The Gateway Gardener April 2024

®

MFounded in 2005 by

Joyce Bruno & Robert Weaver

Publisher and Editor

Robert Weaver

Columnists

Abby Lapides Sugar Creek Gardens

Steffie Littlefield

Edg-Clif Winery

Scott Woodbury

Cacalia Native Garden Design and Wilding

Samantha Zale Greenscape Gardens

Printing: Breese Publishing, Breese, IL

The Gateway Gardener® is published 7 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

aybe your garden is going to be on a garden tour. Or maybe you’ve offered up your garden as a wedding venue for a friend or relative. Perhaps you’re hosting a big party for friends and family, or just having visitors in from out of town. Most gardeners have that moment in the summer when they really want their garden to shine! And as often as not, that’s when the blooms fade, the hail falls, or the St. Louis heat and drought send your garden into a siesta. Even if you don’t have any special occasion, it’s always a bit of disappointment when everything in the garden seems to take a break at once. Often it’s just due to situations beyond your control. But sometimes, just by adding a few “Energizer® Bunny” plants (they just keep going and going) you can bridge the gap with color and reduce your garden’s down time. Abby Lapides offers some suggestions for us on page 4. Sometimes disappointment in the garden doesn’t come mid-season, but at the outset. It happens here in St. Louis

as often as not, especially in recent years. Mild temps come early, coaxing trees to flower and bulbs to pop, only to confront reality with a bloom-bashing blast from the north! Or maybe it’s deer or rabbits that move in to nibble off the emerging hostas, budding shrubs and other signs of spring just as we’re getting our hopes up for the spring garden. Samantha Zale gives us some tips for spring gardening go-tos to combat these challenges and others.

It’s April, when we celebrate Earth Day and maybe pat ourselves on the back, as gardeners, for naturally being caretakers of our little plot of earth in a way that promotes

Even the most experienced gardeners often reach some point in the season where everything seems to be resting at once. But you can reduce that down time in your garden by picking of few of these colorful plants that just seem to go and go and go. More on page 4. Photo courtesy Fred Ortlip.

a “greener” world. But there’s always room for improvement. Our annual Eco-Garden Product Guide returns in this issue, and our garden center friends have submitted some products available from their establishments that can help you be a little more sustainable in your gardening practices. In that same vein, on page 16 Scott Woodbury suggests how we might “Reimagine Lawns” and what our expectations of them could change to still produce the value and function of turf space with a new approach. Here’s hoping April doesn’t throw too many curves at us, with just enough April Showers to provide an abundance of May Flowers!

Happy Gardening!

Rescue Your Ho-Hum Garden

By Abby Lapides

When will this plant bloom or that plant need a trim? Trying to figure out a bloom schedule can sometimes feel like we need the Watson supercomputer to help. Choosing a few silver-bullet plants that always look fabulous can help prevent the gardening doldrums. These long-blooming, showy foliaged beauties will turn the garden from average to

‘Go Go Red’ Gardenworld

Coreopsis ‘Lightning Bug’

amazing.

‘Redemption’ Elephant Ear, Colocasia, doesn’t need to bloom to create a stunning show. In spring, rippled, shiny green leaves emerge and quickly turn jet-black. As the leaves mature, a neonpink center blotch forms with veins, growing larger and radiating outward like a starburst. The rich pink gets even more vibrant in the heat. Redemption Elephant Ears’ long dark stems can grow 4-6′ tall.

‘Blue By You’ meadow sage, Salvia, produces waves of brilliant blossoms nonstop from spring until a hard frost. Hummingbirds and butterflies adore its sweet nectar. This perennial has won multiple awards for its outstanding qualities, including ruggedness. A drought-tolerant beauty, it shines in those toughto-water areas. While ‘Blue By You’ will need to be trimmed after flowering, it is well worth the effort as it produces waves of flowers right up until frost.

Bring brilliant color to your sunny spots with ‘Candy Corn’ Spirea. In spring its foliage emerges candy apple red. The cont’d on next page

Colocasia ‘Redemption’

Salvia ‘Blue By You’

Plants Nouveau Ball Seed

Terra Nova

fascinating leaves brighten to pineapple yellow with pumpkin orange tips. Dark purple blooms pop from spring into summer, making an eye-popping display. The fantastic color stays all season as the plant continually brings bright orange new growth on top of the yellow foliage.

Enjoy firelight color for months with ‘Lightning Bug’ tickseed, Coreopsis. Colorful gold and red flowers keep coming and coming all summer into October. The ferny foliage on this threadleaf tickseed adds wonderful movement to the garden.

A profuse bloomer, ‘Go Go Red’ reblooming false spirea, Astilbe, produces large fluffy ruby red plumes first in late spring and early summer. But that’s not all! This gem surprises us with more blossoms from fall until hard frost. Spectacular in flower, the

fuzzy blossoms rise above its attractive mound of ferny foliage. This exceptionally robust variety brings the one characteristic most other Astilbe lack: the ability to rebloom.

One of the longest blooming Viburnums available, Steady Eddy flowers for months! The show starts in late spring when it blooms with other doublefile viburnums. It takes just a brief rest and comes roaring back with wave after wave of lacy white blooms throughout the summer into fall – in fact, it’s rarely without flowers in trial gardens. No deadheading required for continuous bloom. The foliage has an appealing, deeply incised texture, and the habit is a landscape-friendly 4-5′ tall and wide.

