Gateway Gardener
MARCH 2020
THE
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Your Guide to Enjoyable Gardening and Easy-Care Landscapes
Geraniums Explainiumed! Beautiful and Versatile
Nosh Native Rusty Blackhaw AAS Veggie Picks for 2020 FREE Courtesy of:
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Gateway Gardener THE
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Your Guide to Enjoyable Gardening and Easy-Care Landscapes
MARCH 2020
Volume 16, Number 1 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
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From the Editor
nce upon a time in my relatively short gardening life, I thought of geraniums only as those (predominantly) lipstick red annuals that adorn flower pots, window boxes and hanging baskets across America. I would try growing them in my containers, but they never seemed to thrive through the summer. Maybe I needed to deadhead or fertilize more or give them different lighting conditions, but they always seemed to peter out after a few weeks, so I turned elsewhere for annual color. Then, during a perennial I.D. class back in the 90s, I was introduced to perennial geraniums—the true Geranium genus, as differentiated from the Pelargonium genus represented by those porch annuals. The cultivar popular at that time was G. ‘Rozanne’, which went on to become a Perennial Plant Association Perennial of the Year in 2008. I’ve subsequently added a couple other “bigroot” geraniums, ‘Bevan’s Variety’ and ‘Biokovo Karmina’, as well as the native Geranium maculatum, all of which have earned their place as “keepers” and restored the good name of “geranium” to my gardening lexicon. You can read all about the families of Geranium and Pelargonium in
them before the birds and other wildlife find them, so Scott Woodbury tells us in his article on page 8. But the rusty blackhaw, a member of the viburnum family, has many other qualities that make it a most suitable shrub to add to your landscape.
Abby Lapides’ cover story article on page 4.
Geraniums, by the way--well, pelargoniums, anyway--are edible, as are many other plants we find in the ornamental garden and in the wild. Our late, dear friend and native plant contributor Cindy Gilberg used to challenge us to “Eat Our Weedies,” when writing about the topic of foraging for edible plants. On page 6, Jennifer Schamber revisits this theme, and introduces us to a local chef making an international name for himself by creating recipes and dishes from commonly found wild plants as well as many heirloom vegetable varieties he hopes to save from extinction.
Edible, indeed, are the veggie varieties among this year’s AllAmerica Selections for 2020. We picked out the ones that grow well in our region and feature them beginning on page 10. And my sister-in-law Joyce has taken advantage of the abundance of tomato varieties among the offerings and shared with us a tasty recipe for bruschetta! Buon appetito!
That’s probably enough to chew on for now, but I don’t want to leave you without mentioning 2020 is the beginning of our 15th anniversary! It doesn’t officially take place until September, but we’ll be celebrating all year long. It’s been a fun ride, and I look forward to many more years of…
Good Gardening!
Blackhaw berries are certainly edible, though you have to get
On the Cover... Geraniums are much more than the brilliant red annual Pelargoniums that adorn porches across America. Perennial geraniums such as this G. ‘Biokovo Karmina’ can brighten shady or sunny spots and provide evergreen foliage in your garden. (Photo by Ann Lapides)
IN THIS ISSUE 4 Geraniums Explainiumed 6 Nosh Native 8 Rusty Blackhaw 10 All America Veggie Selections 10 JT’s Fresh Ideas 14 Don’t Let This Plant Go Vertical 16 Start Those Veggies in March 18 Own-Root Vs. Budded Roses 20 Dig This 22 Upcoming Events
Geraniums Explainiumed! By Abby Lapides
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id you know Pelargoniums and Geraniums are two different plants? Geranium refers to the genus of hardy perennials that is commonly called cranesbill. One of my highest recommended perennials; it always seems that a cranesbill can fit into just about any planting. The genus Pelargonium names the classic geraniums that have been a staple bedding annual for hundreds of years. Being one of the most prolific annuals in the United States, their fire-truck red flowers are as recognizable as apple pie and are just as popular. But Pelargonium expands much further than this classic. The lesser-known varieties, with their exotic colors and scents offer unique opportunities for the gardener.
violets. Brocade geraniums were popularized in the Victorian era when often wealthy homes contained a greenhouse. ‘Mrs. Pollock’ may be one of the showiest from that era persisting today, and I personally have to grow ‘Persian Queen’ every year. If you want your nose to be wowed, try scented geraniums, which come in many different scents from lime to chocolate. ‘Attar of Roses’ has taken my heart and once you have tried a rose geranium cake or ice cream you too may feel that love. Contrary to popular belief, the scented geranium known as ‘Citronelle’ has not been proven to work as a mosquito repellent. The true citronella plant is a type of lemon grass.
Geranium ‘Rozanne’
Newer varieties of the annual geraniums boast larger flowers and longer bloom times with less need to deadhead. Two of my new favorites, Galaxy™ Violet and ‘Maverick Orange’, both claim giant long blooming neon flowers. I still am partial to some of the heirloom brocade geraniums, which are known more for their exciting foliage, though their flowers are no shrinking
Tender geraniums excel in mixed containers, as bedding plants, or used in the herb garden. They may be overwintered indoors. Hardy Geraniums, or cranesbill, are among the easiest to grow perennials, with many having the following amazing traits: require little extra care once established; evergreen foliage; form into a dense weed-blocking patch; tolerate sun or shade; deer and rabbits almost never touch them; and are incredibly long-lived. See why I can’t recommend them enough? ‘Rozanne’, the 2008 Perennial Plant Association’s Perennial Plant of the Year, is one of the most recognizable perennials around with good reason. In summer large violet blooms appear and, as long as it keeps getting water, will continue to flower for months. This
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The Gateway Gardener™ MARCH 2020
The Missouri native Geranium maculatum, wild geranium, is an excellent choice for the difficult dry shade area. Another choice cranesbill for a shady spot is ‘Bevan’s Variety,’ with magenta flowers and large apple-green leaves. A newer variety, ‘Faye Anna’, delights all season. In spring maroon foliage emerges before turning green. Hot pink flowers in summer precede intense orange fall foliage.
