University of Illinois Extension reaches out to the local community to provide non-credit, practical, research-based education to help people learn new skills, increase their knowledge and make better decisions in their daily lives. We offer a variety of classes from home food production to landscaping. All classes have a fee and are generally 90 minutes in length, including time for Q & A. However, the length of classes can be customized to fit your needs.

Our calendars fill quickly during spring and summer. To ensure a speaker is available on the date you want, we encourage you to call as soon as possible. If you need help in choosing a class for your audience, please contact our office. I look forward to helping you put knowledge to work.

Barbara Bates, Horticulture Educator

630-584-6166 ext. 21/bbates@illinois.edu

Step 1: Selecting Trees & Shrubs for the Home Landscape

Trees and shrubs are the backbone of a well-landscaped home. The structure, flowers, fruits, seasonal foliage change and winter silhouette provided by woody plants creates beauty and interest throughout the year. Woody plants are a permanent amenity and should be thoughtfully selected for long-term environmental enhancement. This class teaches how to select the proper trees and shrubs for specific sites and purposes and provides recommendations for species adapted to northern Illinois.

Step 2: How to Properly Plant a Tree

Research has shown that incorrect planting is causing the premature death of trees in urban landscapes. Once you have selected the right plant for the right place, proper planting is the next most critical event in the life of a landscape tree. Knowing how to properly plant a tree will yield long term benefits in improved tree health, vigor and longevity. Proper planting is the best prevention a homeowner can provide for this long term investment in the landscape.

Trees & Shrubs–Grow Native!

Native trees and shrubs can provide low-maintenance, easy-care beauty, and can add Midwestern ambience to your landscape. Learn which species are native to northern Illinois and how to choose plants with characteristics you are looking for.

Continuous Bloom with Flowering Trees & Shrubs

Trees and shrubs blooming in the spring are a true sign that winter is over. But spring is not the only season of glory for blooming woody plants. With proper selection, planning and pruning, blooming woody plants can color your landscape from February to November.

Pruning Basics

If you are a home landscaper who needs to maintain the size and shape of your woody plants – this is the class for you. Pruning can extend the life of woody plants, enhance bloom and ornamental fruit production and improve overall health. This class covers the reasons for pruning, the correct time to prune, basic types of pruning cuts using hand tools, how and where to make cuts.

Dwarf & Unusual Landscape Conifers

Dwarf conifers come in an astonishing array of sizes, colors, and forms. They are mostly slow growing plants, which means they are very low maintenance requiring little pruning. Conifers provide a year round presence in the landscape. They can anchor the landscape; provide focal points or backdrops to set off other flowering plants. This class is a good one for those who want to go a step beyond what is typical in your neighborhood.

Water gardens for Beginners

Water can bring a garden to life by adding sparkle, motion and sound. Learn the basics from creating to maintaining a water garden, how to choose and care for plants and how to successfully put it all together.

Underused Annuals

Annuals are the answer for a riot of color throughout the growing season, in containers, borders and beds. New varieties of annuals are introduced each year and old standards are improved for better performance. If fabulous color is what you want, learn more about annuals and how and where they perform best. This class provides recommendations for plants that are proven performers.

Tulips, Daffodils, and Beyond!

If a garden bursting with springtime color is your goal, fall planted bulbs are the answer. The palette of spring flowering bulbs doesn't stop with the many shapes and forms of tulips and daffodils. There are many other easy to grow bulbs to choose from that will offer a welcome splash of color to your landscape each spring. Learn which bulbs and varieties to use for naturalizing as well as which ones are best for forcing indoors, and how to plant and care for them.

Gardening in the Shade

Discover the blessings of shade gardening. The program begins with a discussion about the different types of shade, special care needed when gardening in the shade, and how to select annuals, perennials, bulbs, groundcovers, and woody plants that will shine in the shade garden.

Combining Perennials for season long Bloom

Good perennials bloom their hearts out with minimal care but planning a 'succession of bloom' is key to having bold color all season long. Learn how to select, plant and maintain perennial beds and borders throughout the season for lasting beauty. Techniques for dividing, thinning, supporting, fertilizing and mulching will be presented.

Going Green in the Home Landscape

Gardeners are some of the greenest people around…and the helpful tips in this presentation will make you even greener. Let us share with you some new approaches to gardening, including useful practices, information and techniques that are healthy for you, the environment and your pocket book. You will learn some new and sustainable ways to start making the world a bit better…one yard at a time.

PrairieScapes–Grow Native!

Discover the advantages of using prairie plants in the home landscape. Learn how to incorporate prairie plants into an existing garden to reduce your water usage, the need for pesticides and fertilizers and to attract native birds, butterflies and pollinators to your home landscape. The class will also explore briefly the fundamentals of starting and maintaining a prairie from scratch.

Ornamental Grasses with Gusto!

Ornamental grasses provide interesting color, texture, and form in the landscape. They come in a variety of growth habits, forms, colors and life cycles. Learn how to incorporate these versatile plants into your landscapes as screens, focal points, borders or mass plantings.

Fantastic Foliage!

If you think only of flowers for summer garden color: think again. The newest trend is FANTASTIC FOLIAGE. There is an increasing array of leaf colors and interesting textures for home gardeners to choose from. Whether you have sun or shade, want plants in containers, window boxes, beds or borders, there are fantastic foliage plants to meet your needs.

