The Gateway Gardener October 2015

Gateway Gardener

October 2015

THE

速

Your Guide to Enjoyable Gardening and Easy-Care Landscapes

Ornamental Grasses Beautyberries Texas Green Eyes Picture-Perfect Winter Pots!

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Gateway Gardener THE

®

Your Guide to Enjoyable Gardening and Easy-Care Landscapes

October 2015

Volume 11, Number 8

Founded in 2005 by

Robert Weaver & Joyce Bruno

Publisher and Editor Robert Weaver Columnists

Barbara Perry Lawton Garden Book Author and Garden Writer Connie Alwood Master Gardener Diane Brueckman Rosarian Joyce Driemeyer Master Gardener Mara Higdon Gateway Greening Michael McVey Irrigation and Lighting Professional Steffie Littlefield Nursery Professional Abby Elliott

Nursery Professional

Jennifer Schamber Nursery Professional

Scott Woodbury

Native Plant Specialist

Printing: Breese Publishing, Breese, IL The Gateway Gardener® is published monthly 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.

M

From the Editor

y interest in gardening, as longtime readers may tire of my recalling, evolved through a fascination with prairies and prairie plants. It follows, since grasses are a defining element of prairies, that grasses would rank high among my favorite garden plants. And they do! Visit my garden and you’ll find dozens of examples of grasses and grasslike sedges and rushes. I love the variety, the way their upright foliage gives a different texture to the garden, and most of all, their tough, low-maintenance character and winter interest.

Of course, the birds and small critters are happy for the seeds as well.

I’m not alone, it seems, as grasses, once rare in the ornamental garden, have become “common as coneflowers” (another of my favorites!). As often happens in gardening practice, however, the popularity of a few varieties become copied from neighbor to neighbor until one would think only Miscanthus ‘Adagio’, Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’ and Pennisetum ‘Hameln’ comprise the complete catalog of the grass kingdom. Fine

Of course not all is fun and games in gardening; sometimes chores are there to be completed.

So, we have timely advice from Michael McVey on safely winterizing your irrigation system (pg. 12), and from Diane Brueckman, helpful tips to get your roses ready for the cold (pg. 14).

plants all, but there are so many more great and unusual choices to discover, just among the true grasses, not counting the sedges, rushes and other grasslike plants.

Barbara Lawton introduces us to a few up-and-comers on page 4.

Falling into the status quo can also be easy to do when it comes to fall and winter containers, embracing the standard mums and kale, needled evergreens and holly boughs. Again, nothing wrong with any of those choices, but for those looking for “something completely different” (Monty Python fans?)

Jennifer Schamber gathers together some ideas for creative fall/winter containers that use more unusual plants and materials on page 6.

On the Cover...

Ornamental grasses have been growing in popularity in recent years, but many gardeners are stuck on miscanthus and pennisetum.

There’s a whole new world of grasses to explore, including many native cultivars like this Panicum ‘Cheyenne Sky’. Learn about more grasses for your garden on page 4. (Photo by Robert Weaver)

This, and much more from our 10th Anniversary +1 issue!

Before I go, I should address a concern expressed by more than one reader that, given the reflective tone of my last editorial (eulogy-like, according to one), we were getting ready to close shop here at The Gateway Gardener. Nothing could be further from the truth; I was just taking the opportunity of our 10th anniversary to thank some of the people who have gotten us here, neglecting to mention the celebratory reason for my reflection. I hope to be here for a while longer, so thanks for the congratulations from many, and the expressions of concern from those few.

Good Gardening!

IN THIS ISSUE 4 6 8 10 11 12 14 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Ornamental Grasses Picture Perfect Winter Pots Texas Green Eyes Beautyberry Know the Pros Winterizing Irrigation Systems Winter Protect Your Roses Money DOES Grow on Trees Trees Work in Missouri Garlic Test and Amend Your Soil Praise for Parsley Dig This Upcoming Events

A

Ornamental Grasses

by Barbara Perry Lawton

Hoffman Nursery, Inc.

sword-like foliage and feathery major trend in American flowers are beautiful throughout gardening gained great the year, even in winter when momentum when the tan to rusty foliage makes Czech native Kurt Bluemel special decorative statements in arrived in the states in 1960 after the cold landscape. several years in Europe learning garden design and construction.

The ornamental grasses of Although his nursery success choice are clump forming plants soon brought him international that do not spread by runners or recognition, his landscape tillering as do our many of our business was what made him lawn grasses. If you learn a bit a financial success. Over about the popular groups of the years, his interest in the ornamental grasses, it will help ornamental grasses was spurred you choose some specimens for by cooperative efforts with Muhly grass your beds and borders. There other leading horticulturists and are many others you will find plant breeders. At the time of his but these are commonly found death last year, his research greenhouse at his Maryland farm held in nurseries and will get you started. over 700 species and cultivars of ornamental grasses and sedges (close relatives of true grasses) plus an additional collection of Miscanthus Also known as maidenhair grass, eulalia and Japanese silver nearly 1,500 perennials. grass, this genus has given us some of our most popular landscape Spectacular and dynamic, offering multi-seasonal interest— grasses over the years, including the omnipresent ‘Adagio’, and ornamental grasses are stars of American gardens today. Their the equally popular striped zebra grasses. Here is a grass with handsome flowers, foliage, autumn color and winter presence, plus it grows well in most soils—no wonder it’s been so frequently used. Some are successful to a fault, naturalizing more than you may wish, even to the point of invasiveness in some areas. That, along with their general overuse may recommend gardeners to another choice for their Frisella-grown mums landscape.

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Pennisetum

Commonly known as fountain grass, the pennisetums include some 80 species widely distributed in warm temperate and tropical regions. They have veritable summer fountains of bristly inflorescences ranging in size from less than one foot to more than five feet tall. There

Pennisetum ‘Burgundy Bunny’

Walters Gardens Inc.

a large selection of mums – perfect for mixed planters and the yard.

Barbara Perry Lawton is a writer, author, speaker and photographer. She has served as manager of publications for Missouri Botanical Garden and as weekly garden columnist for the PostDispatch. The author of a number of gardening and natural history books, and contributor to many periodicals, she has earned regional and national honors for her writing and photography.

Barbara is also a Master Gardener and volunteers at MBG.

The Gateway Gardener®

OCTOBER 2015

American Natives “Nativars”

Panicum ‘Northwind’

and

The American native grasses represent an increasingly popular resource for straight species ornamental grasses as well as many exciting new cultivars, or “nativars” as they are sometimes called. First among these are the panicums. This plant group, commonly called switch grass or panic grass, includes some 500 annual and perennial species native to many different types of environment and found in tropical regions as well as temperate North America. Most frequently found in this area are the straight species and cultivars of Panicum virgatum. The panicles, manybranched flower stalks, may have narrow or wide-spreading branches, creating a misty seethough affect. Foliage color ranges from blue-green to deep green. Fall color ranges from golden yellow to burgundy. For a tall, boldly textured grass, take a look at ‘Northwind’. For Bluestem outstanding fall color, check out ‘Twilight Zone’ ‘Cheyenne Sky’, ‘Shenandoah’ or ‘Ruby Ribbons.’

Walters Gardens Inc.

