New Gardens for Learning, Conservation and Enjoyment By Steffie Littlefield
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ost avid gardeners in the St Louis metro area are frequent visitors to our own Missouri Botanical Garden, and take great pride in its displays and global impact in conservation work. We all are amazed and curious about all the changes going on there, which can be seen from as far away as Hwy 44. The big news is that the Missouri Botanical Garden has This rendering of the new Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center at Missouri Botanical broken ground on the Garden shows some of the new garden planting areas.
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Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center, a project that will transform the visitor’s experience, sustain the Garden’s future and contribute to a growing cultural renaissance in St Louis. I am happy to share some information with my fellow gardeners about the thrilling new garden displays that are included.
A large part of this project is the new entrance garden for the Jack C Taylor Visitor Center, because it will connect visitors, members and the general public, with the mission of the Garden before they even enter a building. The landscaping of this garden will feature plants that highlight the Missouri Botanical Garden’s research work in Missouri and around the world. Notable features include rare plants from around the world, a fountain, a sloped walkway, and seating within the multilayered open woodland planting. The new entrance garden will contain 350 species and 30,500 individual plants. It’s exciting to note that 47% of the plants in this garden will be new to displays at the Missouri Botanical Garden and 25% of the plants in this garden are native to Missouri. And on the whole list, 42% of plants are native to the U.S. In keeping with the Garden’s tradition of conservation, 34% of the plants Steffie Littlefield is a St Louis area horticulturist and garden designer. She has degrees from St. Louis Community College at Meramec and Southeast Missouri State and is a member of Gateway Professional Horticultural Association, Missouri Botanical Garden Members Board and past president of the Horticulture Co-op of Metropolitan St. Louis. She is part-owner of Edg-Clif Winery, Potosi, MO. www.Edg-Clif. com.
The Gateway Gardener™ SUMMER 2021
