The Gateway Gardener September 2018

Gateway Gardener THE

SEPTEMBER 2018

®

Your Guide to Enjoyable Gardening and Easy-Care Landscapes

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The Joy of Koi

Through a Judge’s Eyes

8 Reasons to Grow Asters Making Your Harvest Last Persimmons FREE Courtesy of:

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Gateway Gardener THE

®

Your Guide to Enjoyable Gardening and Easy-Care Landscapes

SEPTEMBER 2018

Volume 14, Number 7

Founded in 2005 by Joyce Bruno & Robert Weaver Publisher and Editor Robert Weaver Columnists Diane Brueckman Rosarian Abby Lapides Nursery Professional Steffie Littlefield Edg-Clif Winery Jennifer Schamber Nursery Professional Crystal Stevens EarthDance Organic Farm School 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.

H

From the Editor

aving never had a pond, I’ve never experienced the “joy of koi,” but I can certainly understand the enthusiasm many share for these aquatic jewels. Why leave the color and beauty of a garden at the water’s edge? Koi come in as many variations of color and pattern as our most favored plant cultivars. I hope to learn even more about them when St. Louis welcomes koi enthusiasts and experts from the region— and even around the world—to the Northern Midwest ZNA Koi Show & Pond Expo this month (see articles on pages 8-9).

Don’t be coy; I hope to see you there!

Back on terra firma, autumn is upon us, and with it comes aster season. The cheery composites are a favorite plant family of mine, from the Packara and Erigeron natives that pop up in my spring garden to the coneflowers, sunflowers and Rudbeckia that define summer, and finally to the asters of autumn. But the asters fill a special niche, because they come when the rest of the garden is mostly past prime.

They not only fill a void in the gardener’s esthetic view, but

to seek out a persimmon tree for the makings of his favorite persimmon pudding (page 18).

Before we get into the rush of the holiday season, take some time to enjoy the beauty and tastes of autumn.

Good Gardening!

they play a big roll for many pollinators, particularly the migrating monarchs. That’s two, and Abby Lapides gives you 6 more reasons to grow asters in your garden (page 6).

Fall is also the time when much of our summer’s labor in the vegetable garden pays dividends. It was a so-so season for my veggie garden, with a bounty of green beans, scarcity of peppers, and just enough juicy, flavorful tomatoes left by the squirrels to remind me why I keep trying. I probably won’t be needing to preserve anything this fall, but many of you will, and Steffie gives you encouragement in that endeavor on page 4. Meanwhile, it’s also harvest time in the woods, and Scott Woodbury presents a very convincing argument

On the Cover...

Many feel a pond isn’t complete without some beautifully colored koi fish. If you’re not yet one of them, read more on page 8, then join those who DO believe at the Koi Show and Pond expo (page 9). (photo by Robert Weaver) IN THIS ISSUE 4 Harvesting and Preserving

6 8 9 10 12 14 16 17 18 19 20 22

CORRECTION

Careful reader and jasmine grower Maxine Johnson noted that we incorrectly identified a photo of a star jasmine as Stephanotis vine in our July/August 2018 article by Jennifer Schamber on “Plants Around the World”. Maxine provided this photo of the Stephanotis vine flowers for comparison. Please note the error was mine and not Jennifer’s, as I photographed the wrong vine from the stock at Greenscape Gardens.

Thanks, Maxine!--Ed.

Stephanotis vine flower, photo

by Maxine Johnson.

8 Reasons to Grow Asters Looking at Koi Koi Show and Pond Expo Right Tree Right Place The Greenway City Fall Family Fun Rub Shoulders with Garden Celebrities Getting Roses Winter Ready Persimmons 25 Years of Forest ReLeaf Dig This!

Upcoming Events

Harvesting Treats from The Garden To Last All Year Text and photos by Steffie Littlefield

I

over the carefully arranged vegetables in canning jars, add 1/8 tsp. pickling spices, fresh dill weed and thinly sliced shallots.

Fill the liquid to within 1/2’’ of the top, apply the lids and screw to hand tight. Finally, process in boiling hot bath for 10 minutes, remove from pot, cool and label.

My new favorites for this are the heirloom yard long beans, which are easy to harvest and cut to even lengths to make a pretty jar of beans.

love my garden and our vineyard all year, but the most exciting time is when there are things to cut, harvest and prepare to use throughout the year.

Maintaining a productive garden or vineyard requires lots of maintenance and constant care. Even though there are challenges, loading up a basket full of fresh home grown tomatoes, beans, herbs and grapes is always rewarding and in many ways can last all year in the pantry, freezer or wine rack.

This year as the veggies were ready I’ve been diligent to find ways to use them. Since I did not have any cucumbers (vines succumbed to fungus early), I‘ve been adapting my pickling recipe to other fun vegetables. So far I have pickled wax beans, yard long beans, okra, and shallots. My pickling procedure is pretty basic. The brine is 2 cups white or cider vinegar, 2 ½ cups water, ¼ cup salt, 2 cloves of garlic sliced, bring to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes. Pour this hot mixture

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My new obsession with pickling also prompted me to harvest the beets in my garden. These had been sitting there longer than necessary because my current diet avoids root vegetables (what a shame…). But hearing how some friends love pickled beets I was inspired and found an amazing sweet and sour beet recipe that I prepared and canned in 1 pint pickle jars. Some of the ingredients in this included raw sugar, white vinegar, peppercorns, bay leaves, and the cooked beats. For this I learned to rub the beet skins off which was a very easy trick.

Moving on to other wonderful vegetables brings me to my terrific tomatillos. Not only do they come back every year from seed, they are prolific producers and actually a versatile base for salsa, cream cheese dip, corn soup, white chili, and can be used in tacos or quesadillas. The secret for preparing these little green/yellow gems is to roast or parboil them before using to bring out their natural sweetness. My favorite recipe is to combine the hot chopped tomatillos in cream cheese, diced jalapeno pepper, cilantro and a dash of sea salt. Serve this with blue corn chips for a fun summer

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The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2018

party treat. After roasting or parboiling the tomatillos, they can be placed in containers and frozen for later use.

One of my favorite crops are the heirloom tomatoes I harvest by the basket full. I lay them gingerly on trays to ripen fully and decide what to make.

Recently I have taken to roasting them in a hot oven (450 degrees F), peeling the softened skins Yard long off and layering by different beans colors—pink, red , orange and yellow—in quart size jars and processing them in a hot bath to preserve their fresh taste for later in the winter. When I am short of time I just remove the stem end, quarter the colorful tomatoes and put them in gallon freezer bags to use for sauce or soup in the winter.

