Gateway Gardener June 2018

Gateway Gardener

JUNE 2018

THE

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Your Guide to Enjoyable Gardening and Easy-Care Landscapes

to e m o c l We the ates lents t ccu S d Mi nd Sunce a fere s u t on c a C C

Hardy Cactus

Low-Maintenance Xeriscaping

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Gateway Gardener THE

®

Your Guide to Enjoyable Gardening and Easy-Care Landscapes

JUNE 2018

Volume 14, Number 5

Founded in 2005 by Joyce Bruno & Robert Weaver Publisher and Editor Robert Weaver Columnists Diane Brueckman Rosey Acres Joyce Driemeyer Master Gardener Abby Lapides Sugar Creek Gardens Steffie Littlefield Edg-Clif Winery Jennifer Schamber Nursery Professional Crystal Stevens EathDance Organic Farm School 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

info@gatewaygardener.com www.gatewaygardener.com The Gateway Gardener® is printed on recycled newsprint using environmentally friendly soy-based ink, and is a member of the PurePower® renewable energy resources network.

I

From the Editor

’ve never grown cactus, but I so much admire the surprisingly beautiful blooms of our native Opuntia (prickly pear) that many times I have driven over to my sister-in-law’s house when she has reported that hers have opened their tangerine blossoms. I don’t think Kathy will object if I say she is not an avid gardener, yet these plants, inherited when her family moved to the home, thrive in the devilish environment of a lava-rock strip barely a foot wide between their brick house and an asphalt driveway.

In this issue, beginning on page 8, guest writers from the Henry Shaw Cactus and Succulent Society tell us about the many species of Opuntias and other cold-hardy cacti we can grow outdoors right here in the St. Louis area. And we use the opportunity of that topic to welcome participants in the Mid States Cactus and Succulent Conference here to our fair city.

Like a cactus, it can sometimes be a bit sticky here, but we hope you’ll find it as inviting as a cactus blossom to a bumblebee!

I’ve also never grown clematis.

I’ve battled so many weedy vines in my days—including the sweet autumn clematis--I guess I find it difficult to accept that any vining plant can be a good actor in the

Prickly Pear blossoms in my sister-in-law’s landscape. garden. Plus clematis don’t climb of their own volition, they have to be coaxed up a structure, and by the time I get around to that, the vines have already given up on me and begun exploring on their own.

But I do admire others who do take the time to train these beauties up a trellis or a fence. Besides, Abby Lapides tells us, on page 4, that clematis don’t have to climb, they can creep, or just make their way through other plants just fine.

Roses, for example, make a perfect dance partner for a clematis tango (tangle?). And in keeping with that theme, Diane Brueckman suggests them on page 18 as well as other neighbors to introduce diversity in the rose garden.

many mistakes and foibles that continue to define my horticultural education. For many people gardening, and the appreciation of outdoors in general, is in danger of skipping another generation. So thank god for schools and teachers once again, who are beginning to appreciate the value of things that can be learned when students put down the screens and turn over a leaf…literally. Jennifer Schamber writes about one program in particular that is coordinating ways to get students more involved in not just gardening, but all things outdoors. You can read her report on the Green Schools Quest on page 6, then find a couple other examples of school outdoor education programs in our “Dig This” news section on pages 20-21.

One thing I’m sure the students will learn is the value of xeriscaping, gardening with minimal use of water. Which will in turn introduce them to the benefits of cacti and other succulents.

And speaking of prickly life forms, Happy Father’s Day, dads, and…

Happy Gardening

I came to gardening rather late in life, which explains the

On the Cover...

When we think of hardy cactus in the Midwest, we usually begin and end the list with the prickly pear (Opuntia spp.).

Turns out there are many more choices, such as this Echinocereus reichenbachii For more, see page 6 (photo by Marty Altepeter).

IN THIS ISSUE 4 Clematis: Queen of the Vines

6 Antidote to the Digital World 8 Cold-Hardy Cactus and Succulent Gardening 9 Mid-States Cactus and Succulent Conference 12 Public Native Gardens 14 Horseradish 15 Horseradish Festival 16 Weed Suppression Techniques 16 JT’s Fresh Ideas 17 June Harvest Guide 18 Diversity in the Rose Garden 20 Dig This 22 Upcoming Events

Clematis: Queen of the Vines

by Abby Lapides

P

looks great spilling over walls.

This blooming machine blooms exclusively on new wood. I appreciate this because it can be pruned at just about any time without having to worry about cutting off flowers.

The large blue-violet bells on ‘Rooguchii’ clematis daintily dangle from the ends of each stem. This long-blooming plant —usually flowering from early summer well into fall—forms a hybrid shrubby-vining mass of blooms. ‘Rooguchii’ will easily grow 6-8’ with support.

Since it does not produce twining tendrils, I find that growing the vine in the middle of a wrought iron obelisk

Ann Lapides

rofusions of flowers climbing up a trellis, spilling over walls, creeping through the garden as a showy groundcover, Clematis do it all. Clematis breeding has come a long way from Jackman’s clematis which was introduced in the mid 1800s.

‘Rooguchii’

gives the best support to get this beauty up to height. If left unsupported, ‘Rooguchii’ will grow into a 2’ tall groundcover

‘Sapphire Indigo’ came into production a few years ago and it’s already a fan favorite.

The Intense indigo and violet flowers cover the plant when in bloom, from early summer into fall. This petit plant only reaches 4’ tall if trained on a trellis, otherwise it will grow into a thick groundcover about 1 ½’ tall and 3-4’ wide. This small with about a 4-6’ spread that wonder requires no pruning and

‘Sapphire Indigo’

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The Gateway Gardener™ JUNE 2018

tall, but can reach 15’ when given a tall enough support to grow on.

‘Avante-Garde’ also looks excellent spilling out well into fall. The cranberry red of containers or short walls. heavily frilled petals surround fluffy pink inner petals and a Another long blooming variety, yellow center, creating a 2” ‘Avant-Garde’ begins blooming in diameter wonder. Heavily in late spring and will continue blooming, expect hundreds of these beauties covering the 10’ vine. ‘Avant-Garde’ tolerates ‘Huldine’ some shade as well, blooming in part shade or full sun.

2002 winner of the ‘Award of Garden Merit’ by the Royal Horticultural Society, ‘Huldine’ is considered the best blooming white clematis available. Waves of 4” pearly white flowers with yellow centers grace the garden from late spring through fall.

‘Huldine’ usually grows 8-10’ 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.

From Poland comes ‘Wildfire’ clematis, whose large blooms are produced early and for a long period of time. But what makes ‘Wildfire’ exceptional is its unique flower color. Each large petal of violet is striped with a thick red-purple bar.

Growing 8-10’ tall, ‘Wildfire’

‘Wildfire’

looks great growing against white trellises and fences.

The show stopping blooms of ‘Diamantina’ will wow even the most jaded of gardeners.

Multiple rows of fluffy mauve petals look like a lion’s mane.

Sometimes the interior pom of petals has a slight magenta stripe adding another showy aspect to this already striking flower. Each flower can last for up to a month, longer than most clematis. Blooming in spring and again in fall, this more compact variety can easily grow in the ground or in a large container.

When planting one of these beauties, be sure to dig a large hole and loosen up the soil well.

Clematis like cool roots; mulch and plant low-growing plants like cranesbill or Drift Roses to shade the clematis roots. It can take a few seasons before clematis fully settle in, but once established you may enjoy these versatile and showy vines for years.

‘Diamantina’

Photos courtesy D o n a h u e ’s Greenhouse except as noted.