‘Jeana’ Phlox provides months of sweetly fragrant flower heads in lovely shades of rosy pink. At a recent field trial at the worldrenowned Mt. Cuba Center in Delaware, Jeana received a perfect 5-star rating, the only Phlox out of 66 to win the top score. Not only will ‘Jeana’ provide gorgeous flowers, but it also delights with its butterfly-attracting power! As quoted from the judges at Mt. Cuba “…we found Jeana attracted more butterflies than any other garden phlox in the entire trial. With a top rank in both horticultural and ecological evaluations, Phlox Jeana is hard to beat.”

Instead of toiling to keep your beds in bloom, let these powerhouse plants do the work to keep your garden looking fabulous.

Proven Winners

North Creek Nurseries

Gardening 101 Be Prepared for April’s Foolish Tricks!

By Samantha Zale

With April comes prime time for planting in the St. Louis region! With some mild days ahead, we can start planning our spring gardens. One important thing that we need to be ready for are temperature swings, which means we need to be ready to protect new plantings from frost. In St. Louis, April is generally a great time to start planting because the air temperatures are milder and the soil temperatures are warming up. This creates an ideal environment, to better help new plants get established before the extreme summer weather kicks in. But April can throw us some curves! So, once we get more sensitive annuals and perennials in the ground, we need to be ready to protect them on cold nights if the forecasted low drops below freezing. Have a spot in the garage to bring sensitive plantings if planted in a container. Obviously, for plants in the ground that can’t be moved, have frost cloth at the ready. Be sure not to use plastic, but instead use a cloth covering like an old sheet or purchase a frost cloth. It’s not just the root system that we need to be worried about when frost is in the forecast this time of year, it’s the foliage that is the most susceptible to damage. The reason why we are mostly concerned about the foliage in this case is because it is very tender and delicate. Many times, these plants will have just arrived at the garden center, which means they may not have had enough time to harden off outside, to acclimate to the weather before they are purchased and planted. This is particularly the case for tropicals, annuals, even perennials. Essentially, anything that may have been greenhouse grown.

Bee Pollinator Friendly!

When choosing your plant palette, pollinator-friendly plants are a must! Annuals like lantana & vinca, tropicals like shrimp plants, and perennials like bee balm & nepeta are a few favorites of pollinators. These are just a small sampling of pollinator plants

Row covers can protect from late spring freeze damage, and do double duty against disease carrying insects later in the season

Lantana is just one of many pollinator-friendly plants commonly found in the spring garden centers for containers or in-ground planting.

available this time of year.

When you think of the term pollinator, what’s the first critter that comes to mind? Bees! But the fact that is truly shocking is that there are thousands of different pollinators, not just honey bees. The US is home to a few thousand varieties of native bees alone, not to mention butterflies, moths, flies, birds, ants, and beetles! When you are in your garden and observing the wildlife, you might start to notice some critters tend to favor certain plants. For example, butterflies may hang around lantana and vinca when they are in full bloom. With the tubular sets of flowers of the shrimp plant, you will see hummingbirds feverishly trying to get the best flower. And with perennials such as bee balm and nepeta with their long bloom cycle, they are the bee’s knees! Again, this is just a small sample of all the pollinators around.

Water, Water, Water!

April showers bring May flowers, so most of us don’t think much about watering in spring. But as of this writing, the St. Louis area is still in drought conditions. So don’t forget the hose and watering can when caring for your spring garden, especially newly installed plants. Of the plants mentioned above, Lantana, vinca and shrimp plants all do the best in as much sun as possible, and of the three of these, lantana can tolerate lack of water the best. Of the plants mentioned above, shrimp plants in particular will need regular watering because these are tropicals they are best in a container, which means they tend to dry out pretty quickly especially in our hot summers. Bee Balm and nepeta technically can handle full sun but if they are newly planted, particularly the case for bee balm, they might do better with a little relief from a solid 8 hours of blazing sun.

Samantha Zale is a Content Creator for Greenscape Gardens, and also manages Front Desk Operations and Customer Support.

Newly planted plants in the garden will require regular watering until established--and even after during times of drought.

oh deer!

One of the most frustrating of problems in the spring is to plant your new spring garden—or watch the tender young sprouts of existing perennials push out of the ground, only to be mowed down by hungry deer also anticipating these spring arrivals. As a bonus, the plants focused on in this article generally aren’t on the list of favorites of deer, though they might eat shrimp plants during a drought. It is important to note that this is never a guarantee and deer can munch on whatever they feel like. So, be prepared with some physical barriers or even scented products like Liquid Fence or Milorganite if deer are frequently in your yard. As far as deer go for these particular perennials, be prepared to use repellent products, but generally deer don’t often bother these.

So be kind to the pollinators, be kind to your newly planted plants, and, well, do what your heart tells you regarding the deer! And don’t delay visiting your garden center to get advice on plants and products, spring plantings will be flying off the shelves!

Rahm Landscaping

-Since 1974-

We believe we offer the best landscape experience possible. Combining the friendly small business service you want and the professionalism and knowledge you need With over 60 years in the landscape industry, you can feel confident choosing Rahm Landscaping for your next project.

-Landscape

-Mulch Blowing, Installation

-Native Tree & Shrub Nursery

-Tree Spade Services

-Large Area Mowing

-Turf Renovation

Samantha Zale

St. Louis Hort History

History and photos courtesy of Cynthia

Fendler

Fendler Nursery and Garden Center

Growing Plants and Customer Satisfaction for 70 Years

The independent family-owned business was founded by Vernon Fendler in 1954.

