The Gateway Gardener March 2024

Founded in 2005 by

Joyce Bruno & Robert Weaver

Publisher and Editor

Robert Weaver

Columnists

Jeanne Carbone

Missouri Botanical Garden

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

The editor’s daffodils ‘Rinjveld’s Early Sensation” on Feb. 15th, 16th and 18th. Winter lite.

As winters go, this was another mild one. We had a couple stretches of bitter cold, but lows above freezing for long periods mostly characterized the Winter of 202324. I’ll take it! I still like living in a region where we have 4 distinct seasons, but as my bones age a little more each year, one or two modest snows between November and March are plenty to fulfill the requirements of a winter season, thank you very much. As I write this in late February, we’ve just had a very pretty snowfall, weighing down some early blooming daffodils (the aptly named ‘Rinjveld’s Early Sensation’ for those wanting to know) for a day or two before melting away. Perfect! Okay, let’s bring on Spring!

Samantha Zale is ready for Spring, too, and points us in the direction of some of the earliest spring bloomers for our gardens and containers on page 8. Plus she adds some tips on some of the

chores we might put on our to-do lists to get our gardens off on the right note going into the 2024 season.

Abby Lapides begins with spring in her assessment of hardy plants (perennial herbaceous plants and woody shrubs) that can provide year-round cut flowers for arrangements. Hellebores start the season for both Samantha and Abby. Then Abby continues to offer other suggestions for Summer, Fall and Winter beauty as well. Check them out beginning on page 4.

Spring in the vegetable garden is more about planting than harvesting, but Steffie Littlefield features one of the earliest harvestable plants, asparagus, on page 14. Asparagus is a perennial plant, and it takes 2-3 years after planting to reap the first harvest, so don’t delay. Even at my advanced age, I think I might put in a few “crowns” this year and look confidently toward a future harvest. I want to see if home-

With the right plants and planning, you can create a cut flower garden to provide year-round beautiful bouquets. (Okay you may not find panicle hydrangeas like those on our cover in March, but read more on page 4 to find other options for spring and throughout the year.)

grown asparagus can win me over in the same way home-grown tomatoes did many years ago. If not, my wife likes it.

Before I go, I’d like to draw your attention to a few new advertisers who are seeking your business through their spots in these pages. Please welcome Rahm Landscaping (pg. 5), New Frontiers’ beautiful (and local!) greenhouses (pg. 9), and Purple Martin Garden Coaching (pg. 13). We encourage you to support ALL our advertisers, and know that you do so, as many of our advertising partners have been with us for most of our 19 years!

Earlier in February, the groundhog forecast an early spring. Let’s hope he’s right!

Happy Gardening!

Photo courtesy Proven Winners.

Create a Successive Cut Flower Garden With Hardy Plants

By Abby Lapides

Harvesting fresh flowers from the garden is one of the greatest joys of home gardening. With a little planning, enjoying fresh-cut flowers from early spring until a hard frost can be easy. Here, you will find hardy plants to fill your vase and garden with beautiful flowers.

Late Winter to earLy Spring

You don’t have to wait until the weather warms to start cutting treasures out of the garden. Sometimes flowering through the snow, Lenten roses provide early-season color in various shades. These long-lasting flowers are excellent cut and last weeks in the vase. ‘Pippa’s Purple’ delivers abundant outward-facing flowers with bright yellow centers.

Other early spring flowers – daffodils, forsythia, witch hazel.

Spring

With their jumbo-sized flowers, Peonies are the queens of cut flowers. ‘Raspberry Sundae’ delights with soft pink and yellow petals highlighted with a magenta overlay. This puff-type flower with sturdy stems excels as a cut flower. A gold standard for bouquets, German irises are a must for the cut flower garden. While we usually consider them only spring flowers, repeat blooming German iris also provide flowers for your vase in fall. With pure white flowers, ‘Immortality’ provides an abundance of large, ruffled blossoms in spring and again in late September.

Other spring flowers - columbine, bleeding hearts, lilacs, lily-ofthe-valley, pinks, and wild sweet William.

Summer

Beautiful in the garden, a vase, or dried, lavenders delight in the cut flower garden. A superior selection, ‘Super Blue’ produces armloads of intensely fragrant wands from early summer into fall. This extra-tough variety withstands cold winters, heat, and humidity.

Ball Horticultural Co.

Ball Horticultural Co.

Hellebore

‘Pippa’s Purple’

Peony ‘Raspberry Sundae’

Lavender ‘Super Blue’

Any type of hydrangea creates fabulous bouquets that are longlasting, but panicle hydrangeas are the cream of the crop for cut flowers. With huge white flowers that slowly fade to shades of pink and chartreuse, they stun in the garden. Cut them at any time of their bloom cycle- white when they are just opening, pink when they start to fade, or when they change to chartreuse or brown closer to winter. If dried, the flowers will keep for months. With its small stature and giant flowers, ‘Little Hottie’ stands out in the garden. Its voluptuous flowers create stunning bouquets. Unique rattlesnake master adds a striking contrast to the typical choices for arrangements. This Missouri native plant features ball-shaped flowers that emerge steel blue before fading to cream. Its lengthy stems and longevity in a vase make it an ideal cut flower. The spiky balls look excellent with narrow flower stalks like veronica or sage.

cont’d. on next page.