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The Antidote to the Digital World

by Jennifer Schamber

A

s a parent in this world overrun by unlimited access to digitized information and social media, I feel a sense of guilt every time I turn on the TV or hand over the iPad to my kindergartener (so I feel guilty a lot!) Maybe I’m being too hard on myself, since usage of these devices is now commonplace in the classroom and certainly can serve as amazing tools for educators. Being among the first generation of parents that is learning how to balance

our families’ lives in this new era, we’re the first to reap the benefits of this technology, but we are also the first to make mistakes that we don’t even know we are making. We certainly don’t have the solution to achieving perfect balance in our lives, but we are quite certain, based on observation along with scientific evidence, the antidote to the digital world is the natural world.

Green Schools Quest is a program founded in 2013 by the U.S. Green Building CouncilMissouri Gateway Chapter. The program has grown over the Fortunately, many area schools past five years, with 57 schools have taken initiatives that are participating this school year. helping families and students The organization challenges form connections with nature public and private schools in by creating outdoor learning Missouri and Southern Illinois opportunities on their campuses. “to devise and implement, with They’ve also taken a leadership the help of Green Mentors, the role in using technology most creative, effective and to improve environmental no- or low-cost sustainable practices for their schools”. The projects are student driven and supported by a key staff member of the school who oversees the project with the help of a Green Mentor. A Green Mentor is Receive a a community volunteer who dedicates energy and resources to help the students achieve their goals.

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practices. Achieving a balance by fusing technology and outdoor/environmental learning may lead to a greater good model for the future. Leading the way in building models like this for the future is the Green Schools Quest program.

USCBC-MGC Green Schools Committee member Ralph Bicknese presents Keysor School’s 2017-18 Green Schools Quest “Sustainability Champion” award to teacher Traci Jansen.

This year, I’ve had the pleasure of participating as a GSQ Green Mentor for W.W. Keysor Elementary in the Kirkwood School District.

While interviewing students during recess for some upcoming Green Schools Quest videos, it was very evident that the outdoor space at the school is not comprised of just a playground with swings and monkey bars,

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best experience she’s ever had in her career because some of the kids she was working with were struggling academically, but when they got involved with this project-based program, they became leaders with a vision, purpose and mission. It opens up a lot of opportunities for the next generation of innovators and solution seekers.

Registration for schools is open now through September 15, 2018. Participating teams will work with Green Mentors on their project from October 2018-March 10, 2019. Winners are announced in April 2019. To learn more about getting your school involved or to become a GSQ Green Mentor, check out the USGBC-MO Gateway By giving kids access to outdoor Chapter website which also Tillman Elementary School in Kirkwood cut the ribbon on its learning and using technology has links to review this year’s new multi-use outdoor classroom area this spring. Tillman has as a tool to improve upon our winning entries: particpated in the GSQ program in 4 of the last 5 years. current practices, it appears that http://www.usgbc-mogateway. it is actually a healthy habitat Department of Education’s we are cultivating a greener org/green-school-quest/ “Encouraging future. for kids to exercise their website, imaginations and their bodies. resource-efficient schools allows They play “survivor camp” administrators to dedicate more in the back right corner of the resources to instruction rather Jennifer Schamber is the General Manager of Greenscape Gardens, and plays leaderships property, they hunt for monarch than operational costs. Healthy roles in the Western Nursery & Landscape butterflies, they grow veggies schools and wellness practices Association, GrowNative!, the Landscape & and they go “adventuring” ensure that all students learn in Nursery Association of Greater St. Louis and the through the small, reconstructed an environment conducive to Horticulture Co-op of Metro St. Louis. She has prairie. They have a chance to achieving their full potential. earned Green Profit Magazine’s Young Retailer Award, and Greenscape Gardens was named be kids in their own natural Outdoor, environmental, and the National Winner of the 2015 “Revolutionary habitat. The students have sustainability education helps 100” Garden Centers by Today’s Garden Center become experts in waste all students engage in hands-on, Magazine. reduction and management, authentic learning, hone critical composting, energy savings thinking and collaboration and a wide range of wellness skills, stay active and fit, and components. The school’s develop a solid foundation in sustainability coordinator, first many disciplines.” grade teacher, Traci Jansen, has In participating in some of the proven that building sustainable Green Mentor Meet Ups, I had systems as a team within the the opportunity to learn about Butterflies, bees, school changes the core culture other projects happening in hummingbirds, and of the school. By participating the Gateway region. One of songbirds that is! in GSQ for the past 5 years my favorite stories came from Let Forrest Keeling and focusing on improving its a mentor who was working partner with you practices, the school is now with a school in a low-resource recognized as a U.S. Department community. She said that being to bring natural of Education Green Ribbon a GSQ Green Mentor was the beauty to your School. According to the U.S. home habitat!

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The Gateway Gardener™

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Cold-Hardy Cactus and Succulent Gardening

by Jolie Krupnik and Chris Walker

viridiflorus offsets barrel-type clusters and its yellow-green flowers are smaller than the other species. E. reichenbachii has large, stunning pink flowers, clustering stems and seems not to mind our humidity and rainfall. E. triglochidiatus also has clustering stems but deep, red flowers.

While mostly spined, there is a form of this species that is spineless known as “inermis” that adds a nice contrast.

Do you know there are cacti and succulents that can live outdoors all year long in your garden?

We call these plants cold hardy.

Cold hardy is relative to where you live. Here in the St. Louis metropolitan area, the plant hardiness zone is 6b (-5 to 0) or 6a (-10 to -5), depending on the county you live in. This means that the plant must be able to survive the lowest of the temperatures in your plant hardiness zone.

Are you space-challenged in the house or greenhouse? After months of what is considered A close look at this cold hardy garden shows the cacti and to be drought conditions in our succulents planted on small berms that allow rainfall to drain area, do you want to xeriscape, away from the roots. that is, create an environment tolerant, low-maintenance garden. that uses little or no irrigation? plants and can be interesting, A cold hardy garden doesn’t Cacti and succulents are drought sculptural additions to your come without its challenges,

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There are over a dozen hardy species of opuntias, and many new hybrids are being introduced with dazzling flower blooms in an array of colors.

You may see your opuntias shrivel up and withered in the winter, but this is natural. In the though—where and when spring, the pads will plump up, to plant, your soil mix and and should bloom. O. humifusa, the weather are all factors in O. polycantha ‘Peter Pan’ and creating and maintaining a O. fragilis (debreczyi) v. denuda (Potato Cactus) are some of successful cold hardy garden. the more commonly known Many cold hardy plants are and reliable opuntias. When readily available for purchase handling opuntias, beware of in our area.

The genus the glochids, which are small, Echinocereus has some of prickly hairs that pierce the the most successful winter- skin and are difficult to pull surviving species. You will out. Opuntias can overtake see great success with E. your garden, but snipping off viridiflorus, E. reichenbachii pads at the joints will keep them and E. triglochidiatus.

E. contained.

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A popular cold hardy succulent is Hesperaloe parviflora, whose red tubular flowers grow on a long 2-3 foot stalk. Its leaves are long and cylindrical with tiny hairlike filaments along the edge. Yucca nana is one of the smallest yuccas but showy in its architectural form; perfect for the corner of your garden.

Various sedum and sempervivum make great accent plants that show off cacti. Other non-succulent plants such as

The Gateway Gardener™ JUNE 2018

Mid-States Cactus and Succulent Conference June 21-24th

On June 21-24, area cactus and succulent enthusiasts from the Henry Shaw Cactus and Succulent Society will host the biennial Mid-States Cactus and Succulent Conference at the Drury Inn Forest Park, just off I-44 on Hampton Ave. Xeric plant enthusiasts from around the country will converge on St. Louis to take part in the event.