Geranium maculatum
All geraniums, whether hardy or not, feature spicy scented foliage that becomes more intense when broken or rubbed against. All are passed over by deer and bunnies and thrive in average wellGeranium drained soils, but can tolerate less water if needed. When planning ‘Biokovo’ your next garden or container think about adding in some of vigorous sprawling plant can grow to about 18” tall and 2’wide, these effortless plants. covering a lot of ground. Photos by Ann Lapides, except The 2015 PPA’s Perennial Plant of the Year, ‘Biokovo’, blooms late G. maculatum, by Robert Weaver, spring into summer with sweet white flowers and pink stamens, and the zonal geranium in the Zonal Geranium creating a dainty effect. While the flowering is gorgeous enough container at right, courtesy Ball Galaxy™ Violet on its own, the foliage and form really shine. Growing only about Seed. 6” tall, ‘Biokovo’ grows into a low mat of deep green foliage that can take some light foot traffic. This dense foliage turns brilliant maroon in fall that persists all winter until new foliage emerges in spring, covering up the old. ‘Biokovo’ has a sister plant by the CELEBRATING OUR 40TH YEAR name of ‘Biokovo Karmina’ which is almost identical save for its New Shipments Arriving Daily! bright lilac flowers.
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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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Nosh Native
Bulrush STL-Rooted in Ozark Cuisine by Jennifer Schambers
Bulrush Chef Bob Connoley forages for dock and other plants in these photos.
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o one has elevated the potential of native and heirloom culinary ingredients more than Chef Rob Connoley, founder and owner of Bulrush STL. This James Beardnominated chef and author of Acorns & Cattails: A Modern Foraging Cookbook of Forest, Farm & Field, is changing the way we see and eat the world around us.
The history and the stories of these foods lead the diner on a unique culinary experience that changes with not just the season, but sometimes by the week or day at Bulrush STL. The restaurant works closely with local farmers who grow unique heirloom vegetables, many of which most people have never tasted before. A focus for the restaurant is “biodiversity/flavor diversity� and efforts are underway to bring lost varieties of seed back into production, including seeds discovered in a seed store inventory
Living in a world with full access to foods from around the globe has caused most of us to have lost touch with the plethora of indigenous ingredients hiding in plain view in the forests and fields in our own region. Throughout Missouri, and particularly in the Ozark foothills, there lies an abundant treasure trove of forgotten foods and recipes that sustained not only the first European settlers, but even more importantly, the Osage people and other indigenous tribes. Missouri has a wide range of native plants that are very valuable to both the culinary and the medical world. The antioxidants found in elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) rival that of many tropical fruits from around the globe, and a quarter cup of walnuts contains the daily recommended value of plant-based omega-3 fats. As more studies are done on the health benefits of these plants, we have begun to see an increased interest in growing more on a larger scale. Not to mention the fact that these and others can be very delicious, especially when in the hands of Chef Rob Connoley. 6
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Some dishes Chef Connoley has prepared at Bulrush STL include a corn German pancake with summer vegetables and sorghum butter (left) and turkey roulade with sweet potato puree and foraged greens blossoms. list from 1842. “We will be bringing foods and flavors back to customers that possibly have not been eaten in 150 years. Our goal for 2020 is to get all possible ‘Lost 25’ seeds in the hands of farmers and grown, with a strategy of saving seeds for future crops,” says Connoley. ‘Lost 25’ refers to 25 seed varieties that are no longer available from the list, so he is working with seed banks to procure them and get them back into cultivation. Many of the modern, conventionally grown vegetable and fruit cultivars on the market today were developed to be durable during shipping and have a long shelf life, but sometimes a lot of the flavors and textures were lost. Heirloom varieties tend to be thinner skinned and juicier, making them more difficult to survive getting squeezed at the grocery store. Connoley and his team at Bulrush STL have been working on building partnerships with local institutions and organizations that also have an interest in native and heirloom foods including: Osage Nation, St. Louis University, the Danforth Plant Science Center, Missouri Botanical Garden and Washington University. The foods are being studied for historical and cultural significance as well as chemically analyzed so that there is a greater understanding of the impact these foods have had both in the past, as well as their potential for the future.
have averaged 5-10 gallons of food waste per week. Consistently.” states Connoley. In his kitchen, composting is a last resort. They are always looking for new ways to decrease waste by utilizing every possible piece. The respect for food and where it comes from and how it is used at Bulrush STL starts with sustainably sourcing and ends with each morsel being savored by someone who had the opportunity to try something new that day. Photos are from the book Acorns & Cattails: A Modern Foraging Cookbook of Forest, Farm & Field, by Rob Connoley.
P R E PA R E T O
F LO U R I S H V I S I T YO U R O N E - S TO P - S H O P FOR SPRING GARDENING
Every detail of Bulrush STL was designed with intention. From the artisan serving vessels, to the chef’s roundtable arrangement, to their commitment to producing zero waste, every effort is made to operate with integrity and sustainability. “Zero Waste is a commitment that we do with each scrap of vegetable, every animal carcass and every plate of food. In our first nine months, we 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.
G A R D E N H E I G H T S N U R S E RY 1605 Big Bend Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63117 314-645-7333 www.gardenheights.com
MARCH 2020
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Naturally Natives Rusty Blackhaw: A Tree for All Seasons text and photos by Scott Woodbury except as noted
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is sometimes mistaken for its wide-spreading, mounding cousin, northern blackhaw (Viburnum prunifolium), which grows 20 feet wide and 10 feet tall in ten years. Northern blackhaw has smooth, dark, winter buds.
’ve admired rusty blackhaw (Viburnum rufidulum) for some time. It is one of my favorite small-flowering trees because it has four seasons of interest, is remarkably adaptable, fits into small gardens, and has a pleasing shape (when trained). Though it grows well in full sun, it gets overly twiggy and generates suckers, requiring corrective pruning to keep it in shape. In shade it is open branched, with more views of the branching structure and alligator-barked trunk. Very old plants will grow slowly into an upright tree, although it takes decades. At maturity, if grown in shade, rusty blackhaw is upright, relatively narrow, and somewhat vase-shaped. It grows 8 to 10 feet tall and 6 to 8 feet wide in 20 years. That’s slow, but not Rusty blackhaw, Viburnum rufidulum as slow as post oak or shagbark hickory. It spicebush.
