The Gateway Gardener September 2017

Gateway Gardener THE

SEPTEMBER 2017

®

Your Guide to Enjoyable Gardening and Easy-Care Landscapes

All in on Allium Ornamental Onions

Trees with Skinny Genes Extending the Veggie Season Organic Lawn Renovation

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Gateway Gardener

From the Editor

THE

®

Your Guide to Enjoyable Gardening and Easy-Care Landscapes

SEPTEMBER 2017

Volume 13, Number 7

Founded in 2005 by Joyce Bruno & Robert Weaver Publisher and Editor Robert Weaver Columnists Diane Brueckman Rosarian Bill Dalton Organic Lawn Professional Abby Elliott Nursery Professional Matt Even Gateway Greening Steffie Littlefield Nursery Professional Jennifer Schamber Nursery Professional Scott Woodbury Native Plant Specialist

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.

renown plantsman Dan Heims for a recent article on Heuchera.

As I reported in our last issue, we were saddened by the death in June of one of our charter contributors and Gateway Gardener advocate and friend, Barbara Perry Lawton.

I devote this issue’s editor’s note to her.

W

hen I set about lining up contributors for this yet-to-be-published gardening magazine, Barbara Perry Lawton was at the top of my must-have list. Her garden writing bonafides easily put her at the head of any Who’s Who of local plant scribes, and I felt she would bring needed credibility to an unknown publication by an unknown publisher. When she asked what kinds of articles were expected, I drew on the only reference I had to a regular gardening columnist, Clarissa Start, who had until just a few years earlier written “The Happy Gardener” personal essay columns for the St. Louis Post Dispatch. To the suggestion, Barbara bristled and replied, “I will NOT write Clarissa Start columns.”

It was nothing against the columnist, but Barbara was a scientist by education, and her approach to topics was heavy on the research and facts, light on the modifiers and anecdotal humor.

Her daughter, the late Cindy Gilberg, once told a reporter her mother “had an insatiable curiosity to know about plants…. She would

When Barbara wrote a column on garden hats several years ago, we discovered we both owned the same goofy hat, a giveaway from a Garden Writers’ Symposium we had attended.

learn and write about them.”

That style resulted in columns and books on a broad spectrum of plants and gardening techniques. Her book titles were as straightforward as her writing, including Hibiscus, Mints, Parsleys, Fennels, and Queen Anne’s Lace, and, undoubtedly giving in to an editor’s embellishment, The Magic of Iris.

In her 13 years writing for The Gateway Gardener, she covered those and nearly every other major popular gardening plant category as well as many rare and unusual subjects. If she was unfamiliar personally with a plant topic requested, she was not shy about picking the brains of local pros as well as nationally prominent plant experts, as she did with world-

On the Cover...

The Missour native nodding onion (Allium cernuum) is a little more demure than its cultivated cousins, but makes a presentable show in its own right.

For more on ornamental onions, see page 6. (photo courtesy Walters Gardens, Inc.)

Before she began writing for us, Barbara was already well known to St. Louis gardeners for her morethan-20 years of weekly columns in the Post-Dispatch and her years as manager of publications and Bulletin editor for the Missouri Botanical Garden. She also gave of her gardening experience personally, serving as a Master Gardener volunteer at both the Garden’s phone-in Horticulture Answer Service and walk-in Plant Dr. Desk. Her accomplishments and active participation in organizations earned her a wall full of awards, including lifetime achievement awards from the Older Women’s League, St. Andrew’s Resources for Seniors, Missouri’s affiliate of the National Federated Press Women, and a place in the international Garden Writer’s Association Hall of Fame.

I’m humbled that, in articles about and recognitions of Barbara, she always proudly listed her work as a regular contributor to The Gateway Gardener. I have always referred to Barbara as our “flagship” contributor, and the honor has been mine to have included her name on our masthead for the past 13 years.

I’ll miss her, as I’m sure will you, our readers.

IN THIS ISSUE 4 Trees with Skinny Genes 6 All in on Alliums 8 Cost of NOT Maintaining Trees 9 Plan to Plant This Fall 10 Book Review 11 Fall Lawn Renovation 12 Fall Family Fun 14 Veggie Season Extenders 14 JT’s Fresh Ideas 16 Preparing Roses for Next Year 18 Berry Plants for the Birds 20 Dig This!

22 Upcoming Events

Trees with Skinny Genes

by Steffie Littlefield

Golden Treat™ Apple

Black Tower Elderberry

I

have advised many customers to try something unique in their landscapes when dealing with a lack of space. When in the tightest locations you can and should still add trees in your landscape. Consider planting columnar or fastigiate trees in containers and narrow spaces.

This is when I get the blank stare or “columnar what”! So I’m here to make this special shape more common in our landscapes.

You may hear the terms narrow, columnar, or fastigiate when people talk about skinny trees.

The columnar trees are ones with a single trunk and shorter uniform branches, while those

with multiple trunks or branches that grow upright and close together are more correctly called fastigiate. Whatever you call them their unique growth habit makes them great for screening narrow areas, using in containers on patios and decks, and growing in confined planting spaces. Their neat shape adds a nice structural element to any landscape whether as a single specimen or planted in a row.

Some of my favorite columnar trees are also useful in the landscape for other reasons. The columnar apple trees are prolific producers of full size delicious apples and they are much easier to care for as far as pruning.

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Tangy Green™ is a bright green apple, Golden Treat™ features golden fruits, and Tasty Red™ has bright red apples. All fruit in the first year planted. Mature size for each is 8 to 10 feet tall by 2 feet wide. A choice of two varieties is required for cross pollination. These trees are covered with white blossoms in spring.

produces a really beautiful show in the spring of delicate, plentiful reddish-purple blooms. Another interesting plant is the ‘Black Tower’ elderberry. This small tree is covered in two-toned pink flowers in early summer followed by purple berries in the fall. New foliage is celery green maturing to a dark purple-black.

This is a tall, upright variety quickly reaching 6 to 8 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide. Great for narrow spaces!

For strictly ornamental uses there is a wide variety of choices in narrow trees. ‘Rosalie’ columnar crabapple is an ornamental crabapple tree that yields medium red, relatively large fruit compared to other crabapple varieties. It is a moderate grower reaching up to 9 feet tall and 1 foot wide. This

Another really unusual small tree is Magic Fountain™ weeping persimmon. This interesting little tree features a distinct upright columnar and weeping growth habit, with a vigorous and rapid growth rate, and relatively large leaves. Spring flowers then produce fruit that becomes light orange and has great garden

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The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2017

We have the Trees and Shrubs For Fall Color • Screening • Natives for Wildlife Shade • Landscape Beauty All the Most Popular Varieties PLUS Cool and Unusual Specimens

‘DawyckPurple’ Beech

Princeton Sentry® Ginkgo performance for fall. Grows 25 to 30 feet tall and 5 to 10 feet wide.

There are many taller growing trees with distinctive upright habits that are very useful for screening in narrow spaces, creating upward structural elements for design and even afternoon shade when oriented in the correct direction as a row in the landscape. The columnar red maple and Temple’s upright sugar maple, both produce deciduous foliage in a columnar shape. The columnar red maple canopy spreads only 10 feet wide, but its height reaches 50 feet. Temple’s upright is an erect tree with a canopy that spans 6 to 15 feet across while growing up to 65 feet tall. Both trees produce vibrant fall color and are useful

Regal Prince® English Oak for privacy screens. Other larger growing trees that are very hardy here and have different attributes are Armstrong Freeman maple – 40’+H x 15’W, Greencolumn black maple – 40’H x 25’W, upright European hornbeam – 40’H x 20’W, upright European beech – 40’H x 10’W, Princeton Sentry® ginkgo – 60’H x 20’W, Regal Prince® English oak or Crimson Spire™ oak– 60’H x 20’W, and particulary good for a wet spot, bald cypress ‘Swanee Brave’ – 50’H x 20’W. So if you are looking for something unique and have that difficult tight space, try columnar, or fastigiate, trees that have narrow, single trunks.

Their natural shape makes them useful in areas with little available space for planting, as well as in areas near a house or balcony where spreading trees are impractical. Planted in rows, these erect, uniform trees can also bring a classic, tidy look to street sides, garden paths and long driveways.

