chilhuly did. So it is definitely worth a look. Another section of the site is PIC – the electronic Plant Information Center that is interesting just for the sheer volume of data it contains. And for those of us who have not had the opportunity to actually go to Kew Gardens there is the "A Year at Kew" section which is from a BBC special last year with lots of fantastic photos of plants in their collection. With lots of other sections to explore, there is something to interest every gardener.

- by Debbye Simpson

Homescaping: Designing Your Landscape to Match Your Home
By Anne Halpin

Rodale Books (April 2005)
ISBN: 1579549039 $35.00

I truly found this new book by Anne Halpin to be a delectable read. Homescaping provides great photos and lots of practical advice on transforming your landscape into an extension of your home, based on architectural style, color, size and location. Her approach to planning and decorating your landscape is to create outdoor living spaces that reflect your tastes and lifestyle. While you may not be looking to create a whole new landscape design, there are many delightful ideas that you can incorporate into existing gardens to create special outdoor areas within your own yard.

The book explores different garden styles and gives excellent suggestions on ways to mix and match flower and plant colors to your colors of paint and building materials. There are "Plant Finder" sections throughout the book that help you select plants for specific uses; groundcovers for paths, screening plants and vines to train on fences, as well as plant suggestions based on the style of your garden (formal, informal, cottage, Japanese and more). I liked these "Plant Finder" sections because they give you the important info on the plants suggested in the book, with both botanical and common names, description, growing conditions and zones in an easy-to-read format. And a nice touch is a "Photo Credits" section in the back, so you can look up any garden photo you would like to duplicate and find the garden location to see whether or not it might work in the Midwest

This is not just a book on garden design. Halpin covers hardscape considerations as well – ideas for proper construction of a garden path; options for patios, decks, walls and fences; considerations for outdoor structures, lighting, water features, ornaments and even outdoor furniture. And for those with limited garden space, she has some excellent suggestions for container gardening.

- by Debbye Simpson

NOVEMBER

General:

• Clean and store your garden equipment.
• Drain outdoor water pipes and irrigation systems.
• If you feed the birds, keep the feeder full all winter. Feeders should be cleaned once a year with a weak bleach solution to protect the health of the birds.
• After temperature drops to 20F, apply winter mulch to shallow rooted perennials, fall transplanted or divided perennials, and marginally hardy perennials.
• Start reviewing seed and nursery catalogs.
• Prevent garden pools from freezing solid by floating a tank water heater in the pond, lessening the chance of ice damage.

Flowers:

• Spring blooming bulbs may be planted as long as ground is not frozen.
• Provide adequate moisture to all landscape plants, until the ground freezes (especially evergreens).
• Allow roses to harden off and go dormant, then apply protection.

Trees/Evergreens:

• Spray anti-transpirant on evergreens, water properly and mulch root zone.
• Newly planted broadleaf evergreens such as azaleas, boxwood and hollies benefit from a burlap screen for winter wind protection. Set screen stakes in place before the ground freezes.
• Protect newly planted and young fruit trees from rabbit and rodent damage.

Veggies/Fruits & Herbs:

• Plan to rotate vegetable crops to minimize soil-borne diseases.
• Fall tilling the vegetable garden exposes many insect pests to winter cold, reducing their numbers in next year's garden.
• Roots crops such as carrots, turnips and Jerusalem artichokes may be stored outdoors in the ground. Bury these crops under a deep layer of leaves or straw.
• After several frosts, but before the temperature drops below 20F, put mulch on strawberry beds.

Lawn:

• Keep leaves raked and picked up to prevent lawn damage.
• Apply a "winterizer" fertilizer in late November, within 1 week of final mowing.

Indoor Garden:

• Clean your houseplants
• Pot up amaryllis.
• Store garden chemicals properly.
• Check tender bulbs in storage for signs of disease.

DECEMBER

General:

• Start amaryllis or paperwhite narcissus to cheer up winter days.
• Keep poinsettias and Christmas cactus near a bright window and out of drafts.
• Clean, sharpen and oil garden tools for next year.
• Check stored fruits and vegetables regularly and remove any in poor condition.
• Avoid burying trees and shrubs when removing snow from walks or driveway. Be cautious when using melting agents – many salts can damage plants, lawn and concrete.
• Reduce or eliminate fertilizer to houseplants until spring.
• Move houseplants back from icy windows to prevent chilling injury.
• Be cautious when transporting indoor plants during the trip home. Exposure to icy temperatures for even a few moments may cause injury.
• Over-wintering geraniums like bright light and cool temperatures. Keep soils on the dry side.
• Root zones of azaleas and rhododendrons need to be thoroughly mulched. Hollies may be trimmed now and the prunings be used in holiday décor.
• All power equipment should be winterized before storage. Change the oil and lubricate moving parts. Either drain fuel systems or mix a gas-stabilizing additive into the tank.

I can hardly believe I am writing about November and December! Weren't we just applying our grub control? Oh well, the holidays are upon us... my wish list for gardening books is long this year. I hope they arrive under my tree just in time for some cozy January reading. I wish the same for you all! Happy Holidays!

- by Rosemary Sedlak

"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 #1- January 5, 2006
• Issue #2- February 28, 2006
• Issue #3- April 28, 2006
• Issue #4- June 30, 2006
• Issue #5- August 31, 2006
• Issue #6- October 27, 2006