Walters Gardens Inc.

are several excellent cultivars from which to choose, with mainly differences in the flower forms and colors. ‘Burgundy Bunny’ is a popular pick, with its compact habit and beautiful red color summer into fall. As with miscanthus, pennisetums may suffer from overuse.

grass cultivar ‘Blonde Ambition’ (Bouteloua gracilis). Forming clumps under two feet, fall brings its distinctive side-saddle seed heads. And for a taller statement, try big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) ‘Red October’, a 5-6’ beauty with blood-red fall color all the way to its flower tips.

Other Grasses to Explore

Finally, a few other grasses are getting noticed in St. Louis landscapes. Pink muhlygrass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) is grown for the spectacular pink clouds of fall flowers. Autumn moor grass (Sesleria autumnalis) is Join us for the annual an attractive smaller clumpforming grass with elegant Autumn Herb Gathering Oct.10th silvery fall flowers, but is a cool-season grass, and the jury is out on its tolerance of heat and humidity in St. Louis.

And how can you not try a plant called purple lovegrass Revive Your Landscape (Eragrostis spectabilis)? The with one-foot bunch-forming clumps Mums •Bulbs double in height when latesummer inflorescences appear, Pansies • Evergreens Trees and Shrubs! forming ethereal purple clouds in the garden.

Fall is for Planting!

For more than you want to know about ornamental grasses, borrow or buy Rich Darke’s excellent The Color Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses.

Thanks to Tammy Behm of Greenscape Gardens, Adam Woodruff of Adam Woodruff + Little Bluestem (Schizachryium scoparium) is another native Associates, and Shannon Currey grass that is receiving a lot of attention producing some very of Hoffman Nurseries for their interesting cultivars. The straight species is handsome in its input to this article. own right with upright clumps of green to bluish-green, slender blades that take on a striking russet fall color. Cultivars, including ‘Carousel’, ‘Twilight Zone’, ‘Smoke Signal’, ‘Standing Ovation’ and ‘Little Luke’ are selected for deeper shades of blue/silver, more upright form, diminutive growth and other characteristics.

Rolling Ridge Nursery

Lawn and Garden Center 60 NORTH GORE WEBSTER GROVES, MO 63119 www.rollingridgenursery.com

(314) 962-3311 “Over 55 Years of Quality & Friendly Service!”

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OCTOBER HARVEST

Robert Weaver

A few other natives and nativars deserving recognition include my own favorite ornamental grass, Prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis). Both beautiful and tough, this grass forms delicatelooking, glossy 15-inch green fountains of foliage that give rise to 30-inch seed heads, surprisingly fragrant (which has its lovers and haters), in late summer, then fades to a light copper-tan color in fall Bouteloua and winter.

‘Blonde Ambition’

OCTOBER 2015

On the rise is the blue grama

The Gateway Gardener®

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Picture Perfect Pots for Winter “Wows”!

by Jennifer Schamber

C

Photo and design by Steve Jett

ontainer gardening has become a year-round activity. We usually start out by mid-March with early season annuals, then incorporate warm season annuals a month or two later. Then around the beginning of September, we transition to the fall season, followed by winter ingredients in October and November.

With a little creativity, these winter pots can easily be your best container gardens of the year, but you may want to try something new and think outside of the “boxwood” and Alberta Spruce. Here’s a list of the top “ingredients” to help you design your most fabulous late season pots.

Evergreen ‘Goldcrest’ cypress and annual ornamental kale will give this container color in all but coldest months. in as a “thriller” for the late deer resistant. season pot. Its fine textured foliage changes colors as the Christmas Rose (Helleborus season progresses, from greens niger) Traditionally in Europe, to pinks to reds. When sited and more recently in the U.S., in a protected location, it can the Christmas Rose is oftentimes given as a gift during the holiday Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina be evergreen during average season—a great alternative domestica) This shrub stands winters. It’s also known to be to poinsettias! These winterblooming beauties can perform outdoors and indoors, making them very versatile for holiday decorating. After the winter season, they can be planted in the shady garden and enjoyed year-round. It is also known to be deer resistant.

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Nandina and heuchera add height and color to winter arrangements..

Lemon-Scented Cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa ‘Goldcrest’)Although technically not zoned as hardy for our winters, this upright golden conifer can tolerate temperatures close to 0° Fahrenheit, usually making Coral Bells (Heuchera) it pretty reliable for our area These are quite simply some of through the holiday season. the best all-around perennials Its fine feathery texture and for container gardening. The lemony fragrance make it a very bold texture and contrasting interesting thriller in a container colors of these plants can garden. really accentuate the other EMERALD VIEW’S FESCUE AND BLUEGRASS 5-STEP LAWN PROGRAM STEP MONTH DAY 1

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components of the container garden. Although usually grown in a partial shade garden, some of the dark-leaved cultivars tend to be somewhat sun-tolerant, but all of them perform well in sun during the late season when the sun isn’t as hot.

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The Gateway Gardener®

OCTOBER 2015

Birch branches add height and interest. Take away the pumpkin to extend this container’s season even more.

arranged amongst perennials, shrubs & cool-season annuals to serve as fillers and replace plants that have completed their lifecycle. These cuttings can also be used to create entire potted arrangements, which can be especially useful in very shady areas that receive little to no sun in the winter.

With no direct sun, and when kept watered, these pots can easily last straight through the winter season (into March).

In very sunny locations, like a south-facing, brick front porch, cuttings will last through the holiday season (into January).

Usage of an anti-desiccant, like Wilt Pruf, can help extend the season. Also look for natural components like huge sugar pine cones, birch branches, pussy willow, flame willow and berry sprigs, as well as embellishments like shiny ornaments and painted twigs.

Cool-Season Annuals Pansies, violas, snapdragons and dusty miller can be quite resilient throughout the winter growing season. They will slow down flower production during the coldest parts of winter, but will resume blooming after a few days of warm sun.

Bulbs Spring blooming bulbs like crocus, tulips and hyacinth Twigs & Sprigs Fresh cuttings of evergreen pine, magnolia, can be planted under coolspruce and other conifers can be season annuals or cuttings to serve as the grand finale of a

winter pot. Carefully remove the cuttings and cut back the annuals once the bulbs begin to emerge in late winter/early spring.

Remember that these plants will still need regular watering throughout the winter season, especially if they are under an overhang. Weekly or bi-weekly watering will keep the plants hydrated and help avoid winter desiccation. Try to water on warmer days when the pot is not frozen, and make sure the roots are hydrated before going into a long-term cold snap. Be sure to always use a good quality potting mix that has adequate drainage, this will help protect the pot from cracking during the winter.

Throughout the season, you may need to “edit” your container by changing some components out or cutting off dried foliage, but with minimal effort, it can look picture perfect straight through winter.

Photos by author except as noted.

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Jennifer Schamber is the general manager of Greenscape Gardens in west St. Louis county. She is a past president of the Landscape & Nursery Association of Greater St. Louis and past vice president of the Horticulture Co-op of Metro St. Louis. Greenscape Gardens is the national 2015 winner of Today’s Garden Center Magazine’s Revolutionary 100 Award.

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The Gateway Gardener®

7

Naturally Natives

Tips and Resources for Growing and Landscaping with Sustainable Native Plants

Texas Green Eyes Can’t Stop Blooming!

