Gateway Gardener
APRIL 2020
THE
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Your Guide to Enjoyable Gardening and Easy-Care Landscapes
020 2 the ntry a P r e! fo r d k i o Ins Loo llinat Po uide G
Enchanting Bedfellows
Companions in the Garden
Social Distance Gardening 2020 Eco-Product Guide Growing Greens, Herbs and More!
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Gateway Gardener THE
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Your Guide to Enjoyable Gardening and Easy-Care Landscapes
APRIL 2020
Volume 16, Number 2 Celebrating 15 Years
Founded in 2005 by Joyce Bruno & Robert Weaver Publisher and Editor Robert Weaver Columnists Diane Brueckman Rosey Acres Abby Lapides Sugar Creek Gardens Steffie Littlefield Edg-Clif Winery Jennifer Schamber Greenscape Gardens Scott Woodbury Shaw Nature Reserve
Printing: Breese Publishing, Breese, IL The Gateway Gardener® is published 9 times/year by Double Dig Communications, Inc. to promote enjoyable, successful gardening and livable landscapes in the St. Louis greater metropolitan area. The magazine is distributed free to the public at designated garden centers, nurseries, garden gift shops, lawn equipment rental, repair and sales establishments, and other locations supporting sound gardening, lawn and landscaping practices. Please send letters-to-the-editor, questions, event announcements, editorial suggestions and contributions, photos, advertising inquiries and materials, and any other correspondence to: The Gateway Gardener Magazine® PO Box 220853 St. Louis, MO 63122 Phone: (314) 968-3740
info@gatewaygardener.com www.gatewaygardener.com The Gateway Gardener® is printed on recycled newsprint using environmentally friendly soy-based ink, and is a member of the PurePower® renewable energy resources network.
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From the Editor
andom thoughts from a spring unlike any other…
A spring unlike any other, and yet, to nature, a spring not really any different from any other. I’ve been following the social media posts from Missouri Botanical Garden and Shaw Nature Reserve as they record the new blossoms that show up on schedule despite the lack of visitors observing them. My initial reaction is humancentric: “The Garden is closed; why would the plants continue to bloom?” But the plants don’t care; in fact, they are probably enjoying the fresher air resulting from diminished human activity. Setting the computer aside, I walk the dog and see the neighborhood flowers I’ve come to look forward to each spring— the white bloodroot flowers that carpet a neighbor’s garden bed. They always seem a bit out of place when they pop up each spring here, in an otherwise typically non-native suburban landscape. I speculate they were probably planted long ago, passalong plants in a time when people planted what they had. My mother was such a gardener, and in her garden (now mine) native plants like common garden
phlox, native yarrow, wild ginger and primrose rubbed elbows with orange daylilies, generic hostas, and the vinca, English ivy and wintercreeper vines shared by and with neighbors. I’ll watch for the brief show of the serviceberries, then the longer display of flowering dogwoods. Virginia bluebells, bleeding hearts, trillium, Jacob’s ladder, the cherries and crabapples. The old pink rhododendrons that my mother planted and are nearly as old as I am. “Seasons, they go round and round,” sang the Joni Mitchell of my youth.
and raising children. I sense this newfound time at home with those kids—and the possibility of growing perishable produce in their own back yards—may bring some new hands to gardening. With that in mind, we’ve included a few articles in this issue that introduce readers to edible gardening, including tips for growing veggies in containers (pg. 12), a beginner’s guide to growing greens (pg. 30), and an intro to herbs (pg. 18). If you are an old pro, but have kids who are picking up trowels for the first time, I hope you’ll share these articles with them. And on page 24, you’ll find some ways in which garden centers are doing their best to keep providing gardeners with the plants and supplies they need to get their gardens growing. Until then, I wish all of our readers safety, good health, and…
Good Gardening!
Speaking of youth…gardening has often been thought of as a pastime for older people. Young people are caught up in the dayto-day turmoil of chasing careers
On the Cover... Some plants are just meant for each other; for example these delightful companions, Heliopsis ‘Sunstruck’ and Veronica ‘Moody Blues’. For more examples, see page 4. (photo by Ball Horticulture) IN THIS ISSUE 4 Enchanting Bedfellows
8 Origami in the Garden 10 Pet-Approved Plants 12 Growing Vegetables Outside the Traditional Garden 14 Tips for Growing New Roses 16 Native Rain Gardens 18 JT’s Fresh Ideas 18 The Magic of Herbs 20 Eco-Products for 2020 22 St. Louis Hort History Sugar Creek Gardens at 30 24 Social Distance Gardening 28 Dig This 30 Grow Delicious Greens 31 Upcoming Events
Enchanting Bedfellows By Abby Lapides
D
esigning a captivating garden can sometimes be a head-scratcher. While that beautiful flower sang at the garden center, once at home it fades into the background. Follow a few of these gorgeous plant combos to create a garden masterpiece. The shockingly colorful combination of Gomphrena ‘Ping Pong Purple’ with the neon lemon-lime leaves of Coleus and sweet potato vine will make even the most jaded gardener do a double take. Gomphrena are excellent annuals that bountifully bloom even in the hottest of summers. Coleus ‘Wasabi’ features chartreuse wavy foliage adding excellent texture on top of the intense color. If you’ve ever grown a sweet potato vine then you know they make you feel like the best gardener ever. A plant that wants to G-R-O-W; depending on variety they will grow upwards to 5’ long and sometimes even longer. I prefer the more manageable varieties like ‘Solarpower Lime’, whose finely cut leaves only
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Gomphrena ‘Ping Pong Purple’
grow to a paltry 3’. This hot flower and foliage combo will look great spring well into fall. And bonus! Gomphrena make excellent cut flowers.
At a beautiful interpretation of a rocky glade at the Missouri Botanical Gardens I stumbled upon an incredible color combination of two “nativars” of Missouri native perennials. The golden yellow daisies of black-eyed-susan ‘American Goldrush’ and the intense pink colored petals on coneflower ‘Kismet Raspberry’ created such a dramatic color contrast I was mesmerized. ‘American Goldrush’ may be one of best varieties of black-eyed-susans to ever emerge. The plant blooms for months on end with hundred of flowers over extremely clean no-fuss foliage. I’m not the only one with this opinion. One of the first herbaceous perennials to win the Coleus ‘Wasabi’ coveted All-America Selections award, one judge commented “I believe this is one of the very best Rudbeckias I’ve trialed and one of the very best perennials, too.” ‘Kismet Raspberry’ features deep berry-pink flowers with erect ray petals that surround orange cones. These strong growers bloom for months on
The Gateway Gardener™ APRIL 2020
Rudbeckia ‘American Gold Rush’ and Echinacea ‘Kismet Raspberry’ end creating a bold statement in the garden. The similar flower shapes of these two plants highlight the stunning color contrast between these two “nativars”. Speaking of Missouri natives, here’s a fabulous combo that will draw in viewers as well as bees and butterflies. The bright orange flowers of butterfly weed create an excellent backdrop for the lacy foliage and snow-white flowers of slender mountain mint. Two
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Zick’s Great Outdoors Cont’d on next page Abby Lapides is owner and a speaker at Sugar Creek Gardens Nursery. She has degrees from the University of Missouri, and is a member of the Landscape and Nursery Association of Greater St. Louis. You can reach her at (314) 965-3070.
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Cont’d from previous page excellent plants for pollinators, when these beauties are in bloom they are swarmed with many types of bees and butterflies. Like the sun and the sky, the yellow and blue flowers of ‘Sunstruck’ Heliopsis and ‘Moody Blues’ Veronica are a match made in heaven. Gorgeous spikes of deep blue flowers bloom for months on end on ‘Moody Blues’. In summer expect to see the golden yellow daisies of ‘Sunstruck’. This vigorous false sunflower blooms most of the
summer over heavily variegated foliage. Most plants that feature so much white in their foliage suffer from a lack of vigor, but not ‘Sunstruck’. Not only is the yellow and blue color combo a home run, but the contrasting flower form will make you a super fan for life.