Returning to the St. Louis area in the early 1950s after serving in the United States Army, Vernon Fendler got a job as a clothing cutter in the St. Louis garment industry. But a lifelong passion for plants and gardening couldn’t be denied, and he soon found himself putting down the fabric sheers in the evening, and picking up pruning and planting tools. In 1954, Vernon made the passion official, establishing V. Fendler Nursery and began working out of his home on evenings and weekends, selling and planting trees and

shrubs, while still keeping his day job. With many new homes and subdivisions being built in south St. Louis city and county, the demand for landscaping increased which helped his small business to quickly grow, and soon the day job gave way to a full-time landscaping and plant sales business, with his wife handling the bookkeeping.

By the early 60s, home could no longer house the flourishing business, and Vernon rented a small lot at Morganford and Siebert for the site of his first retail operation. Within a few short years, he outgrew that location as well, and Vernon purchased a larger property at 1803 Lemay

Ferry Road in south county where he moved the business in 1967, and though much expanded since, where it remains to this day.

Vernon’s son Larry began working alongside his dad as a teenager, and in 1996 became a certified nurseryman. In 1997 Larry became president and owner of Fendler Nursery and Garden Center. With the need for more space, he built a larger retail store in 2004, along with making other major improvements on the property. Larry remembers going to Illinois with his dad during the early years visiting local growers to handpick plant material,

Left to right, Vernon Fendler selecting plants in a growers’ field; Vernon’s home out of which he first operated the business; and an early view of the 1803 Lemay Ferry location.

Left to right, A later expansion at 1803 Lemay Ferry included this Site Gas Station building; A company truck from the 70s; and Larry (right) with his nephew and manager Scott Metger.

when their suppliers numbered only one or two, including Home Nursery (ed. Note: see our history of Home Nursery in our March 2021 issue at issuu.com/thegatewaygardener).

Today, Fendler’s receives plant material from over 30 suppliers locally and nationwide. They retail a large variety of annuals, perennials, trees, shrubs, pollinators, nativars, tropicals and hard to find plants. They also have bulk rock, mulch, topsoil, sand, compost and garden mix soil available for pickup or local delivery.

Bryan Fendler, Larry’s son, followed in the footsteps of his father, and as a teenager learned the landscaping and nursery business. As Bryan grew in knowledge and skill in landscape design, Larry turned over the landscape division of the business to him, which

he now successfully owns and runs as Fendler Landscape. Many of the other family members including those of the second and third generation have worked for or are still working at the nursery. Larry’s nephew, Scott Metzger, has been with the company for 28 years and is currently the manager. After Larry’s mom Patricia passed away in 2011, his wife Cindy took over the bookkeeping. His daughter Jessica, son Michael, nephew Todd, granddaughter Kylie and grandson Jett have all enjoyed working alongside their dad and grandpa.

Fendler Nursery and Garden Center has remained a family-owned business for 70 years. They are grateful to all of their customers and employees, past and present, for helping them achieve this business milestone.

Larry Fendler in the greenhouse, left, and Fendler Nursery and Garden Center as customers will find him and it today.

2024ProductEco-Garden Guide

Fendler Nursery and Garden Center

1803 Lemay Ferry Rd., St. Louis, MO63125 314-892-1150

fendlernursery.com

KANSO DESIGNS Planters

with a Purpose

Plastic and agricultural wastes are repurposed and utilized through innovative transformation into attractive, biodegradable compositematerial planters.

Hoffmann Hillermann Nursery & Florist

2601 E. 5th Street, Washington, MO 63090 636-239-6729

www.hillermann.com

EGO Power+ Blowers

EGO Power+ Blowers offer cordless power and convenience.

The high-efficiency brushless motor delivers longer run time, low vibrations and an extended motor life. Turbine fan engineering, inspired by advanced aeronautics technology, performs better than premium gas-powered models. Quiet, lightweight and compact, these blowers get the job done faster and quieter! Other features include a variable speed dial, weather resistant construction, long run times and an ergonomic design for superb balance and user comfort. Experience Power Beyond Belief without the noise, fuss and fumes. Battery and

Rolling Ridge Nursery

60 North Gore Ave.

Webster Groves, MO 63119 (314-962-3311

RollingRidgeNursery.com

Clover Seed for a “Greener” Lawn

Clover lawns are gaining popularity for their environmental benefits, low maintenance and visual appeal. Drought tolerant, nitrogen rich, weed suppressing, and pollinator friendly. What more could you want?

Garden Heights Nursery

1605 S. Big Bend Blvd.

Richmond Heights, MO (314) 645-7333

GardenHeights.com

Alternatives For Home

We now carry Geometry

Kitchen Tea Towels and “Not Paper Towels” in the Garden Heights store! These are ecofriendly staples for home that are made with all post-consumer recycled materials! Their kitchen towels are made from 3.5 recycled plastic bottles each, and their “Not Paper Towels” are made from 2 recycled bottles! We love these products as ecofriendly alternatives you can feel great about using at home!