Chambourcin grapes are our biggest crop at Edg-Clif Farms and Vineyard. We will harvest these for about 4 weeks in Sept-Oct. The purple beauties will be used to make up to 8 different wines, from dry to sweet. I also love to make chambourcin grape jelly, and canned juice to sell at our little winery. The jelly is a breakfast treat, a glaze for pork or lamb, or a topping for baked brie cheese to serve with crispy crackers as an appetizer. The juice can be cooked down for syrups, sauces or made into sorbet. Grapes are easy to work with. The washed de-stemmed grapes are brought to a boil to kill the wild yeast and then the juice is strained off the skins and seeds. Juice can be put into pint jars and processed in a hot water bath or sugar and pectin added to make jelly. We welcome visitors at Edg-Clif Farms & Vineyard to help harvest grapes and then buy a few to take home and make into their own special products as gifts or personal indulgences. Check out our website, edg-clif.com, to learn more about the grape harvest and how you can join in the experience.

Chambourcin

grapes

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 2018

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8 Reasons to Grow Asters

by Abby Lapides

T

he grand finale of the perennial garden, asters, gives us one last show before winter comes and the garden is put to bed. These easy-togrow perennials should be in everyone’s garden and here’s why.

Some grow in shade The blue wood aster blooms panicles of airy pale blue flowers in late summer and fall. This Missouri native ideally grows in part sun, but will tolerate full shade.

Aster Kickin’ Carmine sometimes even November.

They make excellent cut flowers

The daisy-shaped flowers bring a cheery addition to summer and fall bouquets. The small flowering types create

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Extend the flowering season When late summer teases into fall many of our flowers are well spent and all we see are their brown remains. Not so with asters, these beauties arrive late to the garden party and become the center of attention. One of the last to flower, ‘October Skies’ blooms periwinkle blue flowers from August well into October and

centers that create a fluffy display for months on end.

misty fillers to bouquets, while the larger-type daisies add bold colors. The large, 2 ½” lavender flowers with sunny yellow centers on ‘Monch’ look excellent mixed with other late-season cut flowers like black-eyed Susans and cardinal flowers.

Give pollinators late-season nutrition The nectar filled flowers provide a vital fall food source for many of our pollinators, particularly butterflies. The Missouri native, sky-blue aster, blooms – you guessed it- sky blue flowers with bright yellow centers that act as landing pads

Kalimeris ‘Daisy Mae’

They’re long blooming One of the longest blooming perennials, the Japanese asters, Kalimeris, will flower all summer long, well into fall.

‘Daisy Mae’ blooms pure white petals with orange-yellow

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the New England aster. Deep purple petals surround bright yellow centers, creating a showy contrast that sparkles in the late summer sun. Easily one of the most recognizable and showy Missouri native plants, New England asters are not to be missed in a native –or any- garden.

All asters like regular watering

Aster ‘Monch’ for bees and butterflies. This is one of the truly drought tolerant asters; it will also tolerate some light shade.

Now they can come in small packages

The showy Kickin’ series of asters provides us will all the showiness and pollinatorattracting power of traditional asters, but comes in a smaller package. Only growing 2’ these

New England Aster

smaller asters come in a range of color from carmine red to lilac blue to chiffon pink – all with golden yellow centers.

Their dwarf size means they don’t need to be cut to manage the height or staked to keep their blooms from flopping.

Some are deer resistant How cute are mama deer and their does? Too bad they can turn a garden ugly quickly.

The Missouri native, aromatic asters, have highly scented foliage that deer find distasteful.

The beautiful lavender flowers cover the plants, creating a light blue dome in fall, sometimes blooming into November.

Many are native to Missouri I have mentioned a couple native asters above, but the jewel of the native asters is

and many, particularly our taller native asters, should be pinched in early July to manage height and to delay blooming for a few weeks to extend the flowering season even longer. Plant one today to enjoy asters’ blooms and the wildlife they attract.

Photos courtesyNorth Creek Nurseries except as noted.

Aster ‘October Skies’

Abby Lapides is owner and a speaker at Sugar Creek Gardens Nursery. She has degrees from the University of Missouri, and is a member of the Landscape and Nursery Association of Greater St. Louis.

You can reach her at (314) 965-3070.

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7

Looking at Koi Through the Eyes of a Judge

by Bryan Bateman, AKJA Judge

S

ome of the most enjoyable koi conversations happen with friends around a show vat or pond, gazing at the graceful koi swimming below.

It’s as relaxing as sitting around a camp fire. Ones’ mind wanders as the eyes move from one koi to another, trying to pick a favorite. Someone might say “Look at that koi! I really like the unusual pattern”. “Yes, but look at the conformation on this koi!” Or one might prefer brighter colors or the sharp contrast between them.

This brings up an interesting point. What is it that attracts one person to a koi, and maybe not so much another person? We often make the mistake of listening to others’ opinions as to what consists of beauty in a koi. However, there are certain “rules” that should be followed when selecting a koi for our pond.

As judges (and we are all judges when it comes to picking our favorite koi), we are taught there are four criteria to consider. These are Conformation, Quality, Pattern and Finish. Conformation is considered the most important, with 40% of the total evaluation. Then comes Quality, a broad term that includes condition of the skin, colors, and pattern borders. Quality is 30%, leaving 20% for

A flier promoting local koi owners Rick and Pam Jokerst’s award-winning Sanke koi at a regional show in 2017. Sanke koi feature patterning on white, with black markings “scattered like stepping stones.”

Pattern and 10% for Finish.

A conversation like the one above occurred not too long ago at a koi dealer we were visiting. One person was particularly impressed with a Sanke (a white koi with red and black markings) which had a full and powerfully-shaped body, wide at the shoulders and tapering back gradually to a strong tail. The fins were balanced and of proper proportion, and there were no faults to the head area (eyes, mouth, shape of forehead, etc.). Another in our group thought the pattern was top-heavy (too much color in the front half and not enough in the back half, giving an unbalanced appearance).

We decided to discuss this Sanke one criteria at a time. The koi scored very high on Conformation with 38 out of 40 points. Next, we considered Quality. The red was thick and even, the white was bright and lustrous.

The black, though not ‘finished’, had good depth. The skin was healthy and vibrant. The edges were clean and sharp. The Quality rating was 28 out of 30.