Heliopsis ‘Sunstruck’ and Veronica ‘Moody Blues’
When choosing plant combos think about bloom time, flower form, foliage and size on top of flower colors. With these tips and floral inspirations, you too can easily create enchanting flower combinations in the garden Photo credits: Coleus ‘Wasabi’ and Heliopsis’Sunstruck’/ Veronica ‘Moody Blues’ courtesy Ball Seed. All other photos courtesy Ann Lapides.
Support Your Local Garden Centers Most are still offering phone-in / email ordering and curbside pickup and/or delivery. See their ads on these pages or the article on page 24 for contact information.
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APRIL 2020
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Missouri Botanical Garden
Origami in the garden
Painted Ponies is part of the Origami in the Garden exhibit, which will run through October 11th.
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April 25th-Oct. 11th 9am-5pm
Missouri Botanical Garden
O
rigami in the Garden is a custom traveling sculpture exhibition created by Santa Fe artists Jennifer and Kevin Box that captures the delicate nature of this paper art form in museum-quality metals. The Monumental Show has more than 20 large-scale sculptures that include flying birds, emerging butterflies, floating boats and soaring paper airplanes that will be placed throughout the Garden’s iconic locations. The crown jewel of the exhibition is Master Peace, a 25-foot sculpture of 1,000 stainless steel origami peace cranes. Origami in the Garden will be at the Garden through October 11. The exhibit is included with Missouri Botanical Garden admission. At the time of publication, the Garden was closed due to health and safety issues. Please check updated scheduling before traveling to see this exhibit. The Gateway Gardener™ APRIL 2020
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Pet-approved Plants by Jennifer Schamber
I
ncorporating houseplants into our homes has many benefits including: improving indoor air quality, boosting mood, increasing productivity, and adding life to an otherwise sterile environment. Many plant lovers also tend to be animal lovers as well, and fortunately, one can have the benefits of both plants and pets at the same time by making safe choices. Keep in mind that some plants may have a degree of toxicity that could cause harm to pets. Puppies and kittens are curious little rascals and lush plants can be enticing to them. It only makes sense that some plants would have evolved with toxins to use as a defense strategy, so being aware of what you have in your home Jack, the sometimes greeter at Greenscape Gardens, wants all will help keep everyone healthy shoppers to keep their pets safe from toxic plants! and safe. Here are six great “pet-
approved plants” recommended by the ASPCA. The entire list can be found at www.aspca.org or check with your local garden center. Always refer to your veterinarian with any concerns or questions. Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
jSpider Plant
This popular houseplant makes sense to have in every room of the house not just because it improves the indoor air quality, but it is also very resilient and safe around both kids and pets. Over time it produces “baby spiders” which can be shared with friends. This makes the perfect “first plant” for kids.
YO U R O N E-S TO P S H O P F O R
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beauty
Peperomia When it comes to tidy texture, this plant is a winner on the windowsill. It is starting to become a fun “collectible” plant because there are many different varieties, including some
Peperomia
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of tropical color impact, bromeliads hit the spot! The color will last for a couple months, then trade it out for another one.
favorites like ‘Frost’ and ‘Watermelon’. Prayer Plant (Maranta leuconeura)
Echeveria Sometimes you need something that can tolerate neglect and a lack of water. This succulent can be grown in a wide range of light in the home, but it will thrive in moderate to high light. It comes in a wide assortment and looks great all by itself or combined with companions.
Prayer Plant
Echeveria
This plant is known for having beautifully striped foliage that opens during the day and closes at night. The leaves fold together like praying hands. It looks great in a regular pot or in a hanging basket. Variegated Hoya (Hoya carnosa ‘Variegata’) Hoya plants are extremely easy to grow and are a favorite amongst collectors with a wide
Photos courtesy Hillary Fitz.
Jennifer Schamber is the General Manager of Greenscape Gardens, and plays leaderships roles in the Western Nursery & Landscape Association, GrowNative! and the Landscape & Nursery Association of Greater St. Louis. She has earned Green Profit Magazine’s Young Retailer Award, and Greenscape Gardens was named the National Winner of the 2015 “Revolutionary 100” Garden Centers by Today’s Garden Center Magazine.
2020 Native Of The Year
Hoya range of varieties. It is quite a treat when they bloom little mini bouquets of flowers that smell like chocolate! Guzmania Bromeliad If you’re looking for a great pop
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Growing Vegetables Ourside the Traditional Garden by Steffie Littlefield
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egetable plants can be grown in many ways. The traditional vegetable garden works for some, but not everyone has a plot of sunny yard to grow delicious and healthy edible plants. My daughter. Katie, has lived her adult life in large urban centers like Shanghai and New York but turns out to be the most avid gardener of all my children. In choosing her latest apartment in Manhattan her priority was outdoor space for her garden. Now she has a small composter, pots, troughs and baskets full of plants, most of them edible. Her fiancé is in full support of this since he is an avid cook and loves to create healthy and colorful meals with her fresh harvested veggies. April is a great time to get started in the vegetable garden but an even better time to start some containers of productive and beautiful plants on your deck, patio, balcony or even a windowsill. Instead of planting the same annuals in all your containers pick a few larger ones for vegetables. They can be attractive as they grow and fascinating as they develop fruit or foliage to consume.
Get Started with something
BIG This Year!
Some of the most popular greens for a healthy life style make beautiful combinations in containers as well as in the salad bowl. You can even sow these directly from seed in mixes that are beautiful and delicious. You can begin to experiment simply with just some lettuce starts as the filler around lovely blooming pansies. Even the pansies are edible. Get bold and use Swiss chard ‘Bright Lights’ as your center plant. Try some lemon thyme or oregano cascading out the sides so you can snip some fresh herbs when crafting new cocktails or pizza. The same requirements for planting a vegetable garden in the ground are taken into consideration when starting container plantings. Containers should be placed in sunny locations, given plenty of water to thrive and organic potting mixes with good organic matter should be used for planting medium. When growing plants on balconies please watch the wind and protect young plants from damage by positioning sturdier plants around them. The same rule of thumb for all container gardens applies; big plants need bigger containers and smaller plants can be in smaller containers. During the season, instead of just cutting back annuals to improve their shape and flower production, you can harvest fresh greens and herbs while improving their aesthetics. In larger pots consider using an obelisk support for tomatoes, cucumbers, peas or green beans. For bushy peppers and eggplants try small ring supports to hold them up and you can grow smaller plants like radishes around the sides of the pot. As radishes are harvested just sow more seeds to keep your supply coming. Get adventurous and try Malabar spinach (one of my favorite warm season greens) up a trellis or deck railing, grow beets in window boxes, and onions surrounded by ornamental but delicious kale. Add some excitement and drama with pumpkins boldly crawling across a balcony railing or over head on a trellis. Don’t forget the basil, dill, and cilantro, which are quick and easy in pots and add great fragrance and texture in container combinations. The possibilities are endless and the satisfaction of preparing fresh homegrown foods even in the city is priceless.
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Steffie Littlefield is a St Louis area horticulturist and garden designer. She has degrees from St. Louis Community College at Meramec and Southeast Missouri State and is a member of Gateway Professional Horticultural Association, Missouri Botanical Garden Members Board and past president of the Horticulture Co-op of Metropolitan St. Louis. She is part-owner of Edg-Clif Winery, Potosi, MO. www.Edg-Clif. com.
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TREES WORK
health for your
Feeling tired? Spending just 20 minutes outside can give your brain an energy boost comparable to a cup of coffee.
Spending time in nature, conservation areas, woods, backyards, and urban parks may ease stress levels.
