S U double L I, VAN spells Sullivan
At Gardening and writing was a master
No one who could edit any faster

Somehow, in spite of his retirement from the Master Gardener program, I thought Bill would always be in the wings making sure that we carefully read the Newsletter, our interns were well versed in gardening knowledge and lore, and all interested people were made aware of the Master Gardener program. Well, it's not going to happen, but we'll hear in our minds his admonition "It's on page five of the Journal." His spirit and inspiration will stay with us and will not soon be forgotten.

...It's a name that'll remain
in our memories forevermore!
Sulllivan, that's him

- John Armbruster

Working for University of Illinois Extension has helped me to put new meanings to known vocabulary. One such word, which compels us and propels us, is "impact." This past week, one of Peoria County's foremost Master Gardeners, Bill Sullivan, passed away. Bill was not one who sought notoriety or recognition, for he simply practiced his passion: being a Master Gardener, in all ways. Bill gave himself to multiple projects; one as the Editor of the Master Gardener Gazette (later to become "The Journal) and most recently, he spearheaded the Master Gardener Memorial on Peoria's beautiful Grand View Drive. Individuals throughout the State of Illinois and those accessing the World Wide Web have gleaned from his "Tips" and quips in the "Journal."

I wonder how many anxious, gardening moments have been alleviated because of his knowledge-put-to-pen. Bill will be greatly missed. And, because of his "no limelight" style, I shall say no more. But, when I think of Bill Sullivan, I shall remember "no muss, no fuss"...just "Impact."

- Roger A. Larson, Peoria County Unit Leader

April 20, 1925 - June 25, 2004

Bill Sullivan was an active Master Gardener from 1994 until the end of 2003. Much of his efforts were as editor & publisher of the Peoria Master Gardener Gazette that later known as the Peoria Master Gardener Journal for over eight years ending with the December 2003 issue. Bill was also involved with Garden Days, a State MG Convention, the Memorial Tree & Stone, and Recording & Corresponding Secretary, event displays, 4-H Fairs, Help Line, Speakers Bureau and many of the daily record keeping task and mailings.

Bill was awarded Peoria MG of the Year award in 1997 & 2002. He also received the State Outstanding Master Gardener Award in 1995, the State Sustained Excellence Award in 1998, and the State Teamwork Award in 2000 for the Journal Newsletter.

Thanks, Bill, for all your efforts in making the Peoria MG's what they are today. You will be missed and lon remembered. You kept us on our toes and informed. If we needed to know anything about dates and events or current topics, we'd be reminded "it's in the Journal," and it was.

Memorials may be sent to Luthy Botanical Garden c/o Peoria Park District or the University of Illinois Extension Master Gardener Memorial Fund.

Container Gardening has come a long way from a red geranium and a spike in a pot! From window boxes hanging baskets, wall pots and an increasing selection of pots, there is a lot to choose from to suit every taste and style.

Designing Your Containers
Designing principles to consider are height, color, and texture. For height, vines can be added for vertical interest. Tall cannas and grasses have become popular choices too. Plants can be graded by height with the tallest in the center, shorter plants around. The addition of a trailing plant over the rim, adds more interest. Trailing plants cover the container with growth giving a sense of fullness and blurring the gaps between plants. Color combinations can suit any style - primary colors make a bold statement, pastels are much subtler. As always, warm colors like reds look closer, cool colors like blue look further away. Foliage plants can add green and other colors and also add another dimension - texture. Combine coarse leaved plants with bold colors, small leaved plants with fine textured plants which have masses of small flowers.

Plant selection
Select plants depending on the mood you want to create. Color combinations of reds and yellows will jump out at one and create a vibrant mood while cool blues and silver would provide a cool mood. And green and white can provide a feeling of calm and simplicity. Annuals, perennials, grasses, vines and bulbs can all be used in containers. For simplicity, repeating the same plants on each step of a flight of stairs can look very elegant.

Container Gardening can fit any style. For a formal look, an evergreen such as a trimmed boxwood, surrounded by fritallarias would make a strong and bold look. A container garden could also give you the cottage garden feel. The trick is to arrange pots at different levels and choose eager bloomers - pansies, petunias, salvias and petunias are some options. If arranged well, the containers do not show at all. Such a garden will need to be watered and fertilized generously so that the flower show never stops. For a quick look of lots of color, grow vivid, easy annuals planted closely to achieve a causal but opulent look of the cottage garden.