We have considered 70% of the koi, but have not even looked at the pattern yet! When we evaluate a koi in this manner, looking first at Conformation and then Quality, we can consider ourselves well on the way to becoming “wise consumers”, or judges of koi. The last two criteria, Pattern and Finish, were scored at 10 out of 20 points for Pattern because it was ‘top heavy’, and 6 out of 10 for Finish. The ‘un-finished’

Tancho Showa

Kohaku

The Tancho koi is any koi with red located only on its head. Showa is a red, white and black fish with black appearing on all parts of the body. Kohaku koi feature red-on-white markings.

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The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2018

black, which has not filled in completely or has lighter areas, was the reason for this lower score. If we add the four scores, we come up with 82 points. Not bad, even in a competitive koi show. If the black finishes (which it usually does, but not always!), it could some day score higher.

Shusui

The primary identifying characteristic of the Shusui is the line of light and dark blue scales running down th back of an otherwise red and white fish.

Ochiba Shigure

How did this story end? Our friend recognized the outstanding conformation of this koi. He also recognized the high level of quality. Though Conformation and Quality fall under the category of “objective criteria”, or quantitative evaluation points, Pattern is largely subjective, or qualitative, in nature. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. There are certain standards to consider when evaluating Pattern, but we must turn to the artist in us when it comes to selecting a koi that we will enjoy looking at in our pond for years to come.

Someone else bought that Sanke. Maybe because our friend hesitated too long, worrying about what others said about the pattern. He regretted not grabbing that koi and trusting his first instinct. I told him afterward, “You have advanced to the next level. This one got away, but there will always be another koi”.

Bryan Bateman resides with his wife, Bay, in Clarendon Hills, Illinois. They have enjoyed the koi hobby since 1992, and have shown koi across the U.S. Bryan is a retired Certified Judge with the AKCA and AKJA associations.

Photos by members of the Northern Midwest ZNA.

Translates as “autumn leaves on water., as suggested by the gold patterning on soft gray bodies.

Descriptions of the koi on this page were excerpted from the author’s descriptions and edited by The Gateway Gardener.

Any inaccuracies in those descriptions are strictly the editor’s.

NORTHERN MIDWEST ZNA KOI SHOW & POND EXPO SEPTEMBER 14-16 TIMBERWINDS NURSERY On September 14-16, the St. Louis Water Garden Society will be hosting the 17th Annual NMZNA Koi Show & Pond Expo at Timberwinds Nursery, 54 Clarkson Road at Manchester Road in Ellisville. This is the first time St. Louis is having a Koi Show. Exhibitors and vendors from around the country and locally will be on hand to have their koi displayed and judged and to offer innovative products for your pond and garden, bonsai, decorative items and koi & goldfish for sale and tips on keeping your landscape and fish thriving. Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky and New Jersey will be represented. The show is open on Friday from 3pm-5pm, Saturday 9am-5pm and Sunday 10am-2pm.

This event is open and free to the public. There will be speakers offering informational seminars on all aspects of pond keeping and gardening on Saturday and Sunday. Topics and times are available at www.slwgs.org and www.nmzna.net.

Welcome tables will have information available to attendees about the local pond club, St. Louis Water Garden Society and the regional chapter of ZNA America, Northern Midwest ZNA, the local chapter of a koi hobbyist club originating in Beppu, Japan.

Local pond equipment business, Anjon Manufacturing, is the main show sponsor and St. Louis Homes & Lifestyles magazine is the media sponsor.

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Right Tree, Right Place by the Missouri Department of Conservation

F

Look up, down and all around Next, critique your site. Are there sidewalks, gardens or other trees to be avoided? How much space is there for a tree to grow? Don’t forget to look up! A common mistake is to plant a small sapling that will mature into a large, shade tree directly under a power line.

This is a no-win situation for you, the tree and the utility company.

Large shade trees should be planted at least 45 feet from overhead utility wires. If your site is close to utility lines, consider planting trees that stay small or plant shrubs.

all is a great time to plant a tree. There’s less chance of drought or sun scorch harming newly-planted trees, and the cooler temperatures encourage new root growth. As long as the hottest days of summer are gone and the ground isn’t frozen, you can still plant trees.

Before you dig, consider exactly what kind of tree you want for the space. There’s no one perfect tree for all situations. Some, such as The newly planted ginkgo, left, reaches a mature height of 50dogwoods, stay small their whole lives; others, such as burr oaks, 80’ and will soon be in conflict with those overhead wires. The become large and stately. It’s serviceberries on the right, however, are staying well beneath Plant large trees for big important that you pick a tree that their utility wire overhang. (photos by Robert Weaver) benefits is right for the place you intend to plant it.

Maximize benefits from trees. If there is adequate room, consider planting Consider the tree’s purpose a large shade tree. The benefits from shade trees greatly outweigh those First, decide how you would like the tree to function. Are you planting from small, ornamental trees. This is true for your yard, neighborhood this tree as a screen from the neighbors, an accent by your front door, for and community, and for the planet as well. Plant large trees on the east shade or for greening your surroundings? Are you interested in aesthetics and west sides of your home to maximize energy savings. such as fall color and spring flowers? Do you want to provide food and Large trees remove 60 to 70 times more pollution than small trees. shelter for birds and other wildlife?

Neighborhoods with large, mature trees can be up to 11 degrees cooler in the summer than those without shade. One big tree in a community provides the cooling equivalent of five air conditioners running 20 hours per day, and can cut cooling and heating costs by 10 percent. Big trees also increase property values.

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© 2018, The Scotts Company, LLC. All rights reserved

There’s still time.

Fall offers another opportunity to grow fresh, tasty salad crops. Spinach and lettuce, for example, prefer cooler growing conditions. To get the best results, be sure to use Osmocote® Smart-Release® Plant Food Flower & Vegetable.

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The Greenway City I

by Jennifer Schamber

magine living in a large metropolitan area where every kid is a bike ride away from a greenspace… and where having easy access to a healthy, natural world is not just a privilege, but a human right. Picture a world where its resources, flora, fauna and people are interconnected through networks. These networks create corridors supporting systems that can only function when they are linked.

Greenway’s well-designed trails (over 100 miles already in place, with a goal of 600 miles). These projects set the stage for the overall, big-picture story, which has been a bit under the radar… until now!