Rusty blackhaw winter buds are the color of old barbwire with a scurfy texture like ground coffee. This is one of my favorite things to observe in winter and is a valuable trait to know when scouting the woods for bush honeysuckle (a highly invasive woodland plant from Asia). Blackhaw viburnums are relatively common in Ozark woodlands and should be carefully marked and preserved when removing invasive plants. (Other native and desirable shrubs/small trees that might be confused with bush honeysuckle are rough-leaved dogwood, deciduous holly, and
Missouri Wildflowers Nursery 9814 Pleasant Hill Rd Jefferson City MO 65109 www.mowildflowers.net mowldflrs@socket.net 573-496-3492, fax: 573-496-3003
Meet us at one of these locations in the St. Louis area. Give us your order by Tuesday before a sale, and we will bring it to the location. Kirkwood Farmer’s Market, 150 East Argonne Dr. Kirkwood MO 63122. Give us your order in advance, or pick from the selection at the market. April 4, 11, 18, & 25, and May 2; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Paid Pre-orders can be picked up 4-6 p.m. Fridays. Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63110. Missouri Native Plant Sale. www.missouribotanicalgarden.org April 3 & 4, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Shaw Nature Reserve, I-44 & Hwy 100, Gray Summit, MO 63039. Event: “Shaw Wildflower Market,” www.shawnature.org. May 9, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Member’s preview sale Friday, May 8, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. JcPenney Parking lot, 5886 Hwy 100, Washington MO 63090 (1/4 mi. E of 47) Franklin County Master Gardeners’ Plant Sale. Karen Leslie, 573-459-2454 May 16, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Fruits in summer are verdigris in color. 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 28 years. He also is an advisor to the Missouri Prairie Foundation’s Grow Native! program.
Opening day at our Brazito (Jefferson City) location is March 21.
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Tips and Resources for Growing and Landscaping with Sustainable Native Plants In spring it has white flower clusters that attract native bees searching for sweet nectar. These bees overwinter as eggs in nearby previous-year plant stems. To encourage native bees in your garden, cut perennials (not the viburnum) about 10 to 12 inches high, instead of at ground level, every late winter, and never remove the short stems. By April new leaves grow up to hide the old stems. Remarkably, bees hatch at the same time the flowers emerge, just as they have been doing Flowers of rusty blackhaw for millions of years. But this ancient ritual can’t happen without nectar to feed these bees, from native viburnums (and other spring-blooming natives) that exist in nature and in your garden.
resemble raisins. The pulp has a grainy texture like tamarind, which is better processed than eaten raw. At this point they are sweet yet a little mealy. Though I enjoy eating a few of them every year picked on a fall hike, I rarely find enough berries to cook into jam, which is an old Ozark tradition. For gardeners, unreliable fruiting is its downfall. So also is its tendency to produce suckers and stray branches that may give your juvenile shrub a lopsided appearance. Don’t worry; like a The green berries turn dark 7th-grader stuck in the Twilight and shrivel like raisins as they Zone of middle school, they too ripen. will grow out of it eventually, and may someday mature into a garden favorite. Happy gardening ya’ll!
In summer the fruits turn verdigris, then transition to a blush of rose Find suppliers of rusty blackhaw and many other native shrubs, before turning dark purple when they are ready to eat. Like grapes, trees, vines, wildflowers, grasses, and sedges at www.grownative. they get sweeter the longer they stay on the plant and eventually org, Resource Guide.
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. 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 Cornucopia Corner
Tips for Growing, Buying and Cooking Fresh, Locally Sourced Food for Your Table
All-America Selections Edible/Vegetable 2020 Text and Photos Courtesy All-America Selections
All-America Selections is the only national, non-profit plant trialing organization in North America. It is an independent non-profit organization that tests new, never-before-sold varieties for the home gardener. After a full season of anonymous trialing by volunteer horticulture professionals, only the top garden performers are given the AAS Winner award designation for their superior performance. There are over 200 AAS display gardens in the United States, of which three are in the St. Louis area: St. Louis Community College-Meramec, St. Louis County Parks Queeny Park’s Jarvell Garden and Youth Master Garden, and the Missouri Botanical Garden. There is also a display garden at the University of Missouri-Columbia. AAS trials both ornamental annual flowers and edible garden plants. Here we feature the AAS Edible Winners for 2020 that are suitable for our growing region. Visit all-americaselections.org for more information.—Ed. Note Cucumber Green Light F1 This little beauty is an excellent mini cucumber, said many of the AAS Judges. The yield was higher than the comparison varieties with more attractive fruit, earlier maturity, and superior eating quality. Grow Green Light on stakes or poles for a productive, easy-toharvest vertical garden that will
Jt’s Fresh Ideas Ingredients
pound beautiful blue flattened pumpkins with non-stringy, deep orange flesh with savory sweetness. These pumpkins are as pretty as they are delicious; after fall decorating, bake the flesh for a smooth and creamy treat. This winner also had slightly better disease resistance than the comparisons. Tomato Apple Yellow F1
Pumpkin Blue Prince F1
Bruschetta in a Jar
3 lbs tomatoes (washed, cored & chopped) or 9 cups 5 cloves garlic (washed, peeled and minced) 1 cup dry white wine 1 cup white wine vinegar (5% or higher) ½ cup water 2 tablespoons sugar (or a few drops liquid stevia) 2 T. basil (dried) 2 T. oregano (dried) 2 T. balsamic vinegar Pickle Crisp (optional) 6 - ½ pt mason jars
Instructions
Wash tomatoes. Core and chop into 1” pieces. Set aside. Combine everything from the garlic down to and including the balsamic vinegar in a large pot. Set aside. Pack tomatoes into jars you are using, leaving ½” room at the top. Bring the pot mixture to a boil, then lower to a simmer and gently simmer for 5 minutes to heat garlic thoroughly. Ladle sauce into heated jars, leaving ½” room at the top.
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yield 40 or more spineless fruits per plant. Pick the fruits when they’re small, between 3-4” long, and you’ll be rewarded with great tasting cucumbers, even without peeling. Succession plantings will ensure a summerlong harvest. This cucumber is parthenocarpic meaning the flowers are all female and the fruits are seedless without needing to be pollinated.
Optional: Add ¼ t. pickle crisp to each jar. Remove air bubbles and adjust head space. Wipe jar rims and place on lids. Process in a water bath or steam canner for 20 minutes.(You may need to increase time depending on your altitude.) Recipe Source: www.healthycanning.com
Share your favorite recipes with us. Send your email to: info@gatewaygardener.com
What a perfect way to preserve your harvest!
Enjoy...