Photos on opposite page courtesy Garden Debut. Photos on this page courtesy J. Frank Schmidt & Sons.

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 Coop of Metropolitan St. Louis. She is part-owner of Edg-Clif Winery, Potosi, MO. www.Edg-Clif.com.

SEPTEMBER 2017

The Gateway Gardener™

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• Bloodgood Japanese Maple • Pine Bark Maple Orange Flame Japanese Maple • Oskasuki Japanese Maple • Lionshead Japanese Maple • Shishigashira Japanese Maple • Waterfall Japanese Maple • Crimson Queen Japanese Maple • Shidare Japanese Maple • Tamukeyama Japanese Maple • Green Laceleaf Japanese Maple • Armstrong Gold Red M a p l e • October Glory Red Maple • Red Sunset Red Maple • Sun Valley Red Maple • Autumn Moon Fernleaf Maple • Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry • Little King Dwarf Birch • Columnar European Hornbeam • Blue B e e c h American Hornbeam • White Redbud • Hearts of Gold Redbud • Merlot Redbud • Soft Serve Cypress • Fringetree • Yellowwood • Leyland Cypress • Autumn Gold Ginkgo • Pink Diamond Hydrangea • B l u e Haven Juniper • Skyrocket Juniper • Taylor Juniper • Carnaerrti Juniper • Eastern Red Cedar • Bracken’s Brown Beauty Magnolia • Little Gem Magnolia • Butterflies Magnolia • Coralburst Crabapple • David Crabapple • Osage Orange • Pistachio • Persian Parrotia • Norway Spruce • Dwarf Alberta Spruce • Bakeri Colorado Spruce • Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Limber Pine • Austrian Pine • Eastern White Pine • Exclamation Sycamore • Okame Taiwan Cherry • Shubert Canada Red Chokecherry • Yoshino Flowering Cherry • Overcup Oak • Swamp Chestnut Oak • Nuttall Oak • English Oak • Scarlet Oak • Purple Robe Black Locust • Summer Charm Lilac • Bald Cypress • Emerald Green Arborvitae • Green Giant Arborvitae • Redmond American Linden • Canadian Hemlock • Frontier Smoothleaf Elm • Green Vase Zelkova • Musashino Zelkova

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All in on Alliums!

by Abby Lapides Elliott

A

The author gives a sense of scale to the size of Allium giganteum.

lliums…I love their toughness, functional beauty and versatility in the garden. Some varieties sprout gorgeous gigantic blooms, while others give scrumptious veggies and herbs for cooking. Since I’m sure we’re all familiar with the more traditional alliums—garlic,

onions and chives—let’s dig a little deeper into this fabulous ornamental and edible genus.

Who doesn’t want a showstopping, out-of-this-world flower display? I know I do. Many of the bulb-type alliums, or ornamental onions, that you plant in the fall give us exactly that. ‘Gladiator’,

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‘Globemaster’ and gigantium each give us 6-8 inch perfectly round purple balls that rise up on erect, tall green stalks in early summer. The behemoth flowers of ‘Schubertii’ can grow to a whopping 20” in diameter.

The monster blossoms look like fireworks exploding in the garden. Each bulb produces one flower; look for these in garden centers starting in September. I like planting these in groups of at least three to create a dramatic display, but planted individually they also provide a focal point in a mixed perennial garden.

the 2018 Perennial Plant of the Year.

Looking for a unique beauty like the large ornamental onions, but want something a little smaller? Try ‘Millennium’.

Use this superb plant instead of monkey grass, as its glossy green foliage forms neat round clumps. In midsummer many perfectly round 2” globes of pink rise up over the strappy foliage. Its almost complete imperviousness to disease and pests, showy sterile flowers that don’t reseed, and drought tolerance are just some of the reasons that ‘Millennium’ is

The Missouri native nodding onion (see cover photo) is a sweet plant that mixes well with Missouri primrose and

Don’t be scared by how the twisty leaves of ‘Medusa’ can mesmerize. The nodding flower buds resemble the heads of snakes until they straighten up and open to reveal amethystpurple blossoms. ‘Medusa’ is easy to grow and needs little care to perform like a champ.

‘Medusa’ and ‘Millennium’ both grow to about 18” tall, making them look pictureperfect in the front of the garden or edging along a walkway.

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A. ‘Medusa’ little bluestem grass. Before the bright pink flowers open the flower buds point down, causing the stalks to look like shepherd’s hooks. The strappy green leaves look like shiny grass. Growing naturally on rocky slopes, this drought tolerant native is easy to grow in well-drained soil.

a whole column on my love of garlic, or the many different ways I use onions and chives.

What I love about growing these flavor giants is that there’s not a lot of diseases or pests that bother the allium family, unlike the persnickety tomato.

I enjoy just about every type of edible alliums, but I do have my I will say that I am somewhat favorites. biased when it comes to edible alliums; I use garlic, chives, The ornamental and deliciously onions or shallots at least once a edible perennial, bunching day in my kitchen. I could write onion, is a must-grow in my

SEPTEMBER 2017

The Gateway Gardener™

garden. Snow-white orbs bloom in summer on top of large, tubular, hollow leaves. The bulb of the bunching onion is not much wider than the plant stem, making it “bulbless”. They have a similar look and taste to a scallion that you’d buy at the grocery store and can be used interchangeably in dishes. This is one of my go-to veggies as I can easily add them at the end of cooking. They are particularly good in bean salads, Asian cooking and as a chili topper.

to use them in dishes when I only want to peel and chop one type of allium. As a lazy gardener I love to grow them because I just plant the bulb in fall and harvest in summer without doing much else than watch it grow.

Alliums are excellent nectar sources for pollinators and aren’t bothered by deer or rabbits. In fact, some believe that alliums are deer deterrents. Plant them around some of deer’s more favorite plants and see if they do the job. Most alliums prefer full sun and well drained soil.

Elephant garlic is a fun type of leek that resembles a giant bulb courtesy Walters of garlic. The bulbs easily grow Photos Gardens Inc., except for the into the size of a large fist. They taste like a mild mix of onions author photo, provided by her. and garlic. As a lazy cook I love Abby Lapides Elliott 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.

7

The REAL Co$t of NOT Maintaining Trees

by Danny Moncheski

I

n today’s landscape, there is an increased emphasis on recognizing the benefits that trees and shrubs can provide for your yard and society. Large shade trees provide hundreds of dollars in energy savings per year, pull hundreds of pounds of carbon out of the air, and elevate a property value by thousands of dollars.

However, caring for the trees and shrubs in a landscape costs money. For many homeowners, this can seem like too much money to spend on something that traditionally has been viewed as a non-essential item around the home. After all, there is only so much money to go around. Let’s explore the concept of what it really costs to not maintain the trees already found in your yard.

For this exercise, we’ll create a real example using a tree benefits calculator known as i-Tree Design.

With i-Tree Design we can create the outline of a home and place trees in the yard. We’ll also use local market cost estimates for planting, pruning, and removal. You can do this with your home by visiting the i-Tree Design website. However, for this example our home is located in Bridgeton and contains two trees in the backyard that are both planted at the same time. Tree A is an Aristocrat pear, which is not maintained, while Tree B is a Northern Red Oak regularly maintained. At the end of 50 years, the pear tree has failed once in a storm and had to be removed and replanted. No pruning has been done to either original Tree A or the replacement tree during their lives. The replacement

pear reaches a diameter of 12” and while it and the original tree have provided some benefits, in the end they function at a net cost of $600 to the homeowner for that span of time.

Now let’s focus on Tree B, the Northern red oak. It is planted properly, watered, mulched, and pruned regularly in the early stages of its life with the sporadic removal of dead and broken limbs after reaching maturity. While more money has been spent on care for this tree, it has grown to a size of 24” in diameter and provided $3400 in benefits. This tree has provided a net benefit to the homeowner of the oak through electricity, water, and environmental savings. Even with the initial planting cost, young tree pruning costs every 3-4 years, and one or two visits by an arborist to remove a few dead limbs in later years, this tree has still netted approximately $1700 in benefits to the homeowner at year 50.

