When I was a young girl, Mom had two gardens (circa 1955-1966) in a rural area near Wilmington, Illinois, one at home behind the house, and one on my grandparents’ farm 1.5 miles away. I cannot believe not a single photo exists. We spent nearly the entire spring & summer tending those gardens, cultivating, planting, […]
As the eldest grandson of the inventor of the Ross Root Feeder, I set out to take my grandfather’s vision to the next level. From 1976 to 1990 I worked at the family company until it was sold. I have stayed closely-tied to green industry. My grandfather, father, and my uncle groomed me to become […]
The Farm Bureau/Extension Community Garden was established in 2004 with the help of the Woodstock (Illinois) Noon Rotary, who paid for the materials to build sixteen raised beds on the property owned by the McHenry County Farm Bureau. The garden is administrated by University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners. In its original form, the beds […]
In 1843, Luke Gannon and his family, immigrants from Ireland, built a log cabin in what is now Crystal Lake, Illinois. The restored cabin was moved to Union, Illinois in 1966 on the grounds of the McHenry County Historical Society. Two years ago, in 2015, the Historical Society asked the University of Illinois Extension Master […]
Ours is a story of how the two communities of Algonquin and Lake in the Hills came together to build vegetable gardens that feed local families in need, educate new gardeners, and provide a peaceful artistic space. In 2012 the Algonquin Lake in the Hills Interfaith Food Pantry moved to a new home at Lake […]
I grew up gardening and, living in the suburbs my whole life, was lucky to have space available to plant many different kinds of gardens over the years. In my retirement, I joined garden clubs and completed training at the University of Illinois to be a Master Gardener. I really enjoyed working with its extension […]
I would like to share with you a walk through my pollinator garden here in Shawneetown, Illinois. Nature is awesome, it is always fascinating at the things you see if you slow down to look. As we step out the door of the sunroom onto the bricked patio to the left, we have blue salvia […]