This conference is open to the public and anyone can register by going to the society’s website, hscactus.org. Registration will also take place during the four days of the conference. This event offers speakers on a diverse group of topics, covering just about all aspects of the hobby. Travelogues from South Africa, East Africa and Mexico will take us directly into the habitats where these extreme plants are found. A field trip to the Missouri Botanical Garden’s rare book library, herbarium and research greenhouses is also an option with registration.

Rare plant auctions and a plant sale will take place offering plants and pottery from vendors in Missouri, Oklahoma and New Mexico.

The plant sale will be open to the public on Friday from 9am to 5pm and on Saturday from 9am to 3pm. A full registration allows one to gain early access to the sale during the opening banquet on Thursday evening. All the above events will take place at the Drury Inn Forest Park.

This event takes place about every ten years in St. Louis.

This is in addition to the society’s annual show and sale at the Missouri Botanical Garden, which will also take place this year on July 21st and 22nd.

E. viridiflorus

E. reichenbachii

O. fragilis v. denuda

O. humifusa cont’d on next page

2018 Native Of The Year!

For more information on the above conference, annual show and sale or the hobby in general, go to the Henry Shaw’s Cactus and Succulent Society’s website, hscactus.org.

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cont’d from previous page

each individual plant, which could cause small “ponds” because the water can’t escape beyond the clay surrounding your amended area. Planting on berms (raised areas) or in between the tops of two rocks can provide a well-draining environment.

Adding rocks to the garden can be functional as well as decorative.

Rocks can provide shade during the hot summer afternoons, divert water away from the plant, block winds and provide warmth in the winter, which the plants will appreciate. Rocks, as well as drift wood or other objects also add an aesthetic element; their placement can move the viewer’s eyes from plant to object to plant around the garden.

Yucca nana H. parviflora creeping thyme or savory make great accents.

You want to plant in the spring after the last frost, around mid-tolate April. This will give the roots time to establish themselves and a better chance of surviving our harsh winters. Most cacti need at least six hours of sun exposure in order to bloom. Before planting, be sure to acclimate your plants to the sun.

A sloping area or berm with southern exposure is the ideal location for a cold hardy garden. A slope allows the rain to run off. If the water sits, your plants will develop root rot and die. Your soil mix needs to be well draining. St. Louis soil is clay-based, which is not well draining. You can amend the clay soil with topsoil and aggregates like pea gravel, pumice, river rock, trap rock. Some gardeners will dig out 6-12 inches of the existing soil and fill in with aggregates. Others will amend the existing soil with aggregates for

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Once established in the garden, a cold hardy garden requires infrequent watering and great visual pleasure.

Photos courtesy various members of the Henry Shaw Cactus and Succulent Society.

This sloping garden uses rocks to add visual interest as well as shade plants, block winds or reflect heat. In background left is a blooming Hesperaloe parviflora.

Jolie and Chris are avid cacti and succulent enthusiasts, and both have maintained cold hardy gardens in the West County area for several years. Jolie is the Digest Editor and Chris is the Program Directory for the Henry Shaw Cactus & Succulent Society. Guests are welcome to attend an HSCSS meeting. Go to http://www. hscactus.org for more information.

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The Gateway Gardener™ JUNE 2018

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Naturally Natives Native Gardens: Where City Grass Meets Country Grass text and photo by Scott Woodbury

DON’T MISS: DON’T MISS: Native grasses and turf grass complement one another at the entrance to the Crystal Bridges Art Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas.

The 8th Annual St. Louis The 8th Annual St. Louis f you love native landscaping, the Midwest and Missouri in The Prairie Spirit in Landscape Gardening. Miller felt that the particular are exciting places to be. This has been since the best landscape design was inspired by nature and land forms like early 1900s when Wilhelm Miller (University of Illinois) wrote prairie and savanna. His preference for local native plant species is evident. In this publication he wrote “Away with gaudy foreigners and artificial varieties” and “Restore the native vegetation.”

I

Sustainable Backyard Tour!

0, 2018 - 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

involved with this self-guided, en and organic outdoor ut St. Louis city and county. have integrated sustainable nto their yards and learn what w to go green.

e for a list of addresses you 10 and learn how to create nvironments that feed both

Sustainable Backyard Tour!

Sunday, June 10, 2018 - 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Jens Jensen, a landscape architect who worked throughout the upper DON’T MISS: Midwest, also promoted the use of native plants in landscaping, The 8th

Be Inspired! Get involved with this self-guided, FREE tour of green and organic outdoor Annual St. Louis noting that common thought was that “native plants are coarse.” spaces throughout St. Louis city and county.

He went on to say, “To me no plant is more refined than that See how others have integrated sustainable which belongs.

There is no comparison between native plants and living practices into their yards and learn what those imported from foreign shores which are, and always will you need to know to go green.

Sustainable Backyard Tour!

be, novelties.” Jensen created council rings, places where people

Visit the website for a list of addresses you gather can visit on June 10 and learn howtogether to createoutside in a garden setting. Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit, healthy, whole environments that feed both MO, recently built a council ring in the Whitmire Wildflower Garden that will be a focal point for Native Plant soul and body.

Sunday, June 10, 2018 - 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

School classes and the upcoming Threatened Plant Garden. The

Be Inspired! Get involved with www.sustainablebackyard.org this self-guided, inablebackyard.org Whitmire garden is currently celebrating its 25th anniversary and FREE tour of green and organic outdoor

will be hosting the Native Plant

spaces St. Louis city and• county.

Missouri natives • throughout Low Mow ChiCkens Bees • Missouri natives • Low Mow Fine MateriaLs Gardening Symposium MPosting • reCyCLed soLar sustainable Power • CoMPosting •School reCyCLed See howMateriaLs others have integrated XerisCaPing • PoLLinator gardens ediBLe PerenniaLs • XerisCaPing October • PoLLinator gardens Registration is into their yards learn what • green Living 19-20. n • green living Living practices outdoors! waterand Conservation outdoors!

required. Visit www.shawnature. org for details.

you need to know to go green.

Visit the website for a list of addresses you can visit on June 10 and learn how to create healthy, whole environments that feed both soul and body.

The Missouri Department of Conservation has created some of the best examples of native landscapes at each of its Conservation Nature Centers: The 8th Annual St. Louis The 8th Annual Louisin St. Louis, Runge PowderSt. Valley in Jefferson City, Anita B. Gorman Discovery Center and Burr Oak ChiCkens • Bees • Missouri natives • Low Mow soLar Power • CoMPosting • reCyCLed MateriaLs Woods in Kansas City, and the ediBLe PerenniaLs • XerisCaPing • PoLLinator gardens Cape Girardeau and Springfield water Conservation • green Living outdoors!

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Sustainable Backyard Tour!

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www.sustainablebackyard.org

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Sunday, June 10, 2018 - 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

involved with this self-guided, en and organic outdoor

Be Inspired! Get involved with this self-guided, FREE tour of green and organic outdoor

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Looking for Something Unique for your Garden??

Come Stroll Thru Our Gardens and Discover the Pleasure of Plants!

Natives, Not-so-common Trees, Shrubs & Perennials

1674 N. Bluff Rd Collinsville, IL 62234

(618)344-8841

The Gateway Gardener™ JUNE 2018

Tips and Resources for Growing and Landscaping with Sustainable Native Plants Located in Bentonville, Arkansas, is Crystal Bridges, the home of one of the biggest collections of American art. The gardens Brightside St. Louis (designed by SWT Design) has taken native surrounding the museum and the creek-side walkway linking landscaping to an exciting new level with walkways that flow downtown Bentonville to Crystal Bridges are brimming with through displays of showy native plants and literally envelop displays of native plants and outdoor sculpture. The low-key boulders at the edge, enticing visitors to slightly stray off the path. entrance to the museum has a visually striking marriage of little There is an outdoor seating area shaded by 15-foot tall purple bluestem and emerald turf-grass; a place where city grass meets coneflower umbrellas and a distinctive rain garden that captures country grass. water off of the building and parking area. The Brightside garden There are a number of community gardens and parks throughout is the crown jewel of native gardens in St. Louis.