Jt
“Princely” is defined as being sumptuous and splendid; this AAS Winner lives up to its name! For any edible entry to become an AAS Winner, it must outperform the comparisons and Blue Prince Pumpkin certainly scored high in the areas of maturity (earlier), yield, fruit size, and uniformity, color, taste, and texture. Vigorous trailing vines produce 7-9
If you’ve never tried an appleshaped tomato, now is the time. This AAS Winner offers incredible garden performance, a uniquely dimpled appleshaped fruit with a deliciously sweet citrusy taste and firm, meaty texture. Indeterminate 5’ tall vines produce abundantly in clusters, resulting in up to 1,000 fruits per plant. The fruits are an eye-catching, bright, lemon yellow color reminiscent of the “Big Apple’s” taxi-cab colors. Judges were excited that a non-splitting, long-holding, uniformly shaped tomato had such good eating quality. With
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just the right balance of sugar and acid flesh in a firm exterior, Apple Yellow would be perfect stuffed with a savory cheese for a delicious appetizer. Tomato Celano F1
to 40” in height and spread to 24” and have excellent late blight tolerance. In comparing it to other grape tomatoes on the market, one judge summed it up by saying “(Celano) is sweeter, the texture is better, the color is deeper, the plants are healthier, and the yield is phenomenal.” Tomato Chef’s Bicolor F1
Choice
beefsteak fruits with beautiful pinkish red internal stripes within a yellow flesh. The lovely stripes extend to the base of the outer fruit skins. These heirloom-looking tomatoes are as sweet as they are beautiful with a better flavor and texture than the comparisons. Gardeners will enjoy earlier maturity and more uniform fruits that hold up all season long, producing well into September. As with all the colors in the Chef’s Choice series, each plant can produce about 30 fruits per season. Tomato Early Resilience F1
Celano is a patio type grape tomato with a strong bushy habit. It is best grown with some support, such as a tomato cage. This semi-determinate hybrid tomato is an early producer of sweet oblong fruits weighing about 0.6 oz. each. Plants grow
The first bicolor tomato in the Chef’s Choice series is here! Indeterminate plants produce large 7-8 ounce flattened
Early Resilience is a rounded Roma tomato with a deep red interior color, uniform maturity and good quality flesh for canning and cooking. Determinate, bushy plants can be staked but it is not necessary. The AAS Judges noted that this variety was very resistant to Blossom End Rot, resulting in a high yield and less fruit loss. Similar great taste as the comparisons but a much healthier plant and fruits. Overall, this is an excellent variety that would be a home canner’s dream. This could very
cont’d. on next page
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cont’d. from previous page
well replace some of the other Roma varieties as a new standard in the arena, or maybe “Coliseum” of Roma tomatoes! Tomato Galahad F1
Yes Sir! Galahad is a brave new tomato variety that has a high level of Late Blight resistance because both parents are resistant. In this case, one plus one equals a very strong two! Galahad is a highyielding, great tasting tomato that grows on a strong sturdy plant. Judges agreed that the sweet, meaty flavor is better than that of the comparison varieties and boasts of being crack resistant. Broad shoulders and large, clean fruits grow on a highly productive, disease-resistant plant.
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Don’t Let This Plant Go Vertical Text and Photos by Missouri Prairie Foundation and GrowNative!
T
cultivation because it grows rapidly, even under harsh conditions. Found in a variety of habitats, wintercreeper euonymus can tolerate full sun, heavy shade and moist soil conditions.”
he sycamore tree was so smothered by a dense vine that its white trunk appeared green. The campus of St. Louis Community College-Meramec (STLCC) had been invaded by Euonymus fortunei ‘Coloratus’ (commonly known as wintercreeper euonymus or Climbing Euonymus), and if the facilities department didn’t do something soon, the problem would get worse. They tasked groundskeeper Alan Cain to liberate the sycamore and 32 other trees. “This will be an ongoing effort as we work to remove the Euonymus fortunei on the campus,” says Kelly Crandall, building and grounds supervisor for the campus. “Hopefully we will be able to remove individual plants as we recognize them once we have established Alan Cain, groundskeeper at STLCC control.” Meramec, saws and treats the roots How did this plant become such a problem? of a dense stand of Euonymus According to a fact sheet developed by fortunei `Coloratus’ (wintercreeper the Missouri Department of Conservation, euonymus). The plant had completely wintercreeper euonymus—a broadleaf semi- surrounded the trunk of a sycamore on evergreen creeping vine—“was chosen for campus.
THIS SEASON
PLANT JOY
It establishes easily in disturbed or neglected soil, so many places where humans have altered the landscape are prime ground for wintercreeper colonies. The vine’s aggressive growth robs native plants of their chance to grow, preventing them from being vital food and nectar sources for beneficial wildlife such as pollinating insects.
Wintercreeper euonymus has been a mainstay non-native horticultural ground cover used for many years, to cover, as a turf alternative, landscape areas with poor soils, soil moisture limitations, and challenging exposure extremes, including extreme deep shade. As a horizontal ground cover, wintercreeper euonymus bears no fruit/seed, but its vertical vining form produces copious volumes of fruit that is favored by birds. Birds ultimately spread the seeds to landscape and garden areas where wintercreeper euonymus may not be intended nor desired and considered a weedy pest. Once established, wintercreeper euonymus can dominate the woodland floor, thus eliminating a diversity of wildflowers and other understory plants. Beyond the ground level impact, the vertical vining growth of wintercreeper e u o n y m u s can impose structural damage, potentially inflicting death to trees and shrubs. A statewide assessment staff removed Euonymus organized by Grounds fortunei vines from 32 tree trunks on campus. the Missouri Invasive Plant Task Force (MoIP) found wintercreeper euonymus expanding its range at a moderate increase around St. Louis and causing moderate to severe environmental degradation in all regions of the state where data were reported. The abundance of escaped populations is particularly high the ecoregion that includes St. Louis. More than two dozen field experts assessed 142 invasive species for this assessment. The data were released in early 2019.