I

Text and Photos by Scott Woodbury

love Texas green eyes (Berlandiera texana) because they bloom steadily and attract gold finches for nearly six months straight. They begin blooming in the St. Louis region in late April on fuzzy red stems and keep blooming into early October. That is unusual for a perennial. Heck, that’s unusual for any plant, even the native annuals. Annuals often have extended bloom times but not six months and they die at the end of the growing season.

Green eyes is a long-lived perennial, native to the Ozarks that comes back from the roots year after year.

Gold finches are attracted to its abundant seeds in spring, summer, fall and even early winter. They seem addicted to Texas green eye seeds like they are with coreopsis and purple coneflower. I am looking out the window right now at two working the patch on the south side of our office. The bird lands on a sturdy branch, grabs a flimsy flowering one with its beak, tucks the stem under a long-clawed toe, then gets to work ripping apart the seed heads like an eagle shredding a fish. At times they shred flower heads too, sending yellow petals spiraling.

The plants we grow in the Whitmire Wildflower Garden were originally collected in the Ozarks at Baker Prairie near Harrison, Arkansas, close to the Missouri-Arkansas border. Plants there grow in a small remnant prairie along a fenced hedgerow in part shade.

They have also been observed at Woods Prairie (Ozark Regional Land Trust) and Linden’s Prairie (Missouri Prairie Foundation) in southwest Missouri. In the Whitmire Wildflower Garden it is a long-lived perennial in full sun or part shade and prefers dry to average soils. At mid-day when it is hot, petals furl up, take a siesta then unfurl in the late afternoon.

Texas green eyes are also a big hit with migrating monarch butterflies. Throughout late summer, monarchs gather nectar from Texas green eye flowers to fuel their southerly migration to Mexico.

Other common pollinators include honeybees, wasps, butterflies, skippers, green metallic bees and soldier beetles.

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In gardens, plants grow 4-6 ft. tall but the height can be reduced with a spring haircut in late April or early May. Simply cut off 5060 % of the top growth and it will come back bushier and 2-3 feet tall.

Horticulturist Scott Woodbury is the Curator of the Whitmire Wildflower Garden at Shaw Nature Reserve, where he has worked with native plant propagation, design, and education for more than 20 years.

2832 Barrett Station Rd., Manchester, MO 63021 Located 1 Mile West of I-270 on Barrett Station at Dougherty Ferry

8

The Gateway Gardener®

OCTOBER 2015

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Beautyberry-A fall-season showstopper!

ne of the most noticed plants at Edg-Clif Farms & Vineyard is the quiet, midsized shrub, beautyberry.

This well-shaped shrub is charming in the spring when it is covered with small pink blooms, and acceptable in summer when the foliage is just bright green and fairly neat looking. But starting in late summer and all September the stems become covered with brilliant shiny purple berries. These berries are in full color by early October and remain until they are eaten by birds and

small mammals in late November.

In my gardens, I enjoy a beautyberry, Callicarpa dichotoma, with exceptional metallic purple fruit and leaves that turn yellow in the fall. This easy to grow plant remains a manageable size, 5’ high by 4-5’ wide. All varieties are forest-loving shrubs that can tolerate full sun for part of the day.

They are moderately drought tolerant and acclimate well to our area.

There is a native variety, C. americana, which is hardy to zone 6, but could have trouble surviving a cold dry winter. It FALL IS FOR PLANTING! grows larger, up to 8’, and has larger branches and leaves Over 1,000 trees to select from — with much larger fruit on the stems. The Very LARGE to small. open habit makes it

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a great place to view birds feasting on the brilliant berries mid-winter.

Beautyberry can be used in the landscape as a background shrub to summer perennials, as an accent plant in a smaller garden or in a woodland garden under the spreading branches of oak trees since it doesn’t require too much moisture that can damage tree roots. It’s really a fun plant to observe or cut stems for fall decorating.

Steffie Littlefield is a horticulturist and garden designer at Garden Heights Nursery. She has degrees from St. Louis Community College at Meramec and Southeast Missouri State and is a member of Gateway Professional Horticulturist Association and past president of the Horticulture Co-op of Metropolitan St. Louis.

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The Gateway Gardener®

OCTOBER 2015

Bevy of Beautyberries Cultivars & Varieties C. dichotoma: ‘Early Amethyst’ – small purple berry ‘Albifructa’ – white berries ‘Issai’- mounded form, violet-blue berries ‘Duet’- new beautyberry cultivar with variegated foliage and white berries C. japonica: ‘Augustata’ – narrow leaves ‘Leucocarpa’ – white berries ‘Luxurians’ – larger than the species with large showy fruit clusters C. americana: ‘Lactea’ – white berries and attractive foliage ‘Russell Montgomery’ – very attractive white berries C. bodinieri: ‘Profusion’- produces an abundance of violet fruit, even on young plants

Know The Pros!

Green-Industry Experts You Should Meet!

Each month, we are introducing readers to one of our area’s green-industry professional individuals or businesses. In this issue, we invite you to get to know...

2832 Barrett Station Rd. Manchester, MO 63021 314-821-2440 www.greenscapegardens.com

A Little History…

Greenscape Gardens celebrated its 20th anniversary last year, and this year was honored as the National Winner of Today’s Garden Center Magazine’s Revolutionary 100. The garden center is actively engaged in helping to guide gardeners toward healthy options through the promotion of native plants and other bio-beneficial plants and products. It has taken an active role in highlighting the importance of pollinators through its “Show Me The Monarchs” program (which distributed over 5,000 native milkweeds in 2014) and “2015 Pollinator Palette” program (which gave out over 5,000 natives beneficial to various pollinators).

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…Greenscape Gardens’ unique displays for plants with specific purposes, such as the area’s first “Deer Free Zone”.

This department makes it easy for gardeners that are impacted by deer to create a beautiful landscape by selecting deer resistant plants. It also offers a large GrowNative! department, including special displays of butterfly host plants, nectar sources, rain gardens and plants that attract birds. The edibles department offers a large selection of herbs and companion plants that can help organic gardeners with the best possible harvest and also features an interpretive permaculture garden.

Greenscape is also home to one of the area’s largest selections of tropical plants as well as perennials. The tree and shrub department is designed as an inspirational walk-thru which can help gardeners visualize a design for their own yards.

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The Gateway Gardener®

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StLouisLandscape.org 11

Winterizing Irrigation Systems

by Michael McVey

N

ow that fall is here, there is one more duty that needs to be completed with your irrigation system. It must be properly shut down for winter. This should be done before we start getting into freezing temperatures for more than a couple of hours at night. Your irrigation backflow device will be the most susceptible to freeze damage since it is outside and above ground. The warmth of the ground will protect the buried components for a little while longer.

running, the heads should all pop up and spray water initially.

Eventually, the water will stop and you’ll be blowing air instead. Many 6” or 12” sprinkler heads have a side inlet and a bottom inlet. If a head was installed using the side inlet, the compressed air will only evacuate the water out of the top of the head and residual water will be trapped in the bottom. In order to get all the water out of these heads, it is necessary to go through and step on each one while it’s blowing air. By pushing the riser back down into the body, you’ll force the air I’ve had several customers over the years who, being to go all the way to the bottom of the body before it exits the unfamiliar with in-ground sprinklers, ask me if we winterize riser. I find it best to always do this with all taller heads just by pouring antifreeze into the pipes. The answer would be an to be safe. emphatic “NO.” That is an impractical way to winterize, and it would also be costly and toxic to any animals that may drink Once all the pipes and heads are emptied of water, you’ll what runs out. Also at spring start up, the first time you run need to finish by winterizing the backflow. Disconnect your the system, you’d be spraying antifreeze all over your yard. air hose while being sure to bleed the air pressure out first.