St. Louis that incorporate native plants. The Richmond Heights The Taylor Twins Memorial Garden in Jackson, Missouri, was (the Heights) and new Maryland Heights Community Centers commissioned by Steve Ford and designed and installed by Cassie are beautifully designed and maintained, and function for wildlife Bock Holcomb. It opened to the public in 2017 and is full of native and storm water. Kirkwood Park’s Walker Lake is one of the plants per Steve’s request, a perfect fit with Cassie’s passion for showiest demonstrations of native emergent aquatic plants ringing native landscaping. This lovely and quaint garden is located at 201 the lake edge. Forest Park has many native landscaping projects West Main in the downtown area next to one of the oldest houses scattered throughout, especially along the waterways. Lockwood in town, which is being renovated to become a museum. A path Park in Webster Groves has a seeded tallgrass prairie with a novel resembling an infinity symbol defines the layout of the garden, half edging of riverbank sedge. Webster University has an impressive rain garden in front of the East Academic Building and in Old of which is shady, the other half in full sun.

North there is a beautiful and massive native plant rain garden at Prairie Garden Trust is located near New Bloomfield, Missouri, 1321 Clinton St. about 20 minutes from Jefferson City. Open by appointment, this natural area preserves diverse wild habitat and restores and Visit some of these local native gardens for inspiration on how you reconstructs habitat that existed before agriculture. Their website might create your own space where city grass meets country grass. states, “It is a gem of a place where you can enjoy the beauty of nature. Stroll through woods and prairie, along ponds and streams to see the ever-changing plants and the birds, butterflies, mammals St. Louis Native Plant Garden Tour and more that live there.” It is that and much, much more. School Saturday, June 16th, 2018 groups are welcome to schedule a visit.

9 am to 4 pm Nature Centers. Each are outstanding beautiful gardens that are planted with Missouri native plants that attract wildlife and people.

Also in Central Missouri are the Grow Native! gardens on the Missouri State Fairgrounds, featuring natives for sun including a water garden feature, and the all-native landscaping at the Ashland Branch of the Daniel Boone Regional Library.

City Garden, located on Market Street in downtown St. Louis is a sculpture garden and expression of cultural and natural history. The garden is planted heavily with native species, especially the trees.

The alleys that once existed in this old downtown area are reflected in the bluestone walkways, and Native American ceremonial mounds are expressed in the river birch mound in the northwestern corner of the sculpture garden.

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 more than 20 years. He is also an advisor to the Missouri Prairie Foundation’s GrowNative! program.

10 Locations in Franz Park, Richmond Heights, Shaw and Tower Grove

Self-guided tour of residential gardens

$20 per person

Ticket Supply Limited Don’t Wait! Buy Now at

Al Smith Photo

Dave Tylka Photo

Garden Heights Nursery Greenscape Gardens Rolling Ridge Nursery Sugar Creek Gardens

Robert Weaver Photo

Bring Conservation Home A St. Louis Audubon Society Community Partnership

JUNE 2018

The Gateway Gardener™

13

Horseradish--Some Like it HOT!

by Steffie Littlefield

F

or years I have referred to horseradish as a root vegetable that is thankfully perennial. This pungent root that can be grated or processed into a strongly flavored garnish for meats and vegetables, grows very well in our loamy soils and with hot dry summers. Horseradish was brought to this country by the German immigrants who settled communities in southwestern Illinois.

This area was known for its horseradish sauce and blanched white asparagus, another Old World delicacy. I feel fortunate to have some very desirable roots from a German Illinois farmer. These were given to a previous employer who in turn found he had more roots potted up than he needed and shared a couple of trays of plant starts with me. I proceeded to plant them in my vegetable garden at Edg-Clif Farms were I have placed them in a circle around my potato bins. These make excellent companions for organic gardening because the horseradish greens repel the Colorado potato bug from the potato plants. One of nature’s perfect symbiotic relationships between plants.

My husband has faithfully made homemade horseradish sauce

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every winter from the thick roots. The plant grows every spring from small roots left in the ground after harvesting.

These plants can get to be 30” tall and form a clump up to 2’ wide. The foliage is very frost hardy and can be harvested young to use as salad greens in spring or fall. The roots should not be dug until after they have experienced the cold temperatures that result from two hard freezes in the late fall. In our area this usually means we can dig horseradish around Thanksgiving and process it for gifts at the Holidays. The timing is perfect for those hardy winter meals of pot roasts and meatloaf. The graded root becomes milder as it is stored for several months waiting to be used. The milder preparations are perfect for salad dressings, cocktail sauce for seafood and vegetable dips used in casual summer meals. Some of the graded root can be dried and then further ground to make a powdered seasoning for Asian cooking similar to ‘wasabi’.

So the debate over whether horseradish is an herb or vegetable was finally resolved when it was named the Herb of the Year in 2011 by the International Herb Society. After further research, herb is a proper designation since horseradish was cultivated originally by ancient people as a medicinal herb. In modern times it has been defined as such since it is really used only in small quantities and then mainly as a flavoring. One plant can be enough for one household and easily divided to make more plants if desired. Horseradish likes an open position and a light rich soil to produce thick roots. But honestly, it grows like a weed in most soils and sun exposures. Of course the folks across the river in the Collinsville region where much of the world’s horseradish is grown give credit to the soil’s high levels of potassium for the especially hot nature of their crops. So if you want it hot, add some potash to your soil! Otherwise, if there ever was a foolproof plant, horseradish is it. Just plant it in spring and forget it until November. Then get your taste buds and sinuses ready for an amazing experience when you grate your own horseradish.

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™ JUNE 2018

horseradish and buy your own jar, freshly ground and processed without preservatives!

Uptown on Mainstreet Collinsville, IL June 1st 11am-10pm June 2nd 10am-10pm Celebrate all things horseradish, including how to prepare your own horseradish, participate in the classic Horseradish Festival Contests—including horseradish root tossing (over 6,000 roots tossed to date!)—take part in a variety of activities in the Family Fun Area or Craft Village, or just sample horseradish inspired food (as well as foods without horseradish for the unenlightened) and listen to live music! Admission, musical entertainment and parking are FREE!

Collinsville has long held claim to the title Horseradish Capital of the World, rightly so, as 60-80% of the world’s supply is grown there. The potassium-rich soils found there are said to give the root extra heat!

The Festival, now in its 30th year, is held in June to celebrate the harvest of the tangy root. So join more than 2000 other horseradish aficionados, or those simply curious, and check out the 2018 Horseradish Festival!

Among other activities, you can watch the horseradish root grinding demonstration, compete in the root sacking contest, try your hand at root tossing, taste freshly ground

JUNE 2018

The Gateway Gardener™

15

The Cornucopia Corner Weed Suppression Text and Photos by Crystal Stevens

W

eed pressure in the garden can be daunting. Successful weed management in organic agriculture is a challenge that requires patience, preventative measures, dedication, and a commitment to following through with the systems put into place. Weed seeds germinate quickly, causing an influx of weed growth during spring and summer. Weed management strategies are crucial for crop integrity, to help decrease pests and diseases, and to decrease the potential for Students and staff at EarthDance Farms apply burlap and wood pathogens. chips to suppress weeds in a garden bed.