That is amazing! What other aspect of your yard or property can increase the money you save as time goes on?

While this exercise was purely hypothetical, it is important to note that these are real numbers using real scenarios. The benefits and savings mentioned can only be had through proper care and species selection. Just remember that the larger trees grow the more money they can save you, the homeowner. That is, of course, if you choose to maintain them.

To learn more about the REAL cost of NOT maintaining your trees, plan to attend the Tap Root Speaker Series program at Schlafly Bottleworks on September 6th. For more information see the Upcoming Events calendar on page 22.

Danny Moncheski is a community forestor and ISA certified arborist, and works for the Missouri Department of Conservation.

8

The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2017

Plan to Plant this Fall!

by Robert Weaver

S

planted in spring, too.

pring is such a hectic time in the garden, it’s hard to keep up with all tasks and chores. There are less demands on the gardener’s time in the fall, so why not take advantage of the ideal planting conditions and the great fall sales at garden centers as well as those hosted by various plant societies, community groups and other organizations. Soils are usually warmer so plants establish quicker as well.

Don’t wait too long, though.

Turfgrass should be seeded as soon as possible to allow it to establish before leaves start falling. You can wait a little longer for spring bulbs.

Daffodils are best planted before the end of October (though I’ve planted forgotten bulbs after New Years Day and they still bloomed, albeit late!) and tulips can be planted up until the ground freezes.

For most trees, shrubs and You can plant almost anything in Plant sales abound in the fall, including Brightside perennials, the longer they have the fall, and for most trees, shrubs, StL’s annual bulb sale, this year featuring their warm soil for root growth, the better spring-blooming bulbs, and cool- ‘Brightside Red’ Darwin Hybrid tulip. For more they’ll survive winter. Plus, if you’re season turfgrass, it’s the best time for information, see our Upcoming Events on page 22. taking advantage of the sales, the planting. A few exceptions exist. Many ornamental grasses, selection will be better the sooner you get out there. including native grasses, need the summer heat to establish a vigorous root system before going into winter, so are best So, check out our Upcoming Events calendar, browse through planted in late spring. Some shallow rooted perennials like the garden center ads, and plan to plant some additions to heuchera that are prone to winter frost heaving might be best your landscape this fall.

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SEPTEMBER 2017

The Gateway Gardener™

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9

Pere Marquette State Park

B

Book Review

by Robert Weaver

ack in my running days, one of my favorite races was a 7.5-mile run called “No Wimps, No Whiners” up and down the hilly woodland trails of Pere Marquette State Park. Following the run, a few friends and our spouses would refuel on fried chicken and mashed potatoes served family style at the lodge restaurant. On other occasions, Mary and I have enjoyed getaway weekends at the rustic lodge, or lunch stopovers during eagle peeping excursions up the Great River Road. I’ve always appreciated the park and its amenities as a quaint and scenic attraction just a short drive away. Now, with the addition of Richard C. Keating’s Pere Marquette State Park: An Unofficial Guide to History, Natural History, Trails and Drives, I appreciate it all the more.

Pere Marquette State Park, Jersey County, Illinois An Unofficial Guide to History, Natural History, Trails, and Drives

By Richard C. Keating St. Louis, MO: Missouri Botanical Garden Press, 2017 Softcover, 180 pages

if they’ve traveled west to Yosemite or other of the national parks. The lodge and surrounding cabins were constructed by “New Deal” Civil Conservation Corps (CCC) workers in the Great Depression years, which Keating explores further in the 2nd chapter on the park’s history.

The history of the park includes the more recent period describing how the park came to be and its construction, but doesn’t stop there, following the human history back to the beginnings of human occupation in the region, and even before that to the prehistoric ecological history of the region and the geological forces that shaped the rivers, bluffs and woodlands that define the park. The book includes a chapter on the current geography, ecology and climate one finds in the area, and separate chapters on Keating is a retired professor of botany at the geology, animal life and plant life one Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, can discover in the park. Other chapters and a research associate at Missouri describe the various trails and drives to be Botanical Garden, and the book reflects his enjoyed. appreciation of the park gained from decades of frequent visits to and explorations of its While the whole book is useful as a way natural and manmade features. It starts with to get to know the park more deeply, I a brief cataloging of current day amenities, particularly appreciated the occasional including cabins, boat ramp, camping “odd” nuggets Keating offers readers; for grounds and of course, the historic lodge, example, that for a decade during the Cold representative of the “grand lodge” or War period, an area of the park served as a “parkitecture” style travelers will recognize Nike missile battery site placed to protect St. Louis from missile attacks. And that an attempt was once made to establish the park as a ski resort. “The whole enterprise faded away by 1975…[and since] the wooden ski facilities have been undergoing digestion Pansies and by a grateful fungal world,” notes the Cool-Weather Veggies author. In the chapter on geology, Keating explains why the mostly north and south running Illinois and Mississippi Rivers take a sudden jag eastward near the park.

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Some readers may find, as I did, a couple chapters a bit of a slog through geological and other scientific terminology. Keating acknowledges the concern in his preface and does his best to manage the scientific jargon with on-the-spot definitions, glossaries, and explanations of terms and phrases. In any case, it’s a worthwhile slog to have the resources at hand to get to know and to appreciate this beautiful natural asset better.

The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2017

Your Organic Lawn: Fall is Renovation Time

By Bill Dalton

F

all is the time of year when your lawn can benefit from a little extra love over any other season. If you have a weed problem, address this before summer is over so that your fall lawn care can be done without the hamper of live weeds.

Plus fall is by far the best time to seed because less weed seed is available. Also in the Midwest we have unpredictable winters but the soil temperature stays warm enough that cool season grasses (fescues, bent, bluegrass, and ryegrass are most common) continue to grow roots and work on storing up nutrients for the upcoming spring. Warm season grasses can benefit from these suggestions as well, however, if bare spots are present late summer I suggest seeding with a fast growing rye. This will keep cool season weeds from setting in over winter and the warm season grass will choke it out in late spring. If you only do one thing to your lawn, this is the time of year to get it in gear. There are numerous things you can do this time of year, from aeration, topdressing with compost, overseeding, sodding, or just a plain old low nitrogen organic fertilization. Liming is best done in fall and a soil sample will tell you if any lime is needed.

By far the most beneficial thing that you can do in the fall is topdressing a weak lawn or before a lawn is about to be seeded or sodded. But even healthy lawns can benefit from some compost and an overseeding. There are numerous types of compost including leaf, waste, mushroom, and manure.

Mushroom compost is what is left over after mushrooms have been grown, not—as some people think—ground up mushrooms that will spread all over lawn. Mushroom compost properly treated will have no active mushroom spores in it. Mushrooms actually clean the compost as they grow, leaching out impurities and leaving behind nutrients and healthy compost. Mushroom compost can be as high as 60% organic matter and boasts a high moisture retention. Properly pasteurized mushroom compost will be free of insects and any weed seed. It is, however, rather pricey.

Yard waste composts offer a more affordable alternative and also deliver great results. Compost can be topdressed over bare spots but is far more successful if tilled or aerated in to allow it to mix with existing soil. If aerating and composting I always suggest aeration first then spread compost and it will work nicely into the fresh holes.

With or without compost aeration is very beneficial to your lawn.

It allows air, moisture, nutrients and bacteria to reach deeper in soil and help the ever important roots of grass and plants. Fall aeration is always best since there is far less weed seed around than in the spring when you are not just making holes for the weed seed to land in. Aeration is best if done when the soil has plenty of moisture so you can get as much depth as possible (2-3 inches is best).

Seeding in the fall gives a huge advantage to your lawn since far less stress and damage is done to Midwest lawns in the winter than in the summer. The longer new grass seed has to grow

SEPTEMBER 2017

The Gateway Gardener™

before the heat, the better its chance for survival. Seeding is about the only one of these suggestions that has a time frame.

Generally fall seeding can begin in August; however I’ve switched to the first or second week of September due to our dry falls and have actually seen better results.