Getting away from busy schedules allows people to connect with nature and themselves in a way that brings calm and a sense of well-being.
Taking a nature walk may increase attention spans and creative problem-solving skills by as much as 50 percent.
Exposure to nature contributes to physical wellbeing, reducing blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, and the production of stress hormones.
Get healthy in nature this year. Visit mdc.mo.gov/places-go or download the free MO Outdoors app for ideas on where to go near you. Download for
Android
APRIL 2020
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Tips for Planting New Roses by Diane Brueckman
W
ith all the beautiful, disease resistant roses being introduced, it’s very tempting to start a new rose bed or to add one or two of the new roses to an existing bed. Today’s roses come in so many different colors and with growth habits that fit into any style of garden from formal to cottage garden, the choices are endless. Growing roses in mixed borders is becoming more and more popular. David Austin shows many of his new roses in mixed borders. Once you decide which rose you must have, you will want to give it the best home possible.
allow the roots room to spread out. Add compost to the hole but make sure the soil is not compacted beyond the immediate hole as you don’t want the rose in a “clay pot.” If the new rose is bare-root do not add a fertilizer other than an organic fertilizer until the rose is established. When you start a whole new bed the first consideration is sunlight, your new bed needs at least 6 hours a day, preferably morning sun or all day sun. The new rose bed also needs to be well drained. Most of us have a heavy clay soil and that does not drain well. A simple test for drainage is to dig a hole about 12 to 18 inches deep and fill with water. Let the water drain then refill with water. If the water does not drain in two hours, drainage is not adequate. There are a couple of solutions to poorly drained soil. The first is to build raised beds filled with 1/3 topsoil, 1/3 sand and 1/3 compost. Mix well and you’re ready to go. Another solution is to put drain tiles at the bottom of the bed and that may require professional help.
If you are adding just one or two roses to an existing bed, I would suggest you do a pH test. Ideally roses like a pH of 6.3 to 6.8 but will tolerate a pH up to 7 and down to 6. Having the right pH is just about the most important factor for healthy roses or for that matter any plants you want to grow. If the existing bed consists of healthy and vigorous roses you are probably OK without a pH test but if you are expanding a perennial border to add roses, I would do a pH test. When you add roses to a mixed border it is important that all the plants in that border have similar requirements for sun, If you live in a subdivision and the soil has not been amended your soil is probably poor and you might want to do a soil test. A soil moisture and pH. test not only gives you the pH but also tells you how much organic The planting hole for the new rose needs to be wide enough to matter is in the soil and if you need to add nutrients or what might be in excess. Often, there is too much phosphorus in the soil. Phosphorus does not move very fast in the soil and can build up. The best way to improve soil is to add compost when you start the LIFE IS BETTER WITH bed and every year keep a good two inch layer of mulch on the soil. Never remove the old mulch, just add fresh mulch over the top. The old mulch becomes the new compost. Organic fertilizers and mulch help keep the pH at the right level for plant health.
COLOR
When your plants are in the ground mulch them. I recommend composted leaves, double ground wood chips, and composted wood chips from tree trimmers. The latter contains green material as well as the wood chips and is also free if you are lucky enough to get it from the tree trimmers. I do not recommend rock or even weed barrier. Weeds can come up through the rock and are hard to get out if you miss them when they are tiny and rock can hold heat. I do use weed barrier to kill the grass, weeds etc. when I plan a new bed. I will cover the area with weed barrier in the fall and remove it when I plant the bed. The grass composts under the barrier and improves the soil, thus saving work and adding to the soil.
2832 Barrett Station Rd, Ballwin, MO 63021 www.greenscapegardens.com
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Diane Brueckman is a retired rosarian with Missouri Botanical Garden, and currently owns Rosey Acres in Baldwin, Illinois. You can reach her at (618) 785-3011 or droseyacres@ egyptian.net.
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2g
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Naturally Natives April Showers Bring May Rain Gardens by Scott Woodbury
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Scott Woodbury
like swamp white and chinquaain gardens are like pin oaks. They are excellent reminiature natural wetlands full of native placements for ash that die from emerald ash borer. They are plants. They slow down, capture also tolerant of a wide array of and absorb water into the ground urban soil conditions including instead of underground pipes. They work for wildlife too, proclay and concrete. Another good way to support wildlife in rain viding food for pollinating bees and hungry caterpillars that are gardens is by planting native wetland plants like rose turtlecritical food for baby birds. head, Chelone obliqua, orange Birds need more native plants coneflower, Rudbeckia fulgida in gardens to feed caterpillars var. umbrosa, blueflag iris, Iris that feed baby birds, says Doug Tallamy, entomology professor virginica, and yellow fox sedge, Carex annectans. These wetland at the University of Delaware. He says that our neighborhoods plants can tolerate both wet and dry soil moisture and are longneed 70% native plants for suc- A rain garden at the business headquarters of SWT Design in lived perennials. cessful nesting. A good way to Webster Groves. achieve this is with native trees Rain gardens make sense because conventional storm water plumbing can damage creek banks. When rain is funneled into a pipe, it eventually daylights with great force into detention areas or a creek. When detention areas fill up, they eventually overflow into creeks as well. The same thing happens with lawns. When rain falls on mowed grass, it flows quickly over the surface, gathering volume and speed as it moves downhill. As it enters a creek or detention area, the force of the water can cause erosion. Rain gardens are like big bowls that catch some of the storm water and holds it back long enough for water to percolate into the soil. This happens with the aid of plant roots because water follows root pathways down into the ground. The deeper the roots, the quicker and deeper the water moves downward. Lawns are no good at water infiltration because their roots are extremely shallow. Native wetland plants do a great job of this because they tolerate flooding when it rains and drought when it’s dry. They are the perfect rain garden plants.
Now’s the time to
CONNECT with NATURE
Take a hike, spend time with family, dig in the soil, welcome spring.
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To build a rain garden, figure out how much impermeable surface you can reasonably capture. Sources include roof (via downspout), sidewalk, patio, lawn or driveway areas. Rain gardens need to be at least 10-15 feet away from a building foundation. They must be downhill from the source of water. To get water from the source to the rain garden, water may be conveyed over-ground through a bioswale or below-ground in flexible drainage tubing (4 or 6 inch) available at hardware stores. A bioswale is a shallow “ditch” that is cut into the yard less than six inches deep and two to three feet wide leading from the water source to the rain garden. It is planted with native rain garden plants and typically mulched with threeinch or larger gravel (rock) to prevent erosion. Remember, bioswales are intended to have flowing rainwater in them so be sure The Gateway Gardener™ APRIL 2020
Tips and Resources for Growing and Landscaping with Sustainable Native Plants dissipate the force of moving water. Where water exits the rain garden (spillway), similar care must be taken to prevent soil erosion. Spillways should be directed to the adjacent street, alley or natural drainage and not toward neighboring buildings.
Robert Weaver
A single rain garden in a city of thousands of people is like a drop in the bucket. That is why the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) is offering small grants through Project Clear, a residential program that funds small rain gardens, turf alternatives, permeable paving and rain barrels in St. Louis. To see if your home qualifies, visit MSD’s Project Clear website.
A demonstration rain garden at the Kemper Center for Home Gardening at Missouri Botanical Garden.
they are heading downhill and the soil is protected with three-inch minimum gravel or cobble. On average, small rain gardens are six to eight inches deep and about ten by fifteen feet in size (150 square feet). Where water enters the rain garden (via downspout, pipe or bioswale), three-inch cobble or small boulders are used to
Missouri Wildflowers Nursery
A Grow Native! Top 10 List
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FEATURED CATEGORY:
TOP 10 NATIVE PLANTS FOR RAIN GARDENS
Attractive • Durable • Non-Seedy • Flood-tolerant • Attract pollinators
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HABIT
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Shining bluestar (Amsonia illustris) Brown fox sedge (Carex vulpinoidea) Palm sedge (Carex muskingumensis) Winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata) Rose turtlehead (Chelone obliqua) Southern blue flag iris (Iris virginica) Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) Sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis) Orange coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida var. umbrosa) Groundsel (Senecio aureus)
Tall Mound
Makes good hedges.