“In

FaLL

Anemone ‘Honorine Jobert’

Anemones create stunning fall displays. The long-blooming, long-stemmed, and long-lasting ‘Honorine Jobert’ will have you creating bouquets for weeks. Once cut, flowers can last almost two weeks in the vase.

In late summer and fall ornamental grasses take center stage in the garden with their magnificent plumes. Although their blossoms make stunning cut flowers, their leaf blades can also add considerable interest to cut flower arrangements. With its variegated foliage and almost neon purple flower stalks, ‘Chameleon’ little bluestem excels in the garden and bouquets. Other fall bloomers - black-eyed susans, chrysanthemums, sedums, asters, toad lilies.

Pick fragrant flowers in the early morning or late afternoon – the volatile oils that carry the scent evaporate in the sun. Place fresh cut stems into water immediately. Set flower arrangements away from direct sunlight and refresh water often to preserve bouquets longer.

Other summer flowers- garden phlox, daisies, perennial sunflower, roses, clematis, black-eyed susans, lilies, and blazing star.

Ball Horticultural Co.

Ann Lapides

Rattlesnake Master

Gardening 101 The Happiness of Spring!

By Samantha Zale

Welcome back to Spring 2024! One of the most beautiful things about this time of year is seeing plants beginning to push out from under the snow and leaves. When we see new foliage popping up, we get a sense of hope. Hope for a new year of growth, positivity and success. And success in the garden isn’t measured by how many vegetables are harvested or how many bulbs are planted. It is instead measured by the happiness that we receive from tending and nurturing our gardens. A few of the favorite early spring plants are pansies and hellebores. Despite the connotation that the name pansy may have, there is nothing weak about pansies at all. Along with hellebores, pansies are one of the first ones to bloom in the spring and many times these plants do well over the winter. These two are considered cool season plants, as they perform the best in the cooler months. In the summer months they will be somewhat inconspicuous as they conserve their energy by decreasing the number of blooms. Besides the vivid flowers of hellebores, they also have striking foliage that tends to be almost evergreen, even in the summer months. If the foliage on your hellebores gets damaged by winter cold, don’t worry—just prune out the brown leaves before new leaves appear in spring and they’ll look good as new!

Pansies tend to go more dormant in the summer but they do very

well in containers and are common accompaniments to porch pot arrangements in spring and fall.

One thing that is important to note is that while these two plants tend to put out the most blooms in the cooler months, they have a few differences. In the St. Louis area pansies are considered annuals or biennials, and hellebores are perennials. Perennials tend to come back year after year, whereas, annuals are typically bought new every year. What makes pansies unique is that depending on how extreme the summers and winters are they may go more dormant instead of dying and then wait for more favorable weather to come back. Pansies need full sun or as much sun as possible. Hellebores prefer more shade, particularly in the afternoon hours when the

Samantha Zale has degrees in Horticulture, Anthropology and Biomedical Science. She also manages front desk operations, customer support and is a content creator for Greenscape Gardens

Hellebores

Robert Weaver

Pansies in a Container

sun is the most intense. As far as watering is concerned for these it will largely depend on the weather, but generally speaking pansies will get thirstier the hotter it gets. Particularly, in the summer months pansies will need to be checked 3-4 times a week especially if there is no rain and they are in containers. Hellebores need to be checked at least 2 times a week in the most extreme times of the year, especially if they are newly planted.

Things that can be done in the garden in the early spring include prepping garden beds with some compost and fertilizers. Compost is beneficial because it helps to break up the clay in soils. Clay is a component in most area soil that can trap too much moisture and can lead to root rot. Compost also brings fresh nutrients into the soil helping new plantings. As far as fertilizers go, we need to look for some products that include mycorrhizae. Mycorrhizae are beneficial fungi that work synergistically with the plants root system to promote a healthy root system, more nutrient uptake and more overall growth. We also need to make sure that we are getting the correct product for the application. For example, when

planting pansies, we need to look for a product geared towards bloom production versus just an all-purpose product. While it’s not going to be detrimental if a plant gets an all-purpose fertilizer, it’s just not going to be optimized. There are a lot of fertilizers on the market that are geared to a particular application, such as trees & shrubs, tomatoes, berries or blooms. Because there are so many options, be sure to talk to the folks at your local garden center this month to get product and plant recommendations. Here’s to 2024, Happy Spring!

BEAUTIFUL • PRACTICAL • FUNCTIONAL WESTERN RED CEDAR GREENHOUSES WITH MAINTENANCE-FREE AZEK® EXTERIOR Available in Several Sizes

Ball Horticulre

25 Years Spreading Inspiration and Education

by Marsha Gebhardt, Wild Ones’ St. Louis Chapter President

Wild Ones St. Louis (STL) Chapter was founded by Scott Woodbury 25 years ago. Since then, it has been spreading inspiration and education like…well, like wildflowers! The tremendous growth in membership over the past five years mirrors the growth in native plant awareness and enthusiasm throughout the St. Louis region, and the entire country.

