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Greetings gardeners,

July’s heat is in full swing, and your gardens are likely feeling it just as much as you are. While some plants and insects slow down in the summer sun, others—like butterflies—thrive in the warmth. This guide to creating a butterfly garden offers ideas to support beneficial insects while keeping your garden healthy through the hottest weeks of the season. Read on for timely tips, pest updates, and inspiration to keep your landscape lively through July.

Gomphrena ‘Fireworks’ is a low-maintenance annual that produces long-stemmed, intensely pink flowers with bright yellow tips.

Rabbits can damage flowers, vegetables, trees, and shrubs year-round, whether you live in town or the country. But with the right control measures, you can restore their role as a welcome visitor in your landscape.  Read more...

Tomatoes are a popular vegetable grown in both gardens and containers. Pruning tomatoes can create stronger and healthier plants that will grow larger numbers of higher quality tomatoes later into the growing season. Read more…

Wild parsnip starts to show itself in grasslands and on roadsides throughout Wisconsin in July. This invasive plant can cause painful skin burns if not properly handled. Learn to identify wild parsnip and how to manage it if it shows up in your yard. View resource...

Course dates: Sept. 7–Dec. 6, 2025
100% Online | Self-Paced

This comprehensive course consists of online activities, videos, readings, and additional resources. It also serves as an approved learning opportunity for individuals interested in the Wisconsin Extension Master Gardener Program.

A weekly column of horticulture education and activities for Wisconsin gardeners. Read the latest articles from this past month.

▶ Watch: Tick tock: Timing out a busy tick season in Wisconsin | Spectrum News 1 | Featuring PJ Liesch

▶ Listen: What Your Lawn Really Needs This Season | Midwest Farm Report | Featuring Doug Soldat

Garden Talk: How plants react to weather stresses | WPR | Featuring Lisa Johnson

▶ Listen: Expected and unwelcome insect pests | The Larry Meiller Show | Featuring PJ Liesch

▶ Watch: Brood XIV cicadas: What you Need to Know | AccuWeather Network | Featuring PJ Liesch

Garden Talk: Birdscaping your garden and help with plant diseases | WPR | Featuring Brian Hudelson

Japanese beetle populations in Wisconsin are shifting trends show | WPR | Featuring PJ Liesch

More Extension Horticulture in the news →

More fireworks! Pennisetum ‘Fireworks’ is a variegated cultivar of purple fountain grass grown as an annual in Wisconsin.

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UW-Madison Division of Extension Horticulture Program

Find articles, resources, educational events and more at hort.extension.wisc.edu

The University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of Extension provides equal opportunities in employment 
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