Foliage provides a foil with their many shades of green. Colorful coleus are as attractive as many flowers and can be combined with appropriate flowers to make quite a statement! The silver leaves of dusty miller, artemesia, and licorice works well in many designs. An increasing array of variegated plants are also now available for use. Plants with charteuse or purple leaves have also become very popular. Sweet potato viens or purple grasses are some options. On a deck or close to the house a selection of fragrant flowers is a great addition to outdoor spaces. Annuals such as nicotiana, sweet peas, jasmine scented geraniums are some options. Edible annuals such as herbs and lettuce can also be added.

You could try your had at trained shapes with a topiary. A simple topiary can be made by using a small pyramid in a pot and training ivy around it to make an ivy pyramid. Many kinds of vegetables are also available today which can flourish in a container. They are a good choice for those who only have a balcony to grow in, or seniors and others who have difficulty bending over.

Seasonal effects can be created. You could start the season with a planting of spring bulbs ;tulips, daffodils, hyacinths or snowdrops. This could be followed by summer annuals bursting with fullness and spirit. Fall selections of chrysanthemums or asters or orange and yellow pansies could welcome autumn. Finally, plant some indoor plants to bring inside for the winter. Containers do need constant watering. You could provide them with light shade to reduce drying. Another option is to add water-absorbing crystals to the soil. They will hold water and release as the plant needs it. Water the soil, not the leaves. Keep some Insecticidal soap handy to get rid of spider mites and aphids. Weekly fertilizer applications are als important. Annuals grow rapidly and therefore need an ample supply of nutrients. Use a handful of compost to each plant or apply liquid fertilizer weekly. Time release fertilizers are another option. Also to reduce the chore of deadheading, select plants which do not require it.

I find container gardening to be a very satisfying pastime which extends the gardening season to twelve months in a year. Happy gardening!

Submitted by Sunita Shastry

The gardens in front are planted and, 'Alleluia', blooming. The grass looks better than it did but not much better. The house is painted and sided but the planting by the house hasn't even been started.

For Mother's Day one of my sons and one of my daughters gave me a brick walk that curves from the drive to the front door. My daughter laid it and it is beautiful. It adds a lot to the front of the house.

I suppose everyone who gardens keeps extending and adding to their plans. Gardening more than most "do it yourself" projects has open-ended goals. I read not long ago that gardeners live longer then most people. I think it's because we always have one more plant to plant, one more extension to the garden we already have and one more season to prepare for.

The squirrels and bunnies ate several of my plants almost to the ground early in the summer but the lavish use of 'hot pepper wax' stopped them in mid-dinner and they have been leaving the rest alone. I'll have to start it earlier next year. My garden journal is getting thicker as I enter notes to myself for next spring but already I'm crossing things out and planning transplants of transplants.

My first Spring in this home is over, the summer is well on it's way to the 'Dog days' and Autumn, my favorite time of year, will be here before I know it. I want to thank Bill Sullivan, who was an outstanding Master Gardener and human being. Bill could always answer my questions and he did it graciously. He was born a 'gentleman'.

- Terry Finan

Most landscape trees growing in their natural environments rarely need fertilizer. However, trees growing in infertile soil along roadsides, in urban areas, and around new homes may need extra nutrients to keep growing strong. Apply in early spring or autumn when roots are actively growing. Tools and Materials. Granular fertilizer, Tape measure, Calculator (optional), Scale Garden hose and water source, Shovel to check moisture depth Determine need for fertilizer. Compare trees to others of the same kind: look at leaf size and color, and the length of new twig growth. Small, pale leaves and stunted growth may signal fertilizer need, but first rule out disease, insects, physical damage, and environmental stress such as flooding or drought. To determine which supplemental nutrients your tree needs, send a soil sample to a testing lab. Find a lab near you by checking in your telephone directory, or by calling your local Cooperative Extension office.

Choose a fertilizer. Granular fertilizers are the easiest to apply. Choose one especially formulated for the type of tree, such as fruit or evergreen, or apply an all-purpose formula such as 10-10-10. Calculate the size of the root zone. Tree roots grow at least twice as far from the trunk as the branches do. To calculate the root radius, measure in feet the distance from the trunk to the end of the longest branch. To calculate the size of the root zone in square feet, multiply (root radius) x (root radius) x 3.14.

Determine the required amount of fertilizer. You can safely apply up to one pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet per year. A 20-pound bag of 10- 10-10 fertilizer, enough to cover 2,000 square feet, contains 10 percent or two pounds each of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Multiply your tree's root zone by the application rate per square foot to find the total number of pounds to apply.