Fabulous Containers make Gardening Easy

Even a small patio or porch can host a container full of welcoming blooms! Add color and fragrance to your entrances, outdoor rooms and entertainment areas by using containers. You can stop tilling and dragging hoses long distances: keep plants in containers close and accessible for easier maintenance and greater enjoyment. Container gardening is a snap - once you know how to choose a container, use the proper soil and how to combine plants to maximize success. This class will show you how and give you fabulous ideas for plant combinations.

Attracting Butterflies to the Garden

Butterflies add beauty and surprise to the garden, and they are important pollinators. Design your garden to attract and sustain these "flying flowers" through their life cycle from caterpillar to butterfly. Information on butterflies found in northern Illinois will also be presented. This is a very popular class–book early.

Herbs for the Garden and Kitchen

Ahhhh…smell the fragrance! Herbs are a healthy way to introduce new flavors into your diet. Growing and cooking with fresh herbs adds fragrance and flavor in your kitchen, home and garden. This class teaches you how to grow, collect and preserve annual and perennial herbs.

Planning and Planting a Vegetable Garden!

Vegetable gardening is one of the most rewarding endeavors you can do. Whether you have space in your own backyard or a plot at a community garden, you can feed your family the fruits and vegetables they need and like from your own garden. This class is designed for eager beginning vegetable gardeners who want to have success the first year. From site preparation (size, location and soil) through the harvest, learn the tips and tricks to growing your own food. Topics covered include site selection, crop selection, garden layout, planting techniques, fertilizing and maintenance. Succession planting and pest control will be addressed briefly.

Plants that are Pretty Enough to Eat…and you can!

There is no need to start a separate garden just for vegetables when you can easily integrate them into your existing beds and borders. Open you eyes to a gardening strategy that brings fresh food to your table with a minimum of effort. From vines to root crops to fruit trees, reap a bounty of healthy food from your home landscape. In these economically trying times, these skills will be economically beneficial.

Growing Gorgeous Gourds

Gourds are used all around the world as vessels, utensils and for decoration. When properly dried, they can last for years. And the simple truth is they are great fun to grow. In this class you will learn a bit about the history of gourds, about the various types of gourds and how to select varieties for a specific purpose and climate. You will learn about trellising, potential pests and diseases, harvesting and preserving gourds. This class is great for kids and gardeners who have grown just about everything there is to grow. Open up a new world by learning about gourds.

Waking Up the Garden

The basics of good gardening should be as routine as an oil change. But if you are new to gardening or are uncertain about how to do what, and when, this class will set you straight. This class covers best management practices for beginners, new homeowners and people who are new to this climate. No nonsense techniques and advice for increasing the overall health of your landscape, problem prevention and getting ready for a new season. Topics covered will include planting seeds indoors and out, planting cool-season flowers, and seasonal lawn care, as well as watering, fertilizing, dividing, and pruning in the landscape.

Putting the Garden to Bed

Learn the end-of-the-season activities needed to tuck your garden in for its winter nap. Topics included are fertilization of lawns, trees and shrubs; watering and weed control; how to prepare perennials for winter; planting spring bulbs and storing summer bulbs; bringing in houseplants, and much more.

Spring Lawn Care

The basic concepts are pretty easy, but they are so misunderstood. If you want one of the best looking lawns in the neighborhood, without being a slave to you need to maximum the health of your turf. A healthy lawn resists weeds and pests. Learn the basic principles that will help your lawn look great and will be easy on the pocketbook, the environment and your weekend schedule.

Gardener's Gold: Compost is the way to healthy soil

Yard waste recycling is an environmentally beneficial practice in and of itself…but the compost that is produced is truly gold for the garden. When used as a soil amendment, compost adds long lasting nutrients, improves aeration and water infiltration of soils. When used as mulch compost reduces water loss reduces weeds and provides a 'finished' look to beds. Learn the tricks to successful composting using leaves, plant debris, kitchen waste, and lawn clippings. Layering, moisture management and balancing carbon and nitrogen are the keys to successful composting. Composting makes landscape maintenance easier by reducing bagging and improving the health of your landscape: practice composting!

Composting with Worms

Vermicomposting is a great learning experience to share with the whole family - especially the kids! They will be amazed watching the red wigglers work their magic, recycling your kitchen waste and newspaper into rich castings. These casting make great fertilizer for houseplants and in the garden. In this class you will learn a little about worms, how to make your own worm bin, how to maintain it and the amazing nutrient value and of casting.

Creating Habitats for Wildlife in your Landscape

The activities and antics of wildlife can be wonderful attributes to home landscapes. Learn how to lure birds, butterflies and other wildlife to make them feel welcome by providing the food and shelter they require.

Viva Les Vines!

Vines provide vertical elements, grow in small spaces, add unexpected highlights of color and can produce shade, fragrance and edible fruits. Vines are easy to grow and offer many possibilities for softening walls, fences and even s groundcovers. This class will provide information about many types of annual and perennial vines suited for northern Illinois.

Clever Clematis

From climbers to crawlers, the world of clematis is well worth exploring. These graceful, reliable, easy-care bloomers are so versatile–no garden is complete without one (or many).