Wild Ones STL helped initiate and eagerly supports two sister chapters: the now-thriving Wild Ones St. Charles Area chapter, and the Southwestern Illinois seedling chapter. Wild Ones National has seen similar growth in the past five years; currently 9,000+ members, 100+ chapters, in 34 states.

What happened to cause such significant growth?

Increased awareness of the causes and effects of climate change has produced growth nationally and locally. Planting natives in one’s yard, and watching the resulting increase in wildlife, is something everyone can do to affect climate. There is nothing that is a better combination of pleasure and purpose!

increaSed eFFectiveneSS oF internet communicationS:

• Websites – Example, about 1,100 people subscribe to the Wild Ones STL Read All About It newsletter.

• Facebook pages – Example, about 2,500 followers receive alerts to current learning opportunities and activities on the Wild Ones STL page.

• Webinars – Many are provided by Wild Ones National, Partners for Native Landscaping, GrowNative!, Shaw Nature Reserve and others. Wild Ones STL puts recordings of the Winter Speaker Series on its YouTube channel.

increaSed avaiLabiLity oF native pLantS and SeedS:

• More nurseries and garden centers offer large and varied selections of native forbs, shrubs, and trees. Request them at places that aren’t ‘on board’ yet.

•More organizations sell natives. For example: Missouri Department of Conservation (bare root seedlings), Shaw Nature Reserve (each May & September) and Forest ReLeaf.

•Grants for native plants have increased. Example sources are Wild Ones STL, and Metropolitan Sewer District.

increaSed avaiLabiLity oF inFormation about native plants; how to grow them and why.

• Partners for Native Landscaping (PNL) provides an annual spring series of in-person and virtual learning opportunities. In 2023 there were 5,000+ views of the 10 webinars presented through St. Louis County Library. Go to the PNL website for 2024 events.

• Check out the many Resources on the websites of all the eight PNL partners. Partner names and links to their websites are found on the PNL website.

• Speakers – Garden clubs, schools, municipalities, etc., can easily find knowledgeable, engaging speakers. For example, Wild Ones STL has a Speakers Bureau, accessible on the website.

• More professional landscapers have developed great interest in and knowledge about designing, installing, and maintaining native plants. See the GrowNative! Resource Guide for an extensive list.

increaSed number oF pLaceS to See native LandScapeS:

• Public native gardens – For the St. Louis region, specifically, see the list in the Resource Guide on the PNL website. Also, each year GrowNative! adds five gardens to their Gardens of Excellence list which features gardens in the St. Louis region and beyond.

• Home gardens –A great opportunity to see a variety of native home gardens is the annual St. Louis Native Plant Garden Tour: an self-guided, 10yard tour presented by St. Louis Audubon Society and Wild Ones STL. Save the date, May 18, for this year’s Tour. And from April through October Wild Ones STL provides monthly Garden Gatherings in a native garden where members can observe, learn, ask questions, and connect with ‘their peeps’.

In addition to the hard-working board members and committee chairs, many of the 400+ Wild Ones STL members support the native landscaping mission within and beyond their own yards. This is true of people in other volunteer-reliant organizations. A few local examples are Master Naturalists, Master Gardeners, St. Louis Audubon/BCH, Forest ReLeaf, Brightside St. Louis, Shaw Nature Reserve.

5th anniversary

2003: 101

At the Wild Ones

1998: 25

STL anniversary celebration and annual seed exchange, many stood in answer to one or more of these questions: “How many of you… volunteer in a local organization emphasizing natives? …advocate and support projects in your local neighborhood/municipality? …offer your landscape for chapter Garden Gatherings and/ or St. Louis Native Plant Garden Tours? …share plants and/or seeds at our gatherings, through the St. Louis Native Plant Swap Facebook page and/or among friends, family and neighbors?”

25th anniversary

2023: 417

Today, thousands in our region are as busy as bees, spreading the pollen of native landscaping knowledge and inspiration. Here’s to the next 25 years!

2021: 300 (Largest in the U.S.)

15th anniversary

20013: 117

10th anniversary

2008: 91

20th anniversary 2018: 180 (fourth largest in U.S.)

Wild Ones’ St. Louis Chapter membership by year

Naturally Natives

Fearless Gardeners

Photos and text by Scott Woodbury

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 St. Louis. 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 by Tuesday before a sale, or pick from the selection at the market. April 6, 13, 20, 27, May 25 & June 1. 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Beyond Housing Headquarters, 6506 Wright Way, St. Louis 63121; Native Plant Fair/Sale. April 28 (Sunday), 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Shaw Nature Reserve, 307 Pineton Loop Rd, Gray Summit MO 63039. Event: “Shaw Nature Reserve Spring Wildflower Market,” May 4, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Member’s only sale Friday, May 3, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. www.shawnature.org.

Now OPEN at our Brazito (Jefferson City) location.