Most backflows have two check valves, one on top and one Some irrigation systems are constructed with manual drains on bottom. The bottom one will need to be removed to drain at the low points in the irrigation main. Opening these up the water that’s trapped inside. There is also a relief plate may let most of the water out, but it will be less effective than held on by several bolts. You’ll need to loosen those bolts other methods. Rarely are the pipes in the yard all perfectly and make sure the plate pops loose so water trapped here also level. There will be undulations that trap water and will not can get out. I generally leave these bolts slightly loose during get emptied. This method also does nothing for evacuating the winter. The final step in backflow winterization is to leave water from the sprinkler heads. both shutoff valves and all the testcocks half open and half The most effective way to winterize an irrigation system is closed. When these valves are fully open or closed, water gets with compressed air. Once the water source is turned off, an stuck between the ball inside and the outer case and the valve air compressor is connected to the backflow and air is blown can split over the winter. Once all these steps are complete, through the main and all the zones and heads. The key to you should be good to go until springtime. success is having sufficient air flow. You need a high Cubic Foot per Minute (CFM) of air flow at a modest pressure. In Michael McVey has 10 years of experience general, about 80 CFM of flow at a pressure of 80 PSI or less in the Irrigation and Landscape Lighting should do the trick. Small tire pumps and garage compressors industry.

He currently works for will not have enough air flow.

Horstmann Brothers Landscaping in Once the compressor is connected to the backflow, run the clock through a 2 minute test cycle. This will evacuate the mainline and each zone one at a time. While a station is 12

Overland, MO. You can reach him at michael.mcvey@horstmannbrothers. com or 314-432-0880.

The Gateway Gardener®

OCTOBER 2015

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13

Winter Protect Your Roses

By Diane Brueckman

L

your garden neat, pluck off the petals of faded blooms.

Pick the choice blooms for a nice bouquet for yourself or to give a friend. Cutting a few roses won’t hurt.

ast year our roses were taken by surprise with an early freeze that they were not prepared for, then hit again with a late February freeze. Roses store energy for the next year in their roots.

Many roses today are “winter hardy” but I recommend covering them the first year just as a precaution against the kind of winter we had last year. Even own-root roses might benefit from the extra coddling.

The last fertilizing using chemical fertilizers such as 12-12-12 or Osmocote® should have been in August. Organic fertilizers like Chicken Soup can be applied any time. The Some roses produce quite showy “hips”(fruit). By not most important thing to deadheading these, you can enjoy the show and help the remember is to not use rose prepare for winter.

It is necessary to encourage quick-release nitrogen in our roses to go into dormancy. Roses will keep blooming the fall since it promotes tender new growth. It is also as long as the weather is warm thereby using their energy very important to keep your roses watered as they go into to produce those beautiful blooms and new growth. winter. Winter winds can dry out the exposed canes. In However, new basal shoots (growth coming from the bud fact, the canes above the cover die most winters. Don’t union) produced late in the season have little chance of panic if you see black canes in mid-winter, chances are hardening off before the first freeze. There are some good that the canes below the winter cover are alive and things you can do to help your roses shut down for the well. year.

The actual winter protection process is done as the Stop deadheading by the end of September and don’t do temperatures drop into the forties or fifties. As the weather any pruning beyond taking out dead canes. Many roses cools your roses will stop growing and many roses actually will produce hips (fruit). By not deadheading, you are have some fall color. I like to give my roses a dose of allowing the roses to go to seed. Roses, like most other organic fertilizer such as my Chicken Soup before I cover plants, consider their mission complete when they produce them. The organic fertilizer will not encourage growth in seed and stop or slow down flower production. To keep fall because it works with the soil to break down the mulch,

Diane Brueckman is a retired rosarian with Missouri Botanical Garden, and currently owns Rosey Acres in Baldwin, Illinois. You can reach her at (618) 7853011 or droseyacres@egyptian.net.

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OCTOBER 2015

especially the wood mulches, which can tie up nitrogen as they break down. More nitrogen is then available in spring to get the roses off to a good start.

There are two schools of thought on pruning, fall vs spring pruning. I do fall pruning because it makes covering the roses easier. Others prefer spring because you never know what canes will live or die. I like to take out canes crossing through the center of the plant and any very thin spindly canes. The remaining canes are trimmed back to about 18 inches to prevent the wind loosening the plants in the ground. I strip off the leaves and clean up as many of the dead leaves and weeds as I can. On a warm sunny day, spray the canes with horticultural oil to help kill disease spores that may be on the canes. All of these steps make opening up your garden easier in the spring.

Dig Deeper.

Find Back Issues online at www.issuu.com/ thegateway gardener

The final step is to cover your roses with 8-10 inches of mulch. Covering is done after a few nights in the twenties when the ground has cooled or has frozen. I have used shredded hard wood, single or double ground, as well as a thick layer of compost all with success. Sometimes the lighter weight covers like compost need to be supplemented later in the winter as they will compress or be blown off with a strong wind.

The worst thing for the roses is the freeze/thaw situation where the roses start to Looking for grow and then get frozen back again. That is what Something Unique for your Garden?? happened with the hard freeze last February. Many Come Stroll Thru Our roses were weakened Gardens and Discover by the early freeze in the Pleasure of Plants!

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15

Money DOES Grow on Trees!

By Robert Weaver

I

your tree is affecting stormwater runoff, property values, carbon sequestration, and energy costs.

n recent years, a movement has been growing among horticulturists and gardeners to direct attention toward the value of native trees as feeders of insects, and as such, feeders of songbirds whose young rely on those insects to grow. It’s true a single oak tree can support hundreds of different species of insects, and thousands of individuals to feed growing young birds.

For example, I have a large pin oak on my property, 28” in diameter.

Based upon the calculator’s results, here’s how that tree is working for me:

But even if one didn’t care a twit about birds or insects, trees have a sometimes unappreciated value to we home-dwelling humans, too. And not just in terms of ornamental esthetics and “curb appeal” enhancements. By using a “National Tree Benefit Calculator,” you can actually see, in tangible dollars, how trees in your landscape are saving you money, and will continue to increase those savings as they grow. You can check it out at www.TreeBenefits.com. Just type in your zipcode, then select a tree species, tree size and landuse type (single family dwelling, for example), and find out how

rde ur ga o y Keep

ter! s win i h t ors indo g n i w n gro

Stormwater Management.

My pin oak will intercept 8,473 gallons of water every year— almost 30 gallons a day on average! According to the site, urban stormwater management washes chemicals and litter from surfaces into streams, wetlands, rivers and oceans. Excessive stormwater runoff increases our community costs of treatment and sewage system construction and maintenance, and can adversely affect the quality of drinking water, aquatic life and ecosystem health. My tree is a mini-reservoir, intercepting and holding rain on leaves and branches, increasing infiltration and storage in roots, and reducing soil erosion.