Fall brings us cooler temperatures (hopefully), more moisture and our last chance to pull our suffering lawn out of its sad state until spring. If aeration is on your list, equipment rental places will rent you an aerator or about any lawn care company in our area should be eager to give you a bunch of holes in your lawn for money. Then get out and enjoy the weather with a wheelbarrow and a pitch fork and spread some compost, an organic fertilizer (high in potassium, phosphorous and calcium and low in nitrogen) and seed and sit back and enjoy your healthier lawn all next year.

Bill Dalton is the owner of Natural Green Organic Lawn Care, which has served St. Louis with organic lawn care and organic gardening for over 15 years. He has over 25 years as a lawn care professional, completed the NOFA course, attended Truman State University for Biology and has hundreds of hours of Organic course training. If you have an organic question contact him at naturalgreenlawncare.com or (314)503-0733.

The Missouri Community Forestry Council Presents:

2017 Tap Root Speaker Series Schlafly Bottleworks 7260 Southwest, Maplewood E FRE n i W oor D es!

Priz

2 ISA CEU’s per class are available.

A $10.00 contribution to support the community education activities of MCFC is most appreciated!

Wed. September 6, 7-9pm: The REAL Cost of NOT Maintaining Trees

Learn how preventative maintenance is not only good for your trees, but for your pocket book as well!

presentation by Josh Behounek, Urban Forester, Davey Resource Group; Cory Meyer, Municipal Forester, City of Kirkwood Wed. November 15, 7-9pm: The Songbird – Tree Connection: Did you know baby birds require native trees?

Mitch Leachman, Executive Director, St. Louis Audubon Society

Tap Root Series Collaborative Alliances Gateway Greening • Missouri Department of Conservation University of Missouri Extension St. Louis County St. Louis Audubon Society • Urban Forestry Consortium

Visit us on the web at www.mocommunitytrees.org 11

Fall Family Fun Spring abounds with a packed calendar of garden tours, spring flings and plant sales galore. But don’t hunker down for winter just yet. Fall brings to the table its own slate of events, including tours, festivals and more! Here are several upcoming events to add to your bucket list.

SPLASH! Pond and Garden Tour Sept. 9th

E

njoy an early autumn tour of water gardens around St. Louis! From the DIY-er to professionally built, these hosts are opening their water features for your inspiration. You can choose the bus tour or self-guided to visit these beautiful oases around St. Louis.

Ask the hosts your questions, take some pictures, sit on a bench and enjoy the view!

Free breakfast, lunch, and dinner are provided for all ticket holders throughout the day. All proceeds this year will be donated to Water Charity, a nonprofit dedicated to helping people access clean drinking water and improved sanitation. Check them out at watercharity.com. ​Tickets for the tour will be on sale at Chalily’s Pond and Gardens or online at www.chalily.com until 09/08/17. $30 for bus or self-guided tickets including meals. Call (636) 527-2001 for more information.

St. Louis Native Plant Garden Tour September 16th 9am-4pm

to just 300; every tour-goer should have the opportunity to speak with each owner. Tickets are $20 per person while they last at area retailers.

U City in Bloom Garden Tour Competition

and

Plein Air Art

September 24, 2017 Tour 1-5pm Art Display and Reception 5-6pm

T

he self-guided tour features gardens in University Heights

#1, the subdivision laid out by University City founder, E d w a r d G. Lewis.

Many of the homes there date back to Lewis’s time and are more than a century old. The Historical Society of U City has posted signs along the tour identifying century homes, and guests may also find some mysterious Gnome and Fairy Houses included on the tour.

The reception at City Hall following the tour will include food

T

his selfguided tour of 10 residential l a n d s c a p e s includes properties in Ballwin, Chesterfield, Manchester and Town and Country.

Participants can tour a variety of landscape sizes and styles including a condo, a half-acre prairie, shady and sloped spaces, common ground and rain gardens. Native plants are the focus of the tour, but most gardens include a mix of native and non, giving examples of how to mix the functional natives in with your existing ornamentals. To insure a rewarding and educational experience, tickets are limited 12

The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2017

donated by Salt+Smoke, and beverages from Urban Chestnut and Fitz’s. Works by plein air artists painting at various neighborhood locations during the day, also will be on display and available for purchase at the reception. Tickets will be available online through the website, ucityinbloom.org, and on the day of the tour at City Hall. Proceeds from the Garden Tour are used to support U City in Bloom’s mission to enhance and beautify our city through public gardens, community partnerships, citizen involvement, and environmental education.

Great River Road Chestnut Roast October 24, 10am-4pm Forrest Keeling Nursery Elsberry, MO

J

ust a short, scenic drive up the Missouri River Road to Elsberry, Forrest Keeling has been celebrating chestnuts each fall for years at its Great River Road Chestnut Roast. In cooperation with The Center for Agroforestry at the University of Missouri, Forrest Keeling’s Chestnut Roast features nuts from Missouri-grown selections of the popular Chinese Chestnut, trees that Forrest Keeling grows and sells as part of their overall selection of trees, shrubs and perennials.

Of course, the drive isn’t just to sample some delicious roasted nuts.

The day’s activities also feature a full slate of local vendors, demonstrations and entertainment.

Delicious food of the fall harvest will be bountiful, including local cheeses, wines, apple butter and more. Local artisans will be selling wares and demonstrating their skills, and live music will fill the fall air. Plus great, fun activities for the kids.

You can get to Forrest Keeling via a couple different routes.

The quickest trip follows Hwy. 61 north, then east on Hwy. 8 to Elsberry. A more scenic and leisurely pace follows the Missouri River Road (Hwy. 79) to Elsberry.

Kress Farms Garden Preserve Fall Festival Nov. 4th 8am-2pm Hillsboro, MO

J

oin friends of the Kress Farm Garden Preserve for a familyfriendly fun Fall Festival and immerse yourself in a fairyland world featuring more than 25 fairy gardens! The exhibit, entitled “Life’s Grand in the Country” will feature buckets, pots and other fairy hiding places where they’ll be waiting to be discovered. But that is just part of the day’s activities.

Your can also explore the flea market, enjoy food and beverages, relax to the sounds of dulcimer players and a live band, or just explore the hiking trails around the Preserve. If you want to participate by creating a fairy garden for the exhibit, call Suzie at (314) 799-1594. If you would like to be a vendor at the event, call Carmelita at (314) 650-3830. Deadline is Oct. 1st.

The Kress Farms Garden Preserve features 139 acres of native plants and wildlife habitat and is located near Hillsboro, Missouri. For more information visit www. kressfarm.org.

PROTECT YOUR ASH FROM BORERS! h As e, d l r era is he ! m E rer ouis Bo t. L S

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• Easy to apply as a soil drench around trees--no spraying necessary.

Welcome to mum season!

• Available in 16 oz., 32 oz., 1- and 2.5 gal. concentrate.

Mums are the perfect way to bring fall beauty to your porch. Drop by for the most beautiful selection in town!

GARDEN & HOME :: LANDSCAPING :: IRRIGATION :: MAINTENANCE 550 HIGHWAY F DEFIANCE, MO 63341 636.798.2555 ::::: FRISELLANURSERY.COM

SEPTEMBER 2017

The Gateway Gardener™

Look for these and other ferti-lome products at your favorite independent nurseries and garden centers.

For plant care and information on over 8,000 plants, visit www.fertilome.com

13

The Cornucopia Corner Keep Your Garden Going Longer!

By Matt Even

S

eptember always seems to be playing with our gardening psyche. According to University of Missouri Extension, and basically every other credible planting calendar, we should be seeing some solid growth patterns on our cool-season vegetables this time of year. Of course, weather depending…

Due to the temperature variables we can see in the fall and winter transition, there are a few tricks that every gardener should have up his or her sleeve. Use some time tested cool-season strategies for a successful winter harvest.

Sunlight Protection and Germination

With high temperatures in the fall, it can be difficult for vegetables to maintain proper growth without a little TLC. Purchase floating row cover (a fabric that lets in light, water and airflow), or shade cloth, that can be constructed over your vegetable beds to protect sensitive crops like Brassicas (collards, broccoli, cabbage, kohlrabi, etc.). This is also a great technique to use in the dog days of summer, when we need to start direct seeding cool-season crops like carrots.

