The Gateway Gardener September 2019

Gateway Gardener THE

SEPTEMBER 2019

®

Your Guide to Enjoyable Gardening and Easy-Care Landscapes

Plants That Root for You Paying Deep Dividends

Cannabis is Coming Fall Festivities Native River Bed Plants FREE Courtesy of:

SEPTEMBER 2019

The Gateway Gardener™

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The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2019

Gateway Gardener THE

®

Your Guide to Enjoyable Gardening and Easy-Care Landscapes

SEPTEMBER 2019

Volume 15, Number 7

Founded in 2005 by Joyce Bruno & Robert Weaver Publisher and Editor Robert Weaver Columnists Diane Brueckman Rosey Acres Joyce Driemeyer Master Gardener Abby Lapides Sugar Creek Gardens Steffie Littlefield Edg-Clif Winery Jennifer Schamber Greenscape Gardens Scott Woodbury Shaw Nature Reserve

Printing: Breese Publishing, Breese, IL The Gateway Gardener® is published 9 times/year by Double Dig Communications, Inc. to promote enjoyable, successful gardening and livable landscapes in the St. Louis greater metropolitan area. The magazine is distributed free to the public at designated garden centers, nurseries, garden gift shops, lawn equipment rental, repair and sales establishments, and other locations supporting sound gardening, lawn and landscaping practices.

Please send letters-to-the-editor, questions, event announcements, editorial suggestions and contributions, photos, advertising inquiries and materials, and any other correspondence to: The Gateway Gardener Magazine® PO Box 220853 St. Louis, MO 63122 Phone: (314) 968-3740

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

SEPTEMBER 2019

W

From the Editor

hen choosing plants for our gardens, we consider a number of qualities and characteristics, usually having to do with esthetics. What color is the bloom, when does it bloom, how tall is it, how does the shape and texture blend or contrast with other plants? More recently, many gardeners are choosing plants for the benefits they provide wildlife. Do they attract pollinators, feed birds with their seeds and berries, attract insects for baby birds to grow on? But Abby Lapides invites us to dig a little deeper, literally, to discover other benefits of many plants, the unseen benefits they perform beneath the soil’s surface. In her article on page 4, Abby introduces us to “Plants that Root for YOU!”

Next, while we may be the last publication to take on the trending topic of cannabis in Missouri and Illinois (well, not true exactly, our contributor Joyce Driemeyer wrote about the cannabis cousin, hemp, as far back as September 2011!),

gravel beds…and of course the plants they find there. Some are familiar, while others may be new to us. In any case, knowing where native plants grow in their natural habitat helps us better understand where to place them in our gardens, and how they’ll perform there. (I’ve always heard others say how rampant marsh milkweed spreads in their wet gardens, while in my dry garden they stay in one Jennifer Schamber dips our well-behaved clump year after toes into the water in this issue year. Sometimes working on page 6, discussing what against nature works for you.) the legalization of medicinal marijuana in Missouri and Finally, fall is a great time to recreational use in Illinois enjoy the cooler weather, and means to the horticulture there are plenty of activities industry, including growers, to help you do so. Be sure to suppliers, media (that’s us!), check them out in our annual garden centers and their roundup of Fall Festivities customers. It’s high time we (page 12) and in our regular explored this topic! (Couldn’t calendar of events on page 22. resist.)

Speaking of dipping toes in water, Scott Woodbury revisits one of his family’s favorite summer pastimes, dipping their toes in the waters of Missouri’s rivers and streams, and especially exploring the

On the Cover...

Most of us choose garden plants for what we see and they do above ground, but plants like this Amsonia (blue hubrichtii star) do a lot below the ground as well.

Read more on page 4. (photo courtesy PerennialResource.com)

The Gateway Gardener™

Good gardening!

IN THIS ISSUE 4 Plants that Root for You 6 Cannabis is Coming 8 Gifts from the River 10 Mantid Mayhem 12 Fall Festivities 14 Pretty in Pink 16 Safety Concerns in the Garden 18 Egyptian Onion 18 JT’s Fresh Ideas 20 Dig This 22 Upcoming Events 3

Plants that ROOT for You!

by Abby Lapides

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rom bald eagles to pelicans, Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area located in Columbia, Missouri, is a haven for many of Missouri’s waterfowl. Eagle Bluffs not only provides a home to these birds, it also is part of the wastewater treatment process of Columbia.

Through constructed wetlands, the roots and stems of many plants help clean wastewater and slowly bring the water back into the watershed. This is just one of Buttonbush the many powers of the underside of plants. Here are few ways to use plants’ roots for your home benefit.

Help Dry a Basement

With the heavy rains St. Louis experienced, many of us have had the not-so-joyful experience of a wet basement. Planting shrubs in the lower areas around foundations can sometimes solve these water problems. I recommend planting shrubs that can tolerate

GROW

YO U R

CACT U S CO L L E CT I O N

being flooded like a buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) or smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens). Other times a more strategic approach may be needed through the creation of a rain garden or bioswale to cure a wet basement. Rain gardens and bioswales collect a large amount of water and then let it slowly percolate into the ground. One of my favorite rain garden plants is blue star (Amsonia spp.), as it puts on a great show for much of the year with beautiful blue flowers in spring and golden yellow foliage in summer and fall. These beauties are tough and can tolerate wetness or drought once established.

Storm Water Management for Sewer Systems

Roots are so important to storm water management the Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) wants to give you money to plant a garden. If you live in the Mississippi River or River Des Peres watershed you are eligible for a grant worth up to $4,000 to plant gardens around your property through Project

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The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2019

from the atmosphere are important considerations. Plants absorb carbon and store it in their roots, stems, trunks and leaves. Prairie plants have extremely large root systems that can sometimes be 5 times the size of the actual plant, storing a lot of carbon below ground. Some with the largest root systems are big bluestem (Andropogo gerardii), blazing stars (Liatris spp.), wild indigo (Baptisia australis) and compass plant (Silphium laciniatum).