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Red berries in winter.
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Short-lived.
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573-496-3492, fax: 573-496-3003
Due to the virus, plant sales in the St. Louis area are either cancelled or likely will be. Some sales, like the Shaw sale, might be postponed to a later date. Kirkwood Market is closed until gatherings of 250 or more are permitted. We’re open for sales at the nursery, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and Noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays. You can also preorder & prepay for plants to be picked up at the nursery or we can ship by UPS to your residence. Ordering by website or email is best now. Watch for coronavirus related cancellations on our website and Facebook page. We are taking precautions to keep ourselves and our customers from contacting the virus at the nursery.
This list is intended as a starting point. It is not in ranked order. It was created by Scott Woodbury, based on his many years of experience and observations as the Curator of the Whitmire Wildflower Garden at Shaw Nature Reserve. For details on soil moisture and other growing needs, visit www.grow native.org, Native Plant Database. For sources of these plants to purchase, visit the website’s Resource Guide.
Grow Native! is a native plant education and marketing program of the
APRIL 2020
The Gateway Gardener™
Horticulturist Scott Woodbury is the Curator of the Whitmire Wildflower Garden at Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit, MO, where he has worked with native plant propagation, design, and education for more than 20 years. He is also an advisor to the Missouri Prairie Foundation’s GrowNative! program.
Please respect the 6 foot distance at all times, and remain outside of the sales building. R
17
The Cornucopia Corner
Tips for Growing, Buying and Cooking Fresh, Locally Sourced Food for Your Table
The Magic of Herbs By Paula S. Stone
S
unny spring days are here. Herbs, always Uses a favorite among Popular uses of herbs gardeners and cooks, have are for cooking (dry, entered the well-deserved fresh, herbal vinegars), global spotlight. The fragrance, herbal medicine definition of “herb” has been (tea, tincture, salves), expanded to include “any utility (insect repellant), plant that is useful.” Rising beauty (soaps, creams) popularity offers abundant, and gardening (companion reliable information on planting, ornamentals). the benefits of herbs and One way to get started easy home cultivation. The with herbs is to Pick One. dark side of the moon is Pick one interest, such as sustainability. Here, too, cooking, and one or more herbs to learn about. Expand there is a silver lining, as the world turns its attention outwards as your interests evolve. toward good stewardship of the plant community.
10 Reasons to Grow Herbs
Jt’s Fresh Ideas Ingredients
Basil Pesto
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed ½ cup freshly grated Romano or Parmesan-Reggiano cheese ½ cup extra virgin olive oil ⅓ cup pine nuts 3 garlic cloves, minced ¼ teaspoon salt, more to taste 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more to taste
Instructions Place the basil leaves and pine nuts into the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times. Add the garlic and Parmesan or Romano cheese and pulse several times more. Scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. While the food processor is running, slowly add the olive oil in a steady small stream. Adding the olive oil slowly, while the
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• Herbs are fun and low maintenance.
• Better, healthier eating. Many, if not most, culinary herbs are now categorized as medicinal foods. They are good for you.
processor is running, will help it emulsify and help keep the olive oil from separating. Occasionally stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor. Stir in salt and freshly ground black pepper, add more to taste. Toss with pasta for a quick sauce, dollop over baked potatoes, or spread onto crackers or toasted slices of bread. Recipe Source: www.SimplyRecipes.com
Share your favorite recipes with us. Send your email to: info@gatewaygardener.com
Looking forward to the growing season!
Enjoy...
There are many reasons to grow herbs. Here are just a few.
Jt
• Hand-picked garden herbs are fresh. When it comes to cooking, the fresher the better for quality and flavor. You can’t get any more “local” than your garden. And you know the herbs are free of pesticides, herbicides and other synthetic chemicals.
• Economical. Buy one plant (or seed pack) and harvest throughout the growing season, then harvest, dry, and store herbs in the fall. Save the seeds for next year’s garden or share them.
• It’s a family affair. Teach children that food comes from nature, not just the market. Herbs teach children about the cycle of life (from young life through harvest and winter’s rest.)
• Versatile and Efficient. One or more parts of the plant are used. Leaf, fruit, stem, and root. The more you learn, the more options open to you. • Beneficial aromatherapy, naturally. Herbs are packed with life enhancing essential oils. Smell and enjoy whether underfoot in the garden or displayed in The Gateway Gardener™ APRIL 2020
a fresh cut vase.
Health at www.NIH.gov for Medicinal Foods. • Environmentally Friendly. Eliminate pesticides since • medicinal herbs, search the National Library of Medicine at www.nlm.NIH.gov for medicinal herbs or herbs are naturally pest resistant. Most require little specific herbs. water once established. • sustainability issues and initiatives, visit www. • Sustainable. There is a growing concern about SustainableHerbsProgram.com sustainability of the commercial and medicinal herb markets. Climate change enters into the picture, too, Where to Find Your Copy of affecting cultivation and harvest. • Gardening is good for you. Science is revealing that time spent in nature reduces stress, improves wellbeing, and supports longevity.
Getting Started
Start with a plan. This helps select the best herbs for you. What is the planned use of herbs? Beauty? Culinary? Medicinal teas and tinctures? A bit of everything?
Is growing herbs a one-season venture? Or do you wish plants to survive year after year? This determines whether to select (and where to plant) annuals, biannuals, and perennials both tender and hardy.
Know your plant location. Soil or containers? Growing conditions boil down to soil, sun, and moisture. Our region offers many environments from hot, dry sun to moist shade. Identify yours and match up herbs that grow best in your location. New to herbs or expanding your experience? Check with your local nursery and speak with a Master Gardener, plant educator, or herbalist.
Popular Herbs
Many herbs grow well in USDA Zone 6A. Culinary favorites include basil, chives, cilantro, dill, peppermint, and rosemary. You may also try anise, sweet bay, chervil, fennel, lovage, sweet marjoram, and tarragon.
Dig Deeper
There are many well-documented resources that are informative and fun. For questions about: • 250 herbs, learn more at American Botanical Council www.herbalgram.org • growing herbs, search www.MissouriBotanicalGarden. org for How do I grow culinary herbs? • medicinal foods, search the National Institutes of
Paula S. Stone has grown, used, and studied herbs since childhood. Earning credentials as a Master Gardener in Texas and Missouri, Paula is a member of the Fleur de Lis Garden Society She promotes healthy lifestyle in her presentations and writings. Reach her at info@TheStoneInstitute.org. APRIL 2020
The Gateway Gardener™
The Gateway Gardener... And Other Updates
If you are reading this in a print edition, of course you have already found your copy of The Gateway Gardener, either through mailed subscription, or picked up around town. While many of our traditional pickup spots are closed to general traffic due to gathering place restrictions, garden centers are encouraged to include The Gateway Gardener with curbside pickup and delivery orders, and many of our other locations (grocery stores and hardware stores, for example) are still accessible. A list of all locations is available on our website at GatewayGardener.com, (Click on the Menu item “Where to Find Your Free Issue”) and we will try to identify which locations are still accessible.
We have been blessed by the continued support of our advertisers to be able to publish this April issue. Many other print publications have had to suspend publication during these difficult times. Whether we will continue to do so will depend upon your support of your local garden centers (see page 24), and upon their continued ability to support The Gateway Gardener. Be assured, we are not going away! Should circumstances in the short term make print publication an unviable option, we will try to continue to publish online as we have for years, with a link to that publication at GatewayGardener.com. In any case, updates will be provided there, and whatever our future holds, we hope to continue providing the metro St. Louis area with sound, regional gardening advice and helpful tips to keep your garden growing strong in this, our 15th year! Thanks for your continued support, and for the continued support of our independent garden centers and other green industry businesses. Stay healthy and safe everyone!