Jt’s Fresh Ideas RaspbeRRy Mousse

Ingredients

¼ cup cold water ½ cup boiling water 2 teaspoons gelatin 1 tablespoon lemon juice ¼ cup organic sugar 1 cup fresh raspberries 2 cups heavy cream 1 vanilla bean sliced & seeds removed

Mix in gelatin and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

Stir in boiling water, vanilla bean, sugar, lemon juice, and raspberries.

Bring to boil on medium heat.

Turn down the heat to low and boil for 5 minutes.

Pour mixture into a Vitamix or food processor and blend until smooth.

(This reduces the raspberry seeds.)

Allow to cool 10 minutes.

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No-Till. The no-till method creates living healthy soil in which microbes, beneficial bacteria, and fungi are provided an environment to carry out their intrinsic functions, allowing them to complete the process of nutrient absorption, decomposition, and in turn building healthy soils.

Start with Clean Soil. Adding clean, weed-free soil to garden beds can maximize the long-term health of soil, reducing the reliance on tillage. Maintaining the permanent raised beds is important. They should be weeded regularly during the first few months.

Mowing. When facing large weeds initially, it is best to mow those first. It is crucial to not let weeds go to seed.

Start with Transplants.Transplants are often more successful in an organic farm setting. First, they are off to a great start as their roots are established before they go in the ground. They achieve canopy quickly meaning that they will cover the soil, shading out the weed seeds.

Instructions

In a small saucepan, add cold water.

Luckily, there are several techniques that can prevent the potential for weeds to overtake crops. EarthDance Organic Farm School has implemented a myriad of tried and true methods of soil building, mulching, and innovative methods of weed suppression to maximize crop yields and vitality therefore increasing profits.

In a large bowl, add whipping cream and beat with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.

Fold in the raspberry mixture and allow to cool in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Recipe and photo courtesy of: www.fearlessdining.com

Please share some of your favorite recipes with us.

You can e-mail us at: info@gatewaygardener.com

Bring on the dessert!

Enjoy...

Jt

Crystal Stevens is the author of Grow Create Inspire and Worms at Work. She is the Garden Manager and her husband Eric is the Farm Manager at EarthDance Organic Farm School, a 14 acre certified organic farm in Ferguson, MO. Visit www.earthdancefarms.org for more information.Follow EarthDance on social media at EarthDance Organic Farm School on Facebook and @earthdancefarms on Instagram. Follow Crystal at @growcreateinspire.

The Gateway Gardener™ JUNE 2018

Tips for Growing, Buying and Cooking Fresh, Locally Sourced Food for Your Table

June Harvest Here are some fruits and veggies you might find in the garden or your local farmers’ market this month: Vegetables

Asparagus Beets Broccoli Brussel Sprouts Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower Cucumbers Eggplant Garlic Herbs Horseradish Kohlrabi Leeks Lettuce Okra Onions Peas Radishes Rhubarb

Spinach Squash (summer) Sweet Corn Tomatoes Turnips

Fruits

Apples Apricots Blackberries Blueberries Canteloupe Cherries Gooseberries Nectarines Peaches Plums Raspberries Strawberries Watermelon

Add Compost. Heavy compost is a great way to use stacking functions, feeding the plants, adding nutrients to the soil, moisture retention, and weed suppression. Adding several inches of weed-free compost on your existing bed is not only wonderful for the soil but can smother out the weed seeds buried below.

Occultation. Occultation is a weed suppression method that is done by smothering the weeds using a thick black silage tarp. Occultation can be done throughout the growing season and is most successful when left for 3-4 weeks.

erosion. Some common cover crops include red and white clover, oats, mustards, tillage radishes sorghum-sudangrass, wheat, winter rye, buckwheat, cowpeas, barley, hairy vetch, and field peas.

Landscape Fabric. The use of landscape fabric offers a longterm strategy for perennial plantings, such as permaculture berm and guild plantings. Biodegradable plastic is another effective yet expensive way to suppress weeds. Though it is biodegradable, it takes years to break down fully. Another downside is that bits of plastic will start to accumulate as it breaks down. Non-biodegradable plastic is effective, but also expensive, and is not environmentally friendly. The plastic goes to the landfill.

Sheet mulching, heavy mulching, mulched pathways and living pathways are other methods of suppressing weeds that were discussed in the May issue.

Weeding requires regular observation and attention. The optimal time to weed is when a weed seedling is less than an inch tall, even better, when they first sprout. A tine weeder rake and a wire weeder are best used when weeds are at their white thread stage—the root looks like a white thread when pulled up.

Some like it hot.

Solarization. Solarization involves covering the soil with clear plastic for 6-8 weeks in order to kill soil pests. According to Beth Hanson in an article published in Rodale’s Organic Life Magazine, “Solarization involves concentrating the sun’s energy in the top 12 to 18 inches. The heat trapped below the plastic can reach highs of 140°F in the top 6 inches, killing weed seeds, insects, nematodes, and many fungal and bacterial pathogens, including those that cause verticillium wilt, fusarium wilt, potato scab, damping off, crown gall disease, and phytophthora root rot. The beneficial effects from solarization are greatest near the soil surface and decrease with depth.”

Cover Crops. Cover crops are a cost-effective way to add soil amendments and living mulch. They offer a protective layer for the soil, help to loosen soil without tillage, allowing aeration, and water absorption. Cover crops increase soil health and diversity, water retention, soil organic matter, and nutrient uptake. Cover crops also help to prevent soil JUNE 2018

The Gateway Gardener™

2832 Barrett Station Road, Ballwin MO

17

Diversity in the Rose Garden

by Diane Brueckman

A

If we are constantly spraying insecticides on our roses, the birds, bees and other good guys suffer or go away altogether.

Adding plants that host the good guys will bring them in. A hummingbird’s diet consists of 60% soft bodied insects. Planting salvias, agastache and butterfly bush will attract hummingbirds who go to the rose bushes for the bugs after getting nectar. These plants also look good with the roses. I have butterfly bushes as a back drop for one rose bed. Last year I found a dwarf butterfly bush that I planted in front of one rose bed. A circle bed in the middle of the hybrid tea/floribunda bed is planted with There are many plants that will work well with roses both from an esthetics point of view but also to help with pest control. My agastache. I do not put out hummingbird feeders but have many goal is not only a beautiful garden but also a bird-friendly garden. hummingbirds in my yard.

Other plants that host beneficial insects include allium, monarda, lavender and rudbeckia. Don’t forget clematis (see the article on page 4). Clematis has been grown with roses for many years.

There are many different clematis out there including a bush type Lake St Louis Garden Center that doesn’t climb up into the roses but stays low. These plants will add color and interest to the rose garden while bringing in the beneficial insects that will keep your roses if not totally bug free then causing minimal damage. I have only listed a few of the plants that are compatible with roses. The key is to find plants with the same growing requirements as roses. Some, like lavender, might not like as much water as roses but can be planted near-by.

It is then up to you to put together beautiful color combinations. s far back as I can remember roses have been isolated in beds devoted to only roses. It is time for a change. The newer roses are varied in habit and flower form from the Hybrid Teas and Floribundas of the last century.

In some ways they resemble the old garden roses, which had more disease resistance, while at the same time bringing better repeat bloom to the garden. In other words these new roses combine the best of the old and new roses. The result is your roses need not be segregated from the rest of your garden.

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I like peonies in my rose garden. They bloom early in the season and once established are really care free. Sometimes the foliage will get fungus but the fungicide you use on the roses works for peonies. Boxwood makes a good anchor for the winter garden when your roses are covered and bare. Spirea, with its summer bloom, is a good addition for a border with roses. Again look for plants with similar requirements to the roses.