When planting, be sure to give the roots a happy home. Amend with compost and add a starter fertilizer that has beneficial bacteria and fungus to help get the roots settled in quicker. Because Purple of the large root Poppy Mallow system of many the plants Clear. Our sewer systems become overloaded with water after of heavy rains, which cause many headaches for MSD. Replacing turf mentioned above grass or impervious surfaces with rain gardens, native gardens and these plants can be other mechanisms help keep storm water out of the sewers. Roots difficult to move and the fauna they support aerate soil making it easier for water to once established, carefully sink into the ground rather than running off to the sewer. For more think about layout before information visit www.projectclear.org. planting.

Erosion Control

Adding plants to eroding spots helps stabilize the area. I prefer planting groundcovers on slopes as they cover a lot of ground quickly (go figure) and their shorter size tends to look nice on slopes. Purple poppy mallow (Callirhoe) features bright magenta flowers on sprawling stems with interesting deeply cut leaves.

This tough plant has a large root system that spreads deep into the ground providing a strong foundation to keep the plant—and your soil—where it belongs. For a shady slope try bugle weed (Ajuga) ‘Burgundy Glow’, whose blue flowers and showy foliage create a splash.

Photos by Robert Weaver, except Blue Star, courtesy Walter’s Gardens, Inc.

Wild Indigo

Bring on the Fall Color New plants arriving daily

Clean Up Some Carbon

With the acceleration of global warming, ways to remove carbon 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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Cannabis is Coming!

What’s it Mean for the Hort Industry?

by Jennifer Schamber

R

arely before in the history of the horticulture industry have we seen one plant genus change the playing field more than Cannabis.

As more states continue to decriminalize and legalize the usage of the plant to varying degrees, every sector of the industry is being impacted in some way. From growers to suppliers to the media, as well as garden centers, home gardeners and students, the plant is offering opportunities, along with a great deal of challenges, as the industry navigates through unchartered waters.

may look at re-evaluating their current product lines and find that it may make economic sense to change over to this much higher cost crop, if they are willing to take on a hefty amount of risk, work through complicated regulations and invest in more sophisticated growing technologies and security.

St. Louis-area garden centers and some box stores will be impacted by a large floriculture grower in southern Missouri that is going through the licensing process of becoming a medicinal cannabis growing facility. This grower will no longer be supplying a wide 123rf.com range of annuals and tropicals to the region Grower Impact after Fall 2019. Other large growing operations Commerical floraculture growers with established across the country are converting all or some of their facilities to growing facilities and infrastructures have been facing fierce cannabis, which could cause some floriculture product shortages competition in the commodity floral market for some time now. in some parts of the country for the short term.

Mass market retailers and box stores have driven down the cost of plants, which in addition to weather issues, has made it more Supplier Impact challenging to remain profitable over the long run. Some growers A wide range of grower suppliers are being very positively impacted by increased sales to cannabis growers. The industry is already facing increasing costs for supplies due to trade tariffs, but now with increasing demand for inputs, we should expect to see an increase in plant costs across the board in the coming year. Among those most impacted include: greenhouse suppliers/builders, potting media (primarily coco coir-based mixes), fertilizers (both synthetic and organic), plastic pot manufacturers, irrigation and benching suppliers, along with O A K V I L L E lighting, HVAC and environmental control companies.

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The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2019

123rf.com

Garden Centers/Home Gardeners/Student Impact

Media Impact

Some publishers from the horticulture industry have diversified their magazine portfolio to include special publications for legally growing and dispensing cannabis. Several print/digital media editors and writers from the horticulture industry have been recruited over to these newer trade magazines. Most of these magazines have the same advertisers and discuss many of the same topics and issues as the horticulture industry. There has also been a new wave of “post-prohibition” books written on the topic, such as “Higher Etiquette” by Lizzie Post, the greatgreat granddaughter of Emily Post, author of “Etiquette”, which covers the social issues involving this era for cannabis.

With the growing demand for qualified employees across the cannabis industry supply chain comes the increased need for education on the topic. Some patients may choose to legally grow cannabis and there will be a need for them to have easy access to reliable information on the cultural practices of growing it. Will local garden centers be ready to answer their questions and troubleshoot their issues? Where will they feel comfortable going for help? The largest independent garden center trade show in the country featured a “Cannabis Corner” at this year’s show for the first time. There is also an increased need for medical professionals to safely advise patients about the usage of medical cannabis. Some colleges and universities are stepping up to the plate and offering courses and in some cases minors on the topic. N. Michigan University offers a 4-year undergraduate degree program called “Medicinal Plant Chemistry” that prepares students for the emerging field of medicinal plant production, analysis and distribution. Colorado State University Pueblo offers a 22-credit cannabis minor. The University of Connecticut offers a “Horticulture of Cannabis” course, while Harvard, Vanderbilt, the University of Denver, Ohio State and Florida A & M University of Law all offer cannabis law courses.

New opportunities and new challenges lie ahead of the horticulture industry, but through education, research and training, many of the blurry questions will be cleared up and solutions will grow.

Jennifer Schamber is the General Manager of Greenscape Gardens, and plays leaderships roles in the Western Nursery & Landscape Association, GrowNative! and the Landscape & Nursery Association of Greater 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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Naturally Natives Gifts from the River to the Garden text and photos by Scott Woodbury

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ur family and friends visit gravel bars in Missouri. The kind that serve sunburns and skipping stones. This is one of our traditions. Our twelve-year-old heads for the water, no matter the season, in search of mussels and crayfish. He also picks up, or attempts to pick up, every treasure that gets lodged in sand and gravel, including tires, a Coleman’s folding chair, an old Bardenheier’s wine bottle cap, odd chunks of metal, and a whole truck! My wife keeps an eye to the horizon looking for eagles and hawks. I keep my head down, in search of native

plants to consider for gardening.

Switchgrass and Sweet Coneflower

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

Meet us at one of these locations in the St. Louis area.

Shaw Wildflower Market, at Shaw Nature Reserve, I-44 & Hwy 100, Gray Summit, MO 63039. Friday, September 6, 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. www.shawnature.org. Admission is $5 per person, Seniors $3, or free to Missouri Botanical Garden members.