The shade can provide just the right amount of a cooling effect for

Jt’s Fresh Ideas Eggplant lasagna

Courtesy: http://entertainingwithbeth.com/beths-eggplant-lasagna-recipe/

Ingredients

3 Eggplants 3 tbsp olive oil Salt and Pepper to taste 2 15 oz cans pure tomato sauce 2 garlic gloves Pinch of red pepper flakes 2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese 2 eggs 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese ½ cup freshly chopped basil (separated)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375˚ F.

Cut eggplant into ¼” slices. Place on parchment lined baking sheets. Drizzle both sides with olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Bake eggplant for 7 mins each side and allow to cool. Allow eggplant to cool.

Meanwhile prepare your sauce. In a large sauce pan, add the tomato sauce, garlic, salt and pepper to taste and red pepper flakes. Simmer for 10 mins until sauce sweetens up.

In a medium bowl add ricotta cheese, eggs and basil.

In a large casserole pan, place a thin layer of sauce on the bottom and distribute evenly. On top place a single layer of eggplant on top of the eggplant spread cup of the ricotta cheese mixture and sprinkle ¼ cup of shredded mozzarella cheese on top.

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good germination.

If cool season crops are exposed to excessive heat, they tend to

September Harvest Here are some fruits and veggies you might find in the garden or your local farmers’ market this month: Vegetables Beans Beets Broccoli Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower Cucumbers Eggplant Garlic Greens Herbs Horseradish Kohlrabi Lettuce Okra Onions Peas Peppers Popcorn Potatoes Pumpkins

Radishes Rhubarb Spinach Squash Sweet Corn Sweet Potatoes Tomatoes Turnips

Fruits

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

Then add another single layer of eggplant and repeat the process for 3 layers. The top layer should end with a layer of sauce and some more mozzarella cheese.

Bake for 15-20 mins until cheese is melted on top and casserole is cooked through.

Garnish with some finely minced basil on top. Serve with a salad and some garlic bread!

Recipe courtesy of: http://entertainingwithbeth.com/beths-eggplant-lasagna-recipe/

Please share some of your favorite recipes with us.

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

A great way to prepare lasagna!

Enjoy...

Jt The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2017

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

U. of Wisconsin Ext. Master Gardeners

signal reproduction and “bolt”, usually represented in an elongation of the plant and the production of seeds. Depending upon what you’re growing, this is potentially bad news. As vegetable plants begin to become stressed and signal reproduction, the plant will become bitter tasting. Long, uniform foliar growth is what typically gives us the most delicate and tasty leaves, especially when it comes to vegetables in the brassica family.

Season Extension Techniques

Floating row cover is a multi-seasonal tool. By creating hoops with row cover that arch over your vegetable beds, you can create a small greenhouse effect that will keep your beds warmer than the surrounding environment. Research shows that this technique can heat the desired area up to 7 degrees Fahrenheit, which can be the shining moment between frost damage to vegetables and 2-3 more weeks of plant growth.

Another environmental factor to consider is your geographical location due to our built environment. Urban areas tend to produce a heat island, which is an area that is warmer than the surrounding environment. Basically, cities tend to stay hotter than rural areas due to infrastructure (roads, buildings, homes) and vehicle emissions. According to the EPA, depending upon a city’s population, a temperature difference from 2-22 degrees Fahrenheit is possible! Use this environmental phenomenon to

your advantage. In urban areas, we can get away with longer growing seasons, and if you have some gardening knowledge, potentially push the growing zone of what is normally considered possible to grow in your area.

If you are considering what to do in the garden this fall, just make a plan. Experimenting with a few season extension techniques and strategies can help you to be harvesting vegetables for Thanksgiving (I’ve done it the past 3 years). In our region, we have a great fall growing season for cool-season vegetables due to drawn out summers and mild fall night temperatures. Explore overwintering root crops, extending your normal growing season, and try growing some new frost-tolerant varieties. Your taste buds will thank you when you have a freshly harvested meal in October or November.

Sources:https://www.epa.gov/heat-islands http://extension.missouri.edu/p/MG5

Matt has worked on organic farms from Northern Minnesota to Austin, TX, and has been growing food since he decided to put his Sociology degree to good use. The past 6 years, he has lived in St. Louis working as an Outreach Manager and Educator for Gateway Greening, helping to start urban agriculture projects across the region.

You can reach Matt at (314) 588-9600.

BALLWIN NURSERY

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Mon-Fri 8-6 Sat 9-5 • Sun 10-4

located behind Elco Chevrolet wwwballwinnurseryandlandscape.com

15

Preparing Your Roses for Next Year

by Diane Brueckman

O

ur roses have had to endure a lot this year, starting with a terrible winter and ending with an extremely hot dry summer. The winter weakened the roses by initiating growth during the warm spells and then killing the growth by freezing it back. The ability of roses to survive and thrive under these conditions depends on how we care for them and prepare them for the coming year. Now is the time to start conditioning reduce pruning.

These surviving winter. our roses for winter. The steps will slow down the first step is to hold back Fertilizing with organic production of new growth, high nitrogen fertilizer and materials that react with which may have trouble the soil will make nutrients available to the plants without giving them a burst of growth late in the season. The same is true for pruning. We deadhead to encourage more bloom.

By October, it is best to simply pull off the petals of spent blooms and leave the hips to develop. Producing hips tells the plant it is time to slow down. You will still have blooms; after all, today’s modern roses are bloom machines. Keeping

your beds mulched adds needed protection from moisture loss, which was critical this summer.

This year, with all the rain we had in spring, grass clippings were an abundant resource for mulch. We usually mulch the clippings back onto the lawn but this year we couldn’t, there was just too much grass. As it turned out the grass clippings were a great mulch because they kept the beds cooler than compost or woodchips. I have been alternating my mulch materials just to vary the organic material in my beds. Woodchips from the utility company or tree services are very good since they add not only shredded wood but also green material for a more balanced mulch.

The EarthKindtm protocol is to use raw wood chips as fertilizer for their test gardens.

You will find some undesirable things in the mulch such as seeds but it’s worth it for the price.

Another negative is the raw chips are not pretty.

U City in Bloom

Biennial Garden Tour & Plein Air Art Competition Gardens of U Heights #1

Sept. 24

Artists at work, Plein Air painting by Zhen Xu

16

, 2017 • 1 – 5 p.m.

Sunday, Reception following on the 5th Floor, City Hall Tickets: $18 in advance $20 day of event on City Hall Lawn Call: 314-973-6062

The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2017

Keep up with your disease prevention program so the roses are healthy going into winter. One positive to having 100+ degree weather is the black-spot spores die in temperatures above 950.

Once the weather cools down to reasonable heat you need to continue with disease treatment. The roses need to be well hydrated before you spray and spray early in the day or in the evening to prevent leaf burn.

Our roses got off to a slow start this year but recovered to give us a beautiful display. We need to give them plenty of TLC now to keep them healthy for next year. One final step, cover your roses with 8 to 10 inches of mulch when the ground freezes and don’t remove that cover until spring. Many

skyped, will speak on “New Introductions from Weeks”.

There will be a behind the scenes tour of the rose gardens at MOBOT led by the Rosarian, Marissa Sedmak. The rose show will remain on display Sunday 9am-4pm, when the general public is invited to attend free of charge. See the web site stlrosesociety.

On another subject, the org for more information Central and Illinois-Indiana and a registration form.

Districts of the American Rose Society is hosting a SPECTACULAR Rose Show and Programs DAYLILY SALE at the Missouri Botanical DON’T MISS IT!!

Garden September 16th.

September 9-10, 2017 9am-4pm For registered attendees, MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN The guest speaker will ORTHWEIN FLORAL DISPLAY HALL be Tom Carruth speaking on “The Little Soulieana Seedling,” how an HUNDREDS OF VARIETIES unnamed seedling that was PRICES FROM $5 SALE LIST WILL BE ON FACEBOOK PAGE nearly lost became a major bloodline in his breeding GREATER ST. LOUIS program.

Christian DAYLILY SOCIETY BeDard, who will be of the rose fatalities were from insufficient cover that allowed the roses to grow too much and then they were frozen back. The freeze/thaw happened more than once. This not only drained the stored energy reserves, but eventually killed the canes down to the mulch.