Some gardeners are absolutely fearless. They are the glass half-full gardeners. They add plants to the garden with a sense of design and “right plant-place” thinking. They are tinkerers and explorers at heart. They are nimble, bold, and don’t sweat the details. They amass plants quickly, adding them to the garden with impressive confidence, perhaps knowing—or betting—that some will land on good soil—that the plants will land next to a soulmate, and together, shine brightly. That the wildflowers, grasses, sedges, vines, shrubs, and trees they include in their landscapes will delight creatures great and small, and all will measure up in some way or another—even the ones that may not thrive or wither away. These gardeners dive into projects and generally don’t need or want much input. They learn by trial and error and adapt.

Other gardeners are, well, the opposite. Like Chris Pine singing “Agony” in the musical, Into the Woods: “When the one thing

you want is the only thing out of your reach.” These equivocal gardeners waffle like a squirrel on a busy street. To them, every plant acquisition is a research project. Caution, measure, and doubt are in these gardeners’ DNA. Glass half-empty gardeners. Of course, I’m exaggerating a little. But from meeting hundreds

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. Find suppliers of native plants and services, native garden plans, educational programs, and much more at grownative.org.

Ann Wakeman, a fearless gardener herself, was gathering ideas on the Grow Wild Garden Tour at Chan and Banti Mahanta’s garden.

Nathan Pate showed his fearless chops at an evening meeting of St. Louis Wild Ones.

of gardeners over the years, I’ve noticed both types of gardeners. For the agonized native gardener, may I offer you some free (or modestly priced) advice: check out the Grow Native! educational programs, Resource Guide, plant sales, garden information, and designs, all available at grownative.org.

If you live in the St. Louis area, I encourage you to join the St. Louis or St. Charles chapters of Wild Ones. Members of this national native landscaping organization can attend the annual seed swap, held every November, and visit member gardens each month. Members include veteran and beginner native gardeners who freely share their gardening concepts. They will reveal the gardening secrets of their successes (and failures) and have some fun in the process. Being a part of this group is a huge confidence builder for beginners.

You also might check out Benjamin Vogt’s new book, Prairie Up, an Introduction to Natural Garden Design. It is packed with native gardening advice gained from years of tinkering. He offers an easy-to-follow, step-by-step approach to doing away with the lawn and replacing it with a rich tapestry of native plants. He offers lots of free advice through his website at Monarch Gardens, and sells a cool t-shirt that reads “Make America Prairie Again.” Let’s do that!

If you want a free garden (or mostly free) and you live in St. Louis, The Deer Creek Watershed Alliance offers a small-grant program that funds homeowner rainscaping projects. So does the St. Louis Metro Sewer District (MSD) Project Clear. Check out

their websites for details and applications to apply.

It’s no wonder that some gardeners get nervous when it comes to choosing native plants. There are so many species to choose from and infinite ways to arrange them. I’ve been tinkering with them for decades, and believe me, we are barely scratching the surface of what is possible in the native garden.

My final word of advice to you, my dear gardeners, is to start adding more plants to your garden, even if it raises your anxiety level. By doing so, you will discover more than you can reading in books. There is no perfect plant, no perfect soil, no absolutely right or wrong way to pick and place plants in your garden. Sure, there are guidelines to follow, but there is more to gain by trying new things, new plants, new arrangements, and by pushing the limits of collective knowledge. That’s what fearless gardeners have discovered, and it’s my wish for you this new year.

Happy gardening, y’all!

Nathan and Julie Jacobs fearlessly allowed their landscape to be totally reshaped as winners of the Wild Ones Native Landscape Competition.

The Cornucopia Corner

Asparagus: King of the Garden

By Steffie Littlefield

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One of my favorite crops in the garden is Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis). It is so exciting in spring to be able to harvest something ready to take right to the table. The appearance of the fresh spears pushing out of the ground is so rewarding that it energizes any gardener to finish the spring planting. Asparagus spears are crisp, tender and flavorful. The asparagus harvest season lasts about 6 to 8 weeks, from late April to late June in Missouri. In the peak of asparagus season, asparagus spears can grow up to 2 inches per day, producing bountiful harvests for gardeners to enjoy. I grow several varieties of green and purple asparagus. I have to confess, the purple variety is so tender and prolific it is my favorite.

Asparagus is a unique edible plant. It is one of the few perennial vegetables grown in our area; others include horseradish and rhubarb. I first planted asparagus in 1990 in my newly established vegetable garden at Edg-Clif Farms and have replanted when

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.

Green asparagus

plants have thinned a few times since. It has been amazing to harvest boundless amounts of spears for over 30 years.

The edible parts of the plant are called the spears and are technically the young shoots of the plant. The spears emerge from underground buds at the base of the root system called “crowns.” You can start asparagus from seed or from one-year-old crowns. If spears are left to grow, they will develop tiny leaves and are called ferns. It is important to only harvest the spears for two months instead of the entire season because the plants need time for the ferns to grow and build up energy for the next year. Asparagus grows best in well-drained soils and does not tolerate extremely acidic soils. It can grow in heavy, medium, or sandy soils, if the soils are well-drained and do not exhibit pooling water after rains. The accepted method of planting is to dig a trench 10-12” deep, add compost, place the crowns with the roots spread out on the compost and then cover with a few inches of soil and compost mix. Crowns grow vertically and horizontally, so planting at the right depth is important. Remember your asparagus plants will be growing in the same spot for many years so choose a sunny spot to the north side of your garden so the maturing ferns in summer do not shade other plants. I take plant compatibility very seriously and alternate my asparagus beds with my tomato rows so that I get the benefits of companion planting since “asparagus loves tomatoes”.