Energy Savings. If strategically placed, my pin oak could conserve up to 158 kilowatt/hours of electricity or 5 therms of natural gas/oil consumption per year. And trees don’t have to shade the dwelling directly to provide benefit. Shading paved areas reduces the heat island effect and ozone formation; transpiration cools the air around trees, wind blocks reduce air infiltration in homes, and the aggregate energy savings reduce power plant emissions.

Air Quality. There’s a chart, but I don’t understand it, so let’s just say that trees in general, including my pin oak, improve air quality in serveral ways: by absorbing pollutants like ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide; by intercepting dust, ash and smoke; by releasing oxygen; by reducing the production of ozone, and by reducing energy use and the subsequent required emissions from power plants. That’s worth a lot!

Carbon Sequestering. My pin oak is tying up or preventing a lot of atmospheric carbon, to the tune of 1,153 pounds! It does so in two ways; first by locking up CO2 in its roots, trunks, stems and leaves; and second, by reducing heat and air conditioning demands and subsequent power production emissions.

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Property Value. My pin oak—not the greatest landscape tree, admittedly—is raising my property value by a whopping $68. Okay, that’s not much, but studies have shown buyers will pay more for properties with more trees than fewer or none.

Overall, the calculator tells me, my 28” diameter pin oak is providing benefits of $146 every year. Not much, I know, but that’s just one tree, and I have more than 20 trees on my small suburban lot. So I’m pretty happy about the value of my trees, and so are the birds and bugs!

The National Tree Benefit Calculator was conceived and developed

by Casey Trees and Davey Tree Expert Co. You can find it at www.

TreeBenefits.com.

The Gateway Gardener®

OCTOBER 2015

“TREES WORK” in Missouri

By Holly DeNtner Without trees . . . we’d be up a creek without more by visiting treeswork.org. a paddle.

One of the most unique components of Without trees . . . hammocks would just be the campaign is a creative poster series blankets on the ground. that uses humor to bring the point across.

Without trees, 2x4s would be 0x0s. Without Trees work for our well-being just as much trees, hide and seek would just be seek. as they work for wildlife, and make our lives Trees Work! better every day. That’s why the Missouri Department of Conservation created the The posters cleverly demonstrate how trees Trees Work educational campaign to connect our lives every day. And they are a increase awareness on the tangible benefits great example of the 42,500 Missouri jobs trees provide – for our health, our families, created through the forest industry, as they our wallets and our environment. are handcrafted by Firecracker Press in St. Louis. The artists there use woodblocks The Trees Work campaign helps made from Missouri cherry trees, recycled Missourians discover all the ways trees and ink, and locally-made paper – some forests are working for us. It also provides made with recycled t-shirts! Each poster information about how you can promote is carefully hand-printed and perfectly good forest management, no matter the size captures the look and feel of how trees of your property. work.

You can find out how trees improve your If you know of a public place where you’d child’s ability to learn, keep your water like to display a poster (coffee shop, clean, raise the value of your property, and

OCTOBER 2015

The Gateway Gardener®

restaurant, community center, library, city hall, or church, for example), send an email to: treeswork@mdc.mo.gov. While supplies last, the posters are free for public display.

Holly Dentner is an Outreach Representative for the Forestry Division of the Missouri Department of Conservation. For more about the Trees Work program, visit www. treeswork.org..

17

The Cornucopia Corner Garlic

By Mara Higdon

A

Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co.

hhhhh. . . . garlic! Used them to begin drying out before around the world for you harvest them so they will both medicinal and cure, dry and store properly. culinary purposes, garlic is Harvest the garlic when the very simple to grow. There are foliage begins to brown. I use two categories of garlic: hard a digging fork to loosen the and soft neck. The garlic you soil then pull them out. Do not buy at the supermarket falls wash them, but brush as much into the soft neck category. of the dirt off as you can. Store There are mild to strong either type in a cool dry place flavored varieties that are until you want to use it. enveloped in rose to purple To Cook striped skins. There are said to Barely cut the pointed end of an be over 600 varieties of garlic! entire head of garlic. Drizzle With that many choices, you’re bound to find something that fits olive oil over the cut end and wrap in foil. Put it in a 400o oven for your growing conditions and most importantly, your palate!

30-40 minutes or until the cloves feel soft when pressed. Squeeze Soft Neck: As I said, this is the most common variety you will find an individual clove onto a cracker or a slice of tomato. Voila! at the supermarket. Soft necks are often stored braided together Magnifique! due to their soft stems or neck. The heads consist of multiple small cloves covered with a thick parchment or skin. They can have a Tailgate Chili strong flavor, but vary depending on the variety. Soft necks do Serves 4, Ready in 30 minutes store well.

Ingredients Hard Neck: The stem or neck of the garlic stalk is stiff or hard.

1 lb. 95% lean ground beef (or ground white meat chicken or turkey for a Hard neck varieties of garlic are usually larger than soft neck healthier option) varieties with a small number of large cloves per head (5-12). They 1 medium onion, chopped also do not have the layers of parchment surrounding the cloves.

1 medium green bell pepper, chopped This makes it much easier to work with when you are cooking.

1 medium jalapeño (optional, only if you The skin slips right off. Hard necks send up a scape or a flowering like spicy chili), chopped 4 clove minced, fresh garlic OR stem that has a tendency to twist and turn. Delicate and graceful as 2 tsp. jarred, minced garlic a swan’s neck, they are really quite pretty! These should be cut off 1 Tbsp. chili powder to divert energy to building the garlic bulb below the ground. But, 1 Tbsp. ground cumin don’t throw the scapes away! The mild tasting scapes can be stir1/2 tsp. ground coriander fried or cooked as you would asparagus. They’re delicious! Hard 15.5 oz. canned, no-salt-added or low-sodium pinto or kidney beans, rinsed, drained necks will grow best in areas with cold winters and cool springs.

14.5 oz. canned, no-salt-added or low-sodium, diced tomatoes, undrained They too store well.

Planting, Care and Harvesting

Garlic can be planted after the first frost in the fall. You use the individual cloves to plant. Start out with the more robust and stout cloves for best results. Plant each clove with the pointed side up about one inch in the ground, four to six inches apart in soil amended with compost. I generally water them in and leave them alone until the spring. Come spring, weed the garlic bed with care as the shoots begin to grow. If there is a dry spell in the spring I water as needed and may add a small layer of leaf mulch if necessary. If you decide to grow the hard neck variety remove the scapes as they develop. When the foliage begins to brown in early-mid June, stop intentionally watering your garlic. You want 18

3/4 cup jarred salsa (lowest sodium available)

Preparation Instructions (Total Time: 30 min )

Spray large saucepan with cooking spray. Cook beef and onion over mediumhigh heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring constantly to break up beef. Transfer to colander and rinse with water to drain excess fat. Return beef to pan.

Stir in bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, and cumin, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes.

Optional: serve topped with low-fat grated cheese, a dollop of fat-free sour cream, sliced avocado, snipped cilantro or chopped green onions.

Recipe copyright © 2015 American Heart Association. This recipe is brought to you by the American Heart Association’s Simple Cooking with Heart ® Program.

For more simple, quick and affordable recipes, visit heart.org/simplecooking.