Planthaven Farms

6703 Telegraph Rd. Oakville, MO (636) 272-5005

O’Fallon and Olivette, too! PlanthavenFarms.com

Recyclable Plant Journal

Keep all your best plant thoughts, shopping lists, notes or poems in this 118-page spiral

inspired design and motivational quotes make it a wonderful gift

The Host Julie Evans Straatmann

Greenscape Gardens

2832 Barrett Station Rd.

Manchester, MO 63021 (314) 821-2440

GreenscapeGardens.com

Native Plant ID Tags

Native Plant ID Tags are 2-1/2” wide by 4” long. Durable tags include photo, common name and botanical name. Plant stake included. Joint project of Wild Ones St. Louis and Grow Native! Order from https:// stlwildones.org/plant-tags/

Sugar Creek Gardens

1011 N. Woodlawn Kirkwood, MO 63122 (314) 965-3070

SugarCreekGardens.com

Blunt Mountain Mint

Don’t be fooled by this beauty’s

low-key presence. Blunt Mountain Mint, Pycanthemum muticum, is a powerhouse for pollinators. In summer, a flat flower cluster of pale lavenderpink is set off by silvery bracks. These abundant inconspicous flowers attract butterflies, bees, birds, and other pollinators. 2013 study at Penn State Extension Service showed that it was the most popular pollinator plant, being visited nonstop by a wide array of critters.

O.K. Hatchery

109-115 Argonne Kirkwood, MO (314) 822-0083

Earth Box

Cultivate veggies, fruits and herbs in the smallest spaces. Transform balconies, patios, rooftops, and indoor spaces into lush gardens. Sub-irrigated planters ensure optimal watering. With control over soil, fertilizer and watering, you’ll have healthy thriving plants and abundant harvests in all seasons. Available in several sizes.

Effinger Garden Center

720 South 11th St. Belleville, IL 62220 (618)

EffingerGarden.com

FoxFarm Organic Products

Effingers has a complete line

of FOXFARM organic soils and liquid plant food: Happy Frog, Ocean Forest, Coco-Loco, Tiger Bloom, Grow Big and Big Bloom. Come see us soon!

Zicks Great Outdoors 16498 Clayton Rd. Wildwood, MO (636) 458-1445

ZicksGreatOutdoors.com

Eco-Friendly Trees and Pine Mulch

Trees help reduce the greenhouse effect. They provide shade and absorb CO2 and other dangerous gases and replenish

Cont’d on next page

the atmosphere with oxygen. Hundreds of beautiful, nurserygrown Eco-Friendly native trees can be found at Zick’s Great Outdoors and Landscaping in Wildwood, MO. And Zick’s is St. Louis’ supplier of pine straw mulch, sustainable and renewable.

Timberwinds

54 Clarkson Road Ellisville, MO 63011 636-227-0095

Timberwindsnursery.com

Moorganite by Earth Science This lawn and garden fertilizer

is an excellent natural source of nutrition for all types of plants. Made from recycled dairy cow and chicken manure, Moorganite is a all natural, multi purpose, slow release fertilizer. Their commitment to composting in the manufacturing process results in a highly bio active and effective product.

Chalily

14430 Manchester Rd. Manchester, MO 63011 (636) 527-2001

Chalily.com

Chalily Spring Start-Up Kit

Chalily Spring Start-Up is

a multi stage system that is specially formulated for use in Spring! Our Spring StartUp is safe for your plants, fish, wildlife, and household pets! All of our ingredients are Eco-Friendly and 100% natural. Our formula only includes Mother Nature’s best to get your pond looking clear. Use the De-Sludger tablets to remove all the built up matter that has accumulated in your pond over Winter. Then use the Kick-Starter liquid to seed your biological filter and get your pond running smoothly in no time!

Forrest Keeling Nursery

44 Forrest Keeling Lane Elsberry, MO 63343

573.898.5029

ForrestKeelingNursery.com

Neonic-free… ‘bee-cause’!

Invite bunches of butterflies, hummingbirds, and other pollinators in your landscape this spring! Plant beautiful native perennials from Forrest Keeling Nursery! Our hardy perennials are neonic-free… grown without harmful pesticides! And sustainably produced from locally sourced seed to bloom in their first season.

MISSOURI

NATURAL RESOURCES

Naturally Natives

Reimagining Lawns

by Scott Woodbury

The idea of No-Mow April or No-Mow May has taken off in many communities across the country. The theory is to give lawns with native plants like spring beauty and common violet, as well as non-native, but insect-friendly non-natives like clover, a chance to bloom, precisely when early-emerging native bees and wasps make their spring appearance. These hungry insects need an instant source of food—nectar and pollen—in order to make it through another season. If nothing’s blooming where and when they emerge, they starve. Lack of habitat (and thus, food sources) is a significant reason why bees are declining nationwide.

But my lawn has no blooming plants because the previous owner suppressed them. Up and down my street and throughout the community, homeowners battle anything other than turf grass in their lawns because collectively, in our society, lawn equals turf grass. The presence of anything other than turf grass in lawns, in many communities, implies neglect.

Perhaps homeowners don’t understand that other plants can be part of a lawn, and that they are useful, providing food for hungry bees and other pollinators. Or that neighborhoods with lawns that include clover and dandelions have more bees. Perhaps they think that anything other than grass in a lawn diminishes property values, or maybe they are just following their neighbors’ lead. Are they giving turf companies too much leeway and not enough scrutiny?

I think there is room for another perspective—where lawns of only

turf grass are considered neglectful, and where flowers are a logical and attractive component of lawns.

Back to my yard. “No-Mow April” and “No-Mow May” make no sense for me, for a couple of reasons. First, if a lawn is only turf grass, not mowing it for a month is not going to help pollinating insects. I need to diversify the lawn with short-statured blooming plants like spring beauty before I can successfully feed bees. There are a handful of violets coming up by the sidewalk, but not enough to stop cutting the grass. There are four or five little clumps of clover in the strip between the sidewalk and street that I mowed around last spring. Hopefully, they all will spread this season.