Robert Weaver, Editor 19
2020 Eco-Garden Product Guide You can make your green thumb even greener by practicing sustainable gardening in your landscape! Here are some suggestions from area retailers for products that can help us all establish our own greener gardening habits. Happy Earth Day! Hillermann Nursery & Florist 2601 E. 5th Street, Washington, MO 63090 636-239-6729 Hillermann.com
Horticultural Vinegar. Organic weed and grass killer. Round-Up alternative that is safe for the environment! Comes in quart spray bottles and one gallon containers.
Planthaven Farms 6703 Telegraph Rd. Oakville, MO (636) 272-5005 O’Fallon and Olivette, too! PlanthavenFarms.com
Garden Heights Nursery 1605 S. Big Bend Blvd. Richmond Heights, MO (314) 645-7333 GardenHeights.com
FoxFarm Potting Soil and Fertilizer. We offer 3 types of FoxFarm potting soil and 6 types of liquid fertilizers. The potting soils have different natural ingredients and/or soil microbes for nutrient rich formulas to help improve root efficiency and encourage nutrient uptake. The liquid fertilizers offer formulas for use in soil, hydroponic and foliar applications. Rolling Ridge Nursery 60 North Gore Ave. Webster Groves, MO 63119 RollingRidgeNursery.com
PRO-MIX Organic Vegetable & Herb Mix. PRO-MIX organic, peat-based fertilizer stimulates vigorous growth for vegetables and herbs and is newly available at Garden Heights! Using PRO-MIX in ground or in containers will promote greater stress resistance, a larger root system for increased nutrients, increased water uptake, and ultimately larger, healthier plants!
a hyper-local guide that can help gardeners make informed decisions when choosing native plants. Perfect for anyone who is interested in incorporating more native plants into their landscape. FREE! Sugar Creek Gardens 1011 N. Woodlawn Kirkwood, MO 63122 (314) 965-3070 SugarCreekGardens.com
Swedish Dish Cloth. Dishwasher/machine washable. Lasts more than six months. Reusable, durable and biodegradable. Eliminates need for single-use paper towels, plus they are super cute! Greenscape Gardens 2832 Barrett Station Rd. Manchester, MO 63021 (314) 821-2440 GreenscapeGardens.com
2019 Native of the Year, Purple Poppy Mallow. A beloved native perennial, Purple Poppy Mallow sprawls with low growing cut-leaf foliage that is sprinkled with extra bright fuchsia cup-shaped flowers for months on end. Featuring an extra-large tap root, purple poppy mallow thrives in hot spots that bake in all day sun.
Native Plant Guide. A free resource compiled by Sue, the native plant expert at Greenscape Gardens. This is 20
The Gateway Gardener™ APRIL 2020
Sherwood’s Forest Nursery 2651 Barrett Station Rd. Ballwin, MO 63021 (314) 966-0028 Sherwoods-Forest.com
CowPots. Peat and Plastic Free! Made from recycled, renewable, composted cow manure. 100% biodegradable. Start your plants in CowPots, then simply plant the plant—pot and all!—in the ground, where the decomposing pot continues to feed your plants! O.K. Hatchery 109-115 Argonne Kirkwood, MO (314) 822-0083
Tumbleweed Worm Cafe. The ultimate worm farm for indoor or outdoor use. With its sleek new design and easty to use, no mess features, Worm Café is a classy way to recycle your organic waste into rich worm tea for the garden.
APRIL 2020
Kirkwood Gardens 2701 Barrett Station Rd. St. Louis, MO 63021 (314) 966-4840 KirkwoodGardens.com
Healthy Grow Organic Worm Castings. Healthy Grow Worm Castings are a great organic option to feed your plants! This product works great on veggie beds, new and existing trees and shrubs, perennials, and annual flowers. It will increase beneficial microbial activity in the soil providing faster plant growth and bigger yields. This is the perfect soil amendment for any garden! Effinger Garden Center 720 South 11th St. Belleville, IL 62220 (618) EffingerGarden.com
Foxfarm’s organically based potting soils: Ocean Forest and Happy Frog. Foxfarm Soil and Fertilizer Company produces the finest soil mixes, fertilizers and micro-brewed liquid plant foods. Located in Humboldt Counts, California, the family owned company uses only the best ingredients and handcrafts their formulas in small batches to ensure consistency and quality.
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Zicks Great Outdoors 16498 Clayton Rd. Wildwood, MO (636) 458-1445 ZicksGreatOutdoors.com
Pine Straw Mulch. At Zick’s we prefer pine straw over hardwood mulch for many areas of garden beds. The bales are easy to pick up, it stays nicely on hillsides with no washing, and holds its color better than most mulches. It also does not allow weed seeds to germinate in the mulch. Bales are approx. 28”x15”x9”. Timberwinds Nursery 54 Clarkson Road Ellisville, MO 63011 636-227-0095 Timberwindsnursery.com
Fox Farm Ocean Forest Potting Soil. Perfect for containers, this soil’s light, aerated texture is a powerhouse blend of aged forest products, sphagnum peat moss, earthworm casting,, bat guano, fish emulsion and crab meal. Fox farms soils are greenhouse tested to ensure quality and consistency.
Gardening To Go! As we go to press with the April issue, most of our garden center friends are still doing business by phone/ email and offering curbside pickup and delivery. So if you see something here you want, just add it to your order! 21
St. Louis Hort History by Robert Weaver
Sugar Creek Gardens at 30: Still Plant Obsessed!
T
oday, Sugar Creek perennials. Gardens in Kirkwood Ann’s success at growing plants is known for, among soon outgrew her personal needs, other things, it’s vast and unique and in 1990 after saturating collection of perennial plants. It’s the needs of friends and family a reputation come by naturally as well, she started selling the and nurtured over the company’s excess at Kirkwood Farmer’s 30-year history. Long before Market, and her nursery business she hung her business’ first was under way. shingle, founding owner Ann When Ann couldn’t keep up Lapides says she was “obsessed with demand growing plants with plants”, and when she in her backyard, a stroke of started her first garden, it was fortune came her way. Henry perennials—“pass-along plants” and Ann Lonnemann, who ran obtained from her mother-inthe Lonnemann Betz Nursery law’s garden—that formed its in Brentwood—one of the few backbone, and the backbone Sugar Creek Garden circa 1990 with plants displayed in front of nurseries, if not the only one at of the Sugar Creek Gardens of their chicken-coop sales office at Lonnnemann-Betz Nursery. the time to cater to perennial today. Over the years, Ann has passed that obsession along to her customers, who expect to find gardeners—offered Ann (a frequent customer) space in their greenhouses to expand her growing capacity. “They charged me an the best of new and unusual perennials and other plants. “outrageous” rental of $50 and 5% of sales! Plus they taught me In high school, Ann says her love of plants began simply as a how to professionally grow perennials.” matter of needing something to hang in the macramé hangers she was churning out—“it was a hippie thing,” she recalls. Then, when Ann continued selling her perennials at the Farmer’s Market she got married in 1976 and needed some plants to start her garden, for a year, then at both the market and the Lonnemann location she turned to her for another year (“Our “sales’ office was a chicken coop in the m o t h e r - i n - l a w , Lonnemann’s back yard,” Ann recalls), and finally solely from the an avid perennial nursery. gardener. Beginning Then, just when the Lonnemann’s decided to retire and sell their with common coral bells, hostas and forget-me-nots, Ann was soon growing thousands of plants in her basement, sourcing more outof-the-ordinary seeds from her favorite mail-order business, Thompson Morgan, and others. “The weirder, the better,” she says, Aside from slightly different colors, the foreshadowing sign and plantings that welcomed visitors Sugar Creeks to Sugar Creek Gardens in 1990 looked present-day remarkably like those customers see today. reputation for unique and unusual 22
The Gateway Gardener™ APRIL 2020
property, and Ann was about to lose her growing and sales space, another miracle came her way. A grower on Woodlawn Avenue in Kirkwood put their greenhouse and property up for sale—including the white house that still serves today as Sugar Creek Gardens’ offices and showroom for garden accessories. “Rumor has it the house was a speakeasy during prohibition!,” says Ann. And the greenhouses, no longer there, were used to grow cut flowers for the 1904 World’s Fair. The space was not only perfect, but it was located just a few blocks from her home, convenient for the mother now of 3 young children. Ann had earned just enough money from her previous year’s sales to purchase it, and in 1994, Sugar Creek Gardens moved to its new and present Kirkwood home.