The latest suggestion for Rose Rosette Disease control is to plant

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.

The Gateway Gardener™ JUNE 2018

Safe Digging starts with

a thick border of plants up-wind of the roses. Dr. Windham, plant pathologist from The University of Tennessee, uses a miscanthus grass in their test fields to catch the mites as they are blown in.

This is a strategy that works. I think any dense plant would work as well.

A garden with many different species of plants is likely to have fewer insect and disease problems than a monoculture of roses.

A variety of plants offers food, shelter and places for eggs to be deposited, thus attracting birds and other predators to come to your garden to get the bad guys. Disease spores also land on plants that are not receptive to them which keeps down some of the disease.

Give diversity a try in the rose garden.

YOU

1

Call or Click 3 Working Days Before You Dig.

2

Wait the Required Amount of Time.

3

Confirm Utility Response.

4

Respect the Marks.

5

Dig with Care.

mo1call.com

1-800-DIG-RITE or 811 JUNE 2018

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19

Dig This!

Gateway Gardeners and Businesses in the News Nursery Owner Recognized for City Contributions

A member of Daisy Girl Scout Troop 3575 and student at Progress South Elementary pots up a basil plant for the outdoor classroom.

Doug Zick, right, accepting the proclamation from Wildwood Mayor Jim Bowlin.

The City of Wildwood recently honored Doug Zick, owner of Zick’s Great Outdoors nursery,with its Spring 2018 Business Appreciation Award. The award is given twice a year to businesses that have achieved excellence in business and that have made significant contributions to the City and the community.

In the proclamation presented, Doug was recognized for having assisted the City on numerous occasions with professional horticulture advice and guidance, and making the facility available for community activities such as the Halloween Early Children Recreation Program. Zick’s also donates saplings for the City’s annual Arbor Day Event, and the nursery serves the community as a beloved landmark, “an oasis…with its beautiful gardens, nursery areas, and walking paths.” The Proclamation was given to Doug at a city meeting in March of this year by Mayor Jim Bowlin.

School, Girl Scouts and Garden Centers Team Up for Outdoor Education

Progress South Elementary School’s Outdoor Classroom recently benefitted from some enhancements thanks to teachers, students, master gardener volunteers, and some generous nurseries and garden centers. Much of the student involvement came through the work of 17 young scouts from Daisy Girl Scout Troop 3575. The first grade girls helped plant culinary herbs and pollinator-friendly flowering plants that would provide a resource for 20

bees and birds, and educational opportunities for all the 900+ students of the school, which is in the Fort Zumwalt District in O’Fallon, Missouri. The project was coordinated by classroom trustees Robin and Charlie Pilla. Daniel’s Greenhouse and Orlando’s Produce of St. Peters donated a variety of herbs, while Oma’s Barn gave several herbs and some pollinator plants, and The Potted Plant donated three flats of “the prettiest pansies I have ever seen” said troop co-leader Gina Plowman.

The school’s outdoor classroom also features a pollinator habitat that was installed a couple years ago, as well as bird houses, “Did You Know” informational signs around the garden, and other features, many constructed and installed by Mr. Pilla.

“The Outdoor Classroom is very special to us,” said Robin Pilla. “Even my boys Ben (16) and Tyson (14) have helped out.” Several of the projects have been made possible by grants as well from the Missouri Department of Conservation.

School IGNITES Outdoor Education

More than five years ago at Tillman Elementary in Kirkwood, a few students planted a small patch of ground with native plants. That humble beginning has since snowballed into the transformation of the school grounds into a dynamic learning landscape.

Over the past five years, Tillman has added vegetable gardens, a prairie patch, and chickens--all to entice teachers and students to take learning outdoors.

Dr. Maria Stobbe has been a longtime advocate of experiential learning. In her three years as principal at Tillman, she has provided myriad professional development opportunities for teachers in service The Gateway Gardener™ JUNE 2018

Pollinator Potpourri Over 300 participants braved a damp, cool evening to inaugurate the new Outdoor Classroom at Tillman Elementary School.

learning, outdoor education, and open-ended STEM curriculum development. Most recently, PTO members banded together to create Tillman IGNITE (“Inspiring Global Citizenship through Nature-based Inquisitive Teaching and Education”), an initiative to move the school beyond small, ad hoc changes to the campus. Tillman IGNITE developed a plan and fundraised in order to renovate the multi-acre backyard that had been plagued with drainage issues for years into a dynamic learning environment that students, teachers, and community members can enjoy year round.

This year, with the installation of Phase 1 of the IGNITE plan, Tillman Elementary achieved a major milestone on its journey toward outdoor education becoming an integral part of the school day.

Teachers are happy to have a covered pavilion in the new outdoor space to gather with their students for outdoor lessons. The kids are most excited about the new play area, which includes upcycled tractor tires to crawl through, hills to climb up and roll down, and a dry creek bed to explore. The entire community is eager to see how the new bioswale, seeded with native prairie plants, will simultaneously manage stormwater, attract wildlife, and engage Tillman students in nature-based learning. On April 14th, approximately 300 members of the Tillman community came together for a Spring Jamboree and Ribbon Cutting to celebrate this new chapter in the school’s history and to learn about outdoor education and environmental stewardship resources in the community. According to one Tillman parent who attended the Jamboree, “It is exciting that the children have the opportunity to actually participate in nature, rather than just learning about it from books while sitting in a classroom. Bravo!” Learn more about outdoor education, the benefits of native plants, and the community organizations that attended the Jamboree at tillmanignite.org.

JUNE 2018

The Gateway Gardener™

Each year, the national organization Pollinator Partnership designates a week in June National Pollinator Week. This year, that week is June 18th-24th. Locally, there are several ways you can celebrate the valuable ecosystem services provided by bees, birds, butterflies, bats and beetles.

Pollinator Week at the St. Louis Zoo

Celebrate pollinators all week long at the St. Louis Zoo’s Insectarium, where you’ll find demonstrations on attracting bees to gardens, how to identify different bee species, beekeeping and keeper chats. On Tuesday the Zoo hosts its Annual Pollinator Dinner featuring a menu including honeybee-pollinated beverages and tasty treats. Before and after dinner, learn what you can do to conserve pollinators and the habitats and foods that depend upon them. You can try to get reservation online (Google it), but the event usually sells out quite early. Put it on your calendar for next year!

Parks’ Pollinator Pantry is Popping!

As reported in our April 2018 issue, the St. Louis County Parks Department in partnership with Project Pollinator (itself a partnership between the Parks Department, the St. Louis County Libraries, and the Butterfly House) is offering homeowners, businesses and other organizations an opportunity to certify their pollinator-friendly gardens in order to establish a network of such gardens throughout the region. Signs are available for purchase by certified garden keepers to display in their garden and help educate visitors and passers of the purpose and value of their gardens, and many gardeners have already signed on to make their gardens a part of the official network.

Also in the works, according to Pollinator Ambassador MaryAnn Fink are signs to be displayed by specific plants in the garden, as well as at local independent garden centers that will identify plants that provide food support for our pollinators. To certify your garden with the Park’s program, go to GatewayGardener.com/pollinators/certifyyour-garden.

More Pollinator Programs Around Town

Our Upcoming Events Calendar is buzzing with classes and other programs highlighting the importance of pollinators all month long. Plus, the month is full of garden tours, so you can get out and see for yourself how the right plants in the right landscape can go a long way to helping give pollinators the food, shelter and breeding habitat THEY need to keep doing the job WE need!

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Upcoming Events cream cone planter to take home. Call to RSVP. Hillermann Nursery & Florist, (636) 239-6729, www.hillermann.com.

Plant Shows, Sales and Tours Meetings, Classes, Entertainment and More!