Later this year, the Missouri Botanical Garden, along with partners that form BiodiverCity St. Louis, will be officially launching a project called “BiomeSTL: Biodiversity of Metropolitan St. Louis”. This Where is this place? It’s right initiative has been developing here… in the Gateway City, over the past two years as part which maybe in the future could of the OneSTL Sustainability also become known as “The Plan and is continuing to Greenway City.” evolve, connect and grow with a The St. Louis area and the surrounding region hold a treasure trove network of organizations and people that represent a wide range of visionary people and organizations that are partnering together of backgrounds, specialties and resources. In April of this year, to restore, reconnect and revitalize what is a very fragmented citizen scientists in our area joined forces by participating in the STL City Nature Challenge 2018. The metropolitan region. The groundwork intention of this four-day event was of this vision has been put in to record crowd-sourced data of flora place by innovative organizations and fauna that is observed right in including: Great Rivers Greenway, our own community. This event was Trailnet, the CityArchRiver Project, an effective way to demonstrate how Gateway Greening, the City of St. technology can be utilized on a large Louis Sustainability Office, the St. Louis Zoo, East-West Gateway, The Green City Coalition, Forest scale to gather information about healthy habitats in the region. Part ReLeaf, the Open Space Council, the Missouri Botanical Garden of the BiomeSTL project will be an ongoing collection of this data and BiodiverCity St. Louis, among others. Much of the work of so there will be a big picture view of our current species inventory. these organizations can be seen in action, such as Great Rivers Working together to maximize resources and strengthen necessary bonds, the ultimate goal is for everyone in the community to have the opportunity to contribute to a greater good, no matter how small the contribution. Every piece counts. According to Sheila Voss, V.P. of Education for MBG, this still-evolving project is “part ecological data-directory, species inventory, best practices guide

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Plein Air painting by Elizabeth Moreland

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The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2018

and aspirational plan for a bi-state region connected by nature.

BiomeSTL is also, at its core, a citizen science and stewardship project”.

More information will be released over the next couple of months in how to get involved in this project. On Thursday, November 8th, the Missouri Botanical Garden will be hosting a special event along with its network to publicly announce and launch the BiomeSTL initiative. There will be BiomeSTL Citizen Science Kits for Classrooms available to help educators train students.

This collective impact project goes far beyond what any one organization or group could do on its own. The collaborative spirit of the BiodiverCity St. Louis network is enabling and empowering our community to rise together and work towards a healthier and more resilient region. The potential gains from this initiative will be not only environmental and economic, but it will also increase the health and quality of life for all citizens throughout the entire Gateway (or should we say Greenway?) region.

Jennifer Schamber is the General Manager of Greenscape Gardens, and plays leaderships roles in the Western Nursery & Landscape Association, GrowNative!, the Landscape & Nursery Association of Greater St. Louis and the Horticulture Co-op of Metro St. Louis. She has earned Green Profit Magazine’s Young Retailer Award, and Greenscape Gardens was named the National Winner of the 2015 “Revolutionary 100” Garden Centers by Today’s Garden Center Magazine.

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The Gateway Gardener™

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Fall Family Fun Spring and summer always provide a packed calendar of garden tours, flings and plant sales. 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.

Monarch Madness Weldon Spring Site 7295 Highway 94 S., St. Charles, MO 63304 September 15th, 10am-3pm

at Heman Park Community Center, 975 Pennsylvania. Food and drink from several great Univesity City restaurants will free public event that’s fun for the whole family. Celebrate the be available. Tickets will be amazing monarch butterfly and discover how we can all help available online through the them survive an incredible migration. Enjoy kid crafts, games, na- website, ucityinbloom.org, and tive-garden demonstrations, butterfly tagging, food and more.You on the day of the tour at City can even purchase native plants to support monarchs at your home. Hall. Proceeds from the Garden Tour are used to support U City And be sure to stop by our Gateway Gardener booth and say hi! in Bloom’s mission to enhance and beautify the city through SPLASH! Pond and Garden Tour public gardens, community Chalily, 14430 Manchester Rd., St. Louis 63011 partnerships, citizen involvement, and environmental education.

September 22nd

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Kress Farms Garden Preserve Fall Festival 5137 Glade Chapel Rd., Hillsboro, MO 63050 Nov.3rd 8am-2pm Enjoy live music by the Midnight Pickers, a flea market, vendors, and a raffle. There will be an atlatl (spear throwing) demonstration, the 10th Missouri Cavalry Civil War Reenactors, a K-9 demonstration by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department and some good food (biscuits and gravy, chili, Frito pie, hot dogs, hot apple cider).

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ome along on a Garden Tour! 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 Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing. Tickets are $40 and on sale in store or online at www.chalily.com U City in Bloom Garden Tour and Plein Air Art Competition University City September 23 Tour 1-5pm Art Display and Reception 5-6pm The self-guided tour features gardens in an area of University City bounded by Delmar, Hanley, Olive, and Pennsylvania. The area includes 3 parks, churches, a small cemetery and historic homes, as well as many U City in Bloom Gardens.

There will also be a bake sale and, hopefully, fresh garden vegetables for sale. Also, visitors can try their hand at “punkin-chunkin” to see if they can hit the scarecrow in the field with a pumpkin thrown by our trebuchet.

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 53 programs, including A Dark Side to Winter Damage, Backyard Composting, Soil Preparation, Daylilies, Orchids, and more.

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.)

Works by plein air artists painting at various locations during the day also will be on display and available for purchase at a reception 14

The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2018

find out what Missouri trees make - www.TREESWORK.org SEPTEMBER 2018

The Gateway Gardenerâ„¢

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Rub Shoulders with Garden Celebrities at Mizzou Botanic Garden

By Janice Wiese-Fales

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Georgia Champions of Landscape Gardening & their Published Passions for Plants September 23rd Columbia, Missouri

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featured guests and others will be held in Rm. 22 of MU’s Tate Hall auditorium. Authors’ books will be on hand for purchase and autographing. An ice cream social will follow.

Featured Guests

University of Georgia (UGA) Professor Emeritus Allan Armitage is well known as a writer and speaker worldwide. He has written 17 books including Herbaceous Garden Perennials, A Treatise of Identification, Culture and Garden Attributes. His most recent book, Of Naked Ladies and Forget-Me-Nots examines the stories behind plant names.

UGA Professor Emeritus Michael A. Dirr is a legend in the fficially designated the Mizzou Botanic Garden (MUBG) horticultural world for his work with woody landscape plants. in 1999, the University of Missouri campus in Columbia He has authored 12 books charges no admittance including Manual of Woody fees to its very public 735-acre Landscape Plants: Their garden, instead relying on gifts Identification, Ornamental and memberships in the Friends Characteristics, Culture and of MUBG for support.