2832 Barrett Station Rd, Ballwin, MO 63021 www.greenscapegardens.com
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An inter-agency and inter-organizational resource of the Missouri Prairie Foundation’s Grow Native! program, MoIP has the principal The Gateway Gardener™ MARCH 2020
goal of making early detection and control of invasive plants a visit moprairie.org. higher statewide priority. The MoIP website offers resources on Established in 1962, St. Louis Community College is the largest how to control highly invasive species such as wintercreeper. community college district in Missouri and one of the largest in the Alternative native, ground covers include golden groundsel United States. STLCC has four campuses: Florissant Valley, Forest (Packera obovatus) wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana), Park, Meramec and Wildwood. The College annually serves more three-leaved stonecrop (Sedum ternatum), wild ginger (Asarum than 50,000 students through credit courses, continuing education, canadense), calamint (Clinopodium arkansanum) and pussytoes and workforce development programs. For more information about (Antennaria parlinii). This web page from the Missouri Botanical STLCC, visit stlcc.edu. Garden offers photos of native plants for comparison, as well as links to instructions on how to manage invasive plants on your property. The Grow Native! Native Plant Database offers hundreds of native plants with customizable search options to choose other alternatives. Wintercreeper euonymus can be identified by its dense groundcover up to three feet in height. Its thick, glossy leaves are oval-shaped, no more than 1 inch in length, and easily identifiable by silvery white veins. Smooth, pinkish fruits mature in the fall. The grounds staff began cutting vertical vines June 2019. In most cases, the vines are cut, treated and left on the tree to fall off on their own accord thereby eliminating bark damage. The staff completed the initial cutting and removal in July and will return after the first freeze this winter to remove or recut and treat vine stumps. (For details on how to treat cut stumps with herbicide, visit moinvasives.org.) MoIP’s website offers guidelines on how to manage invasive plants.. For information on landscape services, including professionals specializing in removal of invasive plants, and who sell native plants and seed, please visit grownative.org. The Missouri Invasive Plant Task Force (MoIP) is a resource of Grow Native!, a 19-year-old native plant marketing and education program serving the lower Midwest. Grow Native! is administratively housed by the nonprofit Missouri Prairie Foundation. For more information about MoIP, visit www.moinvasives. org, email info@moinvasives. org or call 417-299-1794; for more on the Grow Native! program at grownative.org or for more on the Missouri Prairie Foundation MARCH 2020
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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Get Your Veggie Garden Started in March! arch is so exciting with warmer days teasing us to go outside and get the season going, but the weather is not going to stay warm and we need to be aware of the predictable disaster of starting too soon. However, if you are prepared for that warm day with tubers, roots, starts and seeds, you can get it going. March is the perfect time to start your potato tubers, plant asparagus roots, onion sets, leek plants and pea seeds. Get these going now so you can enjoy them before the weather gets too hot. Grab those broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprout starter plants at the nursery. Many of the greens are great to get going like arugula, spinach, kale, collards and chard. Just be prepared to cover some of these if the weather threatens their happiness. Like the peas, sugar snap and English, some plants prefer to be started outdoors in their final home. I put beets, turnips, radish, parsnips and carrots in this group. A few tips, soak the beet and spinach seeds in water for an hour before planting and use an inoculant on your peas to get them growing faster and increasing their yields.
seeds evenly moist while they are germinating. Place the container in a location where air temperature will remain above 70°F until the seeds germinate. As the new leaves emerge check the soil moisture level and remove the covering. At this point good air circulation and adequate light are as critical as moisture. I use a small fan at a low speed in the room with the seedlings and keep the new plants within 6 inches of my light source. If using a sunny window, rotate the plants every morning and evening to keep them from bending over, and add an extra light on the inside of the room to insure strong stocky growth rather than weak leggy stretched seedlings. Please read the instructions on the individual seed packets for any special conditions or treatments that will optimize your seedlings growth and development into plants. 123rf.com
M
by Steffie Littlefield
After the second set of leaves has grown, you should fertilize with a half strength dilution of your favorite indoor plant food. Remember to use organic fertilizer if your goal is to grow organic plants for your vegetable or herb garden. When your thriving young plants seem to dry out every day, it is The rest of the vegetable garden can be started in the time to replant them into larger pots. I like to repot them into basement. When the weather is cold I wander to the 3-4” pots and let them grow even more roots before making basement where I have my seeds, seed starting mix and the transplant outdoors. fluorescent lights to keep me company. The next best thing to gardening outside is gardening inside. Here I can start all As the days become longer and warmer you can start to those interesting and delectable tomatoes, peppers, crazy acclimate your new plants to the outdoors. Take them outside eggplants, and start okra. I do leave the beans, cucumbers for only a few hours at a time at first, working up to a half and squash to plant directly in the ground when the weather day by the end of the first week. Do not leave them out over is warm enough. All the fun greens and lettuces can be night until temperatures are above 60°F at night. Check with started inside on a rotating schedule to refill your garden plot your individual seed packet before planting into the garden. as you harvest. I love to dream about the new spring garden Some varieties love to grow in cooler soil temperatures, but while I plant seeds and tend sprouts. Starting seeds indoors others will stop growing and may even decline if the garden soil is not warm enough. is fun, economical, and simple enough to be kid friendly. To grow plants for my garden I use 6-pack trays in holeless trays with a clear dome and a sterile seed starting mix. You may choose to recycle your plastic egg cartons as seed-starting trays or buy plantable pots. Just be sure your containers are clean by washing them in vinegar and disinfectant before filling with the seed starting mix. The process of germinating seeds and growing seedling plants indoors is fairly simple. Pre-wet the seed starting mix to make it easier to handle and fill the trays nearly to the top. Place 1-3 seeds on the surface and press into the soil, cover lightly with additional soil, mist with water and cover with a clear top. Covering the container will keep the soil and therefore 16
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.
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Choosing the Right Rose: Own-Root vs. Budded by Diane Brueckman
trees and roses. It was discovered that a plant’s size and vigor could be controlled by the rootstock used. For instance, many dwarf fruit trees are dwarf because of the root stock used when budding the plant. The same is true of roses. Species roses grow in many diverse climates and soils. So budding was a way to grow a plant that may not be totally happy out of its natural habitat with increased vigor and health Many hybrid tea roses, such as ‘Peace’, were in a wider range of conditions. once commonly only sold as grafted, or budded, roses. Now, they are available from companies like In the United States, the most common root stock used is ‘Dr. Heirloom Roses, as own-root, virus-free roses. Huey’, a once-blooming red rose with a large habit. Many gardeners come to me and ask why their beautiful yellow hybrid tea came back as a red rose after a hard winter. In fact what has happened is the bud-union died and the root stock is growing and blooming. Dr. Huey is a very vigorous rose. In Great Britain a popular root stock is Rosa canina or the dog rose, which is native to the British Isles. In Florida, Rosa fortuniana root stock makes growing roses possible in the Florida soil. Heirloom Roses
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hen selecting roses for your garden, look at own-root vs. budded. Own-root roses are rooted cuttings and budded roses are grafted on root stock. In other words a bud from say the ‘Peace’ rose is grafted onto a root stock of another rose such as ‘Dr. Huey’. In the past, it was almost impossible to find own-root hybrid teas, floribundas or grandifloras. The rose hybridizers and production companies have started to study the sustainability of own-root roses. Budding has been a production method for a couple of centuries. Early plantsmen used budding to produce fruit
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I have found roses, especially the older cultivars that had been in the ground many years, had actually grown their own roots. We plant the bud union or graft an inch or two below ground and sometimes a root grows from the bud union, or a basal will come up through the soil and sprout a root. It’s a reverse YOUR TREES DESERVE THE BEST CARE sucker instead of the root stock sending up canes the desired rose sends out roots. This is a good thing.