Keep the bed evenly moist and add more soil as the thin spears grow until the bed is raised an inch or so above the surrounding garden area. You will begin harvesting two years after planting crowns, and three years after planting seeds. I have been using

a method of mulching my beds with straw to a depth of 6” to prevent weeds and provide a compost source. This is helpful for the established asparagus patch since it provides added organic matter as the hay breaks down. Always water the asparagus beds when watering the garden even after the harvest season to insure root growth and development for a productive season the next year.

Do not use any fertilizer containing a herbicide (such as a “Weed and Feed” product), as it may kill your vegetable plants.

Purple asparagus

Steffie Littlefield

St. Louis Hort History

by Maureen Wuelling,Passiglia Social Media & Events Coordinator

Passiglia Landscape Nursery & Garden Center

74 Years of Passion for Plants, Landscapes and People

Chris Passiglia, now the sole owner of Passiglia Landscape, Nursery & Garden Center, was born into the nursery business learning the trade side-by-side with his father, uncle, and brothers. His father Peter and Uncle John began the business as a produce and nursery retailer in 1950 on Broadway next to Produce Row in St. Louis. They had a small lot selling shrubs, fruits, vegetables, and flowers. During the holiday season, they were the place “to go” to get Christmas Trees. In 1974, the nursery moved out to Ellisville in the West County area where Chris, now old enough to work with the family, began his true education. After their father retired, Joe, Pete and Chris moved the business in 1990 to its current location in Wildwood, where they expanded, filling the 10-acre nursery with beautiful trees, shrubs, and flowers. This is where Chris introduced and developed the landscape design and installation part of the business more than thirty years ago. Adding a distinctive style and talent in his designs has made Chris a prominent landscape design leader in St. Louis.

The youngest of the third generation carrying on the business, Chris Passiglia has transformed the nursery into Passiglia Landscape Nursery & Garden Center. Chris continues to update, renovate, and modify the

nursery into the location for quality, beauty, and service. Getting the word out and making a huge presence on social media and other platforms has been the focus in letting people know the transformation Passiglia has taken.

“Our mission is to provide our customers with the highest quality material that is displayed and maintained meticulously by passionate horticulturally minded individuals, who truly care about the customer’s success and are mindful of their investment. To provide our landscape clients with innovative designs and professional services using quality products. We are committed to each individual client with attention to detail, timely communication, and superior customer service. We promise unmatched service and delivery for all outdoor living needs.”

The staff at Passiglia has many years of experience and knowledgeable and is ready to help, train and teach clients, customers, and new staff members so they are better prepared for success. Classes and workshops are scheduled throughout the year on location, along with special events and festivals. Entering the second year of producing the TO THE ROOT podcast, we will begin streaming and uploading videos and demos to go along

An illustration of Passiglia’s original location next to Produce Row in the 1950s.

On the left and right respectively, founders John and Peter Passiglia, shown with a cousin, Johnny Passiglia, in an early photo.

with our tips, advise, and stories with host Julie Evans Straatmann, co-host Bo Matthews and other special guests.

Chris, his designers, and team of installers work to ensure the client has the best possible experience from start to finish with their landscape projects. The teams enjoy collaborating with the clients to make sure the project reflects the client’s dream and is an original, one-of-a-kind design. “We want our customers to have the best experiences, products and services possible. A finished landscape that reflects clients’ dreams, and surpasses their expectations of beauty and function, is our mission and passion,” adds Chris. Chris’ son, Cameron Passiglia, fourth generation of the Passiglia family, is continuing in the horticulture trade. Working the various aspects of the business including both the landscape and the retail divisions for six years. His hands-on experience in the field and on the nursery lot gives the staff at Passiglia Landscape Nursery & Garden Center confidence and pride, as Cameron learns

the business. Cameron has served in plant health/ maintenance and sales at the nursery and is currently gaining experience in the Landscape Department. Visit this nursery and talk with the staff - you will get a full botanical garden experience. Beautiful displays and well-organized layout make you want to take your time and ‘stop and smell the roses’. On their website you can view incredible landscape projects and review the calendar of classes and events scheduled for the year. Passiglia Landscape Nursery & Garden Center is easy to find and well worth the adventure.

Brothers Pete, left, and Chris Passiglia carried on the nursery tradition from the 1st and 2nd generations. Pete is now retired and helps out occasionally, while Chris carries the family tradition into the future, with the help of fourth generation Passiglias including his son, Cameron.

Today’s staff at Passiglia’s Landscape Nursery & Garden Center.

Planting Seeds:

The Green House Venture Introduces Grade Schoolers to Urban Ecology and Growing text and photos provided by Green House Venture

We seek to educate, excite, and equip an inclusive population of elementary students to pursue a sustainable world through hands-on experiences in bio-science and urban agriculture.

In the heart of St. Louis’s Shaw neighborhood, a stretch of highway embankment along Interstate 44 has been transformed into an innovative laboratory where hundreds of elementary-school students learn about ecology and sustainable growing, working alongside scientists seeking ways to convert roadsides into pollinator-friendly habitats.