Apply fertilizer. Measure out the amount of fertilizer you need. Mark the outside boundary of the root zone with a garden hose or a circle of flour or lime. Also mark a circle three to four feet from the trunk. Evenly spread the fertilizer between the two circles, avoiding application close to the trunk. If the tree is in a lawn, apply when grass is dry. Water to moisten the soil and distribute the fertilizer to a 12- to 18-inch depth. Tips. Around trees and shrubs, avoid using "weed-and-feed" lawn fertilizers containing herbicides. Sensitive species may suffer from repeated exposure to these chemicals.

Some testing labs analyze leaves to accurately determine a plant's nutrition needs. For more information, contact your state's cooperative extension agent or a tree service.

In 1999 Carolynn Hunt, Peoria County Extension Leader, suggested that Peoria, Tazewell and Woodford county Master Gardeners jointly plan and construct a Demonstration Garden. She had discussed the possibility of such a garden with Randey Wall from the Horticulture Department at Illinois Central College. He was enthusiastic about the plan and agreed to supply funds to help with start up expenses. In January of 2000, the Peoria Master Gardeners accepted the Demonstration Garden as a project. Carolynn spoke with her counterparts at Tazewell and Woodford Extension offices and the project was off the ground...but not very far. The first few months of the year 2000 were spent discussing plans, making a few decisions but no actual work was done toward establishing the garden.

Late in 2001 the project was resurrected and a letter was sent to Master Gardeners from the three counties who had indicated an interest in the project. Included were three original garden plans. Those receiving the letter were asked to review the plans and vote for the one which most appealed to them.

In January of 2002, an organizational meeting was held. The site for the garden on the ICC campus was inspected and a plan of attack formalized. In the Spring, the site was sprayed with roundup and a brick edging was laid outlining the perimeter of the garden. The ground was tilled and compost, donated by ICC, was added. Flower beds were marked and plant material was solicited from local green houses and growers.

A successful plant sale was held in September to augment the Garden's treasury. Plants to be sold were donated from the participant's gardens and from those of friends.

In the fall, a large number of spring bulbs were planted. (The next spring roaming deer ate most of the tulips but the daffodils looked good.) Fall vegetables were planted in the vegetable garden.

In 2003 a rose garden was planted with 18 plants which have done very well. Five fruit trees were added to the garden and annuals and perennials were planted. The vegetable garden was planted and produced some good looking vegetables. During the year we began installing identification markers on the plant material. The garden was in fine shape for ICC Garden Day in September. Master Gardeners who worked on the garden were on site that day and talked to many visitors about the garden and plans for its future.

That same year, the garden benefited from the Eagle Scout project of a Germantown Hills Boy Scout who with his troop built a gazebo and bench for the garden, and finished the brick paths. The Garden has turned out to be a model cooperative endeavor by the gardeners of the three county extension units and the Illinois Central College Horticulture program which won the praises of the ALCA accreditation team for the garden's success as a joint community and school effort.

–submitted by John Armbruster

• Mulch around your tomato and pepper plants to conserve moisture.
• Spray, dust and pick off cucumber beetles and squash borers on summer squash, cucumbers and melons.
• Watch for white cabbage butterflies; dust or spray with Bt to control the larvae.
• Prune water spouts from apple and crabapple trees.
• Black Leaf spot is a continuing problem for roses. Pick off affected leaves, dispose, and spray plant with fungicide.
• Keep bird bath filled with fresh water. Change every two days so mosquito larvae cannot develop.
• On indeterminate tomatoes, the leaders should be turned toward supports if they are growing on a trellis.
• Deadhead roses and annuals such as petunias, marigolds, and zinnias. If the blossoms are removed promptly, they will rebloom most of season. Perennials such as stokesia will bloom until frost if deadheaded. You can fool a biannual into thinking it is a perennial if you cut off the old blossoms before seed pods form. Hollyhocks and foxgloves are such candidates.
• To deadhead a rose, cut flower stem back to an outward facing bud just above a 5- leaflet or 7- leaflet leaf. This "rule" applies to plants that are vigorous. If the plant is weak or small, you may want to only remove the spent blossom.
• About July 15, plant zucchini and cucumbers for fall harvest.
• If rainfall has been below average, water your vegetable garden and shrubs deeply. Hostas like one inch of water per week, or more if grown in a sandy soil or next to maple and sweet gum trees. Hostas grown in sun require more water. Water is more important to hostas than fertilizer.
• Add a side dressing of compost to your tomato and pepper plants.
• If your Alchemia Mollis look rusty and ratty, shear heavily. In two weeks you will have fresh green leaves. When you prune something heavily, it is always important to water well so that new growth is made easier.

- Nancy Crawford