Along rivers is where I have learned about some of my favorite native annuals for the garden. Annuals survive well on gravel bars because deep deposits of sand and gravel brought in by floodwaters snuff out most woodies and perennials. Annual wild gourd (Cucurbita pepo var. ozarkana) is one of them. It is a rambling vine producing fruits that look like turkey eggs.

When fully dried, they can be turned into rattles when shaken vigorously. It is in scale on big gravel bars where it can spread out, but grows out of control like a volunteer watermelon in gardens. It is best grown on a tall trellis or long arbor or where its ten-foot vines can stretch out. Its flowers are edible dipped in a yeast batter, fried in olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper.

They are delicious for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Red whiskers (Polanisia dodecandra), another annual, blooms through summer and attracts clearwing hummingbird moths on the gravel bar and in the garden. It is perfect for gardens because it is small and it attracts a profusion of pollinators. You might recognize its close relative, the taller South American species called spider flower (Cleome spp.), sometimes called grandfather’s whiskers.

Blue curls (Trichostema dichotomum), a lesser-known annual, has delicate, pale-blue flowers on tidy clumps that fit into small spaces

Kirkwood Farmers Market, 150 East Argonne Dr. Kirkwood MO 63122. Saturdays, September 7 & 14; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Prepaid Pre-orders can be picked up 4-6 p.m. Fridays. It is easier to pick up orders at Kirkwood Farmers’ Mkt. or Shaw NR than the Best of Missouri Market.

Missouri Prairie Foundation Native Plant Sale. World Bird Sanctuary, . 125 Bald Eagle Ridge Rd, Valley Park MO, 63088. Saturday, September 7, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Native Plant Expo. Native Plant Sale, at Schlafly Bottleworks, 7260 Southwest Ave. St. Louis, 63143. Saturday, Sept 28, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. www.stlouisaudubon.org. Benefitting St. Louis Audubon’s Bring Conservation Home Program Best of Missouri Market. at the Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63110.

Friday, Oct. 4: First Look Friday: Noon to 8 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 5: Members’ hour: 8 - 9 a.m., Market Hours: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 6: Market Hours: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

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Wild Gourd The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2019

Tips and Resources for Growing and Landscaping with Sustainable Native Plants like planters and patios.

accessible gravel bars in eastern Missouri. I am in awe of the stunning beauty and functionality of gravel bar plants. But these Plants that grow naturally in gravel and sand tolerate extreme gravel bar gifts come at a cost. They need to be watched over, drought and are good choices for well-drained garden areas on protected and restored by land and business owners, river experts, or near boulders, gravel, flagstone patios, rock walls, containers, government agencies and members of organizations like Shaw and green rooftops. They also have a unique ability to tolerate Nature Reserve who work tirelessly to speak for the river. Without flooding so also work well in rain gardens. In natural gravel bars unique habitats like these, there would be fewer awesome native with less dramatic shifting sand and gravel, perennials like shining plants to grow in gardens. Let’s all do our part and support an bluestar (Amsonia illustris), calamint (Clinapodium arkansanum) organization that is hard at work protecting land. I guarantee that and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) thrive. Shining bluestar is a it will make a difference for our planet and our gardens. Happy diehard plant that grows in any sunny garden. It tolerates clay soil gardening ya’ll. and has clean, dark green, shiny leaves that grow on four-foot tall plants. I like to trim them into regular shapes or hedges when it’s Horticulturist Scott Woodbury is the done blooming in spring. This reduces its size, prevents it from Curator of the Whitmire Wildflower Garden flopping and gives it a shape that contrasts with loosely arranged at Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit, native plants. Calamint is a twelve-inch mounded perennial and MO, where he has worked with native plant has minty leaves that make a refreshing tea. The flowers resemble propagation, design, and education for baby’s breath; delicate, lacey and white. I like using it in containers more than 20 years. He is also an advisor and flagstone walkways where it gets brushed when you walk by. to the Missouri Prairie Foundation’s GrowNative! program.

Switchgrass grows 3-4 ft. tall and is versatile. It tolerates full sun, part shade, clay soil, sandy soil, winter salt, drought and floods. It is highly variable in color, height, form and texture with at least two-dozen cultivars used in agriculture for pasture, erosion control and biofuel and dozens of others uses in gardening.

The one we grow in the Whitmire Wildflower Red Whiskers Garden grows wild at Shaw Nature Reserve and is lower in height (3 ft. tall). It has sturdy stems, an attractive rounded inflorescence with green summer foliage turning lemonyellow in fall.

Where the

BEST TREES BEGIN

Shaw Nature Reserve has one of the most picturesque and

Fall Wildflower Market Friday, September 6 | 2–7 p.m.

Choose from the widest selection of native plants available in the metro St. Louis area!

307 Pinetum Loop Rd. | Gray Summit, MO 63039 shawnature.org | (314) 577-9555

SEPTEMBER 2019

The Gateway Gardener™

88 Forrest Keeling Lane | Elsberry, MO 63343 | 800-FKN-2401 | forrestkeeling.com

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raying mantids have long been subjects Dr. James Trager, entomologist and retired of intrigue in the garden. Their discrete educator at Shaw Nature Reserve, says that, lurking and ability to blend into their while continuing or discontinuing the practice surroundings, along with their huge eyes A Chinese mantis dining on an unlucky of introducing Chinese mantids by students or and turret head that keep a curious watch monarch butterfly. on human visitors make them objects of sometimes by eating them--has given the gardeners probably will have minimal effect wonder and endearment to young and old. Chinese mantis population dominance in on already well established populations, as a Plus gardeners have sought their advertised gardens and natural habitats, and possibly general practice, he, too, would discourage role as “beneficial insects” controlling less contributing to declining native mantid introducing non-native predators of any kind in an attempt to control pest species. desirable insect pests without the use of populations. pesticides. However, among the many species And because of their size, they may not bother The takeaway, then, is Chinese mantids of mantids, not all may be as welcome in the with the smaller insects like aphids that are are likely here to stay, but if teachers can garden as many have thought. pests in most of our gardens, but take on the procure native mantids for their science Of the many species of mantids existing, bigger meals, including the butterflies and projects and gardeners can find other means the most likely to be found in our area are bees many of us work to attract to the garden. of controlling—or living with—insects the native Carolina mantis (Stagmomantis They are even quite capable of ambushing in their gardens, the butterflies, bees and hummingbirds would probably thank you.

