Webinar: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly in Horticulture

University of Illinois Extension Horticulture Educators address garden biodiversity with a webinar series called “The Good, the Bad and the Lovely: Horticulture Webinars.” With these webinars, Illinois gardeners will learn what plants to cultivate and what plants to eliminate.

Cultivating the biodiversity of plants in the Illinois landscape ensures the survival of wildlife like birds, insects and mammals. Entomologist Doug Tallamy ascribes to the importance of biodiversity by saying “past decades of research have tied the number of interacting species to both ecosystem function and stability” in his new book entitled the “The Living Landscape.”

 
University of Illinois Extension will be teaching gardeners about biodiversity by addressing common invasives and species of concern, control methods, native alternatives, and plants for native pollinators.

 
The following two webinars will be held on Tuesday, April 21st, from 6:30 pm until 8:00 pm.  The prior companion webinars on common invasives and their control techniques are on April 7th in the evening.

 

On April 21

 

Landscape Alternatives 6:30 p.m.

Your backyard has been overtaken by burning bush, but you don't remember planting burning bush? Invasive plants are those that "escape" from other landscapes. Horticulture educators Jennifer Fishburn and Martha Smith will consider alternatives to landscape plants that are being “watched’ as becoming problematic.

  

Pollinator Plants 7:15 p.m.

Many Illinois gardeners wish to contribute to the biodiversity of their own gardens by planting flowers that lure and contribute to the survival of pollinators. Horticulture Educators Kelly Allsup and Ken Johnson will discuss how gardeners can attract different types of pollinators by using native plants.

To Register

A registration is required and anyone can join prior to the event. To register, please visit

http://web.extension.illinois.edu/abhps/