“One of the best parts of my job is to be on the lookout for new plants,” says Abby Lapides. “I visit trial and display gardens at botanical gardens, nurseries, and universities throughout the country, to see with my own eyes how the plants actually grow and bloom.” From that experience, the best plants find their way to Sugar Creek Gardens, where gardening obsessive customers have learned to be at home. Photos courtesy Sugar Creek Gardens.
Two things set Sugar Creek Gardens apart in those early years, characteristics that continue to this day to define the business. First was the focus on perennials. Perennials, especially unusual perennials, were still an afterthought in most gardens--generic hostas, phlox and other pass-along plants that filled the spaces between the annuals--and the Lonnemanns’, Gilberg’s Perennial Farms, and Sugar Creek were pioneers in broadening their appeal. Because of that, Ann focused early on customer education to help her customers succeed with these plants. She published her customer newsletter, Garden Gossip, from the very beginning, which not only updated customers on the latest plants, but also included tips on growing them. Ann also began offering classes, the first being “Beginning Perennial Gardening.” “That’s still one of our most popular classes,” she says.
Through the years, Ann, and now her daughter Abby, who has taken over the reins managing the nursery (and who writes a regular column for The Gateway Gardener), have continued to build on their earned reputation for new and unusual plants, including “old” plants that are new and unusual to many gardeners—Missouri native plants! In their commitment to be good stewards to the Earth, Sugar Creek Gardens is expanding their efforts to promote a healthy environment. In addition to their strong emphasis on natives, they also limit their use of insecticides, and in fact no longer sell or use synthetic pesticides. And to ease the abundance of single-use plastics, they’ve changed their trunk liners from plastic to paper. But Sugar Creek’s focus will remain on offering the finest plants.
A familiar scene from Sugar Creek Gardens today.
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APRIL 2020
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23
Social Distance Gardening by Robert Weaver
L
online.
et’s face it, the news hasn’t exactly been lollipops and rainbows lately. And with many people laid off. furloughed or working out of their homes, not only is the news bad, but we have more time to sit and watch or read it. Well, maybe it’s time to put down the devices, fold up the newspaper, grab the kids, and go out and start a garden!
Then there’s the practical side to growing edible plants. You can stock up on all the canned goods and frozen meat your storage capacity will allow, but fresh fruit and vegetables just don’t keep very long. What could be better than walking out to your garden, and snipping off a few lettuce leaves for a quick, fresh salad?
Why Garden?
Getting Started 123rf.com
First of all, it’s a great stress reliever! Studies have shown that gardening can distract us from problems (well, except for those pesky rabbits) and improve our outlook. Just being outdoors has been shown to reduce cortisol levels (the hormone released in the body as a stress response).
It’s also a great activity for kids. Most kids love to get their hands dirty, and gardening is a great way for them to do that in a constructive way, while
10tH annuaL! St. LouiS Region-Wide
Sustainable Backyard tour Sunday, June 14, 2020 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
CaLL FoR SuStainaBLe YaRdS! if your St. Louis City or County backyard is organic and low-impact, and has something interesting and educational to share, consider being a BaCkYaRd HoSt.
learning about where food comes from and other important lessons about nature. And there are countless educational opportunities that gardening provides. Use math to determine how many plants are needed if spaced a certain distance apart in a prescribed area. Use science to observe how plants are pollinated, how they need certain nutrients in the ground, how they take the sun’s energy and make it available to us (or other animals) when we eat them. Write a story about your garden, draw a picture of your favorite flowers. The possibilities are endless, and suggestions can easily be found
We realize that, because of stay-at-home restrictions being observed by many people, including young families, there are a lot of you out there who may be coming to gardening for the first time. If you’re ready to start gardening, the most important thing you can do is keep it simple. There’s nothing worse than planning out a huge garden, then having it overwhelm you to the point that it’s adding to, not reducing, your stress! The easiest way to start is with container gardening, and that’s something even apartment-dwellers can accomplish. You can grow lots of veggies in pots, including lettuce, spinach and other leafy vegetables, tomatoes, peppers and beans, and even small fruit
Showcasing green living practices such as low-impact lawn care, composting, using recycled materials, organic gardening, chicken and beekeeping, native plants, water conservation, renewable energy and more, the Tour is an annual FREE, self-guided tour.
the deadline to register to share your backyard as a tour Host is May 1, 2020. FoR detaiLS ViSit
www.sustainablebackyard.org or get involved: l Volunteer l Suggest a Yard l Be a Sponsor
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The Gateway Gardener™ APRIL 2020
bushes. There are cultivars of many types of fruiting bushes and trees especially bred for container pots. Just ask your local independent garden center. Check out the archived articles on our website at gatewaygardener.com. We have articles on “Growing Veggies in Containers”, “Fruit Trees and Shrubs for Container Gardening” and many more articles to help you get started
in containers or in the ground.
places of business to walk-in Where/How to Get Plants customers. That said, (again, as of this writing) you can still and Supplies get your plants, potting soil, Social distancing, quarantines, “shelter-in-place”—it’s easy to understand why some may not want to wander around a hot, humid greenhouse picking out plants, what in normal times is a wonderful way to spend a chilly spring morning. In fact, as of this writing, most garden centers have closed their physical
fertilizer and other gardening supplies. Most of our garden center friends are making it as convenient and safe as possible
enhouse Plant Socie uis Gre ty St. Lo
May 2nd 9am-3pm and May 3rd 10am-2pm Located behind South Technical High School
12721 West Watson Road Sunset Hills 63127 Annuals, Perennials, Herbs, Vegetables, Water & Bog, Tropicals, Natives, Pollinator Attractors, Succulents
Direct from the Greenhouse to your Garden greenhouseplantsociety.com
314-965-1367
Please Bring Your Own Boxes!
St. Louis Greenhouse Plant Society
Joes Market Basket Edwardsville, IL O’Fallon, IL www.joesmarketbasket.com
BRING YOUR GARDEN TO LIFE Bayer’s Garden Center Imperial, MO St Louis, MO www.bayergardenshops.com Crabapple Cove Nursery St Louis, MO Tel.: (314) 846-4021
APRIL 2020
Garden Heights Richmond Heights, MO www.gardenheights.com Greenscapes Garden & Gifts Manchester, MO www.greenscapegardens.com
Haegele Nursery & Garden Center St Louis, MO www.haegelenursery.com Passiglia’s Nursery Wildwood, MO www.passiglia.com
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Sherwood’s Forest Nursery & Garden Center Ballwin, MO www.sherwoods-forest.com
OK Hatchery Feed & Garden Store Kirkwood, MO (314) 822-0083 Timberwinds Nursery Ellisville, MO www.timberwindsnursery.com Sugar Creek Kirkwood, MO www.sugarcreekgardens.com
PROMIXGARDENING.COM
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Contact These Regional Garden Centers and Nurseries Chalily Ponds and Gardens 14430 Manchester Rd. Manchester, MO 63011 (636) 527-2001 Chalily.com Daniel’s Farm & Greenhouses 352 Jungermann Rd. St. Peters, MO 63376 (636) 441-5048 DanielsFarmandGreenhouse. com Davidsan’s Japanese Maples 919 S. Farmingdale Rd. New Berlin, IL (217) 303-2641 DavidsansJapaneseMaples.com for you to get your garden growing by offering phone-in or email ordering—you can even FaceTime some and get a virtual garden walk through. Others will send you pictures of plants. Then, when you’ve made your
selections, you can pay for your purchase remotely, and either have your order delivered or placed in your car at curbside. In the event further restrictions are implemented that affect these policies, we will update information on our website at
Want to turn your food waste, paper, and cardboard into rich organic fertilizer?