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There are advantages and disadvantages to both propagation methods. When we visited Will Radler at his “test garden,” he held up a very dead own-root plant and said, “See, ownroot does not guarantee a
The Gateway Gardener™ MARCH 2020
rose will live” and that is true, any rose can die. The big advantage to own-root is when it dies back to the ground in winter what comes back will be the rose you planted. I had 2 roses that looked very bad in my garden mostly because the roses surrounding them were crowding them out. I dug them out only to have a root left behind sprout a new plant. The own-root roses on the market today have been tested for health and vigor and typically are better than the budded plants of the same cultivar. A disadvantage to own-root is they are usually smaller than a rose of the same age and cultivar as the budded version of the rose but they catch up in size in a year. More and more hybrid teas, floribundas and grandifloras are offered as own-root. The biggest selection of own-root roses are miniatures and shrub roses. In fact, I would recommend only buying own-root in those classes unless there is a rose you really want and you can’t find it other than budded. This brings me to why some roses are only budded. Many of the old garden roses and species roses such as R. gallica and R. rugosa sucker so uncontrollably that it is impractical to grow them as own-root. We had a rugosa hybrid ‘William Baffin’ that was as hardy as a rose could be in St. Louis. When I started at the Botanical Garden this rose was in the shrub border and had taken over a large portion of the border, and in Gladney Rose Garden it sent suckers from the climber bed into the
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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A couple of advantages to own-root roses are, first, by not having a root stock that is a different rose than the hybrid you bought, it will not die back in winter and come back as ‘Dr. Huey’. Second, planting the own-root rose is easier because there is no bud union to protect in winter. You plant the rose with crown just below the surface of the soil. A budded rose must have the bud union planted an inch or two below the surface of the soil.
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To answer that question I must go back to the early days of rose production. Budded roses were thought to be stronger than own-root roses and in some ways that is true. The earlier hybrid roses were selected for their beautiful color and flower form not for hardiness and disease resistance. Also mass production of roses for the commercial market was faster and easier by budding. It is only recently that big rose growers have started to test their new introductions as own-root before introducing them into the market.
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to Ti m e e h t is CH r. our M A R P l a n Y a ke o ve M ! pe Help dsca Lan We Can
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next bed. I spent a lot of time and energy removing the interlopers and eventually took out all of the ‘William Baffin’ plants. The same is true of R. gallica. If you want to grow some of the many beautiful cultivars of R. gallica I would suggest looking for budded.
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Dig This!
Gateway Gardeners and Businesses in the News Water Garden Society Honors Member
The St. Louis Water Garden Society (SLWGS) honored several members at its annual banquet last December. Tonya Summers, co-owner of Chalily Water Gardens and a member of SLWGS, was awarded the Society’s Ganin Service Award for service beyond the call of Tonya Summers duty for the Society. The award honors Dan and Lizanne Ganim. Tonya has served as the Society’s Hospitality and Special Events Chairperson, ensuring good food at meetings, organizing trips and planning the annual banquet. The Society’s Bonnie Alford Service Award, honoring the founder of the SLWGS and awarded to a person who has been a member of the society for at least three years and has made measurable and significant contributions to SLWGS, was granted to Kay Miskell. For several years, Kay has managed and coordinated the maintenance work at the Forest Park Jewel Box Lily Pond. The Society’s Spirit Service Award was presented to Carol Greminger for stepping up to be a board member and for enthusiastically promoting the Society and sharing her water garden with visitors, as well as doing whatever needs to be done for Society projects willingly and happily. The award honors member Ray Mueller, and recognizes members who show exceptional spirit in volunteer work, and who inspires others to do the same. The St. Louis Water Garden Society is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Pond-O-Rama water garden tour this summer.
Creve Coeur Honors Volunteers
In December 2019 the volunteer group “Team Tappmeyer” was awarded “Citizens of the Year” by the city of Creve Coeur. The group has volunteered at Millennium Park for 10 seasons, amassing 4,600 volunteer hours since its formation. The volunteers removed honeysuckle and other invasives from 20
the forest by the Tappmeyer house, reseeding with native plants. A grant was awarded to the volunteers from Deercreek W a t e r s h e d Alliance to create Left to right: Kathy Kruger, Jim a rain garden Graham, Claire Chosid (volunteer and bioswale. lead) Alan Raymond, Mara Volunteers tend Berry, Matt Broderick. Missing to a vegetable from photo- Elisabeth Laspe, garden, donating Pournima Chiwame, George produce to Circle Dirkers. of Concern and Harvey Kornblum Food Pantry. Additionally, a Native Demonstration Garden was created in 2016 after honeysuckle and callery pear were removed from the north edge of the park. The demonstration garden is a work in progress, entering its 4th year of expansion.
St. Louis Landscape Designer’s Featured on Cover of New Book
Work
In his second book, Landscape Planting Design, UK-based landscape architect Cannon Ivers explores projects that use planting as a central feature in the concept and execution of public space. St. Louisbased garden designer, Adam Woodruff’s work is featured prominently on the cover of Ivers’ new book. Landscape Planting Design highlights twenty-seven excellent landscape projects from around the world, all recently completed in which plants play an important role. With photos, drawings, design narratives and in-depth analysis of the configurations and plantings, Ivers teaches how to select appropriate plants based on local climate, topography, ecology, surrounding environment and other conditions and specific requirements. Adam Woodruff’s project, Jones Road, is a grand stylized prairie, enveloping a homestead in rural, The Gateway Gardener™ MARCH 2020
central Illinois. The property was originally turf, with few trees and a swimming pool surrounded by a pouredconcrete patio. Woodruff used native and ornamental grasses as the foundation of his naturalistic design, a matrix through which shrubs, perennials, natives and bulbs emerge. The feeling is spontaneous and natural. The new garden complements the house, linking it to the borrowed landscape, and bringing nature to the client’s doorstep. Landscape Planting Design by B. Cannon Ivers and published by Design Media Publishing (UK) Ltd. will be released March 1, 2020. It is available for preorder online at www.amazon.com. You can learn more about Adam Woodruff at www. adamwoodruff.com.
Local Horticulture Students and Professional Leaders Honored Several area horticulture students and professionals have been honored at recent green industry meetings.