Propagation and Uses, which To raise awareness of the garden has sold more than 500,000 and attract new members, copies. In addition to more recent general works, he wrote MUBG and the Friends group annually sponsor a program featuring Hydrangeas for American Gardens and Viburnums: Flowering a garden expert of note.

Shrubs for Every Season.

This fall, “Georgia Champions of Landscape Gardening & their The name Vince Dooley is synonymous with football but more Published Passions for Plants” features a team of gardening recently, the retired UGA head football coach has gained renown celebrities with ties to the Peach State. Two events featuring guests for his and wife Barbara’s spectacular garden. In addition to several Allan Armitage, Michael Dirr, Vince Dooley, and Natalia Hamill books about his career, Dooley penned Vince Dooley’s Garden: are scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 23. (And oh, by the way, the The Horticultural Journey of a Football Coach.

Missouri Tigers football team hosts the visiting Georgia Bulldogs Natalia Hamill works as brand and business development manager Saturday, Sept. 22. Make a weekend of it!) for Bailey Nursery. An MU grad, she did her graduate work at • Featured guests will lead a Walkabout and Plant Talk in UGA. She is the author of 100 Easy Perennials and has contributed the garden beginning at 10 a.m. With a limit of 50 participants, articles to Fine Gardening and Missouri Conservationist, among preregistration and a fee of $50 are required to participate. (This other publications. part of the day may be sold out by our publication date, but check For more information about MUBG, Friends of MUBG, if you’re interested; and even if so, the other events below will still September’s events or to register for the Walkabout, call 573be open and free.)

882-6896. You can also learn more about MUBG at their website, • At 2 p.m., a free and open to the public Garden Symposium with gardens.missouri.edu.

O

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The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2018

Getting Ready for Winter

by Diane Brueckman

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t seems like every year I start the fall article with “it’s been a hard year for our roses”. It is true every year is a challenge for our roses.

The only “cure” is to give our roses the best defenses against the unpredictable weather and learn from past experience. Last winter was colder than usual and many rose growers, me included, did not cover their roses as much as we should have. It is the recommended practice to cover roses with 8 to 10 inches of mulch to protect the bud-union from the freeze/thaw of our winter cycles.

The bud-union is the knob at the base of your bush from which all the major canes emerge.

Below the bud-union is rootstock. When your rose changes from the hybrid tea you purchased to a red bloom, it is the Dr. Huey rootstock that survived the winter. The first thing to do is to look at the base of your bush and make sure the bud-union is below ground. In the St. Louis area the bud-union should be 1 to 2 inches below the soil surface. All is not lost if the bud-union is showing above the soil just add more soil around the bush. When you cover the bush give it a little extra mulch to make sure it stays protected.

My failing was I didn’t check during the cold spell to see that the mulch had not blown off or compacted. I lost a couple of my more tender roses. They probably would have survived if I had added mulch.

they do, that is, many of today’s hybrids do not produce hips.

Going to seed tells the plant it is time to rest. October is the time to pull the petals and not deadhead at all.

There are two schools of thought on cutting back roses. One says to wait for spring. The other is to cut in fall. The thought is there is more plant to survive the winter if you wait for spring. I like fall for two reasons: first, the plants won’t waste energy sprouting leaves on canes that will be trimmed back; second, you’ll be removing any overwintering Rose Rosette Disease on the upper canes.

I like to do my cutting back after the plants go dormant, usually around Thanksgiving. At that time I take out any diseased or spindly canes. Canes crossing through the middle of the plant should come out as well, as they can inhibit the mulch cover from getting to the soil when you cover the roses. Stripping the leaves and removing any leaves that are on the ground goes a long way to preventing disease in spring. A spray of horticultural oil and insecticidal soap helps prevent desiccation of the exposed canes and smothers spores and insect eggs on the canes. Actual covering is done after a couple of nights of hard freezes. You don’t want to cover warm soil that might fool the plants into growing.

People are always asking about pruning their ‘Knock Out’ roses.

‘Knock Out’ roses have been sold as carefree, that is true as far as September and October is the time to reduce deadheading and stop disease control goes. All roses appreciate some TLC. Give your any major pruning. Of course, taking out dead wood is always a ‘Knock Out’ roses a good pruning in fall just like your other roses. good thing. The idea is to encourage the roses to slow down and They don’t need to be covered but a three-inch layer of mulch on store energy for next year. Let your roses produce rose hips if the bed will keep them happy and happy roses look good.

YOUR TREES DESERVE THE BEST CARE

Tim Gamma – B.S. Horticulture Board Certified Master Arborist Tom Gamma ISA Certified Arborist P R U N I N G ■ F E R T I L I Z AT I O N ■ P L A N T I N G S P R AY I N G ■ T R I M M I N G ■ R E M O VA L

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SEPTEMBER 2018

The Gateway Gardener™

From September on do not use any quick release or water-soluble nitrogen such as 12-12-12. The reason for cutting back on nitrogen is to stop encouraging the plants to send out new shoots that will not harden off before winter. I will get on my soap box and preach organic fertilizers. Organics will not burn your plants or give them a burst of nitrogen when they least need it.

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.

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Naturally Natives

Tips and Resources for Growing and Landscaping with Sustainable Native Plants

Get Ready for Persimmon Pudding!

Text and Photos by Scott Woodbury

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very year I am required to bake a typically grow tall and narrow and so fit into persimmon pudding on my wife’s birthday. small landscapes. Avoid planting female trees It’s not a chore. It’s a celebration, because over patios, driveways and buildings as fallen we both love moist English puddings, especially fruits can make a mess if they aren’t cleaned up. persimmon pudding. I have a well-worn and Their rate of growth is slow or fast depending stained recipe given to me by Maxine Schuler on the soil they grow in but they are known many years ago. The pudding has become an to live a long time. A fifteen-year-old seedling annual tradition and when we collect extra in the Whitmire garden is 25 ft. tall growing persimmons we get to enjoy it again and again in deep fertile topsoil. In contrast, a ten-foot because persimmon pulp stores well in the tree growing on a rocky sterile glade at Shaw freezer. More on that later. Persimmons began Nature Reserve is confirmed to be at least 80 ripening as early as August and will continue years old. Trees often (not always) spread by right through October. Contrary to common An 80-year-old persimmon tree on suckering roots into colonies. Male and female lore, persimmons don’t need a cold frost to the Shaw glade. Inset: (almost) ripe flowers exist on separate trees so be sure to plant ripen. They need only fall naturally from the persimmon fruit. multiple seedlings to get at least one of each. tree or coaxed by a firm shake of the trunk. Not Female flowers are about one half inch wide attached to a broken branch. Not hand-picked from the tree. They and solitary. Male flowers are smaller and appear in pairs. The must be picked off the ground, preferably fresh, unmashed and flowers are noticed on the ground when they fall from the tree like without yellow jackets attached! If you taste a fruit picked off the magnolia petals, fresh and white in late spring. Fruits of different tree it likely will bite you back because it still has astringent tannins trees vary widely in size, from tiny with many seeds to plump with in it. The tannin dissolves away few seeds. The larger the fruit, the quicker and easier it is to extract when the fruit is fully ripe, when pulp for cooking. Nocturnal mammals of all kinds enjoy eating the it falls from the tree. Not a day fruits and so do yellow jackets, so be careful when gathering fruits sooner or your tongue and cheeks from the ground. Fruits that don’t fall from trees become food for will suffer an immediate sensation woodpeckers in winter. like chewing a raw aspirin. It’s an A Foley’s food mill is useful to separate the seeds from the pulp, awful sensation but quickly fades. making short work of an otherwise tedious, messy and sticky job.