GatewayGardener.com, and Effinger Garden Center on social media outlets like 720 South 11th St. Belleville, IL 62220 Facebook and Instagram. (618) 234-4600 But in the meantime, you can EffingerGarden.com check out the ads in this issue for contact information, or just Forrest Keeling Nursery find your favorite garden center 88 Forrest Keeling Ln. below. If you don’t see your Elsberry, MO 63343 neighborhood garden center or (573) 898-5571 nursery here, call them. They FKNursery.com may very well be offering Kirkwood Gardens similar services to facilitate safe 2701 Barrett Station Rd. purchasing and help you get St. Louis, MO 63021 (314) 966-4840 your garden growing in 2020! KirkwoodGardens.com Garden Heights Nursery 1605 S. Big Bend Blvd. Richmond Heights, MO
Composting is the answer, and there is no better composting worm than the Alabama Jumper. These worms will break down food waste, leaving behind castings rich in nutrients that are beneficial to plants and vegetables.
Alive arrival GUARANTEED! Locally raised. Place your order at
Valley Park Elevator and Hardware Located at 2 Marshall Road in Valley Park (636) 225-7100
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The Gateway Gardener™ APRIL 2020
(314) 645-7333 GardenHeights.com Greenscape Gardens 2832 Barrett Station Rd. Manchester, MO 63021 (314) 821-2440 GreenscapeGardens.com Hillermann Nursery & Florist 2601 E. 5th Street Washington, MO 63090 636-239-6729 Hillermann.com
The Bee Garden Center 749 S. Duchesne Dr. #4835 St. Charles, MO (314) 703-0473 TheBeeGardenCenter.com Timberwinds Nursery 54 Clarkson Road Ellisville, MO 63011
636-227-0095 Timberwindsnursery.com A. Walbart & Sons Nursery 1420 Teson Rd. Florissant, MO 63042 (314) 741-3121
Zicks Great Outdoors 16498 Clayton Rd. Wildwood, MO (636) 458-1445 ZicksGreatOutdoors.com
O.K. Hatchery 109-115 Argonne Kirkwood, MO (314) 822-0083 Missouri Wildflower Nursery 9814 Pleasant Hill Rd. Jefferson City, MO 65109 (573) 496-3492 mowldflrs@socket.net Planthaven Farms 6703 Telegraph Rd. Oakville, MO (636) 272-5005 O’Fallon and Olivette, too! PlanthavenFarms.com Rolling Ridge Nursery 60 North Gore Ave. Webster Groves, MO 63119 RollingRidgeNursery.com Sherwood’s Forest Nursery 2651 Barrett Station Rd. Ballwin, MO 63021 (314) 966-0028 Sherwoods-Forest.com Sugar Creek Gardens 1011 N. Woodlawn Kirkwood, MO 63122 (314) 965-3070 SugarCreekGardens.com YOUR TREES DESERVE THE BEST CARE
Tim Gamma – B.S. Horticulture Board Certified Master Arborist Tom Gamma ISA Certified Arborist
Experts trust the #1 brand in organic gardening Laura LeBoutillier grew up working in her parents’ garden center. Since then, she and her husband Aaron have published hundreds of inspirational and educational gardening videos online for over 2.4 million loyal fans. Laura loves her garden and uses only the best products to ensure it looks beautiful. That’s why she trusts Espoma Organic® for her fertilizer and potting soil needs.
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Dig This!
Gateway Gardeners and Businesses in the News Winter Tropical Plant Storage
Many people enjoy the feeling of being in a tropical paradise they get from designing their pool deck or outdoor living space with beautiful tropical plants, including large trees like palms and tender bananas. And these plants thrive in the heat and humidity they enjoy in typical St. Louis summers. But what do you do with them in the winter? In years past, many St. Louisans have relied on local services to house their tropical plants overwinter. Last year, however, one of the largest of those providers discontinued the service when they converted operations to medicinal marijuana, leaving other services overwhelmed with demand and many homeowners without a winter home for their beloved tropical plants. Next fall, however, you’ll be able to tuck your palms and other tropical warmly away, as Daniel’s Farm & Greenhouses has added 4 more large greenhouse structures to their operation strictly to take on these snowbirds. Go to Daniel’s website at DanielsFarmAndGreenhouse.com to see the Storage Agreement for service costs and stipulations.
New Native Plant Group
There’s a new chapter in St. Charles County! The well-known and very active Wild Ones Chapter of St. Louis is now celebrating its 21st year and began mentoring a brand new Seedling Chapter in April 2019. By July, 2019, the Wild Ones- St. Charles Area Chapter was official. The chapter shares the national mission of “promoting environmentally sound landscaping practices to preserve biodiversity through 28
preservation, restoration and establishment of native plant communities”. Amid reports of declining butterflies, bees and birds, the Wild Ones find an increasing public interest in bringing conservation home to neighborhood yards. Wild Ones members hope to educate themselves and others in St. Charles County and the surrounding area on just how to accomplish that.
To help in fulfilling that mission, James Faupel of Shaw Nature Reserve presented a program on March 12 at the Weldon Springs Interpretive Center in St. Charles , entitled “Formal Front Yard Landscaping with Natives”. The group will be hosting “Garden Gatherings” the second Thursday of each month beginning in April and continuing through October 2020. The Indoor Speaker Series will resume November 2020 through March 2021. Meetings and Garden Gatherings are free to the public. For more information, visit Facebook “Wild Ones St. Charles and Surrounding Counties” or contact the group at wildonesscc@gmail.com . You can join the St. Charles Wild Ones by visiting http:// www.wildones.org.
Missouri Botanical Garden Announces Plans for a New Visitor Center
Last fall, the Missouri Botanical Garden announced plans for the new Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center to enhance the guest experience, better reflect its world-renowned reputation, and re-introduce a city treasure to the community and generations to come. This transformative project will enable the Garden to better carry out its mission and serve its nearly 1 million annual visitors, all while contributing to the revitalization of St. Louis, according to a Garden press release. A world leader in research and innovation, the Missouri Botanical Garden’s mission is to connect people with plants and showcase the natural world, and the new Taylor Visitor Center will be a symbol of that mission by providing an environment that fully embraces the concept of sustainability and powerfully transports guests The Gateway Gardener™ APRIL 2020
Danforth Plant Science Center
Golden Prairie Seeds Sowed at Danforth Plant Science Center
Malinda Walter of Native Landscape Solutions broadcasts seed at the Danforth Plant Science Center.
into the oasis that is the Garden.
Upon entry, visitors will be immediately greeted with stunning views into some of the Garden’s most notable locations, as well as new gardens and fountains. The landscape will be even more diverse in species of plants and will include a permanent, year-round conservatory. The entrance will be more accessible with benches for gathering and resting, wide pathways and additional drop-off areas. The shop will include a space to offer outdoor plants, and dining options will include a grab-andgo location, as well as a sit-down café that will have expansive views into the Garden. The new center will also provide more space for meetings and events, including a separate area for large private events and conferences. Ticketing will be streamlined, and a single desk will provide information, ticket sales, membership sales and security.
