Dig This!
Gateway Gardeners and Businesses in the News In Memoriam Nancee Kruescheck, coowner of Naturescapes Nursery in Collinsville, IL, passed away on July 27th, 2020. She was 62. Nancee grew up in Collinsville, and from an early age enjoyed walks in the woods and learning about the plants she found there. A career plantperson, her first horticulture job came at Belle Valley Nursery in Belleville, later working at The Greenery in Godfrey before teaming up with longtime friend Thomas Hardesty to start Naturescapes Nursery in Collinsville in 1988. Perched on a bluff on the edge of town, Naturescapes was atypical in many ways. Rather than display plants traditionally on tables or in greenhouses, the plants at Naturescapes often were displayed in natural arrangements in the landscape behind the garden shop.
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This was especially appropriate because most all were perennials, trees and shrubs, and many were native plants. This was in a time predating common availability of perennnials and especially natives in the retail trade. Nancee earned a vocational teaching degree from Belleville Area College (now Southwestern Illinois Community College or SWIC), and put it to good use teaching horticulture classes for over 30 years. She loved sharing her knowledge of perennials and natives, passing along her experiences at SWIC, St. Louis Community College-Meramec, Granite City Extension Center, and in evening classes as garden centers and nurseries throughout the bi-state area. She also conducted plantrelated activities for Boy Scout and Girl Scout groups. She was a member of Grow Native, The Illinois Nurserymen, and The Perennial Plant Association. Memorials may be made in Nancee’s honor to your favorite charity, local animal shelter, humane society, youth group, local garden, or Missouri Botanical Garden and will be received at the funeral home. Please mail to Barry Wilson Funeral Home, 2800 N. Center Street, Maryville, IL 62062. cont’d. from page 12 infestations (used 2x daily).
Everyone knows the large block shaped peppers are great for stuffing with a meat mixture, but the larger Chili peppers are also great for stuffing with cream cheese blends and roasted. Many thin peppers are easy to dry and save to use all winter as a seasoning for tomatoes, salads and chicken or fish. Some mild to hot peppers are good smoked and then used in salsas or other dips. My favorite is to harvest green bell peppers when they are firm and crisp and chop up in salads and sauces. My sister lets peppers ripen fully on the plant and turn red so she can make her famous red pepper jelly we sell at the winery. You can also slice or cube peppers, spread on a cookie sheet and put in the freezer for one hour and then transfer to small bags and store in the freezer to use in soups and chili recipes all winter. Some reliable sources for pepper seeds include Eden Brothers, Burpee, Johnny’s, Park Seeds, Baker Creek Seeds. Do not order seeds online unless from established reputable providers. Also be wary of unidentified seed packages that arrive in the mail. Many people have reported receiving such unsolicited seeds form China in recent weeks and months. These may be part of a marketing scheme, and could introduce invasive species, pests or diseases that could impact native species, agricultural crops or desirable ornamentals. If you receive such packages, the University of Illinois Extension office recommends that you not throw plant them or throw them out, but contact your local extension office or your state plant regulatory office. The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2020