At last winter’s Missouri Green Industry Conference (MoGIC), the Missouri Green Industry Alliance (MoGIA) announced winners of its 2019 MoGIA Education Foundation Scholarships. Kyndra Chastain, a Plant Science/Horticulture student at Missouri State University, was awarded MoGIA’s 4-year Academic Scholarship. Kyndra is currently working on getting her Bachelor of Science Kyndra Chastain in Plant Science - Horticulture with plans to enroll in MSU’s Accelerated Master’s Program and receive her Masters in Entomology. Her goal is to become a professor with a Ph.D. and work to guide students as her advisors and professors have done for her. She currently works at the MSU Fruit Station Lab dealing with both horticulture and entomology experiments. If it were not for this job, she would never have discovered her love for the scientific relationship between insects and plants. Julia Schumake, a horticulture student at St. Louis Community College—Meramec, was awarded the group’s 2-year MoGIA Academic Scholarship. Julia began the horticulture program while working as an occupational therapist with the intention to integrate gardening into her career as a therapist. With each class she takes at STLCC Meramec she feels a strong calling to change careers and work full-time in the green industry. She is passionate about learning how plants can help heal our planet
MARCH 2020
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through techniques such as phytoremediation and stabilization, and how they can also help to heal individuals through therapeutic application. She hopes to share her passion with others by becoming an educator and participating in left to right: Jerry Pence (SLCC), Bill Ruppert (MoGIA), research. Julia Schumake, and Eric
Zachary Ignotz, a Lovelace. (MoGIA). Plant Science student at University of Missouri-Columbia, received the group’s Lobenstein/Hort Science Academic Scholarship. Zachary is currently employed as a landscape designer for Tiger Design at the University. Prior to starting his degree program, he served our country in the United States Marine Corp. He currently serves as President of the Mizzou Student Veterans Association on Left to right: Rebecca campus. Upon graduation, he Hankins (MoGIA), plans to work for several years Zachary Ignotz, and as a landscape designer then Tim Moloney (U. of apply for a graduate program Missouri). in Landscape Architecture. As a landscape architect, he hopes to design and build municipal parks and to educate the public about the benefits of green spaces and outdoor activity. In January at the annual Western Trade Show in Kansas City, Missouri, the Western Landscape and Nursery Association (WLNA), presented two awards to professional plants people in the St. Louis region. Jennifer Schamber, manager of Jennifer Schamber, Greenscape Gardens and and MoGIA President Gifts, was one of two people Eric Lovelace. honored with the organization’s Outstanding State Leader Award. Roman Fox, of Forest Park Forever, was honored with the Employee of the Year Award. Congratulations to all! Roman Fox and Supervisor Shawnell Faber, Forest Park Forever.
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Upcoming Events gardening activities. Builder’s Home & Garden Show, America’s Center, St. Louis.
CLASSES, LECTURES AND EVENTS
Updates to this information are often posted on our online events calendar at 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 May issue is April 1st. How to reach us: Mail: PO Box 220853 St. Louis, MO 63122 Email: info@gatewaygardener. com Phone: 314-968-3740
GARDEN CLUBS AND PLANT SOCIETIES
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. Or call us and we’ll get the information to you.
FUN FOR KIDS March 7th 9am—Children’s Garden ClubGetting Ready for Spring. FREE, no reservations required, everyone welcome. Sherwood’s Forest Nursery & Garden Center, 2651 Barrett Station Rd., (314) 9660028. 10-11am—First Saturday Kids. Make a flower paperweight. Please call to sign up. Hillermann Nursery & Florist, 636-239-6729, www. hillermann.com. March 5th-8th Children’s Garden Club at the Home and Garden Show. Visit their booth #4013 for children’s
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Now through March 22nd 9am-5pm—Annual Orchid Show. Features 500 blooming orchids from one of the world’s premier orchid collections. The Orchid Show is the only time of year when a vast, rotating selection of orchids from the Garden’s collection is available for public viewing. Orthwein Floral Display Hall at Missouri Botanical Garden. March 1st-31st Honeysuckle Sweep Month— Area conservation organizations join together to spotlight invasive bush honeysuckle and the need to remove it so that large swaths of land can become productive areas for native habitat, recreation and enjoyment. To that end, organizations will host public events and volunteer removal days. Visit https://tinyurl.com/z2deqb3 for information. March 2nd-7th Soil Testing Blitz. MU Extension in St. Louis County is partnering with local garden centers and other green businesses to provide multiple locations for residents and landscape professionals to drop off a soil sample for testing services by MU Extension. Drop off 2-3 cups of soil sample at one of the sponsoring locations, register your sample online, make a payment and in approximately 2 weeks, you’ll receive an analyzed report with recommendations on how to improve your soil health. Cost $25. Details will be provided on how to make payment when dropping off soil For information and how to take an accurate sample, go to tinyurl.com/2020SoilHealthBlitz. March 4th Gateway Green Industry Conference. Attend sessions on a variety of topics including trees, shrubs, diseases and pests in the
landscape, and more. Informative program for advanced gardeners and people working in the horticultural industry. Call 618344-4230 for more information or email pstanton@illinois.edu. March 5th 1-6pm—Social Justice in Horticulture Conference. Raise awareness about social justice issues surrounding equity, diversity and inclusion in the green industry. An amazing lineup of speakers includes professors and industry professionals alike who are making change happen in St. Louis. St. Louis Community College-Meramec (in the theater). Free, must register at https:// tinyurl.com/wcc354a. March 5th-8th Under the Big Top: A Standard Flower Show. That’s the theme for this year’s edition of the annual flower show and competition, held at the Home Builders Show in America’s Center, St. Louis.The deadline for entries is March 5th. Flower Show boot is #4001. For complete rules and regulations, GatewayGardener.com/flowershows/rules. March 6th-8th Art in Bloom. The St. Louis Art Museum’s annual festival of fine art and fresh flowers. Open to the public every day at 10am. Touring the galleries is free, but tickets are required for some programs. Go to slam.org/bloom for more information. March 7th Partners for Native Landscaping. Keynote presenter is Doug Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home and the newly published Nature’s Best Hope. Other breakout sessions to be announced. Native plants for sale, and vendors from various organizations on hand to answer questions about native gardening and related topics. Maryland Heights Community Center. For registration and more information, visit www.stlouisaudubon.org.