Carolina), and Chinese mantis (Tenodera small birds like hummingbirds. sinensis). A third, European mantis (Mantis Though it may not be easy for gardeners to religiousa) is less common. All are nontell them apart, native mantids are generally selective ambush predators, preying on much smaller, 1-1/2—2-1/2”, and are usually beneficial as well as pest insects. Of these a mottled green or gray-brown. European the Chinese mantis is the largest, at 3-5” in mantids are slightly larger at 3”, and typically maturity, and becoming a growing concern to pale green, and the Chinese mantids are some naturalists and gardeners. usually green to light brown.

When educators order mantid egg casings for Gateway Gardener reader Mark Peters has science projects, or gardeners buy beneficial documented the bloody trail of the Chinese mantids to release into their garden, the mantis in his own 6-acre prairie in Jefferson species they most often receive is the Chinese County, and is making it a personal mission Monarch and other butterfly wings mantis. This--and the fact that, as the largest of to educate others about Chinese mantids. collected by Mark Peters near mantid the 3 common mantids, it easily outcompetes “A few years ago, I surveyed the prairie and hangouts. the others, not only by outhunting them, but

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The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2019

Mark Peters

By Robert Weaver

While Chris Hartley, entomologist and Science Education Coordinator at the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House, says he doesn’t necessarily advise people to kill them, he agrees that they’ve decreased the range of our native mantids, and would advise people not to release the foreigners in our gardens.

Mark Peters

Mantid Mayhem

killed 701 of them! In just an hour or two, I picked up (dozens of) monarch wings under blooming plants where the mantids perched.”

© 2019, 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. ® If you yourGateway own, grow with Osmocote .

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Plant Food

J. J. Mueller

Fall Festivities Best of Missouri Market

Robert Weaver

Koi enthusiasts from around the Midwest bring their prized fish to compete in the 18th Annula Northern Midwest ZNA Koi Show. See these and other beautiful living jewels on display.

Learn from informational seminars on Saturday. Koi judging takes place Saturday and judges talk about the fish at the tanks on Sunday. Vendors offer Koi, goldfish and pondrelated products. Raffles and attendance prize drawings.

Learn more at www.nmzna.net.

Hosted by the Gateway Koi and Pond Club, learn more at www. gatewaykoiandpondclub.org or call 314-276-9461.

Illuminate your evening! Enjoy cool autumn evenings in the Garden, sample local libations in the Biergarten, and wonder at dynamic multimedia displays throughout Garden grounds during the final weeks of Garden Party Lights. Join other visitors for an Oktoberfest celebration on October 19 featuring live music from the So. Grand Polka Band. Open Thursday through Sunday evenings (closed October 3–6). Visit mobot.org/gardenpartylights for more information.

Monarch Madness—A Pollinator Festival U.S. Department of Energy at Weldon Springs Site Shaw Wildflower Market 7295 Highway 94 South, St. Charles, MO 307 Pinetum Loop Rd. Gray Sept. 14th Summit, MO 63039 Discover all things pollinator and September 6th 2-7pm celebrate the amazing monarch.

Choose from the widest selection The event is free and open to of native plants available in the all. Enjoy kids’ crafts, games, vendors, native metro St. Louis area. Plus live exhibitors, music and informational booths garden demonstrations, butterfly from native plant organizations tagging, food and more. Visitors and other conservation enthusi- can purchase native plants and asts. More information at shawn- gather professional advice to ature.org or call (314) 577-9555. grow monarch-sustaining plants at your home. On-site parking is limited. Free shuttle bus service 12

The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2019

Robert Weaver

Wesley Schaefer

Garden Party Lights Missouri Botanical Garden 4344 Shaw St. Louis, MO Now through October 19th

St. Louis Koi Show & Pond Expo Timberwinds Nursery 54 Clarkson Rd., Ellisville, MO 63011 Sept. 13th-15th 3-5pm Fri., 9am-5pm Sat., 10am-2pm Sun.

Robert Weaver

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, sales, festivals and more! Here are several upcoming events to add to your bucket list.

will be available from Frances Howell High School. The Weldon Spring Site is located at 7295 Highway 94—approximately 2 miles south of I-64/Hwy 40. Contact the Weldon Spring Site at (636) 3002601 or WSInterpretiveCenter@lm.doe.gov for more information.

SPLASH! Pond and Garden Tour Chalily, 14430 Manchester Rd., St. Louis 63011 Sept. 21st 8am-5pm

Courtesy Chalily

Join other water garden enthusiasts for a tour of Ponds and Gardens around St. Louis. We have 2 options, sit back and let us do the driving on our Chartered Bus or drive yourself. Explore the water features and get inspiration and advice from pond-owners. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner are all included. All proceeds are donated to Project Healing Waters, which supports disabled Veterans. Tickets are $40 and on sale in store or online at www.chalily.com.

craft WE CREATE

A SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN ART +

+ SCIENCE.

U City in Bloom Garden Tour and “Paint U City” Plein Air Festival University City September 22, 2019 Tour 1-5pm Art Display and Reception 5-7pm

wallflowerdesign.biz

U City in Bloom

The self-guided tour features gardens in an area of University City in the Brittany Wood neighborhood. Works by plein air artists painting at various locations during the day also will be on display and available for purchase at a reception at Heman Park Community Center, 975 Pennsylvania. 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 the city through public gardens, community partnerships, citizen involvement, and environmental education.

Best of Missouri Market Missouri Botanical Garden 4344 Shaw St. Louis, MO October 4th-6th

Join other visitors for a weekend of fall fun! Over 120 regional food producers and crafters offer fresh produce, baked goods, local wines, beers, and cocktails, fresh and dried flowers, herbs, handcrafted items, baskets, custom jewelry, and more. Enjoy live music and a kids’ corner with crafts and fall activities. Join or renew at the Market and receive free admission. Free for Festival level members and above. Plan your visit at mobot.org/market.