The Gateway Gardener®

OCTOBER 2015

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

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

Vegetables

Tomatoes Turnips

Beans Beets Broccoli Cabbage Cauliflower Cucumbers Eggplant Garlic Greens Herbs Horseradish Kohlrabi Lettuce Okra Onions Peas Peppers Popcorn Potatoes Pumpkins Radishes Rhubarb Spinach Squash Sweet Potatoes

Fruits

Apples Blueberries Canteloupe Grapes (wine) Nectarines Pears Plums Raspberries, red Watermelon

Mara Higdon is the Program Director at Gateway Greening, Inc. They focus on community development through gardening throughout the St. Louis area.

You can reach her at (314) 588-9600 x22 or by email at mara@gatewaygreening.org.

Test Soil Now For Better Harvests Next Year!

M

any people don’t start thinking about their gardens until spring’s warmth nudges us out of hibernation.

But, especially if you’ve had a poor harvest or problems in the garden or lawn, now’s the time to make improvements to the soil. And it all begins with a soil test. Soil tests will give you important information about soil pH (alkalinity or acidity), nutrients and soil condition (organic matter, texture, etc.).

soil tested. The Plant Dr. Desk at Missouri Botanical Gardens Kemper Center for Home Gardening will conduct walk-in tests for pH M-Sat. 10-3. If you want a more detailed test, the University of Missouri Extension offices can help (cost is $22/sample). Bring your sample to:

How to Collect a Sample Using a plastic container (clean Tupperware, yogurt or other suitable container) and a trowel or bulb planting tool, dig a hole (3” for turf, 6-10” for vegetable gardens or 6-8” for ornamental gardens) and extract a sample containing only soil—remove roots, twigs or dead plant matter. Repeat this process in 3-5 more sites within the area of concern (vegetable garden, turf area or flower bed). Mix samples together to obtain a uniform, composite sample. Let dry (don’t heat) for several days.

Brightside St. Louis (M-F 9-4) 4646 Shenandoah Ave. St. Louis, MO 63110 (314) 772-4646

Where to Submit You have several options for having

MU Extension-ST. Louis County (M-F 8:30-4:30) 10650 Gateway Blvd.

Creve Coeur, MO 63122 (314) 400-2115

Gateway Greening (M-Th 8-3:30) 2211 Washington Ave. St. Louis, MO 63103 (314) 588-9600 In Illinois Farm Bureau agencies can provide soil tests, and U. of Illinois Extension offices can evaluate reports for homeowners.

For more detailed instructions on how to take a soil sample, see our video at: https://youtu.be/ eVijSVsrV1E.

Your Prescription for a Picture Perfect lawn

Still See Weeds?

Double Down!

Substitute one step with Winterizer with Surge.®

Apply Winterizer on Halloween & Thanksgiving as step 4 & 5.

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Purchase Dyna Green™ Fertilizer At These Authorized Dealers: Bayer’s Garden Shop St Louis, MO 63139 (314) 781-2314 www.bayergardenshops.com

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The Gateway Gardener®

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Kirkwood Material Supply Kirkwood, MO 63122 (314) 822-9644 www.kirkwoodmaterial.com St. Peters Hardware & Rental Alton, IL 62002 (618) 466-6931 www.stpetershardware.com

Sappington Garden Shop St Louis, MO 63126 (314) 843-4700 www.sappingtongardenshop.com Valley Park Elevator & Hardware Valley Park, MO 63088 (636) 225-7100 www.valleyparkelevator.com

Listen to The McGraw Show M-F 6-10am

19

Praise for Parsley

by Joyce Driemeyer

E

ven for non-herbers, grow it or not! Fresh parsley, it is a green most not dried, contains a number people recognize. The of vitamins, including A, B, ornamental green that often B1, B2 and C, niacin, calcium adorns restaurant meals and is and iron, plus glycosides, discarded! The biennial plant antimicrobial furanocoumarins Petroselinum criscum is the same and carbohydrates.

The family as carrot, fennel, dill, and high chlorophyll content of parsnip, and is taprooted. There the foliage can serve as an are three main types of parsley: excellent breath freshener after Curly parsley (P. crispum), ingesting garlic or other strong flat-leaved parsley (sometimes substances. called Italian or French parsley), Although my experience with and Hamburg parsley, grown for parsley has been with growing its edible taproot and is used like and using flat-leaved or Italian a vegetable much like a turnip, mostly in Europe. Parsley was parsley in food preparation, it also has an interesting history of native to Europe and the eastern Mediterranean area. uses for GI complaints, anti flatulence, antimicrobial benefits, Parsley is not difficult to grow. It likes well-drained, neutral and as a diuretic. soil in either full sun or light shade, and makes an attractive Ancient history connects parsley with varied uses and edging plant in the garden, especially the lower-growing moss- superstitious beliefs, which make interesting reading, with leaved or curly parsley, which tops out at about 8” high. The uses and associations going back many centuries. The Celts are slightly taller flat-leaved varieties are also tidy and make a green reported to have repelled a Greek invasion when they covered statement in a border or pot. Growing from seed can present a their donkeys with wreaths of parsley, which caused the Greeks challenge, as seed must be soaked beforehand and germination to run in terror since parsley was supposed to represent death! will take 3-6 weeks, if successful at all. I suggest purchasing already started plants from a nursery or garden center in April. In cooking we need parsley for bouquet garni, and fines herbes Since not hardy here, a pot can be carried through in a sunny and spreads like Middle Eastern Tabbouli. A favorite sauce of window over winter. I replace parsley annually, as the flavor of mine is as follows: second year growth is often too strong and bitter.

The real virtue of parsley is that fresh bunches are available year-round in our markets, and we can therefore partake of its tremendous health benefits in our food preparations, whether we

NEED A SPEAKER for your Garden Club or Group?

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

Choose from over 50 different programs, from Aromatherapy to Winter Damage, Birds in the Garden, to Soil Preparation, Daylilies to Orchids.

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.)

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Parsleyed Sesame Sauce 2/3 cup Tahini sauce, I used Trader Joe’s sauce containing lemon juice and garlic Add 1 cup finely chopped fresh parsley, leaves only, all stirred together.

Refrigerate til use.

Delicious with crudités, such as celery, carrot sticks.

Good on poached fish fillets and very good on cold cooked salmon.

Other suggestions: Parsleyed potato soup and add chopped parsley to biscuit dough just before rolling out to back cut-out biscuits.

After 30 years as a landscape designer, Joyce is now retired. She has been a MBG volunteer since 1969 and a Master Gardener since 1985. She is also a past board member of the Herb Society of America, and is a current board member of the St. Louis Herb Society.

The Gateway Gardener®

OCTOBER 2015

Dig This!

Gateway Gardeners and Businesses in the News Local Arborist Elected to National Trade Association Board

Tim Gamma

The Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA), a national trade association for commercial and utility tree care companies, announced the election of Tim Gamma to the TCIA Board of Directors.

Gamma is the longtime president of Gamma Tree Experts, a TCIA-accredited member company located in St. Louis, Missouri.

Gamma is involved in a number of local and national organizations, including the St. Louis Arborist Association, the International Society of Arboriculture, the Society of Commercial Arboriculture, the TREE Fund, Missouri Botanical Garden, and the National Arbor Day Foundation, among others.

Gamma Tree Service LLC was established in 1954 and has remained a family owned and operated tree care company ever since. In 2006, Gamma Tree Service merged with Shield Shade Tree, which has provided planned programs in tree maintenance since 1926.