8-11am—Hillermann Nursery and Florist Career Fair. Join us at this event to fill out an application and get an interview with one of our managers. Applications are also available at our location during open hours. Hillermann Nursery & Florist, (636) 239-6729, www.hillermann.com. March 7th 9:30-10:30am—Beginning Perennial Gardening. Learn how to design successful perennial gardens that will suit the existing conditions of your own yard. Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood. FREE, no reservations required. 2020 Weekend Gardener. Attend sessions on a variety of topics including cover crops, gardening with natives, pruning, and much more. Informative program for beginning gardeners and more advanced gardeners. Registration information is available 618-9393434. March 7th and 21st 10am-Noon—A Fungus Among Us: Mushroom Production for the Home Gardener. This beginner’s workshop will cover growing shiitake and oyster mushrooms for the home gardener. This is a handson workshop. Each participant will receive a 3-4 ft. long inoculated log and oyster mushroom quick kit. Registration: $30 online at https:// tinyurl.com/fungusamongus2020 or call (618) 653-4687 or email mccullyheritage@gmail.com. MuCully Heritage Project, 592 Crawford Creek Rd., Kampsville, IL. March 10th and 14th 9:30-10:30am—To Prune or Not to Prune. And the Right Way to Do it. Learn the correct timing and techniques to prune the various Hydrangea cultivars and other shrubs for maximum blooming. Rejuvenating tired old shrubs will also be discussed. Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood. FREE, no reservations required.
The Gateway Gardener™ MARCH 2020
March 14th 8:30am-3:30pm—Sustainable Garden & Kitchen Seminar. Topics include Reducing the Carbon Footprint of your Home and Garden, Seed Starting, Designing a Native Garden, and more. Produced by MU Extension. Parkway Northeast Middle School, 181 Couer De Ville Dr., Creve Coeur, 63141. $50. Register by 3/11/20 at https://tinyurl.com/stkvs33, or call 314-400-2115. March 15th 2-4pm—Starting a Backyard Rose Garden. Diane Brueckman, Missouri Botanical Garden Rosarian Emeritus and Gateway Gardener contributor, will talk about how to start a rose garden in your backyard. With new, modern disease-resistant varieties, rose gardening is easier than ever. Join Diane and members of the St. Louis Rose Society and learn how! Missouri Botanical Garden Commerce Bank Center, 4651 Shaw Blvd., 63110. March 17th 10am-3pm—Equipment Demo Days. Join us to check out all our lines of outdoor equipment. Testdrive and find the mower that is right for you and check out all the handheld power tools we offer to make your outdoor jobs a breeze. Learn more about our brands including, ECHO, EGO, STIHL, Exmark, Toro, and Cub Cadet. Hillermann Nursery & Florist, 636-239-6729, www.hillermann. com.
March 17th and 21st 9:30-10:30am—Spring Gardening Tips. Guest speaker Karen Collins, author of Karen’s Garden Calendar, offers tips for early spring gardening. Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood. FREE, no reservations required. March 18th 6:30pm—Project Pollinator Anniversary Celebration. Celebrate the 4th anniversary of Project Pollinator, a joint initiative promoting an appreciation of all pollinators through education and creation of pollinator gardens. Learn why pollinators are important and how you can make a difference. Light refreshments will be served. All ages. Call 314-9943300 with questions. St. Louis County Library Headquarters, 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd. St. Louis. March 20th 7:30am-noon—Natives by Design: Nature at Your Doorstep. Featuring keynote speaker Kelly Norris and Dr. Sarah Lovell, plus buffet breakfast and exhibitor displays. Presented by GrowNative! Leclaire Room at Lewis and Clark Community College, NO Nelson Campus, 600 Troy Road, Edwardsville, IL, 62025. Go to www.grownative.org for information or to register. $30 regular admission, $20 students. March 21st 1-5pm—Wildwood Lawn & Garden Summit. An afternoon of educational sessions by area professionals on key lawn
and garden issues, including composting, deer-resistant planting, honeysuckle removal, native plant gardening and more. The event is free and open to all Wildwood residents and visitors. Registration is requested by visiting the cityofwildwood.com website or search your browser for “Wildwood Lawn & Garden Summit. Hosted by the City of Wildwood, local Wildwood business owners and the Wildwood Farms Community Garden. Wildwood City Hall, 16860 Main St., Wildwood, MO 63040. 636458-0440. March 24th 9:30am—Colorful Combinations to Light Up Your Shade Garden. Explore the ever-expanding selection of shade perennials, shrubs and annuals that will keep your shady garden full of color spring to frost. Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood. FREE, no reservations required. March 28th 10am-3pm—Spring Kick-off at Hillermanns. Kick off spring with this learning event at Hillermann’s! Informational booths for spring products will be available. Make-nTake Workshops (to be announced) starting hourly from 10-1. Check the website for updates and call us at 636-239-6729 to sign up. Hillermann Nursery & Florist, 636-239-6729, www.hillermann. com.
10am—Attracting and Keeping Bluebirds. Join naturalists Ann Earley and Bob Siemer to learn about bluebirds, attracting them and keeping them around. Informational handouts available and Q&A after the presentation. A related special will be available. $5 class fee. Call 636-239-6729 to sign up. Hillermann Nursery & Florist, 636-239-6729, www. hillermann.com. March 31st and April 2nd 9:30-10:30am—High Impact for Small Spaces. Discover landscape ideas to maximize the impact for smaller gardens and yards. Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood. FREE, no reservations required.
Note to Garden Clubs and Plant Societies Our website, GatewayGardener.com lists meeting locations and other details for many area garden centers and plant societies under the menu item “Find a Garden Club”. Please have someone from your group check it to make sure information is up to date and accurate, and email us at info@gatewaygardener. com with any updates or corrections. Thank you!
NEED A SPEAKER for your Garden Club or Group? Master Gardener Speakers Bureau volunteers are available to speak to garden clubs, church, civic and other groups. Choose from 53 programs, including A Dark Side to Winter Damage, Backyard Composting, Soil Preparation, Daylilies, Orchids, and more. Explore the complete list of topics at www.stlmg.org. Look for the Speakers Bureau tab in the top margin. (A $50 fee funds Master Gardener programming in our community.)
MARCH 2020
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Spring is here!
Ask your landscape contractor to spread STA-Certified Compost for your next project. Or visit one of our six area locations for the largest selection of STA-Certified Compost, Mulch Products and Soil Blends. VALLEY PARK, MO
PACIFIC, MO
ST. LOUIS, MO
FLORISSANT, MO
39 Old Elam Avenue 636.861.3344
18900 Franklin Road 636.271.3352
560 Terminal Row 314.868.1612
13060 County Park Road 314.355.0052
BELLEVILLE, IL
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO
ST. PETERS, MO
5841 Mine Haul Road 618.233.2007
11294 Schaefer Road 314.423.9035
1 Illy Drive 636.278.2035
Visit us online at www.stlcompost.com