2832 Barrett Station Rd, Ballwin, MO 63021 www.greenscapegardens.com

SEPTEMBER 2019

The Gateway Gardener™

13

Pretty in Pink

I

by Robert Weaver

’m not sure if it qualifies as a trend or not, but it seems like a lot of the marketing information I’m getting this fall for spring flowering bulbs is passionate about pink. If you think you need a little blush in your garden next spring, here are a few suggestions from mail order and local bulb purveyors.

Beaujolais™

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Open to the public Saturday: 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

Free admission Sunday: 10 a.m.–2 p.m.

Come view the beautiful living jewels on display Koi judging & informational seminars (Saturday)

daffodils in the rooftop garden at Children’s Hospital. Nothing is more boring than a row of unicolored flowering bulbs, but if you’re palette challenged like I am, Colorblends takes the guesswork out of mixing and matching, providing mixed varieties that are guaranteed to blend beautifully. One of their new packages for Fall 2019 is the Beaujolais Tulip Blend featuring five varieties of single and semi-double tulips in soft pink, mauve, nearly magenta, white and butter-cream flushed with pink. Flowers range in height from 16-22”, bloom in mid-late spring. Designed for

Judges’ talk at the tanks (Sunday) and pond-related vendor booths

YOUR TREES DESERVE THE BEST CARE

Raffles and attendance prize drawings

More info at www.nmzna.net Other links: www.timberwindsnursery.com Hosted by:

Gateway Koi and Pond Club Follow us on Facebook Email us at: gatewaykpc@gmail.com Phone us at: 314-276-9461 Visit us at: www.gatewaykoiandpondclub.org

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‘Pink Impression’

Courtesy Brightside St. Louis

I first learned about Colorblends many years ago when I inquired about the beautiful bed of mixed

Brightside St. Louis ‘Pink Impression’ Tulip

Colorblends

Colorblends Tulip Blend Beaujolais™

a large mass planting, bulbs are sold in lots of 500. If you don’t need that many, share with friends! Visit Colorblends.com. (credit Colorblends.com)

Brightside St. Louis is known for its beautiful roadside daffodil plantings each spring, and every fall local gardeners have the opportunity to purchase their standard daffodils such as the ‘Carlton’ daffodil and their exclusive Midwest Mix. Each year they also offer a new entry, and this year the highlighted bulb is the ‘Pink Impression’ Tulip. This 19-24” tulip blooms in mid-spring in different shades of rose color. It is said to be very reliable, and tends to come back year after year unlike many tulips. It bears large flowers on sturdy stems that make it a great cut flower. Visit brightsidestl. org or call (314) 772-4646.

Order by September 20th to pick up bulbs in October.

Brent and Becky’s Bulbs Narcissus ‘Mallee’ Brent and Becky Heath are rock stars in the bulb world, and while their mail order catalog doesn’t focus specifically on pink, many of its new introductions this fall blush rose. Narcissus

The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2019

‘Mallee’ ‘Mallee’ features pure white petals with a frilled, broad pink cup turning yellow at the base. It grows 14-16” tall and blooms in mid-spring. (White Flower Farms also featured ‘Mallee’ in a recent “New Daffodils” announcement.

Visit WhiteFlowerFarm.com.)

Another pink new introduction, “Lovely Lynden”, bears testimony to the “pink trend theory”—it is already sold out!

Visit BrentandBeckysBulbs. com.

‘British Gamble’

John Scheepers Beauty From Bulbs

White Flower Farm

A recent marketing e-blast from this venerable bulb company focused on “Irresistible Pink Narcissi”, and recommends

several individual varieties as well as pink mixes such as “The Ravishing All-Pink Narcissus Mixture” and “The Luscious Pink Narcissus Special”, as well as a “Pink Partners” blend of tulips and Narcissi in the pink palette. Among the individual varieties, from pale pink cups of “British Gamble” to deep coral-

Planting Tips

‘Chromacolor’ John Scheepers Beauty From Bulbs

John Scheepers Beauty From Bulbs

pink cups of “Chromacolor”.

And you can’t go wrong with a daffodil named for “Martha Stewart”! It’s a good thing!

Visit johnscheepers.com.

Buy Local

Of course, your favorite local independent garden center are also stocked with plenty of bulbs in time for fall planting, and they will certainly be well represented with pink selections as well. Be sure to check them out!

1. Plant in well-draining, richly composted soil. If drainage is an issue, berms and raised beds are an option. Full to half-day sun is best for strongest stems, but keep in mind this can be under deciduous trees that often don’t leaf out until after foliage is up and running.

2. Plant daffodils by end of October, tulips anytime until ground freezes.

3. Plant bulbs as deep as approximately 3 times the height of the bulb, typically around 4-6”, and approximately the same spacing, pointy side up, or if it can’t be determined, on their sides.

4. Sprinkle some bone meal or bulb food in the hole, and backfill hole.

5. After blooming, leave foliage alone until it browns naturally.

Don’t cut or fold and tie.

(Summarized from Brent and Becky’s Bulbs Spring Flowering Bulbs Cultural Instructions.)

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The Gateway Gardener™

15

Safety Concerns in the Garden

by Diane Brueckman

I

have often discussed the issue of safety when spraying your roses or for that matter anytime you use chemicals in the garden.

We are hearing warnings of cancer dangers from glyphosate products on TV. I don’t know if there is any truth to the warnings or not, but what can it hurt to take precautions when using these products. What is a pesticide?

A chemical used to control pests.

A pest is something that is detrimental to your garden: a fungus, insect, weed or mite to name a few.

recommended application rates. Read the label every time you mix your pesticide. I never trust my memory when mixing my chemicals.

All pesticides have a designation of CAUTION – WARNING – DANGER to indicate the level of toxicity of the product.