Gamma’s term on the TCIA Board of Directors is set to begin in February 2016. Alongside his fellow Board members, Gamma wants to keep TCIA focused on the mission of advancing commercial tree businesses and following through on transforming the tree care industry.

Champion Tree Offspring Available for Sale Now you can have the offspring of a real “champion” in your landscape! Kirkwood Park in Kirkwood, MO, until just a couple years ago was the home of the Missouri State Champion Sugarberry tree (Celtis laevigata). The “Greentree Tree” was designated a State Champion (largest of its species in the state) on May 18th, 2011, and at that time was estimated to be over 150 years old. Unfortunately, the tree had to be removed just a couple years later, the victim of years of lightning strikes and other abuses. Before its removal, however, seeds were collected and cultivated

by Forest ReLeaf, a not-for-profit group that grows OCTOBER 2015

The Gateway Gardener®

and distributes trees for free to community’s and organizations.

The group recently conducted an auction of 7-gallon and 15-gallon (size of container) trees to raise funds for their operations.

Though the auction ended September 30th, a few trees remain, and are being sold while The Greentree sugarberry, circa quantities last for $100 2011.

(7-gal.)-$150 (15-gal.).

The trees range in size from 4’-8’, and have been cultivated by ISA-certified arborist at Forest ReLeaf of Missouri. Each tree is guaranteed to be from the champion bloodlines of the Greentree Sugarberry.

One of the tree’s progeny was planted in Kirkwood Park in 2014 as the city’s official Arbor Day tree.

Another was purchased through the recent auction by the City of Webster Groves and was planted as a memorial to fallen city employees.

Additional ‘Greentree’ trees have been planted at schools and parks throughout the St. Louis region.

Sometimes maligned unfairly by association to its relative, the hackberry, sugarberry’s are actually much prized shade trees, growing to height of 70’ or 15- and 7-gal. sugarberry trees more, with smooth bark pictured with Forest ReLeaf resembling the American volunteer Val Geile. beech, and attractive (though not knockout) yellow fall color.

To reserve your tree, or to ask additional questions, contact Wendy Schlesinger by email at wendy@ moreleaf.org, or call (314) 533-5323. Tree pick-ups must be scheduled in advance for either Saturday, Oct. 10, or Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2015, and may be picked up from Forest Releaf’s CommuniTree Garden’s Nursery, 2194 Creve Coeur Mill Road, Creve Coeur Park.

21

Upcoming Events FUN FOR KIDS

Upcoming Events Meetings, Classes, Entertainment and More Updates to this information are often posted on our online events calendar at GatewayGardener. com, so check there for the latest details.

Oct. 3rd 9am—Children’s Garden Club.

For the Garden at Haefners.

6703 Telegraph Rd. (314) 8460078. www.forthegarden.net.

Sponsored by St. Louis County Parks and Recreation.

11am-2pm—First Saturday Kids. Bring the kids to play in the garden and enjoy a FREE activity - Plant a mini pumpkin!

Hillermann Nursery & Florist, 636-239-6729, www.hillermann. com.

CLASSES, LECTURES Give us the details of your AND EVENTS 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 January/February issue is December 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!

22

Oct. 1st 3:30-5:30pm—Missouri River Bird Observatory “Backyard Bird Banding” See a bird banding demonstration by MRBO - see birds up close and personal. Learn about the birds, measurements taken, banding and the research by MRBO. Likely catches include cardinals, woodpeckers, and chickadees.

Hillermann Nursery & Florist, 636-239-6729, www.hillermann. com.

Oct. 3rd 10am—Flower Bulb Basket Make-N-Take.

Enjoy a workshop in making a Layered Spring Flowering Bulb Bushel Basket. Your basket can sleep outdoors through winter. Come spring it will be a colorful spring flower garden that you can place anywhere. $30.00 supply fee.

Please call 636-239-6729 to sign up. Hillermann Nursery & Florist, www.hillermann.com.

10am—From Fall to Winter, Transitional Container Gardening. Design colorful containers that will look great in autumn and sparkle in the winter. Sugar Creek Gardens,

1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood.

FREE. Call (314) 965-3070.

2pm—So you want to be a Beekeeper.

Join Frisella’s beekeeper Vic Imgarten for an in-depth look at the world of bees. Learn the many ways these helpful insects will improve the blooming power and health of our yards, plus advice on what equipment to use, how to use it, and tips for troubleshooting.

Frisella Nursery, frisellanursery. com/events, 636.798.2555.

6pm—Night Blooms at the Garden. Music at Frisella Nursery, featuring local talented musicians Soulpunch. Enjoy a glass of wine or beer and light fare prepared by Café Angelina.

Frisella Nursery, frisellanursery. com/events, 636.798.2555.

Oct. 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th, and 31st 8:30-9:30am—Coffee and Conversation. Enjoy coffee and conversation with a member of Hillermann’s staff on a different topic each Saturday. Questions welcome.

No registration, obligation or fee - just come in and join the conversation. Then, pick up supplies and put your fresh knowledge to work in your yard and gardens. Hillermann Nursery & Florist, 636-2396729, www.hillermann.com.

Oct. 3rd & 4th 9am-5pm—Annual Best of Missouri Market. Over 120 Missouri food producers and crafters offer fresh produce, baked goods, fresh and dried flowers, herbs, handcrafted items, baskets, wooden toys, custom jewelry and more. Live music and a Kids Corner with cow milking, pumpkin decorating and barnyard animals. Outdoors under tents, rain or shine. $12 adults (13-over), $5 children (312), $5 members. Buy tickets in advance online at www.mobot. org. No trams.

Oct. 7th 7pm—The Dirt on Soil. Part of Olivette in Bloom’s Free Gardening Lecture Series. Master Gardener Connie Goss will help you analyze and ‘grow’ quality soil. Bring your soil sample: Scrape away mulch, dig 6-8” deep, put one cup of soil in a pint jar or 2 cups in a quart jar. Fill with water, shake and let stand for 24 hours. Old Bonhomme School, 966 Old Bonhomme Rd. St. Louis, 63132. Register online at Olivetteinbloom.org or email contact@olivetteinbloom.org, or call (314) 991-4954.

Oct. 8th 1-4pm—Native Plant School: Gardening with Asters and Goldenrods. $15 ($12 Garden/ SNR members).

Whitmire Wildflower Garden at Shaw Nature Reserve. For reservations or more information, call (636) 451-3512 or visit www. shawnature.org.

Oct. 10th 9-11am—Wine Making. Learn how to make your own wine with Harvey Jasper at this multisession class. If you have some experience you are welcome to come learn new tips and share your knowledge with fellow participants. Classes have started, but you can come at any session. Class Schedule: Oct. 10 - Stabilizing and Clarifying; Nov. 14 - Filtering & Back Sweetening; and Dec. 5 - Bottling. $25.00 class fee (or $5.00 per session). Attend all or as many of these sessions as you like. Please call 636-239-6729 to sign up. Hillermann Nursery & Florist, www.hillermann.com.

9am-2pm—U City in Bloom Bulb Sale. Tent is located on the side walk on the west side of the U. City St. Louis Bread Co. parking lot - 6630 Delmar.