Meet us at...

Kirkwood Market

150 E. Argonne Saturdays, September 1st & 8th 8am - 4pm

Only Pre-paid orders can be picked up Friday at Kirkwood, 4-6pm

Shaw Nature Reserve Shaw Wildflower Market

Friday, September 7th, 4-7:30pm

Prairie Day

Saturday, Sept. 22nd, 10am-4pm

Native Plant Sale Schlafly Bottleworks

September 29th, 9am-2pm

Best of Missouri Market

at Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis

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

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

Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) grows wild in the southern twothirds of Missouri in a wide-array of light and soil conditions. They tolerate full sun or part shade.

They grow in prairies, along streams and on rocky glades. They

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18

Bag the beautiful orange pulp in one-cup measurements and place them in the freezer. They last for years this way if you can resist baking it all. When ready to make a batch of persimmon pudding, which is any day of the year for me, be ready with a copy of Fields of Greens by Annie Somerville. The persimmon pudding recipe in this book is the best I’ve tasted. It involves slow-baking in a steam bath which results in a very moist and dense cake. I don’t know why it’s called pudding but a word of warning, served with fresh whipped cream it can become addicting. Bon Appétit!

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.

1674 N. Bluff Rd Collinsville, IL 62234

(618)344-8841

The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2018

St. Louis Hort History Forest ReLeaf: Re-Leafing St. Louis for 25 Years

By Liana Kopp

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orest ReLeaf grew out of a volunteer effort in 1990 to plant 10,000 seedlings on the St. Louis riverfront to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of Earth Day. In 1993, Forest ReLeaf was officially incorporated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit.

education. Thanks to your support, Forest ReLeaf has planted trees and enriched communities around the region over the past 25 years. Help the organization celebrate the next 25 years to come at the Conservation Celebration at Third Degree Glass in St. Louis on Sunday, October 28!

Learn more about the party and our mission at www.moreleaf.org.

Forest ReLeaf photo

Today, Forest ReLeaf’s CommuniTree Gardens Nursery is the only community-assisted tree nursery in the region and is home to 25,000 Liana Kopp is the Volunteer Protrees that are grown and then dograms Coordinator at Forest Releaf nated to planting projects on public and has been with the organization Community members plant a street tree provided by and nonprofit land. Through Project since January, 2017. Her responsiForest ReLeaf.

CommuniTree, Forest ReLeaf has bilities include volunteer coordinadonated over 130,000 3-gallon trees to public land plantings. More tion, community outreach and education, and managing the Misthan 33,000 trees have been donated through Priority ReLeaf, a souri Forestkeepers Network. program that gives 15-gallon trees to underserved communities and those affected by disaster. St. Louis Ash ReLeaf aids the City of St. Louis in replacing the over 14,000 ash trees that are being removed due to the Emerald Ash Borer infestation. So far, 1,700 trees have been planted in the city as part of this project. In total, over 200,000 trees have been planted in Forest ReLeaf’s 25 years as a nonprofit.

Butterflies, bees, CommuniTree Gardens Nursery is not only a grow zone for trees, hummingbirds, and it is also a great educational space. Located in Creve Coeur Lake songbirds that is!

Memorial Park, the nursery is home to an arboretum, demonstraLet Forrest Keeling tion rain garden and prairie, greenhouse for growing native wildpartner with you flowers, and will soon feature a pollinator garden. to bring natural None of this would be possible without the incredible volunteers beauty to your that donate their time at the nursery and at community planting home habitat! projects. In 2017 alone, individuals and groups volunteered more than 6,200 hours at the nursery. Through community projects, Forest ReLeaf was able to leverage an additional 27,000 volunteer hours in 2017.

If you plant them, they will come!

In addition to growing trees, Forest ReLeaf hosts a number of community projects and educational opportunities. Tree Camp, a week long camp in June for 5th and 6th graders, introduces kids to the benefits of trees through interactive, hands on experiences. In partnership with the City of St. Louis, Forest ReLeaf also piloted an 8-week urban forestry summer job program for city youth in 2018.

Classes in tree identification and tree care are regularly taught by Forest ReLeaf’s foresters.

Since its beginning as a grassroots planting project, Forest ReLeaf has grown into an engine for environmental stewardship and SEPTEMBER 2018

The Gateway Gardener™

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

Forrest Keeling Nursery forrestkeeling.com

in the back yard to the back forty!

19

Dig This!

Gateway Gardeners and Businesses in the News New Oaks for Mizzou’s Quad

For more than 60 years, pin oak trees have framed the historic Francis Quadrangle on the University of Missouri campus.

However, a recently completed tree health and safety study has revealed an urgent need to remove five of the 20 pin oaks growing along the Francis Quadrangle perimeter sidewalks. Removal has already begun, but university leaders and supporters are committed to maintaining the traditional look of the Quad in the years to come.

The trees, originally planted in the 1950s, have slowly declined due in part to not being in their native habitat and the addition of irrigation to the Francis Quadrangle in the 1990s, which changed the composition of the soil.

The five trees slated for removal also have significant structural issues, posing a safety risk to pedestrians if limbs were to fall.

The trees will eventually be replaced with native trees in the white oak group that are better suited for the soil conditions on the Quad. In addition, arborists will continue to work to extend the life of the remaining trees by trimming deadwood, but expect that all 15 of the remaining pin oaks will need to be removed at some point in the future.