Caution is the lowest rating. Even neem oil is rated for caution. Any pesticide has the potential for doing harm, and taking reasonable precautions is wise. This means you should wear long sleeves and long pants, chemical resistant gloves and boots as well as eye protection. I like to use a Tyvek Most of the chemicals/pesticides offered at garden centers are suit to cover my clothes and a facemask so I don’t breathe in any fairly low risk to our health and the health of our children and pesticide. This may seem extreme but the suit can be reused and pets. The really bad ones have been taken off the market in recent eventually discarded. In the meantime you will not get residue in years or are classed for restricted use but it is still necessary to your home or washer. read the labels and follow the directions and recommendations on The premixed pesticides are less likely to cause problems just those labels. By law, all pesticides have appropriate warnings on because the spray bottles are very low pressure and less likely to the containers for their proper use. Read the label before mixing blow back onto the applicator. The obvious precaution is do not the pesticide if it is a concentrate, and by all means follow the spray on a windy day. There is less chance of the chemicals drifting onto areas where it is not wanted. In short, what I am saying is err on the side of caution and you will have fewer problems.

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In my case, this summer I broke one of my hard and fast rules and have paid dearly for it. I always said I would not wear shorts or short sleeve shirts in the garden, especially in the rose garden.

Unfortunately, I started to look at the weeds that had grown to extreme size and dove into a patch between a rose bush, a holly and daylilies. What I didn’t see was a lethal spider, a brown recluse who took a bite out of my leg. It was a couple of days before I realized that this was no ordinary bite and I wound up in the emergency room with a high fever and one ugly looking wound.

I can only warn people to get treatment for a bite that increases in size and has a red line all around it and hurts like no mosquito bite ever did. After many antibiotics and a second trip to the hospital to have the dead tissue surgically removed, I believe I am on the road to recovery. It will take a long time for the hole in my leg to fill in but thanks to some great doctors I will be back to normal with nothing but a scar to show for my carelessness.

Again, use common sense precautions in the garden. Long pants, long sleeves and high shoes may seem uncomfortable but are nothing compared to some of the nasty things that you may encounter in the garden.

Diane Brueckman is a retired rosarian with Missouri Botanical Garden, and currently owns Rosey Acres in Baldwin, Illinois. You can reach her at (618) 785-3011 or droseyacres@ egyptian.net.

The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2019

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The Gateway Gardener™

17

The Cornucopia Corner

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

Eqyptian Onion: The Most Shared Veggie in the Garden

By Steffie Littlefield

H

123rf.com

arvest season is the in my garden. They have most fun of all! One of thrived ever since and the easiest to harvest being perennial they help a and share are my Egyptian busy gardener like me. onions. First, I should tell Egyptian onions are also you how these were added known as walking onions, to my garden. Many years top onions, tree onions, ago when I was president winter onions and perennials of Gateway to Gardening, onions. They are one of the now Gateway Greening, first plants to emerge in the we were on the community spring. The leaves poke up garden tour in the city of St through the soil like little Louis and a darling lady was green spikes and shoot surprised that I knew what they were. I told her that I had toward the sky despite the frost or snow. The blue-green seen them in the Thomas Jefferson Garden at Monticello leaves are round and hollow and will grow up to 3 feet in and hoped someday to purchase some for myself. She height. At the end of a leaf stalk, at the top of the plant, a immediately handed me some bulblets “to start a patch” cluster of bulblets will begin to grow. These bulblets are also known as “bulbils” or “sets.” Every Egyptian onion plant will produce a cluster of sets at the top, hence the name, “top onion,” meaning they are top-setting onions.

When harvesting the bulbs in the ground make sure to leave some of the newer bulbs that are growing from the current year’s sets that have fallen to the ground. Each plant will produce clusters of 4-6 bulblets to multiply the number plants in the garden quickly.

Fall is the BEST Time to Plant Trees

They serve many uses during the year. In early summer I can cut the tops for fresh green onions for salads, and when the tomatoes start to ripen they are essential to

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18

Steffie Littlefield

2701 Barrett Station Rd. St. Louis, MO 63021 www.kirkwoodgardens.com 314-966-4840 The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2019

my homemade salsa. In August and September I harvest the enlarged bulbs as I would shallots. Cleaned and refrigerated or fresh frozen, they keep for several months to use in soups or sautés. You can even clean and dry the green tops and freeze them for future uses liked braised meat dishes.

My favorite way to use them currently is to pickle them for Thanksgiving dinner! I use a regular dill pickle recipe with pickling spices, a thin slice of hot red pepper, dill flowers, garlic, salt, sugar and apple cider vinegar. They are packed into the jar fresh but allowed to cook in the canner for 15 minutes. They remain crisp, but the seasonings are released by the heat to meld with the mild onion flavor. A perfect addition to any relish tray. They were even served at the Field Dinner at Edg-Clif Winery.

When visitors tour my garden at Edg-Clif and ask about the unusual onions, I love to tell the story of how they came to me and then I do the same and give then a cluster of bulbets to plant in their own garden. This in truly the most shared plant in my garden, from dishes we share at the dinner table, to pickles as gifts and as sets given to other gardeners to continue its legacy in the future.

Steffie Littlefield is a St Louis area horticulturist and garden designer. She has degrees from St. Louis Community College at Meramec and Southeast Missouri State and is a member of Gateway Professional Horticultural Association, Missouri Botanical Garden Members Board and past president of the Horticulture Co-op of Metropolitan St. Louis. She is part-owner of Edg-Clif Winery, Potosi, MO. www.Edg-Clif. com.

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.)

Jt’s Fresh Ideas Ingredients

Pickled egyPtian OniOns

4 cups Egyptian onion bulbs, trimmed and peeled ¼ cup salt ⅓ cup sugar 1 tbls mustard seed 2 tsp horseradish 1 ½ cups white vinegar 1 small jalapeno, quartered lengthwise bay leaves Simmer for 15 minutes.

Instructions

Scald onions in boiling water for two minutes. Dip in cold water to loosen skins. Drain and peel.

Place onions in a bowl, sprinkle with salt, and add cool water to cover. Let sit 12-18 hours at room temperature.

Rinse and drain onions. Set aside while you prepare the jars and pickling solution.

Prepare jars by sterilizing in boiling water. Sterilize lids and rings in boiling water.