Called the Embankment Greenway, this 3.7-acre ‘classroom by the highway’ is part of the campus of the Green House Venture, a non-profit STEM education initiative that teaches science, growing, and nutrition to students in grades 4-6 at nearby neighborhood schools. According to Donald Stump, the Curriculum Director, “The Greenway provides a fascinating place where children can start seeds, carry out experiments, and explore subjects from soil composition and plant chemistry to ecology and the great cycles of nature.”

At the heart of the Embankment is a Terrace Garden where students are learning to cultivate edible plants for food. Surrounding it is a restored expanse of native Missouri prairie that serves as the Venture’s Pollinator Recovery Habitat. There, the Bee Laboratory of St. Louis University is conducting a first-in-the-nation study of ways to reverse the decline of native pollinator populations in the Midwest by focusing on repopulating roadsides with native bees and flowering plants. The study is being undertaken in response to Federal highway legislation calling on states to follow pollinator-friendly practices in managing roadside vegetation.

Tom Purcell, President, Green House Venture

Venture educators have developed two types of special equipment called Discovery Stations to introduce young students to bioscience and urban agriculture in fresh ways. One is a computerassisted growing chamber capable of controlling the color, duration and frequency of lighting; the watering cycle; the flow of air; and the injection of precise doses of nutrients at specified times in an eight-week growing cycle.

Students walk on the Embankment Greenway in search of seeds dispersed in a variety of ways.

Scott Woodbury, a volunteer instructor, teaches students about pollinators and the plants that attract them along the embankment.

Students harvest vegetables they planted in the Terrace Garden and package them to take home.

Located in the hallways of participating schools, the chambers allow not only the children conducting the experiments but also those passing by to watch plants grow and to learn from signage the implications of what is going on in the chamber. In that way,

many learn and gain first-hand experience what it is to be a scientist.

The other main kind of equipment employed by the Venture is the cold frame. To extend the growing season, students try out various designs, practicing their building skills and analyzing the effects of special features such as a double-paned plastic shell, a reflective back, compost heaters, or a thermal ballast. These

‘little greenhouses’ are equipped with Bluetooth hygrometers and thermometers to broadcast data to staff, teachers, family members, and anyone else in range.

The students have several Spring planting activities underway. Having already sprouted various edible species in growing chambers, they will soon be transplanting them into cold frames and gathering data on conditions inside. As the danger of frost passes, the children will seed the remaining areas of the terrace, experimenting with worm towers to turn compost into fertilizer. A scientist from the Danforth Science Center will lead sixth-graders in a citizen-scientist research project to identify mutant strains of corn that are promising for harsh environments.

Finally, in May, classes will take field trips to the Pollinator Habitat to study the more than thirty species of wildflowers involved in the bee study. Visits will include side-lessons on seed dispersal and the herbs and native Missouri plants being cultivated in the Terrace Garden by the Wild Ones and the Missouri Master Gardeners. Experience with indigenous and African American crops will also be available in terraces planted by Harris Stowe State University and a collaborative of the St. Louis Zoo and the Coahoma Nation.

Across from the Embankment at Lawrence and De Tonty is the site of the Venture’s long-planned Education Center. A 9,000 square foot, state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor facility, it is designed as a hub for hands-on experiences in bio-science and urban agriculture. Included will be an aquaponic greenhouse, a trellis and green-wall courtyard, and a soilless rooftop growing area. It will also feature advanced technology to allow programming to be streamed to schools around the region and beyond. Fundraising to build the $4.7 million facility is now in its public phase.

Volunteers interested in assisting the Venture in its many planning, teaching, growing, administrative, and building activities are encouraged to contact Donald Stump (at stump@slu.edu). Donations to support the Venture’s work and build the Education Center can be made at www. greenhousestl.org/growing-forward/

NEED A SPEAKER?

Master Gardener Speakers Bureau volunteers are available to speak to garden clubs, church, civic and other groups.

Choose from 46 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.)

A teacher guides budding scientists in measuring the growth pf plants raised in the Computerized Growing Chamber.

Students rub lavender plants in the Herb Garden to help determine the type of herb.

Therapeutic Horticulture

Random Moments of Wonder in Nature

By Jeanne Carbone

Nature provides us with the opportunity to experience wonder anytime, any place, any season. As much as we lament the cold and sometimes dreariness of winter, it is a season which brings its own manner of wonder. Paying particular attention to the shape and form of trees before leaves appear brings an appreciation of their strength and immensity. Exploring the detritus at your feet can provide an awareness of what nature leaves behind. The Therapeutic Horticulture team of the Missouri Botanical Garden offers opportunities and suggestions for how to use this awareness to connect more deeply with nature.

Therapeutic Horticulture at Large is the newest endeavor of the team to engage with visitors to the Garden and help foster that sense of wonder. Beginning in the fall of last year, we offered the public the chance to contribute to a nature mandala, provided opportunities for multi-sensory exploration of natural found objects, and to weave the colors of winter into a community tapestry. These experiences were designed to encourage that radical amazement children share every time they find something new on the ground; can’t you just hear the “Look at this!!”