Updates to this information are often posted on our online events calendar at www.

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 September issue is August 1st.

How to reach us: Mail: PO Box 220853, St. Louis, MO 63122 Email: info@gatewaygardener. com

Garden Clubs and Plant Society Meetings 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. Don’t have access to the internet?

Just call us at (314) 968-3740, or write us at PO Box 220853, St. Louis, MO 63122, and we’ll get the information to you. So share your joy for gardening and join a garden club or favorite plant society today!

Fun For Kids June 2nd 9am—Children’s Garden Club.

Pollinator—Summer Bowl Tradition.

FREE, no reservations required, everyone welcome. The Children’s Garden Club is designed to educate and bring delight in gardening to children with projects they do themselves.

Sherwood’s Forest Nursery & Garden Center, 2651 Barrett Station Rd. 10am—Hillermann’s First Saturday Kids. Bring the kids to play in the garden and enjoy a FREE activity. Make an ice-

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June 2nd 9am-3pm—Gardens in Bloom Tour.

Eight gardens in The Orchards area of Belleville. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 day of event. Tickets on sale at Sandy’s Back Porch, Effinger’s Garden Center, Creative Landscapes Garden Center, Terry’s Home & Garden Center, Ace Hardware of O’Fallon, Dintelmann’s Nursery and Garden Center, Eckert’s Country Store, Hometown Ace Hardware, and U. of IL Extension offices in Collinsville and Waterloo. A plant sale and raffle will also be held on tour day at Orchards Golf Club, 1499 Gold Course Drive, Belleville. Tour tickets not required at the sale/raffle. Drawing is at 1pm.

Garden Tour. Tickets are $10 for 8-10 homes, and available at Brown Paper Tickets. Also a raffle of spring wreaths at the ticket booth the day of the tour.

June 16th 9am-4pm—St. Louis Native Plant Garden Tour. Self-guided tour of 10 residential gardens in Richmond Heights, Botanical Heights, Franz Park, Hi-Pointe, Shaw and Tower Grove South neighborhoods. Tickets at several Garden Heights Nursery, Greenscape Gardens, Rolling Ridge Nursery and Sugar Creek Gardens. Visit StLouisAudubon.org/NPT2018 for details. Hosted by St. Louis Audubon Society and Wild Ones St. Louis.

10am-4pm—Garden Conservancy Open Days. The Garden Conservancy is a national nonprofit dedicated to saving and sharing outstanding American gardens. Since 1995, the Garden Conservancy’s award-winning Open Days has welcomed more than one million visitors into thousands of June 2nd-3rd inspired private landscapes – from 10am-5pm— 24th Annual Hermann urban rooftops to organic farms, historic Garden Tour and Plant Sale. Two estates to innovative suburban lots – in Tours in 2018: the popular Town forty-one states. This year in the St. Tour, a walking tour of gardens in Louis region, four private gardens in downtown Hermann, and the Country Kirkwood, Ladue, and St. Louis will Tour, a driving tour to country gardens. participate. Visitors may begin the tour Separate $10 ticket for each tour at any of the locations. The Open Day includes visits to at least four private is rain or shine, and no reservations are gardens and the Garden Demonstration required. Admission to each garden is Area. Visit the Hermann Garden Tours $7, payable in cash or check; children website at www.hermanngardentours. 12 & under are free. Call 1-888-842com for up to date events, ticket 2442, or visit www.opendaysprogram. prices, and photographs. “Like” us on org for more information.

Facebook at Hermann Garden Club Tours 2015. Call (573) 294-6242 or June 22nd-23rd email bartowmollow@centurytel.net.

9am-5pm Fri., 9am-3pm Sat.—Cacti and Succulents Plant Sale. Held in June 9th conjunction with the Mid-States Cactus 9am-5pm—The St. Louis Carnivorous & Succulent Conference. See pages 10Plant Society Show and Sale. Missouri 11 for details.

Botanical Garden, Beaumont Room.

Lots of great plants-- Venus flytraps, June 23rd Sarracenia, Drosera,etc. For further info 9am-5pm—19th Annual Kimmswick contact stlcarns@gardener.com.

Daylily Sale. Features approximately 90 different daylilies from Carrol Wrather’s 11am-4pm—Sustainable Backyard state-inspected garden containing over Tour. Visit dozens of area home 600 different varieties. Purchase new landscapes promoting sustainable and older varieties not available for sale practices such as rainwater harvesting, in nurseries and garden centers. Be sure composting, keeping chickens, bees to arrive early for the best selection. or goats, using renewable energy, 6005 4th St., Kimmswick, MO. repurposed materials, native gardens, and more. For a tour map or to June 23rd-24th register your garden, go to www. 9am-5 pm—Pond-O-Rama 18th sustainablebackyardtour.com or search Annual Pond and Garden Tour. the same on Facebook. The Gateway Sponsored by The St. Louis Water Gardener is proud to be a sponsor of Gardening Society, the self-guided tour this tour. includes 33 water features that range from choice small ponds to magnificent Noon-4pm—New Town at St. Charles large ones located in both Missouri

and Illinois. The tour is divided geographically by day with about half the gardens available for viewing each day. Tickets, good for both days, are $15 per person, and are available at garden centers across the area. Children 17 and under are admitted free. All persons age 18 and over must have a ticket. The ticket booklet includes maps to all tour locations. For more information about the St. Louis Water Gardening Society and its activities, including Pond-ORama, visit the SLWGS website at www.slwgs.org or call (314) 995-2988.

June 24th Noon-4pm—Bittersweet Garden Club Garden Tour. Features 5 beautiful gardens. $10 in advance, $12 at gate.

June 30th 9am-3pm—2018 Soulard “Art in the Garden” Tour. Self-guided tour begins and concludes at the Soulard Station at 1911 S. 12th Street. Features eight private gardens. Each garden will host local musicians providing an entertaining backdrop and a local artist creating an original work of art inspired by the environment around them.

After the tour, return to the Soulard Station for live music in the wine garden. Pieces of art created by the featured artists will also be available for viewing and purchase. The tour benefits the Beautification Committee of the Soulard Restoration Group. Tickets are $15 per person when purchased in advance online at www.soulard.org.

Tickets may also be purchased for $18 per person the day of the tour at the Soulard Station (1911 S. 12th Street).

July 7th 10am-5pm—Daylily Daze. Hundreds of blooms on display. Growers enter blooms 8:30-10am. Open to public.

Missouri Botanical Garden Beaumont Room. 4344 Shaw Blvd., St. Louis.

Classes, Lectures and Events June 2nd 8:30-Noon—St. Louis Urban Gardening Symposium. Hosted by Brightside St. Louis with partners University of Missouri Extension, Missouri Conservation Department and the City of St. Louis, this year’s Gardening Symposium offers a variety of workshops and presentations led by experts in their respective fields to help gardeners learn how to plan, plant and care for a neighborhood or home garden.

Cost is $15/person, waived for St. Louis city residents who are interested

The Gateway Gardener™ JUNE 2018

in participating in the Neighbors Naturescaping program.

Register online and get more details at www. brightsidestl.org, or call 314-400-2115.

Space is limited, so sign up early. The first 100 people to register will receive a free gift courtesy of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Demonstration Garden at Brightside St. Louis, 4646 Shenandoah Ave., St. Louis, 63110.

June 2 9am-4pm—Green Living Festival.

Hosted by EarthWays Center and sponsored by Ameren Missouri, The 17th annual Green Living Festival, formerly called the Green Homes Festival, lets visitors explore the links between sustainability and a healthy environment. Experts will offer tips to make your lifestyle, workplace, community and residence greener. The Green Living Festival is included with Missouri Botanical Garden admission of $12 for adults and free for children ages 12 and under. St. Louis City and County residents enjoy free admission on Saturday before noon and are $6 thereafter, with proof of residency. Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Blvd., St. Louis. nd

10-11am –Food Safety in the Garden.