Make pickling solution by mixing vinegar, sugar, mustard and horseradish together in a pan.

Pack onions into hot jars. Adding one bay leaf and one piece of pepper to each jar when jar is half filled.

Pour boiling pickling solution over onions and seal at once.

Makes four half-pint jars, two pint jars, or one quart jar.

Recipe and photo courtesy of: www.dengarden.com

Please share some of your favorite recipes with us.

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

What a perfect way to preserve your harvest!

Enjoy...

Jt

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The Gateway Gardener™

19

Dig This!

Gateway Gardeners and Businesses in the News Native Plant Society Awards

The Missouri Native Plant Society (MONPS) recently recognized two individuals from our region for their contributions to the Society and to native plant preservation.

Dr. James Trager received the Erna Eisendrath Memorial Education Award, which recognizes individuals who, through teaching, writing, or other activity have conveyed to others a significant appreciation and knowledge of Missouri’s native flora.

James Trager . Photo by Tom Incrocci, Missouri Botanical James is an entomologist and ant taxonomist who, Garden. before retiring in June, had worked as a naturalist, educator and ecological restoration steward at the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Shaw Nature Reserve. In addition to many other contributions, during his career at SNR, James worked with over 50 researchers to advance the study of numerous taxa and was heavily involved in many Bio-blitz events at the Nature Reserve, Emmenegger Nature Park, Principia High School, Forest Park and for the Missouri Prairie Foundation, reported the MONPS Pedal Pusher newsletter. Since 1991, he has led wildflower identification and ecology walks, taught many courses and has led countless tours, hikes and nature study outings for student groups and the public.

John Oliver, MONPS pastpresident, presents Rob Kennedy with the Plant Conservation Award. Photo courtesy MONPS. 20

Rob Kennedy, Sustainable Programs Coordinator for the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Earthways Center, was honored with the Society’s Plant Conservation Award, which recognizes an individual or organization for outstanding contributions to the

conservation or preservation of native plants or plant communities in Missouri. At Earthways Center, Rob is involved in several programs including the Project Clear Rainscaping Small Grants Program, the Shaw Salon Series, and the St. Louis Green Business Challenge.

Volunteers Honored by Bluebird Group

The Missouri Bluebird Society (MOBS) presented its True Blue Service Award to members Ann Earley and Bob Siemer at its 2019 summer convention and Bluebird Banquet.

The award is bestowed upon a member(s) who has demonstrated outstanding service MOBS President Steve Garr (left) to the support of the presents the True Blue Service Missouri Bluebird Award to Bob Siemer and Ann Society as an Earley. Photo courtesy MOBS. organization. Bob and Ann are long time members and became the very first members to take advantage of MOBS’ Lifetime membership level as soon as it became available in 2013. They have volunteered at conferences throughout the years wherever they were needed, have presented programs to the Society, and became board members in 2017. They were the 2019 Missouri Bluebird Conference chairs when the event was held in St. Louis this summer, and have promoted the Missouri Bluebird Society to the other conservation organizations in which they are involved.

Pawpaw Designated Missouri State Fruit Tree

A Missouri native tree with ties to the tropics has been designated as the state fruit tree of Missouri.

Senate Bill 210, signed by Governor Mike Parson in July was sponsored by Senator Karla May of St. Louis. This legislation creates a number of official state designations, including the pawpaw as the state fruit tree and the hellbender salamander as the official endangered species for the state of Missouri.

The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2019

partially shaded deciduous woodlands and small woodland openings. Pawpaws, also known as “poor man’s banana,” “American custard apple,” and “Missouri banana,” belong to a mostly tropical family of plants. There are only two species of trees from this family that occur naturally in North America, and the pawpaw is the only member of the family native to Missouri. Its natural range is Missouri east to Pennsylvania and south to South Carolina and east to east Texas.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson celebrates the signing of Senate Bill 210 with, from left, fourth grade teacher Mary McDevitt, her students from the New City School, and Senator Karla May. Photo courtesy Missouri Prairie Foundation.

“Two years ago, during the election, our students voted on a possible new symbol for Missouri,” said Mr. Alexis Wright, head of the New City School, an independent elementary school in St. Louis.

“The students thought that the pawpaw had a lot of potential to become a new Missouri state fruit tree because it is native to our state, is high in nutrients, and its fruits ripen in August, the same month Missouri was founded. Students wrote numerous letters and received a Resolution from Senator Karla May, and she sponsored the bill.”

In 2018, a number of the students involved in the project the previous year traveled to Jefferson City for a Missouri House of Representatives committee hearing meeting to testify for the pawpaw to become a new state fruit tree. Students watched the members of the House debate on the House floor, were introduced by Representative Karla May (now a State Senator), and received a standing ovation from the House members. Students then went to a committee hearing where the Missouri Commission of Tourism listened to their testimony. A Deputy Director for the Missouri Department of Conservation, Aaron Jeffries, offered more information to the committee about the pawpaw as well.

“It was a long night, but it paid off,” said Wright.

“The bill passed out of committee and moved onto the Executive Committee. With several more letters from the students to state representatives, it passed out of the House and moved to the Missouri Senate.

On Tuesday, February 20, the students traveled to Jefferson City to testify in front of the Missouri General Bills Committee.” The bill passed out of committee and headed to the Senate Floor for a vote, then to the House for one final vote.

The pawpaw—whose scientific name is Asimina triloba—is an understory tree, commonly found in

Pawpaw trees are easily identifiable, growing in groves, and with their leaves and large fruits, have a tropical appearance. Those wishing to grow pawpaws and harvest fruit should plant two unrelated trees, as this species requires cross-pollination to set fruit. The fruit is similar to a banana or papaya, with a flavor that resembles custard. Many people eat the sweet-flavored pawpaw fruit raw, with ice cream, or cooked in pies or custard. Wildlife, especially small mammals such as raccoons and opossums, quickly eat the ripened fruit in early fall. In fall, pawpaw trees provide brilliant yellow foliage.