Creating art in nature, with your only tools being what is under your feet, means looking at a leaf or an acorn or an osage orange as just the tool you need to make the art piece perfect. Anyone can have these same experiences anywhere in nature. Visit your local park, Forest Park, your backyard and slow down, pay attention to the details in what is all around and surprise yourself with an artistic creation to leave for others. Or take the time to use each of your senses to connect with a leaf or the bark of a

tree. What did you notice that you never noticed before?

TH at Large will continue at the Garden at random times but most often on Wednesday mornings, when admission is free to City and County residents. If you are on grounds, seek us out and find out how we can help you experience wonder.

Well-being Week, a special effort of the Therapeutic Horticulture team, will take place the week of March 18th. Engaging activities will be available, as well as suggestions to deepen your connection with nature as you walk the Garden. Hope to see you then.

Jeanne Carbone is the Supervisor of Therapeutic Horticulture at the Missouri Botanical Garden. She has a Master’s degree in Education with an emphasis on Outdoor Education, and holds a certificate in Horticulture Therapy from Chicago Botanic Garden. She has been involved in this work for 10 years.

Dig This!

Gateway Gardeners and Businesses in the News

IN MEMORIAM

The gardening world lost an avid enthusiast and supporter during our long Winter publishing hiatus. Ann Case passed away on November 2nd, 2023. She was a community volunteer, especially with the Missouri Botanical Garden, where she donated her time and experience for over 50 years. She was an avid gardener and conservationist. She also served on boards of The Missouri Chapter of the Nature Conservancy as Treasurer; Ladue Garden Club and made an Honorary Member in 2020; Webster Groves Men’s Garden Club, as first woman President; The St. Louis Herb Society, as Treasurer, then Membership Chairman, and assisted with editing of three books published by the Herb Society, finally being made an Honorary Member; Members’ Board of Missouri Botanical Garden where she was honored by having a daylily Hemerocallis “Ann Case” named for her; St. Louis Master Gardeners; Junior League of St. Louis; Landmarks Association; The Woman’s Exchange of St. Louis and the Friends Committee of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

“Ann Case became a master gardener in 1988,” wrote Holly Records, Master Gardener Coordinator, in a note to Master Gardeners, “and she was truly one of the best. Ann volunteered with the Horticulture Answer Service, at the Plant Doctor desk, served on the MBG Member’s Board, was a member of the Master Gardener AC, and a Garden Docent. Ann loved nature with the possible exception of squirrels. Anyone who knew Ann had probably heard about her battles with the squirrels in her backyard. I will think of Ann every time I see a squirrel. Ann really was a Master gardener.”

NEW BOARD MEMBER FOR GREEN HOUSE VENTURE

The Green House Venture recently announced that Kurt Keister has joined its board of directors. Keister is a professional landscape designer and project manager with Garden Oasis Landscaping in St. Louis, where he has planned, designed, and managed the development of a wide variety of residential landscape and hardscape projects for the past 13 years. He also teaches Hardscaping at the Missouri Botanical Garden and is a volunteer in their Senior Outreach Program.

Keister holds a Master Gardener Certification from the University of Missouri-Extension and the Missouri Botanical Garden.

“We are fortunate to have someone with Kurt’s impressive credentials join our board and help us continue to grow our plant-based STEM educational programs for urban elementary school students,” said Tom Purcell, President of Green House Venture. “His extensive knowledge of plant species, climate, soil, and sun exposure will be particularly helpful as we study a variety of food crops at our outdoor Embankment Greenway educational laboratory and address critical challenges facing urban communities and disadvantaged youth, including poor nutrition and dietetics.”

Keister earned a BA in Communications & Marketing at the University of Missouri – Kansas City.

See page 18 to learn more about the Green House Venture, or visit www.greenhousestl.org or send an email to craig@workman-company.com.

NEW LOCATION FOR MU EXTENSION OFFICE

The St. Louis County University of Missouri Extension office has moved from its previous location in Kirkwood to its new home at 9667 Page Ave., 63132. This is the location to take your soil samples and is also home to Master Gardeners answering questions via the St. Louis Garden Hotline or to walk-in visitors with garden questions. Hours at the office are 9am-4pm M-F. You can phone 314-400-2115 or email stlouisco@missouri.edu. Master Gardeners answer Hotline questions at 314-4007657 between 9:30am-2:30pm M-F, or you can email anytime to stlgardenhotline@gmail.com. Look for more information on the services of the Extension office and an upcoming Open House in a future issue, or visit the Extension website at extension.missouri.edu/stlouis.

Ann Case Kurt Keister

Upcoming Events

cLaSSeS, pLantS SaLeS and more

March 2nd

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

Fun For KidS

March 2nd

9-10am—Children’s Garden

Club: Flower Arrangements FREE. Pre-registration is required on the St. Louis County website at https://tinyurl.com/ yc3v3pfj or by calling 314-6154386. Sponsored by St. Louis County Parks Department. Hosted by Baish and Skinner, 2721Lasalle St. 63104.