Come learn how to handle food safely in the garden: what to worry about and what not to. This workshop will focus on best practices for harvesting, washing, and storing produce with an emphasis on gardens that donate to food pantries but all are welcome. 3841 Bell Ave., St. Louis, MO 63108. $5 Suggested donation.

9:30-10:30am—Garden Stroll with Ann Million. Class takes place at Ann’s extraordinary garden in Crestwood.

Sugar Creek Gardens. FREE. Call (314) 965-3070 for reservations and directions.

9:30-10:30am—Oh Deer, Deer and Rabbit Resistant Plants. Learn about the techniques and repellents that will keep the animals from your prized beauties, along with the many perennials and annuals they find distasteful. Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood. FREE. Call (314) 965-3070.

11am—The Cool New Shrubs. What’s new in Proven Winner’s Color Choice Shrubs and are they really better? Paul Koutz from Spring Meadows Nursery.

Effinger Garden Center, 720 South 11th St., Belleville, IL (618) 234-4600.

5-7pm—Eat, Drink and Grow Native!

Event. Join New American Gardening, the Sierra Club and the Grow Native!

Program for an evening at the Pollinator Plant—part of an innovative project to manage stormwater, sustain pollinator insects, and beautify a city block with native plants. Enjoy light appetizers and a cash bar while strolling the grounds of

JUNE 2018

the Granite City Art and Design District. $15. 1835 State Street, Granite City, IL. Register online at www.grownative.org.

June 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th 9am—Breakfast Saturdays in the Garden. Enjoy donuts and coffee and a discussion to help with your gardens, yard and landscaping. Specials each day related to topic. June 2nd—Perennials: Plant What Where & New Trends.

June 9th—Watering Better for Plants and Conservation. June 16th—Attract Wildlife by Creating Backyard Habitats.

June 23rd. Creating a DIY Landscape Plan (bring pictures and measurements).

June 30th—Native Plants: Uses Benefits & Trends. Hillermann Nursery. (636) 239-6729.

June 5th 9:30-10:30am—Best Summer Gardening Tips. Hear about the problems that may be lurking and the garden chores you can expect, plus learn about the longest blooming, heaviest producing plants. Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood. FREE. Call (314) 965-3070.

7-8pm – Tomato Selection & Growing.

Learn how to select new tomato varieties and grow your best tomatoes ever. This event will be held at the St. Louis County Library Bridgeton Trails Branch. Please call the library at 314994-3300 to RSVP. 3455 McKelvey Rd., Bridgeton, MO 63044.

June 6th 9:30-10:30am—The Beautiful Herb Garden. Join members of the St. Louis Herb Society as they share herbs that are tasty as well as pretty. Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood. FREE. Call (314) 965-3070.

June 9th 9am-noon—Webster Groves Herb Society Display. Meet members of the Webster Groves Herb Society at Missouri Botanical Garden for a complimentary exhibit. Recipes, tasty treats, tips and tricks for summer cooking with herbs.

9:30-10:30am—Best Summer Gardening Tips. Hear about the problems that may be lurking and the garden chores you can expect, plus learn about the longest blooming, heaviest producing plants. Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood. FREE. Call (314) 965-3070.

10-11am – Introduction to Project WILD. Project WILD is one of the most widely-used conservation and environmental education programs among educators of students in kindergarten through high school. Come learn about how to adapt Project WILD activities to your school garden through hands-on lessons. Carriage House, 3815 Bell Ave., St. Louis, MO 63108. $5

The Gateway Gardener™

Suggested donation.

10am—Succulent Container Garden Make-n-Take. Succulent plants have become very popular as beautiful easycare plants. Make a succulent container garden for your home. $30 supply fee.

RSVP at (636) 239-6729. Hillermann Nursery and Florist.

June 14th 1-4 pm—Native Plant School: The Art of Combining Native Perennials.

Success in the garden comes with choosing the right plant for the right location, and creatively combiningthem to best emphasize color, texture, form and size. Session includes hands-on tours and demonstrations. Audience participation encouraged. $17 ($14 Garden members). Classroom behind the Joseph H. Bascom House. For reservations or more information, call (636) 451-3512 ext. 6007 or visit www. shawnature.org.

June 16th 9:30-10:30am—Pollinator Pantry, Gardening for Pollinators. Presented

by St. Louis County Parks Ambassador MaryAnn Fink, who will show you how easy it can “bee” to create and register your own Pollinator Pantry Garden.

Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood. Call (314) 965-3070.

10-11am – Preparing for Urban Orchard Harvest. Learn how to properly harvest and store the bounty from your orchard so you can enjoy it for months to come. RSVP IS REQUIRED. First preference will be given to gardeners in the Giving Grove program. Please email dean@ gatewaygreening.org to RSVP. Carriage House, 3815 Bell Ave., St. Louis, MO 63108. $5 Suggested donation.

10am-2pm—Valley of the Flowers Car Show. 20% off Garden Club members on beer/wine supplies this day only.

Hillermann Nursery & Florist, 636-2396729, www.hillermann.com.

June 16th & 17th 9:30-10:30am—Gardening with Missouri Natives. Learn about the long blooming sun perennials, along with delightful shade plants to ensure successful low-maintenance landscapes.

Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood. FREE. Call (314) 9653070.

June 18th-24th Noon—Lunch in the Garden for National Pollinator Week. Enjoy a light lunch and celebrate and learn more about the pollinators that are so important to our lives. June 18thAttracting Pollinators. June 19th— Pollinator Friendly Landscaping. June 20th—Pollinator Friendly Yards. June 21st—Container Gardens for Pollinators.

June 22nd—Creating a Pollinator

Habitat. Call (636) 239-6729 to RSVP for the dates you want to attend. $5/ person. Hillermann Nursery & Florist.

June 20th 6:30-7:30 PM –Pints ‘n’ Plants: How to Care for Tree Pests Sustainably.

Participate in a discussion of strategies to optimize woody plant health in your garden while minimizing the need for chemical treatments and harsh fertilizers. Speaker will also highlight common pests of St. Louis, as well as new and emergent pests of the past year to help highlight what to look for in 2018. Speaker: Danny Moncheski, Community Forester with MDC. Urban Chestnut Bierhall in The Grove. 4485 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, MO 63110. $5 Suggested donation.

June 21st-24th Mid States Cactus and Succulent Convention. See page 9 for details.

June 23rd 9:30-10:30am—Splashy Succulents.

Discover how to use these luscious plants in your live floral arrangements and gardens, as well as care for and maintain them. Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood.

FREE. Call (314) 965-3070 for info, no registration required.

June 29th-Aug. 26th Flora Borealis. Missouri Botanical Garden’s summer evening exhibit features a multimedia experience featuring cinematic projection mapping, interactive lighting, and a custom soundscape. The evening-only event will feature food and drink sales in the Garden’s newly tented beer garden, as well as live music. Tickets and dates are time specific. Missouri Botanical Garden. www.mobot.org/flora June 30th 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. Call (314) 965-3070.

DAYLILY DAZE July 7th, 2018

MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN Beaumont Room

HUNDREDS OF BLOOMS ON DISPLAY INSIDE

See the blooms up close and in person, and make your wish list for our fall sale coming Sept. 8-9.

Growers enter blooms 8:30-10am Open to public 10am-5pm Find us on Facebook

GREATER ST. LOUIS DAYLILY SOCIETY To display call Kathy (618) 304-5907

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