Second, there is the question of how much lawn I should have. I’ll keep most of it because I don’t have enough time to convert it all at once to garden beds, nor maintain all of the beds at once. Also,

Scott Woodbury was the horticulturist at Shaw Nature Reserve for 30 years and stepped down from that position in June 2022. He continues to work on contract for Shaw Nature Reserve to carry out native landscaping education, and has launched his own business called Cacalia: Native Garden Design and Wilding. Scott is also founder of the Wild Ones St. Louis Chapter, which financially supports this column. Find suppliers of native plants, seeds, and services at the Grow Native! Resource Guide: www.moprairie.org.

James Faipel

I’ve seen too many no-lawn gardens disappear when the property changes hands. My long-term goal for my home landscaping is 50% lawn and 50% native landscape plants. According to research by Minnesota landscape architect Fred Rozumalski, that is the lawnto-garden bed tolerance threshold for most homeowners. My plan is to remove small portions of lawn every year to plant new trees, shrubs, and expand beds, filling them with native plants. I doubt this transition will come as a shock to the neighborhood, because it will take several years to unfold.

Third, what about this notion of letting the grass grow for all of April (or May, if you live in northern states), then chopping it down all at once? It sounds like a maintenance nightmare, come the end of April (or May), not to mention a hard blow to the turf grass itself. My assumption is that if you want some lawn, you will want it to look well maintained. A good way to manage this is to slowly trim back the lawn at the end of April with a string trimmer. Trim onethird of the lawn height back every week until you get back to a normal mow height.

What’s a normal lawn height? I cut the grass as high as my quiet Ryobi electric mower will allow (about 4 inches). Also, I aim for longer intervals between mowings (about every 10 days for my lawn). Keep in mind that every lawn is different, and grass grows quicker in the spring and fall than in summer. The goal is to mow high and less frequently to give plants like clover enough time to bloom between mowings.

Lastly, when I get to the point when my lawn is brimming with blooming plants and buzzing with a symphony of insect pollinators, I won’t celebrate only in April. I will support blooming plants in my lawn year-round. I’ll jump for joy when I get butterfly violet (Viola sororia), prairie pussy toes (Antennaria neglecta), strawberry (Fragaria virginiana), lyre-leaf sage (Salvia lyrata), yarrow (Achillea millefium), spring beauty (Claytonia virginica), hairy grama grass (Bouteloua hirsuta) and various low-growing sedges (Carex jamesii, C. socialis and C. pennsylvanica), established in my lawn. At this point, the lawn will no longer be merely lawn, it will be something else altogether, perhaps something more like a prairie.

I’ll encourage the summer-blooming glade onion (Allium stellatum). And I’ll harvest dandelion, strawberry, clover, and violet greens for my salads, once I’ve lived here a few more years, allowing time for any presumed, former lawn chemicals to dissipate. Until that day, I’ll mow around patches of blooming plants in the lawn, I’ll sprinkle their seeds around the yard, and continue to quietly cut the grass on high and with less frequency to give the lawn flowers more time to bloom and feed the bees. Heck, I may even find bigger wheels for my lawnmower so I can cut the grass even higher. And surely, I will welcome lawn blooms in from wherever they come, as long as they aren’t invasive species!

Happy lawn party, ya’ ll!

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The Cornucopia Corner

A Fresh Look at Garden Greens

By Steffie Littlefield

Every gardener—novice or experienced—loves easyto-harvest and satisfying-to-serve garden greens. The challenge has been how to access this tender, fresh & healthy produce all season or even all year long. Every new gardener has success in the spring with early lettuces, arugula, and mesclun mixes. These are simple to sow into freshly prepared beds, spring rains provide the water, and in a few weeks, Voila! Salad greens for the family! The more adventurous will try spinach varieties where the only tricks are to soak the seeds before sowing and to quickly harvest

the baby leaves early before the weather gets too warm. Row cover cloth can also be used to protect these precious but fragile plants in earlier months like February and March so the season can start earlier.

If you are willing to make room in your sunny window, you can start this crop harvest earlier by planting these luscious gems in January or February indoors in shallow trays and by snipping with scissors the tiny leaves, you are able to serve them for a few months before the first outdoor crop can be cut. Some of us even devote more of our indoor living space and get more serious about our indoor vegetable growing with grow-light set-ups, heating pads, fans to move the air and multi-level growing racks to cultivate our tender bits during the winter.

But what can we do to fulfill our need for fresh greens in the off months when we are growing other veggies outside but our greens just bolt, blanch or wither away. Now this is done by trying some new heat tolerant plants and getting creative on how we use our already planted veggies so we can harvest fresh greens for summer salads. I grow French Sorrel to add to my greens mix early and late in the growing season. It has a great lemony bite that mixes well with leafy lettuce greens like Black Seeded Simpson. It is a perennial, which means it comes back, give it 5 Gold Stars for that!

Curly and large leaf Kales are also slightly more heat tolerant than lettuce greens and can be harvested into the summer months. I even sow these a bit late in the season to create a fall extension to “Garden Greens!” Lovage is another herb/ green crop that can winter over most years. The leafy green stalks have an heirloom celery smell, taste and appearance. Swiss Chard has long been admired for its beauty in late

summer and fall with grand looking leaves to chop into salads. The gorgeous thick white, red and gold stems are excellent mixed into the salad bowl. Other greens that can be used but are biproducts of a garden vegetable are pea tendrils, beet greens, radish greens, onion tops, fennel greens, dill greens and even baby sweet potato leaves which are very heat tolerant and make a fabulous addition to summer salads as does Wild Rocket or Sylvetta Arugula, which is also a perennial.

