Dig This

Gateway Gardeners and Businesses in the News

MBG Announces New HAS Coordinator

Aaron Lynn-Vogel has been named the new Horticulture

Answer Service (HAS)

coordinator at Missouri Botanical Garden. In that capacity, Aaron will assume the responsibilities formerly held by Chip Tynan, who retired at the end of 2020. Aaron will be responsible for answering gardening questions by phone and email. The phone number is (314) 577-5143 and the email is plantinformation@mobot.org. Hours of operation are Monday-Friday, 9am-Noon. Response times may be delayed due to limited staffing. Aaron holds a B.S. in Horticulture from Michigan State University, has experience working as a landscaping manager, and worked as a horticulturist at Disney World for several years. He has been with the Garden since 2017, working as an Outdoor Horticulturist in Kemper.He was responsible for the Kemper building beds, Terrace Garden, Ground Cover Border, Perennial Border, City Garden, Backyard Garden and Secret Garden areas. He also briefly cared for the indoor houseplant displays and worked with several of the Plant Doctor volunteers before pandemic restrictions suspended HAS volunteer work. “He was hands down, the perfect person for the position,” said Daria McKelvey, Supervisor of the Garden’s Kemper Center for Home Gardening. “He is very familiar with Kemper procedures, has extensive knowledge in home gardening practices, plant identification and is well versed in turf grass care! Aaron’s favorite plant subjects include edible landscaping and houseplants. However, no matter what subject it is, he’s always up for a conversation about plants!”

Local Arborist Named to Head National Tree Organization

The Tree Care Industry

Association (TCIA), a national trade association for commercial and utility tree care companies, has named Tim Gamma as chair of the TCIA Board of Directors. Tim is the president of Gamma Tree Experts in St. Louis, and has also served as president of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) from 2009-2011. The TCIA has more than 2,000 tree care firms and affiliated companies.

WildOnes St. Charles and Conservation Area Showcase Native Gardens

Recently the WildOnes St. Charles Area Chapter in conjunction with August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area and Eco-Landscaping STL saw a year-long effort finally come to fruition with the planting of approximately 150 new plants donated by Shaw Nature Reserve. Most of the plants were used to highlight the entrance to Visitors Center, while a few others were scattered around the edges of paths and sidewalks to add diversity and also to act as green mulch around the edges of the gardens. What began as a “maintenance agreement” in January 2020 for approximately 10 garden islands has morphed into a coalition of efforts to beautify and update the Busch Conservation Area with native plantings that the public might consider for their own yards. Identification tags will soon accompany the new plantings to help visitors identify what they like. WildOnes St. Charles is a local chapter of the national organization WildOnes Natural Landscapers LTD, (wildones.org). The St. Charles Area Chapter was started in April 2019 and currently has 48 members, sixteen of whom participated in the effort, logging almost 200 hours. Long term plans involve enhancement of the entrance to the entire area, but more immediate plans focused on taming and enhancement of the 10 different gardens which had become overgrown with bush honeysuckle, autumn olive, Bradford pear and an aggressive type of dogwood. Poison ivy also enjoyed a place in a number of the gardens. Angie Webber, Community Resource Specialist with Eco Landscaping helped redesign the various gardens and incorporate more varieties of native plants.