Pre-order online at www. ucityinbloom.org by October 3rd

The Gateway Gardener®

OCTOBER 2015

for best selection and pick up orders day of sale.

The UCB Bulb Sale supports efforts to plant hundreds of new bulbs annually in the public flower beds in the community.

For additional information, call (314) 973-6062.

garden. Learn the art of creating miniature landscapes with doll-sized shrubs, perennials, annuals and more for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and more. Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood.

FREE. Call (314) 965-3070.

Oct. 10th 10am-2pm—Autumn Herb Gathering. Webster Groves Herb Society members have been creating wonderful herbal products throughout the summer to sell. Great ideas for Holiday gifts, plus garden books, and herbal how-to demos presented throughout the day. Parking and admission is free. Rolling Ridge Nursery, 60 N. Gore, Webster Groves. See www.wgherbs.org for more.

10am-Noon—Arboretum and Rain Garden Tours.

Forest ReLeaf’s CommuniTree Gardens Nursery in Creve Coeur Park is home to over 22,000 trees representing more than 120 different species or cultivars of species, over 95% native Missouri. Learn tree identification, explore how rain gardens attract wildlife and cut costs, and see examples of species that thrive in hard to grow areas. An official Monarch Waystation, their greenhouse features many hard to find native species grown from seed. For more information and to register: moreleaf.org, 314-533-5323 or email info@moreleaf.org.

10am—Preparing Your Garden for Winter. Learn useful tips and techniques that will benefit your plants come spring, such as the important timing for pruning roses, shrubs and perennials to keep them in maximum blooming form.

Learn the varieties that should be cut back and covered, and the others that should be left alone.

Mulching and composting, along with other garden care will be discussed. Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood.

FREE. Call (314) 965-3070.

6pm—Night Blooms at the Garden.

Music at Frisella Nursery, featuring local talented musician Jessica Womack. Enjoy a glass of wine or beer and light fare prepared by Café Angelina.

Frisella Nursery, frisellanursery. com/events, 636.798.2555.

1-5pm—Native Plant School 10th Anniversary Celebration. th Oct. 11 Keynote speaker Alan Branhagen, Noon-5pm—Sprig and Twig director of horticulture at Powell Garden Club Annual Fall Garden, plus educational exhibits Flower Show and Plant Sale. and free food and beverages, The 2015 Flower Show theme is: live music and more! Whitmire It’s Showtime! Florissant Senior Wildflower Garden at Shaw Center 621 Rue St. Francois in Nature Reserve. FREE. For more Florissant, MO. This event is information, call (636) 451-3512 free and is part of the Florissant or visit www.shawnature.org.

Old Town Fall Festival. Be sure to check out the Potting Shed Oct. 17th-18th Plant Sale after you visit the 9am-5pm—Greater St. Louis flower show.

Daffodil Society Sale. New cultivars and old favorites are Oct. 17th sold by the area’s top growers, 10am—Enchanting Holiday who are on hand to give plant Centerpiece-Mini Landscaping care advice and share information for Containers and Gardens. about their organization. – Enchant your family and friends Missouri Botanical Garden with a holiday mini landscape Orthwein Floral Display Hall.

OCTOBER 2015

The Gateway Gardener®

Oct. 18th 1pm—Practical Pruning.

This excellent pruning lesson addresses pruning from two angles. Join Frisella’s Tom Mee for a broad-brush approach to keeping the trees and shrubs in our yards in shape. He’ll also describe how to maintain some of the more challenging varieties of plants. Frisella Nursery, frisellanursery.com/events, 636.798.2555.

Oct. 21st 7pm—Reweaving the Web of Life with Native Plants.

Part of Olivette in Bloom’s Free Gardening Lecture Series.

Naturalists Christine Torlina and Gary Schimmelpfenig will showcase their 10-acre landscape in Cedar Hill, which they have been restoring with native vegetation for over 17 years. Learn how enhancing biodiversity in your own yard can stimulate the mind and inspire the spirit. Old Bonhomme School, 966 Old Bonhomme Rd.

St. Louis, 63132. Register online at Olivetteinbloom.org or email contact@olivetteinbloom.org, or call (314) 991-4954.

Oct. 24th 10am-4pm—Great River Road Chestnut Roast. Taste fresh roasted chestnuts and other delicious foods of the fall harvest. Arts and crafts, fun activities for the kids, fresh food, local vendors, demonstrations and entertainment. Cooking demo and seminars by Dr. Gene Garrett on specialty crops and agroforestry. Forrest Keeling Nursery, 88 Forrest Keeling Ln., Elsberry, MO. (573) 898-5571.

Oct 25th 1pm—Essential Oils. Join Ashlee Haughton for a great introduction on how to use essential oils and how you can incorporate them into your daily routine. Frisella Nursery, frisellanursery.com/events, 636.798.2555.

10th Anniversary!

Celebrating 10th years of Greener Gardens!

Sat., October 17, 2015 1-5pm

at Shaw Nature Reserve • Gray Summit • MO FREE to the public--Join Us!

Keynote Speaker Alan Branhagen (4pm) director of horticulture at Powell Gardens, plus...

Exhibitors, Demonstrations and Garden Tours (1-3pm) Educational Exhibits Include...

Also...

• Free Social, Light Food and Refreshments 3pm) (Local Harvest) • FREE Willow Seedlings • Live Music with Nathan Gilberg, Matt Rowland & Friends • Wine & Beer by the glass (Edg-Clif Vineyard) • Apple Cider (Sierra Club)

• Flower arrangements and bush honeysuckle control (SNR staff) • Face time with Shaw staff and entomologist James Trager • Butterfly host plants (Wild Ones St. Louis) • How to build a bird bubbler (The Gateway Gardener) • Backyard consults (St. Louis Audubon Society) • Home garden soil tests (MO Master Naturalists ) • Food for birds (Wild Bird Rehabilitation) • Pottery and throwing techniques (Wildwood Green Arts) • Sustainable urban farming with native plants (Lincoln University) • Bush honeysuckle tables (Dale Dufer)

For a complete list of events and participating groups, and to RSVP visit www.shawnature.org/nps

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FOR THE GREENEST LAWN ON THE BLOCK TOP DRESS WITH STA-CERTIFIED COMPOST

AFTER AFTER

BEFORE

BEFORE

Top Dressing will reduce water consumption and increase nutrients in your soil.

Visit St. Louis Composting’s six area locations for the largest selection of STA-certified compost, mulch products and soil blends.

BELLEVILLE, IL

VALLEY PARK, MO

5841 Mine Haul Road 618.233.2007

39 Old Elam Avenue 636.861.3344

560 Terminal Row 314.868.1612

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO

FLORISSANT, MO

PACIFIC, MO

11294 Schaefer Drive 314.423.9035

13060 County Park Road 314.355.0052

ST. LOUIS, MO

18900 Franklin Road 636.271.3352

Visit us online at www.stlcompost.com

Step-by-Step Guide to Top Dressing: - Core aerate the lawn, concentrating on the most heavily trafficked sections.

- Apply a ½ inch layer of Field and Turf compost, using the Ecolawn Top Dresser - Smooth the surface using a rake or weighted drag mat to break down soil plugs and backfill holes - Spread grass seed, lightly rake, and water – making sure all seeds are covered with soil/compost layer to guard against winter damage - Water as needed, keeping the soil moist until seeds germinate