“Pin oak, a member of the red oak group, thrives in its native, river bottomland environment with rich, acidic soil,” said Chris Starbuck, associate professor emeritus in the Division of Plant Sciences. “In urban landscapes, compacted clay soil with high pH causes stress that shortens the life span of pin oak trees to less than the 90 years expected in their native habitat. Trees in the white oak group commonly live for more than 200 years and tend to tolerate urban soils better than pin oak.”

The replacement of the pin oaks, which will happen over the next several years, will be funded through a special Mizzou Botanic Garden fundraising campaign: The Legacy Oaks of the Francis Quadrangle. The replacement native oak trees will be transplanted from a nursery and contain a special root development system designed to limit transplant shock. All replacement oaks will be planted at the same time in the nursery and then moved to the Quad as other pin oaks are removed. This approach will ensure the trees are of the same size and help maintain the Quadrangle’s iconic scenery during the replacement process.

Quadrangle program, please call MU Advancement at (573) 884-2355.

Landscaping Firm Stewardship Award!

Wins

Environmental

Quiet Village Landscaping was recently awarded an Environmental Stewardship Award by the National Association of Landscape Professionals.

The National Association of Landscape Professionals Environmental Stewardship Awards honors companies in the industry who go above and beyond to enhance and protect the environment.

These companies have demonstrated a sustained and significant commitment to enhancing and protecting the environment that is pervasive in the company’s culture.

“We’ve always been passionate about sustainability and environmentally friendly landscaping practices. It’s one of our core values and it shows in our landscape designs, promotion of eco-friendly practices and financial commitment to our environment.” Quiet Village Landscaping’s Owner Dennis Evans said after award recognition. “We’re proud to be a local leader in sustainability.”

Quiet Village Landscaping provides full-service outdoor living design, installation and maintenance to St. Louis, offering custom design consultations and environmentally conscious landscaping services.

Master Pollinator Stewardship Program

A collaboration among MU Extension, St. Louis County Parks Foundation, St. Louis County Parks Pollinator Pantry Program, and the St. Louis Master Gardeners has announced a new Master Pollinator Steward program. Participants will have the opportunity to attend 6 classes over a period from September 19th through October 24th, with subjects ranging from an intro to Insects, discussions of relationships between plants and pollinators, how to plant and conserve pollinator-friendly habitat and more. Completing the program will certify participants as Master Pollinator Stewards. Classes will be held at MU Extension, 132 E. Monroe Ave. in Kirkwood.

Fee for the 6-week program is $120/person. For more information, or to register, visit https:// goo.gl/8RgkqU or call 314-400-7632.

For information regarding The Legacy Oaks of the Francis 20

The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2018

Bring on the Fall Color New plants arriving daily

Safe Digging starts with

Proud host of the St. Louis Koi Show & Pond Expo September 14-16, 2018

25% off

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Wait the Required Amount of Time.

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one regular price Timberwinds Nursery item (Expo vendors’ products excluded)

Valid Friday, September 14-Sunday, September 16, 2018

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SEPTEMBER 2018

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1-800-DIG-RITE or 811 21

Upcoming Events Barrett Station Rd., Manchester, MO, 314-821-2440.

GARDEN TOURS, PLANT SALES AND SHOWS

Updates to this information are often posted on our online events calendar at GatewayGardener. com, so check there for the latest details.

Give us the details of your upcoming gardening, lawn or landscaping event and we’ll add it to our website and include it in our next issue.

Deadline for printing in November/ December issue is October 1st.

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

GARDEN CLUBS AND PLANT SOCIETY MEETINGS Interested in Joining a Garden Club or Plant Society? We have meeting dates, locations and contact information on more than 50 area garden clubs on our website at www.

GatewayGardener.com. Don’t have access to the internet? Just call us at (314) 968-3740, or write us at PO Box 220853, St. Louis, MO 63122, and we’ll get the information to you.

So share your joy for gardening and join a garden club or favorite plant society today!

FUN FOR KIDS

Sept. 1 Between10-11am--First Saturday Kids. Bring the kids anytime to play in the garden decorate a mum. $10 supply fee. Call to RSVP. Hillermann Nursery & Florist, 636239-6729, www.hillermann.com. st

Sept. 8th 9am—A Sensory Garden Experience. St. Louis County Parks and Recreation Children’s Garden Club. Taste the harvest, smell what’s blooming, feel the living soil, hear the buzzing, and see the beauty of the garden. FREE. Greenscape Gardens & Gifts, 2832

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Now through Sept. 21st Brightside St. Louis Bulb Sale.

Now is the time to order your Brightside bulbs. Returning this year is an old favorite ‘Daydream’ hybrid Darwin tulip plus the classic Carlton daffodil and Brightside’s exclusive Midwest Mix that includes six varieties of hearty daffodils. Visit www.Brightsidestl. org to view bulbs and submit an order or print out a mail-in order. Or call (314) 772-4646. Orders will be available in October.

Sept. 7th 2-7pm--Fall Wildflower Market.

Welcoming new and experienced gardeners and people looking for locally made products for a greener community, including wildflowers from Missouri Wildflower Nursery, wine, bread, meats, art, crafts and more. The sale is located in the pavilions behind the Bascom House, near the Whitmire Wildflower Garden at Shaw Nature Reserve. The garden is devoted to showcasing native plants in many habitats and design styles. Bring checks and cash to pay vendors.

Shaw Nature Reserve, I-44 at exit #253 in Gray Summit, Mo. Free for members; included with admission for non-members. For more information visit us on the web at www.shawnature.org.

Sept. 8th-9th 9am-5pm—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.

Sept. 11th 6pm-dusk—Doctor’s Herb Garden Tour. The Garden is a combination of medicinal, culinary and housekeeping herbs, so come and spend some time with your favorite plants. Knowedgeable gardeners will be on hand to speak

with you, answer questions and hopefully learn from you! Hosted by the St. Louis Evening Herbalists, and is free, but please RSVP to Micha at michaken@att.net by Sept. 1st. Faust Park, 15185 Olive Blvd., Chesterfield, MO 63017.

Park in either of the parking lots and walk to the Historic Village to the house with the white picket fence.

Sept. 14th-16th St. Louis Koi Show & Pond Expo.

See ad on opposite page and article on page 9.

Sept. 15th-16th 9am-5pm-- Gateway West Gesneriad Society Show and Sale.

Horticulture-Design Exhibits/ Educational Culture Info/Supplies for growing Sinningia, Kohleria, Epicia, Streptocarpus, African Violets and much more. Beaumont Room, Ridgway Visitor Center at Missouri Botanical Garden. Entry included with Garden admission. www.gesneriadsociety.org.

