Lack of Rainfall Makes Watering Vital for Naperville Plants, Gardens

The first five months of the year were particularly dry for most of the United States, including the Naperville area. A horticulturalist from The Growing Place in Naperville offers tips on caring for plantings and trees.

Days without rain make watering flowers and trees a necessity, but homeowners and gardeners should keep the watering to early-morning hours whenever possible.  The warmer than normal spring has left our area with only a minor amount precipitation and watering is the key thing that people need to pay attention to, especially if landscaping includes newer plantings, according to a local horticulturalist.  The wacky spring weather has also created perfect conditions for pests and fungus to affect plants and flowers, said Heather Prince, horticulturalist at Naperville-based The Growing Place Garden Center. Fungus on plants and flowers will appear whitish and powdery on foliage, she said. The rust appears as it sounds — orange. There are …

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Red Geranium Blossoms at New Location

Unique store returns to its Naperville roots.

Nestled away in a blue house behind Mesón Sabika is The Red Geranium. At first glance, from the outside, it seems like a gardening center. Brightly colored flower pots of all shapes and sizes, garden statues, lawn ornaments, and bird baths decorate the store's front yard.  Walk in the front door it's clear The Red Geranium goes way beyond gardening. Winding from room to room, shoppers are bound to find a hidden treasure. The Red Geranium offers everything for under the roof and outside the house: clothing, jewelry, party favors, candles, gourmet foods, purses, house decor, wine glasses, Mexican pottery, gift baskets ... an endless list. The Red Geranium originally was located at the corner of Washington and Benton streets, until about …

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Greenhouse Plants Bloom in Winter

Local greenhouse Lizzie's Garden is stocked with holiday plants through Christmastime.

Many Naperville residents do not know that in their very own backyard, they can find about 10,000 Mexican, Ugandan and Guatemalan poinsettias of more than a dozen varieties. "It's so neat to look at all of these and think, each of these plants will be in someone's home," said Liz Holmberg, co-owner of Lizzie's Garden, located near 111th Street and Route 59 in Naperville. Holmberg, of Yorkville, has sold poinsettias to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and Oprah Winfrey, she said. Entering her greenhouse is any gardener's paradise. Shades of red, mauve and white poinsettias line the entire space — and the space behind it — from floor to ceiling. Though Lizzie's Garden is mostly geared toward wholesale, Holmberg does sell to individuals and tries …

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