A real novel plant that is beautiful as well as having tasty green leaves is Malabar Spinach. I grow this vining plant on two upright tower type trellises for drama but I also harvest its spinach-like thick leaves on the hottest days to chop with tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers for a light summer salad. This plant loves the high heat of summer, it is prolific and seeds itself enough to guarantee its return to my garden each year.

Another midsummer, heat tolerant easy-to-grow plant is common purslane. It features a low- growing plant with mild lemon-flavored leaves, and can also be relied on to reseed if you let it flower.

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.EdgClif.com, and teaches a class on viticulture at SLCC-Meramec.

Let’s “Go Green” for healthy eating all summer with some new plants and creative ways to grow and use our favorite vegetable garden plants.

Dig This!

Gateway Gardeners and Businesses in the News

St. Louis Audubon Wins State Conservation Award

The Conservation Federation of Missouri has named the St. Louis Audubon Society’s Bring Conservation Home program the 2023 Conservation Organization of the Year

St. Louis Audubon Society’s Bring Conservation Home Program provides on-site advice to private landowners in the greater St. Louis area for the restoration of native plant and animal habitat on their grounds. With the goal of bringing better harmony with nature in individual home landscapes, the program offers consultations and advice.

Since 2012, the program has enrolled more than 1,400 residential landscapes in the St. Louis region. For a nominal fee, Bring Conservation Home will provide a landscape assessment by trained Habitat Advisors who will create a written report offering simple steps to improve the habitat value of the landscape. These assessments are tailored to the homeowner’s specific goals. As a result of the initial assessment, or a postassessment follow-up visit, the landscape might qualify for one of three certification levels. Once certified, the homeowner has the option to acquire a yard sign that will highlight accomplishments to their friends and neighbors.

“Missouri is fortunate to have wonderful outdoor

opportunities,” said CFM, “thanks to excellent land management by their professionals and volunteers. As Conservation Federation members and affiliates, we see the everyday results of efforts made to improve and maintain our public areas in the way of parks and wildlife areas. Yet those projects are often on a much larger scale than a residential backyard, as we tend to overlook the opportunities closer to home. The Bring Conservation Home program is a shining example of what can be done to address those opportunities to establish and further conservation practices within the urban/suburban environment.” (From the Conservation Federation of Missouri Facebook page)

Tours Available at St. Charles MG Gardens

The St. Charles County Extension Center, home to the St. Charles Master Gardeners, has announced the availability of tours of its 20 different demonstration gardens at its location at260 Brown Rd. in St. Peters, MO. The gardens feature native, perennial and annual plantings that give residents a place to learn about plants that do well in St. Charles County, as well as to see gardening techniques and methods. Featured gardens include a vegetable garden, a native garden and many gardens for homeowners to learn about plants for their home including attracting birds, butterflies and pollinators to their yards. Groups may request a garden tour by emailing mgstcharles@gmail. com. All tours are free.

STLCC Horticulture Plans Arbor Day Planting

The St. Louis Community College at Meramec Horticulture Department invites the general public

Dan Pearson, left, Director, and Shannon Callahan, Outreach Specialist, for St. Louis Audubon Society’s Bring Conservation Home program.

to participate in a special Arbor Day planting and dedication of a Missouri native oak tree in the campus’ Garden Classroom April 5th, 2024, at 9:30am. The Garden Classroom is located next to Lot K on the west side of the Meramec campus at 11333 Big Bend Blvd. in Kirkwood, MO. The celebration includes an opening welcome and introductions by Horticulture Program Director Jerry Pence, an announcement of the campus’ designation as an official “Tree Campus” by the Arbor Day Foundation, an Arbor Day Tree Planting proclamation by STLCC President Dr. Feliccia Moore Davis, and Chancellor Dr. Jeff Pittman, and the inaugural ‘Tree Campus’ Planting.

The Garden Classroom at Meramec is a living laboratory for students and a botanical garden for the STLCC community. An extensive tree collection and ten acres of native, woodland and ornamental gardens create a vibrant setting for hands-on-learning and the enjoyment of nature.

Industry leaders, faculty and students together demonstrate cutting edge technologies, innovative techniques and sustainable management practices in this hands-on learning environment. The 11-acre outdoor laboratory allows students and the community to connect with nature and cultivate passion for horticulture. The Garden Classroom at Meramec is open to the public from dusk to dawn.

The Tree Campus designation is a program of the Arbor Day Foundation. Tree Campus Higher Education was founded in 2008 to foster a tradition of excellence recognizing the value of trees and green spaces as an integral part of the college experience. The program provides a simple framework for colleges and universities to grow their community forests, achieve national recognition, and create a campus their students and staff are proud of.

A vignette from the Garden Classroom at STLCC Meramec. Photo by Sarah Moore, alum and instructor.

Upcoming Events Meetings, Classes, Entertainment and More

Updates to this information are often posted on our online events calendar at www.GatewayGardener.com, so check there for the latest details.

Give us the details of your upcoming gardening, lawn or landscaping event and we’ll add it to our website and include it in our next issue. Deadline for printing in the June issue is May 1st.

How to reach us:

Mail: PO Box 220853, St. Louis, MO 63122

Email: info@gatewaygardener.com

GARDEN CLUBS AND PLANT SOCIETY MEETINGS

Interested in Joining a Garden Club or Plant Society? We have meeting dates, locations and contact information on more than 50 area garden clubs on our website at www.GatewayGardener.com. Don’t have access to the internet? Just call us at (314) 968-3740, or write us 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!