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 abou their organization. Missouri Botanical Garden, Ridgway Center, Orthwein Floral Display Hall.

Sept. 21st-23rd Noon-7pm Fri., 10am-7pm Sat, 10am-5pm Sun—NGC Design Specialty Flower Flow “Steppin’ Out in St. Charles’. Presented by the Greater St. Louis Council of Nationally Accredited flower Show Judges. Builders Home & Remodeling Show, St. Charles Convention Center. Show is free and open to the public.

Sept. 22nd SPLASH Pond and Garden Tour.

Come along on a Garden Tour! From the DIY-er to professionally built, these hosts are opening their water features for your inspiration! You can choose the bus tour or selfguided 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 Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing. Tickets are $40 and on sale in store or online at www.chalily.com.

Sept. 23rd 1-6pm—U City in Bloom Garden Tour and Plein Air Art Competition. The self-guided tour (1-5pm) The self-guided tour features gardens in an area of University City bounded by Delmar, Hanley, Olive, and Pennsylvania.

The area includes 3 parks, churches, a small cemetery and historic homes, as well as many U City in Bloom Gardens. The reception at Heman Park Community Center, 975 Pennsylvania, 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.

Sept. 29th 9am-2pm—Native Plant Expo and Sale. 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, Maplewood.

CLASSES, LECTURES AND EVENTS

Sept. 1st 11am—Rework Tired Summer Pots. Freshen up your old summer pots with fresh fall flowers. A hands-on container workshop with the staff. Effinger Garden Center, 720 South 11th Street, Belleville, IL. (618) 234-4600, effingergarden. com.

The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2018

Sept. 1st 9:30-10:30am—Solutions for Your Gardening Challenges Q&A. Bring your challenges to learn about the plants and techniques that work in tough situations. Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood. FREE. Call (314) 9653070.

10am--Home Grown Apothocary.

Learn which plants to grow to create your own herbal remedies.

Crystal Stevens, herbalist, organic farmer and author of Grow Create Inspire and Worms at work, will discuss powerhouse plants and their medicinal properties. Greenscape Gardens & Gifts, 2832 Barrett Station Rd., Manchester, MO, 314821-2440.

Sept. 4th 5:30-8pm—Eat, Drink, and Grow Native! Scavenger Hunt, Native Landscaping & Green Roof Presentation. Part of a series of casual events designed to connect the public with native plant experts and practitioners in a relaxing setting during the growing season.

Participants enjoy food and drinks at a local native garden while learning from native plant experts who helped make that installation a reality.

National Great Rivers Research and Education Center, 1 Confluence Way, East Alton, IL. FREE! Register at www.grownative.org by Sept. 3rd.

Sept. 8th 9:30-10:30am—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.

permeable pavers, rain barrels, trees, mulch and green rooftops. $17 ($14 Garden members). Classes are behind the Joseph H. Bascom House. For reservations or more information, call (314) 577-9526 or visit www.shawnature.org.

Sept. 15th 9:30-10:30am—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.

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.

10-11am—Miniature Garden Make-n-Take. Make your own cute and trendy mini garden to take home. $30 supply fee. Hillermann Nursery & Florist, call 636-239-6729 to sign up. www.hillermann.com.

Sept.22nd 10am--Make ‘n’ Take Fall Veggie and Herb Containers. Join us as we design container that will keep producing all throughout the season, and are nutritious as they as beautiful.

Base pricing is $29.99. Buy a pot or bring a pot, or get a free 3-gallon plastic liner pot to plant and drop into your container at home. Greenscape Gardens & Gifts, 2832 Barrett Station Rd., Manchester, MO, 314821-2440. Registration encouraged, register online at https://goo.gl/ forms/yy89qFFYnOApGtzF2.

Sept. 23rd 10am—Georgia

Champions

Landscape Gardening & their Published Passions for Plants.

Three events in one! Enjoy an exclusive walkabout the Mizzou Botanic Garden and talk plants with horticulture experts. Then attend a Garden Symposium with the same featured guests and more; finally meet the guests at an ice cream social.

Read more on page 16. Visit gardens. missouri.edu or call (573) 882-6896 for information. (Walkabout will likely be sold out by this printing date, but other events are still open.)

Sept. 29th 9am-noon—Webster Groves Herb Society Display. Meet members of the Webster Groves Herb Society at Missouri Botanical Garden for a complimentary exhibit. Recipes, tasty treats, tips and tricks for summer cooking with herbs.

9:30-10:30am—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.

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Sept. 16th 11am-4pm--Spookley’s Fall KickOff Event. Join us for a little hootenanny. There will be a food truck, vendors, live music, and many other fun activities. Spookley the Square Pumpkin will be joining us!

Greenscape Gardens & Gifts, 2832 Barrett Station Rd., Manchester, MO, 314-821-2440.

Sept. 8th and 22nd 10am-noon—Wine Making. Learn how to make wine at this 5 session class. Class 1 (Sept. 8th): Blackberry Port Introductions. Class 2 (Sept.

22nd): Stopping Fermentation and Elevating Wine to Port Alcohol Level. Overview and beginning Primary Fermentation. $5/session.

Call 636-239-6729 to sign up.

Hillermann Nursery & Florist, www. hillermann.com.

Sept. 19th, 26th, Oct. 3rd, 10th, 17th & 24th

Sept. 13th 1-4 pm—Native Plant School: Rainscaping Practices. Learn how to plan, install and maintain rain gardens, plus other rainscaping practices like lawn alternatives,

plus experts on hand to help choose the right ones for you

SEPTEMBER 2018

Sept. 16th 6-9pm—Master Pollinator Stewardship Training Classes.

Classes include subjects on insects, discussions of relationships between plants and pollinators, how to plant and conserve pollinator-friendly habitat and more. Completing the program will certify participants as Master Pollinator Stewards. Classes will be held at MU Extension, 132 E. Monroe Ave. in Kirkwood. Fee for the 6-week program is $120/person.

For more information, or to register, visit https:// goo.gl/8RgkqU or call 314-400-7632.

SPECTACULAR DAYLILY SALE September 8-9, 2018 9am-5pm

MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN ORTHWEIN ROOM

HUNDREDS OF VARIETIES PRICES FROM $5

SALE LIST ON FACEBOOK PAGE

GREATER ST. LOUIS DAYLILY SOCIETY

The Gateway Gardener™

23

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