Meet us at...

Kirkwood Market

150 E. Argonne Saturdays, September 2nd, 9th 8 am - 4 pm

Pre-paid pre-orders can be picked up Friday, 4-6pm. Sorry, money transactions have to be on Saturdays.

Shaw Nature Reserve

Shaw Wildflower Market Friday, September 8th, 4-7:30 pm

Native Plant Sale Schlafly Bottleworks September 23rd, 9am-2pm

Best of Missouri Market at Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis

Oct. 6th, 6-9pm (First Look Friday) October 7th & 8th, 9 am - 5 pm Pick up orders at the Sales

Order in advance (by Wed.), or choose from our selection at the sale locations.

Missouri Wildflowers Nursery 573-496-3492, fax: 573-496-3003 www.mowildflowers.net mowldflrs@socket.net 9814 Pleasant Hill Rd. Jefferson City MO 65109

St. Louis Native Plant Garden Tour 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.

Saturday, September 16th, 2017 9 am to 4 pm 10 Locations in Ballwin, Chesterfield, Manchester and Town and Country Self-guided tour of residential gardens $15 before Aug 15th—online only

www.stlouisaudubon.org/NPT2017 $20 after Aug 15th—retail only Garden Heights Nursery Greenscape Gardens Rolling Ridge Nursery Sugar Creek Gardens

Bring Conservation Home A St. Louis Audubon Society Community Partnership

SEPTEMBER 2017

The Gateway Gardener™

17

Naturally Natives A Room with a view to birds and berries

by Scott Woodbury

A

s a family with an active child, our most successful place to watch birds is through windows.

Birds tolerate us that way and we see amazing things while munching granola in our PJs. Through the kitchen window we watch finches, sapsuckers, and nuthatches all winter on the sunflower feeder. In October we see woodpeckers devouring the blue Virginia creeper berries on the porch arbor. Out the back window we watch cardinals and sparrows eating pokeberries.

I’m amazed how long the dried berries last through winter on the sturdy red stalks. In mid- to late

(deciduous holly) all winter.

This miserly bird doesn’t share the over-abundance of berries it guards while sitting on top of the shrubs.

A cedar waxwing delicately samples the servicberry. winter we see bluebirds eating bright-red flowering dogwood berries out the porch windows.

For some reason they save them

until the end of winter. Out of the spare bedroom window is often a single mocking bird perched on top of the possumhaw

bring it back to what matters

We’re not just indoor birders, however. We also like to walk outside with binoculars to look in the treetops for flocks of waxwings and robins that gorge on cedar and black gum berries.

Robins stuff their faces and are messy eaters, littering the ground with fruits that they knock off.

That is not a problem with the juncos that feed on the ground anyway. Waxwings seem to take their time by comparison,

A Grow Native! Top 10 List FEATURED CATEGORY:

TOP 10 NATIVE BERRIES TO ATTRACT BIRDS Best Berries for Birds • Easy to Grow for Home Gardens

1 2 3 4 5 Proud contributor to the Parkway Southwest Middle/Circle of Concern Community Garden.

6 7 8 9 10

NATIVE PLANT NAME American holly Ilex americana Black chokeberry Aronia melanocarpa Black gum Nyssa sylvatica Flowering dogwood Cornus florida Pokeberry Phytolacca americana Possumhaw Ilex decidua Rough-leaved dogwood Cornus drummondii Serviceberry

Amelanchier arborea Spicebush Lindera benzoin Winterberry Ilex verticillata

HEIGHT SUN/SHADE 25-30 ft. Sun/pt. shade Sun/pt.

6-8 ft. shade Sun/pt.

40-60 ft. shade 10-15 ft. Part-full shade Sun/pt.

6-8 ft. shade Sun/pt.

10-15 ft. shade 8-12 ft.

10-12 ft.

8-10 ft.

10-15 ft.

Sun Part-full shade Part-full shade Sun/pt. shade

UNIQUE QUALITY Evergreen tree. Spiny leaves.

Red berries.

Adaptable shrub. Black berries. Red leaves fall.

Narrow tree. Purple fruits.

Understory tree. Red berries.

Perennial. Spreads from seed.

Large shrub. Red berries.

Suckering shrub. White berries.

Fruit ripens in June. Edible for people.

Flood tolerant. Bright red berries.

Cultivars better for small gardens.

Note: This list was created by Scott Woodbury, based on his many years of experience and observations as the Curator of the Whitmire Wildflower Garden at Shaw Nature Reserve. The plants on this list are not in ranked order.

GreenscapeGardens.com 314.821.2440 2832 Barrett Station Rd., Manchester, MO 63021 Located 1 Mile West of I-270 on Barrett Station at Dougherty Ferry

18

Grow Native! is a native plant education and marketing program of the

The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2017

Tips and Resources for Growing and Landscaping with Sustainable Native Plants why invasive bush honeysuckle and other invasive and weedy seedlings sprout prolifically beneath the branches of shrubs and small trees.

The view out our windows amazes us month after month.

We see nature up close because that’s where the native plants grow. That’s where we planted

them. That’s why I love the new tagline for the Grow Native! program “keeping nature near.

The nearer native plants and nature are to home and in our lives, the nearer the natural world can be in our heads and hearts. It makes good sense. photos by Robert Weaver

This house finch seems to have bathed in serviceberry juice.

plants, a phenomena of mutual benefit called co-evolution.

Turns out robins, bluebirds, and many other birds digest berry pulp, but not the seeds.

Seeds receive a quick acid treatment while passing through the birds and come out with a In nature and in the native better chance of sprouting in garden, juvenile and adult birds spring and with a wee boost switch to eating berries (high of fertilizer. That is one reason in fat) when insects become scarce in late summer and fall.

Looking for This happens to coincide with Something Unique for the beginning of bird migration your Garden?? and winter flocking. Berries Come Stroll Thru Our like holly, black chokeberry, Gardens and Discover spicebush, poison ivy, roughthe Pleasure of Plants! leaved dogwood, and black gum fuel long flights to overwintering Natives, Not-so-common Trees, Shrubs & Perennials grounds in central and South America. They also help winterresident birds build up a store of body fat to survive long winters.

1674 N. Bluff Rd Berry-producing plants are as Collinsville, IL 62234 crucial to birds as birds are to (618)344-8841 feeding at the tops of trees as far away as possible from noisy human onlookers. Waxwings are known to eat their weight in berries in a single day. I love the soft sounds of waxwings calling see-seee-seee. Listen for their arrival in October.

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.

An American robin enjoys the bounty of this winterberry.

If you plant them, they will come!

Butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, and songbirds that is!

Let Forrest Keeling partner with you to bring natural beauty to your home habitat!

Visit Forrest Keeling’s all-new Habitat Headquarters in Elsberry.

Forrest Keeling Nursery forrestkeeling.com

SEPTEMBER 2017

The Gateway Gardener™

in the back yard to the back forty!

19

Dig This!

Gateway Gardeners and Businesses in the News Grant Supports Community/School Gardens

Gateway Greening recently announced a new partnership with Wells Fargo Advisors. The financial company awarded a $100,000 grant to Gateway Greening to create or expand 25 community or school gardens across the region, “cultivating healthier neighborhoods through urban agriculture.”

The grant will provide the opportunity to develop St. Louis neighborhoods through access to healthy food and sustainable land use.

Flowers Adorn VP Float, Then Repurposed for Park Planting

Several volunteer groups joined St. Louis County Parks Department volunteers in July to help decorate the Park’s float in the 135th annual July VP Fair Parade. Volunteers represented the St. Louis County Gardeners Volunteer Group, Master Gardeners of St. Louis, Federated Garden Clubs East Central District, and students representing Chaminade College Preparatory School’s Community Service program. The float, titled “Gift of Gardens” was beautifully adorned by the volunteers with live perennials and other flowers from local growers including Jost Greenhouses, Ritter Perennials, Tomasovic Greenhouses and Nursery, Wiethop Greenhouses and Planthaven Farms. The float was dedicated to 1st Lt. Roslyn Littmann Schulte of St. Louis, the first female U.S. Air Force Academy graduate to be killed while supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. She was awarded the National Intelligence Medal for Valor. 1st. Lt. Schulte was a 2003 VP Maid of Honor.