FUN FOR KIDS

April 6th

9am-Children’s Garden Club. Edible Pots. FREE. Preregistration is required on the St. Louis County website at https:// tinyurl.com/yc3v3pfj or by calling 314-615-4386. Sponsored by St. Louis County Parks Department. Planthaven Farms, 6703 Telegraph Rd., 63129.

May 4th

9am-Children’s Garden Club. Mother’s Day Baskets and

Upcoming Events

Planting Veggies. FREE. Preregistration is required on the St. Louis County website at https:// tinyurl.com/yc3v3pfj or by calling 314-615-4386. Sponsored by St. Louis County Parks Department. Queeny Park – Nursery #1, 1675 S. Mason Rd. (Queeny Park East Entrance), St. Louis 63131.

GARDEN TOURS, PLANT SALES AND SHOWS

April 20th

9am-noon—Green Center Spring Plant Sale. Shop in person for a variety of vegetables, flowers, herbs and Missouri natives to choose from! 100% of the sale proceeds goes directly to our education & habitat restoration programs. Plants have all been grown in our greenhouse. Cash, check and credit cards accepted. PLUS, shop the online Plant Sale store on April 15, 16, 17 & 18 on our website at . The Green Center is at 8025 Blackberry Ave., St. Louis, MO 63130.

April 26th-27th

7pm Fri., 9am-sold out (usually around 11am) Sat.—Olivette in Bloom Native Plant Workshop and Sale. On Friday, April 26th, OIB is sponsoring a Design a Small Native Garden Workshop. At the Saturday sale, the organization’s Master Gardeners and members will be available to answer questions about care of plants as well as provide general gardening tips. Proceeds help fund Olivette In Bloom, a not-for-profit and completely volunteer entity, with resources for planting materials for the public gardens it tends throughout Olivette. Visit www. olivetteinbloom.org/native-plantsale.html for more info. Five Oaks on Warson, 1200 N Warson Rd, Olivette, MO 63132.

April 27th

8am-1pm—Lincoln County

Annual Plant Sale. Hosted by The Lincoln County Missouri Master Gardeners. Featuring a variety of plants including perennials, natives, annuals, vegetables, houseplants, herbs and garden art. Check our Facebook page for updates and other information. Lincoln County

Extension Center at 880 West College St. in Troy, Missouri.

April 26th

9am-4pm—STLCC Meramec Horticulture Plant Sale. Choose from perennials, veggies, herbs, native, and annuals. All plants are grown in the school’s greenhouses by horticulture department students and staff. All proceeds from the sale go the purchase of materials for future plant sales and student engagement. 11333 Big Bend Rd., Kirkwood, MO 63122, West Parking Lot K. Rain date, Saturday April 27th, 9am-2pm. Cash or check only.

April 27th

8:30am-2pm—Webster Groves Herb Society Annual Sale. A variety of culinary, ornamental, and medicinal herbs, full size and cherry tomato plants, hot and sweet peppers, and Missouri native plants, including coneflowers, bee balm, yarrow, and milkweeds. There will also be some member-grown herbs and plants and a wonderful collection of member-grown seed packets. This not-for-profit organization continues to live up to its motto of “Each one, teach one,” supporting and maintaining the local herb gardens, Hawken House, Mudd’s Grove, and Faust Park, as well as providing scholarships to local horticulture students and donating to local schools and organizations. This sale is our main fund raiser to help us support all the above. First Congregational Church of Webster Groves, 10 W. Lockwood. Free admission and parking. Cash, check, debit and credit cards accepted.

April 27th, 28th & 29th

5-7pm Fri., 9am-1pm Sat., 11am1pm Sun.—U City in Bloom Plant Sale. Friday Opening Night Party, $25. Great selection of locally grown sun and shade perennials, trees, shrubs, grasses and many natives like those U City in Bloom will put in public gardens. Heman Park Community Center, 975 Pennsylvania, University City.

April 28th

9am-2pm—Partners for Native Landscaping Native Plant Fair/Sale. Beyond Housing Headquarters, 6506 Wright Way, St. Louis, 63121.

May 4th

8am-noon—Perry County Master Gardeners Annual Plant Sale. Master Gardeners will have an abundance of vegetable and flowering plant available for purchase at very competitive prices. Be sure to stop by and see what’s available to help get your garden and/or flower beds started for spring. The sale will take place at the large pavilion at the Perryville City Park.

May 4th-5th

7am-3pm Sat, 9am-4pm Sun— Kress Farm Garden Preserve Plant Sale. We will have a large selection of native plants propagated at Kress Farm and many varieties of perennials, annuals, herbs, vegetables, trees, shrubs and more. Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer your questions. Located a short drive from St. Louis at 5137 Glade Chapel, Hillsboro, Mo. 63050. Call 314-750-6490 for more info.

May 3rd-4th

3-7pm Fri. (members only), 9am1pm Sat.—Spring Wildflower Market. Shop from a wide selection of Missouri native wildflowers, grasses, shrubs, vines, sedges and trees suitable for all conditions and grown by local nurseries in the region. Talk to native plant experts and enjoy beer, wine, spirits, cheese, honey, crafts and more. Shaw Nature Reserve, 307 Pineton Loop Rd., Gray Summit, MO.