Opened in 1982, the current visitor center was built to accommodate 250,000 visitors per year, a quarter of the nearly 1 million visitors welcomed to the Garden each year, contributing to the need for a new arrival experience. Construction on the $92 million, privately funded project begins in January 2020 and is expected to conclude in spring 2022. The Garden will remain open throughout the construction process and will provide the same world-class experience. APRIL 2020
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The Danforth Plant Science Center recently established a diverse prairie planting at its campus along Warson Road in St. Louis.
In January 2020, the planting was enhanced with the addition of wildflower seed donated by the Missouri Prairie Foundation, from its Golden Prairie in Barton County. Golden Prairie–320 acres of which is a National Natural Landmark— supports a documented total of 320 native plant species, at least 35 of which are restricted to prairie, many rare pollinating insects, grassland birds, and many other wildlife species. Without well managed original prairie remnants, from which prairie seed is harvested, there would be no seed available for prairie plantings. “The gift of seed from MPF links the Danforth reconstructed prairie directly to the living heritage of Missouri,” says Elizabeth Kellogg, PhD, the Danforth Center’s Robert E. King Distinguished Investigator. “MPF is a leader in maintaining prairie ecosystems in the state, and we are honored to have material from Golden Prairie, designated a National Natural Landmark and representative of the once-extensive tallgrass prairie ecosystem. By adding seed from species indigenous to Golden Prairie, we are enriching the ecosystem here in Creve Coeur and helping to provide a more faithful reconstruction of this uniquely North American habitat.”
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Grow Delicious Greens by Crystal Stevens
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Now is the perfect time to plant easy-to-grow greens such as salad mix, spinach, collards, head lettuce, kale, chard, and mustard greens. These greens enjoy cool temperatures, well-drained soil, and full to partial sun and can be grown in many different ways: in pots or other containers, planted directly into a prepared patch of soil, or planted in raised beds. Most varieties can be planted together in heavily seeded rows where they can then be harvested as a young tender salad mix. With more spacing between seeds, greens can also be planted to reach their full potentials such as a head of lettuce, a rainbow chard plant, or a kale plant.
or sticks. 3) Add a layer of cardboard or burlap sacs on top of the grass of your defined garden area. 4) Add layers of fallen leaves, grass clippings, straw, black and white newspapers, and compost. 5) Top your garden bed with a layer of topsoil mixed with finished compost. There are places around the city to get soil for free, but it can also be bought in bags at your local garden center. Organic is best. 123rf.com
egetable gardening can seem intimidating and overwhelming to beginning growers, but with the right tools, a little time, patience, and experience, gardening can become second nature. How miraculous is it to think that a few seeds can produce such bounty throughout the season?
6) Place cardboard or burlap sacks around the perimeter of your garden bed to suppress weeds and keep grass from growing into your new garden bed. 7) Water the garden bed. 8) Allow your garden bed to sit for a week.
9) Plant your garden bed with seasonally appropriate seeds. I like to plant seeds or transplants continuously For a greens mix, try blending a variety of colors of so that the garden bed is always full of plants. lettuce, spinach, kale, and mustard greens. For beginning 10) Weed and water your garden regularly. gardeners, this mix of seeds can simply be scattered into a container of semi-wet soil (2.5 – 5-gallon containers 11) Harvest and enjoy the bounty. work fine but for greens, the wider the surface area the better) A layer of soil can then be scattered on the top of Crystal Stevens is the author of Grow Create Inspire and the seeds. The same technique can be applied to raised Worms at Work. Follow Crystal at @growcreateinspire. beds, though most gardeners prefer uniform rows in their garden beds. Because so many events have been canceled If you are planning on planting directly into the ground this growing season, try sheet mulching! Sheet mulching builds healthy soils, reduces weed pressure, and retains moisture. Typically, sheet mulching is done in the fall so the garden bed is ready to go in the spring, but if you are crunched for time, it can be done in late winter or early spring. 1) Choose an area of your yard that gets 6-8 hours of sunlight. 2) Mark out the edges your future garden bed with stakes 30
or postponed due to health and safety concerns, our space normally allocated to announcing those events was freed up at the last minute. So, since we suspect the stay-at-home orders and need to provide our families with fresh produce-and also keep them occupied with activities--will likely be introducing many folks to gardening for the first time, we are using this space to reprint an article from our archives introducing people to the basics of growing fresh greens. I hope it’s helpful to many of you.--Editor The Gateway Gardener™ APRIL 2020
Upcoming Events Meetings, Classes, Entertainment and More
IMPORTANT NOTICE! Due to concerns for public health and safety relating to the coronavirus, at our printing deadline for the April issue, many last minute cancellations and postponement notices were coming our way regarding April events. Please keep this in mind when considering attending events listed here, and call to confirm event scheduling. APRIL 2020
World of Life Lutheran Church, 6535 Eichelberger, 63109. Sale will include perennials, annuals, house plants, and other garden accessories including hanging baskets and edible plants. Details about sale and Give us the details of your pre-orders can be found at upcoming gardening, lawn or ascensionstl.com/plants. landscaping event and we’ll add it to our website and April 26th include it in our next issue. 1:30-3:30pm--St. Louis Deadline for printing in the Hosta Society Vendor Day June issue is May 1st. Sale. Hostas, companion plants and garden items for How to reach us: sale. Open to the public, Mail: PO Box 220853, St. no charge. Creve Coeur Louis, MO 63122 Community Center, 300 N. Email: info@ Ballas Rd. gatewaygardener.com May 2nd 9am-3pm—Franklin GARDEN CLUBS County Master Gardener AND PLANT SOCIETY MEETINGS Plant Sale. Over 1000 plants, many from Master Interested in Joining a Garden Gardener gardens including Club or Plant Society? We native plants, ornamentals, have meeting dates, locations herbs, vegetables, bulbs and contact information on and flowers. Also a garden more than 50 area garden boutique, children’s activity clubs on our website at area, and drawings for a fire w w w. G a t e w a y G a r d e n e r. pit and container plantings. com. Don’t have access to JC Penney parking lot on the internet? Just call us at Highway 100 in Washington, (314) 968-3740, or write us MO. Updates to this information are often posted on our online events calendar at www. GatewayGardener.com, so check there for the latest details.
at PO Box 220853, St. Louis, MO 63122, and we’ll get the information to you. So share your joy for gardening and join a garden club or favorite plant society today!
May 2nd-3rd 9am-3pm Sat., 10am-2pm Sun.—St. Louis Greenhouse Plant Society’s 10th Annual Sale. Healthy, hardy plants direct from the greenhouse to your garden. With GARDEN TOURS, proceeds from this sale, The PLANT SALES AND St. Louis Greenhouse Plant SHOWS Society donates cash and April 25th plants to local communities 8am-1:30pm—Plant Sale- through organizations like Ascension Lutheran St. Louis City and County Church. Parks, youth and community
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gardens and the Missouri Botanical Garden. Also, it awards scholarships to students at South Technical High School. Bring your own boxes. Greenhouse behind South Technical High School, 12721 West Watson Rd. Sunset Hills. 8am-2pm Sat., 10am3pm Sun. –Kress Farm Garden Preserve Plant Sale. Featuring native plants propagated at Kress Farm, plus annuals, perennials, vegetables, herbs, ferns, cactus/succulents, daylilies, shrubs and trees. Bake sale, raffle, and lunch available. Jefferson County Master Gardeners on hand for questions. 5137 Glade Chapel Rd., Hillsboro, MO 63050. SAVE THE DATES MAY 8th and 9th—Plant Sales hosted by Mississippi Valley Garden Club, and Lakeview Garden Club. More information in the May issue calendar.
All other classes and entertainment events that we have been notified of have been cancelled for April. As we move along, we’ll keep you posted online as to scheduled events for May. Please visit GatewayGardener. com. Stay safe and healthy everyone, and KEEP GARDENING! 31
Spring is here!
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