20

Following the parade, the perennial plants displayed on the float got a second life as part of a new Queeny Park Pollinator Garden planted by volunteer daughters and dads representing the Maids of Honor Community Service Initiative.

Pollinator Partners Honored

Pictured with MaryAnn Fink and Doug Wolter representing the Pollinator Pantry Program are, clockwise from top left: Jasmine Fazzari, Jenny Fagan (left) and Nancy Leahy, Mary Voges, and David Sherwood.

The St. Louis County Parks Department continues to grow a contingent of partners in its Pollinator Project program, co-supported by the St. Louis County Library, Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House, and Greenscape Gardens & Gifts. Recent partners who have installed or participated in the installation of new “Pollinator Pantry Gardens” were recognized at the programs 1st anniversary celebration at Faust Park in Chesterfield in June. Groups honored included Litzinger Road Ecology Center, represented by Mary Voges; The Hawkens House Museum / The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2017

Webster Groves Herb Society, for the installation of a “Helpful Herb Garden”, accepted by Nancy Leahy of the Museum and Jenny Fagan of the Herb Society; Wild Bird Sanctuary, accepted by David Sherwood of Sherwood’s Forest Garden Center, which provided plants and materials for a children’s pollinator pot-up event; The City of Olivette / Olivette in Bloom, for honeysuckle removal and a native garden installation at the Olivette Community Center, accepted by team leader Jasmine Fazzari; and Greenscape Gardens & Gifts, for their vegetable garden exhibit showcasing the importance of pollinators in food production.

New Director Shaw

for

The Missouri Botanical Garden recently named Dr. Quinn Long director of Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit, Mo. Long has worked for the Garden since 2011 and as a botanist and conservation biologist throughout Missouri and Kansas for 15 years. He begins his new role in September, and replaces longtime director John Behrer, who is retiring.

Long previously served as conservation biologist in the Garden’s Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development. He has worked to restore native plant communities throughout the Midwest including those at Shaw Nature Reserve. He also worked at the University of Kansas in various roles including research associate, teaching assistant and botanist. His conservation career began as an undergraduate student with research positions at the Garden’s William L. Brown Center and the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Long received his Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Kansas and bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of MissouriColumbia. He is a Washington, Mo. native and also serves as a scientific advisor for the Missouri Prairie Foundation and the Missouri Invasive Plant Task Force.

Regional Nurseries Company

Honored

by

Media

In an online media company’s ranking of the Top 10 Garden Centers in Missouri, our region came out SEPTEMBER 2017

The Gateway Gardener™

pretty good, taking four of the 10 spots, including #1!

Americantowns Media, which publishes online polls on various topics, recently focused on our state’s garden centers, and Hillermann Nursery & Florist took the top spot! Other Gateway Gardener friends making the list from the region included Sherwood’s Forest Nursery & Garden Center, Garden Heights Nursery, and Passiglia’s Nursery. We give a shout out as well to Longfellow’s Garden Center in Centertown, MO, near Columbia. They may not be in the shadow of the Arch, but their customers do read The Gateway Gardener. So kudos to these great garden centers…and to all the independent garden centers in the metro area (and beyond). You’re ALL tops in our book!

New

Organic

Education

Opportunity

Sunflower Hill Farm is launching Refarm Academy, an adult “ecologically friendly” farming education program. This is a free education program, sponsored by local food focused “farm to table” providers. Learn small scale organic farming from local eco-practitioner and Sunflower Hill Farm proprietor, Karen Koehneman, and her local “grow it at home” bio-community. An introduction program will be held September 24th at 3pm at Sun Flower Hill Farm, 245 Terry Rd. Augusta MO 63332. Plans for 2018 include monthly programs featuring “earthfriendly” horticulture and related topics, with focus on sustainable practices.

The SFH’s Refarming Academy is a unique “how do you do it” eco-school with free monthly classes open to the public. 2018 will focus on a practical approach to home farming in Missouri. The “R” in “Refarming” is all about the need to rediscover what many of our great granparents knew about growing healthy food and families. The “E” is about putting an emphasis on “Eco” and encouraging a “growing home” approach to the environment and the need to continually protect and encourage good food, healthy family, strong community and nature, especially the pollinators.

Programs will be held in a beautiful outdoor classroom surrounded by a pollinator preserve, butterfly garden and mini arboretum. The outdoor seating space is a lovely transitional setting adjacent to a family farm homestead and working greenhouse. A brand new indoor facility is under construction. A limited number of farmschool internships are still available for 2018.

For information, call (314) 304-6831 or email to sunflowerfarm@gmail.com.

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Upcoming Events anytime to play in the garden decorate a mum. $10 supply fee. Call to RSVP. Hillermann Nursery & Florist, 636-2396729, www.hillermann.com.

Meetings, Classes, Entertainment and More

Sept. 9th 9am—Plant Fall Color. St. Louis County Parks and Recreation Children’s Garden Club. FREE. Sherwood’s Forest Nursery and Garden Center, 2651 Barrett Station Rd.

Updates to this information are often posted on our online events calendar at G a t e w a y G a r d e n e r. c o m , GARDEN TOURS, PLANT so check there for the latest SALES AND SHOWS details.

Now through Sept. 29th Brightside St. Louis Bulb Give us the details of your Sale. Now is the time to order upcoming gardening, lawn your Brightside bulbs. New or landscaping event and this year, a special ‘Brightside we’ll add it to our website Red’ hybrid Darwin tulip and include it in our next and a vibrant purple and pink issue. Deadline for printing in Triumph tulip collection, plus November/December issue is the classic Carlton daffodil and October 1st.

Brightside’s exclusive Midwest Mix that includes six varieties How to reach us: of hearty daffodils. Visit www.

Mail: PO Box 220853, Brightsidestl.org to view bulbs St. Louis, MO 63122 and submit an order or print Email: info@gatewaygardener. out a mail-in order. Or call (314) 772-4646. Orders will be com available in October.

GARDEN CLUBS AND Sept. 8th PLANT SOCIETY 4-7:30 p.m.--Native Plant MEETINGS Wildflower Sale.

Interested in Joining a Garden School Club or Plant Society? We Welcoming new and experienced have meeting dates, locations gardeners and people looking and contact information on for locally made products for a more than 50 area garden greener community, including clubs on our website at www. wildflowers from Missouri GatewayGardener.com. Don’t Wildflower Nursery, wine, have access to the internet? bread, meats, art, crafts and Just call us at (314) 968-3740, more. The sale is located in the or write us at PO Box 220853, pavilions behind the Bascom St. Louis, MO 63122, and we’ll House, near the Whitmire get the information to you. So Wildflower Garden at Shaw Nature Reserve. The garden is share your joy for gardening devoted to showcasing native and join a garden club or plants in many habitats and favorite plant society today! design styles. Bring checks and cash to pay vendors. Shaw FUN FOR KIDS Nature Reserve, I-44 at exit Sept. 2nd B e t w e e n 1 0 - 1 1 a m - - F i r s t #253 in Gray Summit, Mo. Cost Saturday Kids. Bring the kids is $5 (MBG members $3). For more information visit us on the 22

web at www.shawnature.org.

Sept. 9th SPLASH Pond and Garden Tour. Enjoy an early autumn tour of water gardens around St. Louis! Choose the bus tour or self-guided to visit these beautiful oases around St. Louis. Free breakfast, lunch, and dinner are provided for all ticket holders throughout the day. All proceeds this year will be donated to Water Charity, a nonprofit dedicated to helping people access clean drinking water and improved sanitation. Check them out at www.watercharity.com. ​Tickets for the tour will be on sale at Chalily’s Pond and Gardens or online at wwww.Chalily.com until 09/08/17. $30 for Bus or self-guided tickets including meals. Call (636) 527-2001 for more information. See page 12 for more info.

Sept.

9th-10th 9am-5pm-- Gateway West Gesneriad Society Show and Sale. New cultivars and old favorites are shown and sold by the area’s top growers, who are on hand to give plant care advice and share information about their organization. Beaumont Room, Ridgway Visitor Center at Missouri Botanical Garden. Entry included with Garden admission. www. gesneriadsociety.org.