April 6th

9-10am—Children’s Garden

Club: Edible Pots. FREE. Pre-registration 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. Hosted by Planthaven Farms, 6703 Telegraph Rd., 63129.

9am-noon—2024 Weekend Gardener. Join University of Illinois Extension for an enriching experience to explore the world of gardening with expert speakers and engaging discussions. A hearty breakfast will be served from 8:15 to 9:00 a.m., followed by sessions. Participants will have the opportunity to attend one session during each time period, making it a flexible and tailored experience. For more information and to register, visit http://tinyurl.com/2rzsyn2s.

March 5th

7-8:d0pm—Virtual Program: Using iNaturalist in your Garden. Presented by Partners for Native Landscaping and coordinated through St. Louis County Library’s Adult Programming.

Registration required. For more details of the talks and for registration links, go to partnersfornativelandscaping. org.

March 6th

2-3:30pm—Virtual Program: Native Plant Food Gardening Panel. Presented by Partners for Native Landscaping and coordinated through St. Louis County Library’s Adult Programming.

Registration required. For more details of the talks and for registration links, go to partnersfornativelandscaping. org.

10am—Spring Plant Revival. It’s time to transition your houseplants back to the outdoors for summer. If some of your plants need that “extra” attention grab one of your

“neediest” plants and bring them to our workshop. We will address each plant’s needs and you will have the opportunity to repot (selection available), new soil, nutrients, and an explanation of how to care for that particular plant along with learning about many others. There is a cost associated with this event. Passiglia Landscape, Nursery & Garden Center, 1855 MO-109, Wildwood, MO 63038. (636) 458-9202, passiglia@passiglia.com. Passiglia.com.

March 7th

6-7:30pm—Compost 101 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.

March 8th-9th

10am-9pm—34th Annual Midwestern Herb and Garden Show. Free classes, plants and herbs for sale, garden art, ceramics, books, herbal remedies, plus other programs, vendors and food concessions.

FREE. Times Square Mall, Mt. Vernon, IL. (618) 242-3151.

March 10th

1pm—New Perennials and St. Louis Favorites. Elks Club Patio Garden Speaker Series. Guest speaker Barry Ritter of Ritter Perennials. RSVP to drwplants@gmail.com. Elks Club Lodge #9, 12481 Ladue Rd., Creve Coeur, 63141.

March 12th

7-9pm—Virtual Program: Kill Your Lawn for the Birds. Presented by Partners for Native Landscaping and coordinated through St. Louis County Library’s Adult Programming. Registration required. For more details of the talks and for registration links, go to partnersfornativelandscaping. org.

March 13th

2-3:30pm—Virtual Program: Container Gardening with Native Plants. Presented by Partners for Native Landscaping and coordinated through St. Louis County Library’s Adult Programming. Registration required. For more details of the talks and for registration links, go to partnersfornativelandscaping. org.

Week of March 18th

Well-Being Week. A special effort of the Therapeutic Horticulture team. Engaging activities as well as suggestions to deepen your connection with nature as you walk the Garden. Missouri Botanical Garden. Free with Garden admission.

March 19th

7-8:30pm—Virtual Program: Planning for Future Drough with Native Plants. Presented by Partners for Native Landscaping and coordinated

through St. Louis County Library’s Adult Programming. Registration required. For more details of the talks and for registration links, go to partnersfornativelandscaping. org.

March 20th

2-3:30pm—Virtual Program: Native Landscaping for Butterflies and Moths.

Presented by Partners for Native Landscaping and coordinated through St. Louis County Library’s Adult Programming. Registration required. For more details of the talks and for registration links, go to partnersfornativelandscaping. org.

March 23rd

8amm-2pm—Partners for Native Landscaping Workshop and Plant Sale. Maryland Heights Community Center. Keynote Guest Speaker Carol Davit of Missouri Prairie Foundation and GrowNative discusses “Native Plant Nation: Cultivating an Ethic of Native Landscaping.” $10. Registration required. For more details of the talks and for registration links, go to partnersfornativelandscaping. org.

March 24th

Noon—Flowering Shrubs and Evergreens. Sandy Harmon of Spring Meadow Nursery discusses what’s trending, what’s troubling and what works. Free, no registration needed. Bring a friend and your questions. Effinger Garden Center, 720 South 11th St., Belleville, IL. (618) 234-4600.

1pm—Spring Training for Gardeners. Have you tried gardening before only to strike out? Bring in a photo or a drawing of a small space you want to pitch to us, and we will give you the starting lineup of how to get started. You will get the play by play from Julie on preparing soil, managing your

space & what plants will be best to hit a home run with your project! Passiglia Landscape, Nursery & Garden Center, 1855 MO-109, Wildwood, MO 63038. (636) 458-9202, passiglia@passiglia.com. Passiglia.com.

March 30th

9am-Noon—Webster Groves Herb Society Display. The Webster Groves Herb Society invites visitors to stop by their educational table in the Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center. Included with Garden admission. Missouri Botanical Garden.

April 3rd

10am—Creating Botanical Paintings. 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) 458-9202, 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. Vendors to include the St. Louis Arborists Assoc., Missouri Department of Conservation, and Spire. Included with Garden admission. Tree saplings available while supplies last.