May 11th

9am-2pm—Franklin County Master Gardeners Plant Sale. JC Penney parking lot in Washington, MO. Shop from a wide selection of plants. Proceeds go to scholarship fund,

May 11th

8am-noon—Mississippi Valley Garden Club Annual Plant Sale Perennials, native plants and some houseplants. Plants are shared from our members gardens. We will have gently used gardening items. We

will also have experienced gardeners available. Hope to see you there. Alton-Wood River Sportsmen’s Club, 3109 Godfrey Rd, Godfrey, IL. Under the pavilion in back.

May 11th

8am -noon—O’Fallon (MO)

Garden Club Plant Sale / Rummage Sale. Native plants and perennials from member’s gardens. Also, gently used gardening items, books and tools. Experienced gardeners will be available. There will also be gently used/clean household items. 2606 Riley Paul Ct., O’Fallon, MO 63368.

May 4th

8:30am-12:30pm—Webster

Groves Women’s Garden Association Plant Sale

Hundreds of homegrown sun and shade perennials from Webster Groves Women’s Garden Association gardens, plus small container arrangements ready just in time for Mother’s Day. Stop by for plants AND expertise from our master gardeners. Cash, check, debit or credit. Rain or shine, we’ll be there to help you with your spring planting needs. Profits go to support horticultural programs at WG schools and other community projects. parking lot of WG First Congregational Church located at Elm and Lockwood.

CLASSES, LECTURES AND EVENTS

April 3rd

10am—Create Your Own

Botanical Painting. Lynn from ArtDog in Eureka will be here to guide you creating beautiful Botanical paintings that you will complete and take home. Grab a friend, we will have water and a snack to enjoy while here and we will provide everything you need to complete your creation. There is a cost associated with this event. Passiglia Landscape, Nursery & Garden Center, 1855 MO-109, Wildwood, MO 63038. (636) 4589202, passiglia@passiglia.com. Passiglia.com.

April 5th

9am-3pm—Missouri Arbor Day Tree Giveaway. Celebrate Arbor Day in Missouri and receive a free Missouri native tree sapling from the William T. Kemper Center for

Home Gardening. Kemper Center staff will provide planting and care tips and be available to answer your tree care questions. Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Ave., St. Louis.

April 7th

Noon—Let’s Talk Gardening! An informal meet and greet with owners Rich and Trudy Effinger and their staff. Free, no registration required. Bring a friend and your questions about annuals, perennials, shrubs and herbs—All the Good Stuff! Effinger Garden Center, 720 South 11th St., Belleville, IL. (618) 234-4600.

April 14th

1pm—Best Herbs to Grow from Garden to Kitchen. Elks Club Patio Garden Speaker Series. Guest speakers from Webster Groves Herb Club. Herbs will be available for purchase. Bring a friend/guests. RSVP to drwplants@gmail.com

Elks Club Lodge #9, 12481 Ladue Rd., Creve Coeur, 63141.

April 18th

6-7:30pm—Pick Your System

Part of the Composting Class Series hosted by Seed St Louis, Table to Garden, and Willoughby Heritage Farm. The first four Core classes cover basic composting principles, soil health, and how to select a compost system(s) that works for you and your family. Thereafter starting in May, monthly Specific classes cover in-depth information and hands-on skills for compost bin systems, vermicomposting (worm composting), compost tumblers, Bokashi fermentation, and static compost systems. Wrap up the series with a microscopic examination of compost samples and free potluck dinner in October! All classes will be held at the new Compost Demonstration site at Willoughby Heritage Farm, 631 Willoughby Lane, Collinsville, IL 62234. Classes are $12/ea. Visit https://bit.ly/3GE34ws for more information and to register.

April 20th-21st

St. Louis Earth Day Festival Earth Day is back with great food, music and activities. Learn about sustainable products and practices from local businesses and organizations. Forest Park on the Muny grounds. Free and open to the public. Visit earthday-365.org for details.

April 26th

4pm—Arbor Day Event! We will kick off our first “Passiglia Petite Planters” Event! Join us after school with your kiddos as we give an easy explanation on how Trees benefit our environment and a lesson on how we can care for them. Kids will then get to help “hands on” as we plant a tree on the property and take home a small sampling to plant at home themselves. Passiglia Landscape, Nursery & Garden Center, 1855 MO-109, Wildwood, MO 63038. (636) 458-9202, passiglia@passiglia.com. Passiglia. com.

April 28th

1pm—Sow, Grow, Harvest: A Practical Gardening Workshop. A step-by-step guide to tools, techniques and sample garden plans. What do you need to grow food you want to eat? What materials do you use and how to maintain it all? Get the low down on planting for yourself and savings you will reap in the end without having to go to the grocery store all the time. Learn also how to control bugs and weeds. Passiglia Landscape, Nursery & Garden Center, 1855 MO-109,

Wildwood, MO 63038. (636) 4589202, passiglia@passiglia.com. Passiglia.com.

May 2nd

6pm—Spring Fashion Show

Passiglia Landscape, Nursery & Garden Center, 1855 MO-109, Wildwood, MO 63038. (636) 4589202, passiglia@passiglia.com.

Passiglia.com.

May 4th

1pm—Petite Planters Event

Passiglia Landscape, Nursery & Garden Center, 1855 MO-109, Wildwood, MO 63038. (636) 4589202, passiglia@passiglia.com. Passiglia.com.

May 11th

10am-5pm—Washington County in Bloom Flower Festival. Seed and plant swap. Craft and Plant booths, expert speakers presenting workshops, food trucks and more. Forshana Farm, 16270 W. State Highway 8, Potosi, MO. Visit WashCoFlowerFestival.com for more info.