9am-4pm—Greater St. Louis Daylily Society Show and Sale.

Missouri Botanical Garden, Orthwein Hall. Hundreds of plants, all colors, shapes and sizes at great prices $5 up for all tastes from member’s private gardens. Sponsored by the Greater St. Louis Daylily Society. Contact Kathy for more info 618-304-5907.

Sept. 16th 9am-4pm—Native

Plant

Garden Tour. STL Audubon’s Bring Conservation Home program and the St. Louis Chapter of Wild Ones are collaborating again to bring you this tour of residential gardens in the St. Louis area. Featured gardens are located in Ballwin, Chesterfield, Manchester and Town and Country. Tickets are available at several area retailers for $20. Proceeds benefit both organizations. Tickets are again limited to maintain a highquality and personal Tour. Don’t wait; we will sell-out! See page 12 for more information. w w w. s t l o u i s a u d u b o n . o rg / NPT2017.

Sept. 16th-17th American Rose Society Central and Illinois/Indiana Districts Conference and Rose Show. Featured speaker will be Tom Carruth, a world-renowned rose hybridizer formerly with Weeks Roses and currently the curator at Huntington Garden. $55 to attend the Saturday conference including lunch.

Show is open free to the general public on Sunday the 17th 9am4pm. Visit StLRoseSociety.org for details.

Sept. 23rd 9am-2pm—Native Plant Expo and Sale Saturday. A FREE event in partnership St. Louis Audubon Society and Schlafly’s Bottleworks in Maplewood. Bring your “extra” native plants or seeds to share or swap. Plus plenty on-hand from SLAS Habitat Advisors. Forrest Keeling and Missouri Wildflowers Nursery will also be on-site selling plants plus a couple retailers selling other bird, butterfly or bee-related items and a number of organizations with info and resources to share. A portion of all event sales will benefit the Bring Conservation Home program. Schlafly Bottlelworks,

The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2017

Maplewood.

Sept. 24th 1-6pm—U City in Bloom Garden Tour and Plein Air Art Competition. The selfguided tour (1-5pm) features gardens in University Heights #1, the subdivision laid out by University City founder, Edward G. Lewis. The reception at City Hall following the tour (5-6pm) will include food and drink by area businesses. Works by plein air artists painting at various neighborhood locations during the day, also will be on display and available for purchase at the reception. Tickets will be available online through the website, ucityinbloom.org, and on the day of the tour at City Hall. For more details see page 12.

Sept. 30th 9am--Fall Plant and Craft Sale.

Hosted by the O’Fallon Garden Club. Fall flowers, pumpkins and gourds plus an assortment of fall and Halloween craft items.

Corner of Lincoln and Hwy 50 in O’Fallon, IL. Sept. 30th-Oct. 1st 9am-5pm—Greater St. Louis Dahlia Society Show. New cultivars and old favorites are shown by the area’s top growers, who are on hand to give plant care advice and share information about their organization. Missouri Botanical Garden, Ridgway Center, Orthwein Floral Display Hall.

CLASSES, LECTURES AND EVENTS Sept. 2nd-4th 10am-8pm Saturday and Sunday, 10am-5pm Monday—Annual Japanese Festival.

Taiko drumming, bon odori festival dancing, martial arts, candlelight walks in the Japanese Garden and more. Regular admission rates to the Children’s Garden apply. For pricing and more information visit www.mobot.org. No trams.

Missouri Botanical Garden.

SEPTEMBER 2017

Sept. 2nd & 5th 10am—Master the Basics, Proven Techniques for Successful Gardening. Learn about soil preparation, selecting the right plant for the right place, fertilizing, and how available light and water affect your plants. You’ll also learn how proper garden techniques greatly improve your plants’ performance.

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

Sept. 6th 7-9pm—The REAL Cost of Not Maintaining Trees. Learn how preventative maintenance is not only good for your trees, but for your pocket book a well.

Presented by Josh Behounek, Urban Forester, Davey Resource Group, and Cory Meyer, Municipal Forester, City of Kirkwood. Part of the 2017 Tap Root Speaker Series. Schlafly Bottleworks, 7260 Southwest, Maplewood. $10 contribution requested to support educational activities of The Missouri Community Forestry Council.

Visit www.mocommunitytrees. org.

Sept. 9th 10am—Exquisite Autumn Containers.

Learn about outstanding plant combinations and window boxes with color and texture. Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood.

FREE. Call (314) 965-3070.

10am-3pm—Monarch Madness. Celebrate monarch butterflies and all the pollinators at a fun, family friendly, free public event. Exhibitors, kids’ crafts and activities and more.

Weldon Spring Site, 7295 Highway 94 South, St. Charles.

Sponsored by Missourian’s for Monarchs—Naturalists and Gardeners, St. Charles County Parks and Recreation, Missouri Department of Conservation, Weldon Spring Site, and Great Rivers Greenway.

The Gateway Gardener™

Sept. 14th 8am-4:30pm--Fall Field Day. Learn about healthy soils, creative conservation applications, native plants and more. Primarily for landscape professionals, but also master gardeners and serious gardeners.

Forrest Keeling Nursery, 88 Forrest Keeling Lane, Elsberry, MO. For more information call 800-356-2401 or email info@ fknursery.com.

1-4 pm—Native Plant School: Converting Mowed Grass to Seeded Prairie or Savannah.

Learn how to create a naturalstyle landscape with high diversity, low maintenance and great wildlife diversity. $17 ($14 Garden members). Classes are behind the Joseph H. Bascom House. For reservations or more information, call (636) 451-3512 or visit www.shawnature.org.

Sept. 16th 10am—Splashy Seasonal Containers. Learn everything you need to know to bring seasonal splash to your patio or porch containers. Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood. FREE. Call (314) 965-3070.

September 17th 6-9pm – Chefs in a Garden.

Join Gateway Greening for their annual gala, where attendees can explore the silent auction and enjoy incredible food as talented St. Louis chefs prepare a variety of tasting plates from local ingredients. The Four Seasons Hotel, 999 N 2nd St, St. Louis, MO. Tickets available at http:// www.chefsinagarden.org.

Haynes to present the 2017 Jacquelyn K. Jones Lecture.

Growing Up with the River: Nine Generations on the Missouri takes a brief look at each of nine generations that have grown up in different communities since Lewis and Clark’s historic Voyage of Discovery. Free, open to the public, no reservations required. Call (573) 882-4240 with questions.

Sept. 24th 3pm—Refarm Academy at Sunflower Hill Farm. An introduction program to a monthly series of educational programs sponsored by local food focused “farm to table” providers. Learn small scale organic farming. See “Dig This” article on page 21for more details or call (314) 3046831.

Sept. 30th 10am-2:30pm—St. Louis Regional Beekeeping Speaker Series. Dr. Dale Hill, an expert in the field of animal nutrition with 38 years of nutrition formulation experience is the guest speaker.

Registration begins August 23 at www.beespeakstl.com.

Shoenberg Theater, Missouri Botanical Garden.

10am—Fall to Winter, Transitional Container Gardening. Learn how to use evergreen perennials and shrubs, along with seasonal ornaments to have your pots looking gorgeous all the way till spring. Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood. FREE. Call (314) 965-3070.

Sept. 19th 4:30-6:30pm—Jacquelyn K. Jones Lecture: Growing Up with the River. Stotler Lounge inside Memorial Union, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211. Friends of the Mizzou Botanic Garden welcome Growing Up with the River authors Dan & Connie Burkhardt and artist Bryan

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For the GREENEST lawn on the block Top Dress with STA-Certified Compost this fall to reduce water consumption and increase nutrients in your soil 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 5841 Mine Haul Road 618.233.2007

VALLEY PARK, MO 39 Old Elam Avenue 636.861.3344

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO 11294 Schaefer Drive 314.423.9035

FLORISSANT, MO 13060 County Park Road 314.355.0052

PACIFIC, MO 18900 Franklin Road 636.271.3352

stlcompost.com STLComposting

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

ST. LOUIS, MO 560 Terminal Row 314.868.1612 BEFORE