“We’re excited for this acknowledgement of the pawpaw, our top-selling native fruit tree,” said Kim Young, Vice President and owner of Forrest Keeling Nursery, and a Grow Native! professional member. “Pawpaw supports three areas of importance to all Missourians: a g r i c u l t u r e , Paw paw fruits, photo courtesy conservation, and Forrest Keeling Nursery. a growing state economy.”

Pawpaws are one of more than 2,000 plants native to Missouri. Native plants are essential for managing stormwater, storing carbon, providing forage for livestock, the survival of pollinators and other wildlife, and much more. Find suppliers of pawpaws and other native plants, and learn more about the many benefits of native plants to people at grownative. org. Grow Native! is a program of the Missouri Prairie Foundation, a nonprofit prairie conservation organization and land trust. Learn more about the Missouri Prairie Foundation at moprairie.org.

Upcoming Events supply fee. Call to RSVP. Hillermann Nursery & Florist, 636-239-6729, www.hillermann.com.

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 Winter issue (November-February) 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. 7 9am—St. Louis County Parks and Recreation Children’s Garden Club. FREE. Greenscape Gardens & Gifts, 2832 Barrett Station Rd., Manchester, MO, 314-821-2440. th

10am--First Saturday Kids: Painted Fairy Garden House.

Make a fun and welcoming Fairy Garden House for your garden. $5

22

Now through Sept. 20th Brightside St. Louis Bulb Sale.

Now is the time to order your Brightside bulbs. Introducing new Pink Mix tulips, plus the popular Carlton daffodils 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) 7724646. Orders will be available in October.

Sept. 6th 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 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 nonmembers. For more information visit us on the web at www.shawnature. org.

Sept. 7th 10am-2pm--Missouri Prairie Foundation Native Plant Sale.

A variety of native wildflowers, sedges, grasses, trees and shrubs suitable for shade, partial shade, sun, dry or moist conditions from various vendors, who donate part of their proceeds to MPF. World Bird Sanctuary, 125 Bald Eagle Ridge Rd. Valley Park, MO, 63088.

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. 13th-15th St. Louis Koi Show & Pond Expo.

Koi enthusiasts from around the Midwest bring their prized fish to compete in the 18th Annula Northern Midwest ZNA Koi Show. See these and other beautiful living jewels on display. Learn from informational seminars on Saturday. Koi judging takes place Saturday and judges talk about the fish at the tanks on Sunday. Vendors offer Koi, goldfish and pond-related products. Raffles and attendance prize drawings.

Learn more at www.nmzna.net.

Hosted by the Gateway Koi and Pond Club, learn more at www. gatewaykoiandpondclub.org or call 314-276-9461.

Sept. 14th-15th 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.

Sept. 20-22nd Noon-7pm Fri., 10am-7pm Sat., 10am-5pm Sun.—Autumn Winds Flower Show. Free and open to the public. Presented by Four Winds Garden Club and Sprig & Twig Garden Club. Builders Home and Remodeling Show, St. Charles Convention Center Plaza, 63303.

Sept. 21st SPLASH Pond and Garden Tour.

Join other water garden enthusiasts for a tour of Ponds and Gardens around St. Louis. We have 2 options, sit back and let us do the driving on our Chartered Bus or drive yourself.

Explore the water features and get inspiration and advice from pondowners. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner are all included. All proceeds are donated to Project Healing Waters, which supports disabled Veterans. Tickets are $40 and on sale in store or online at www.chalily. com.

Sept. 22nd 1-5pm—U City in Bloom Garden Tour and Plein Air Art Competition. The self-guided tour features gardens in an area of University City in the Brittany Wood neighborhood. Works by plein air artists painting at various locations during the day also will be on display and available for purchase at a reception at Heman Park Community Center, 975 Pennsylvania. Reception follows 5-7pm. 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 the city through public gardens, community partnerships, citizen involvement, and environmental education.

Sept. 21st-22nd Ascension Mum and Bulb Sale. 9” mums and fall bulbs to add color to your flower gardens. Proceeds help upgrade property at Word of Life Lutheran School and Ascension Lutheran Church. Open before and after Saturday 5pm service and 8amnoon Sunday. Pre-Order mums to assure availability at ascensionstl. com. 5347 Donovan Ave., St. Louis, MO 63109 Sept. 28th 9am-1pm—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. 7th and 10th 9:30-10:30am—Exquisite Autumn Containers. Learn about outstanding plant combinations and window

The Gateway Gardener™ SEPTEMBER 2019

boxes with color and texture. Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood. FREE. Call (314) 9653070.

Sept. 8th 12:30--Shade Gardening with Native Plants. Part of the Kress Farm Preserve Fall Speaker Series.

Betty Struckhoff of Wild Ones St. Louis and an award-winning St. Louis Master Gardener, is guest speaker. 5137 Glade Chapel Rd., Hillsboro, MO 63050.

Sept. 12th 1-4 pm—Native Plant School: Converting Lawn and Fields to Seeded Prairie or Savannah.

Learn how to create a natural style landscape with high diversity and low maintenance. Come prepared for a short walk. $17 ($14 Garden members). Carriage House at Shaw Nature Reserve. For reservations or more information, call (314) 5779526 or visit www.shawnature.org.

Sept. 12th and 19th 5-7pm—Girls Night Out Planting Party. Adults only. RSVP to 314846-0078.

Planthaven Farms Garden Center, 6703 Telegraph Rd., Oakville.

Sept. 14th 10am—Concrete Leaf Workshop.

Choose a plant leaf that will be used to create a beautiful concrete stone birdbath, bowl or whatever you like. $35 supply fee. Call 636-239-6729 to sign up. Hillermann Nursery & Florist, www.hillermann.com.

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 Missouri Pollinator Network—Naturalists and Gardeners, St. Charles County Parks and Recreation, Missouri Department of Conservation, Missouri Master Naturalists, Great Rivers Greenway, Ameren and the Weldon Spring Site.

Sept. 14th and 17th 9:30-10:30am—Superb Small Shrubs and Perennials. Learn about the smaller shrubs that provide exceptional impact with little or no pruning, and about perennials that will reward with interesting and beautiful plantings with little or no care. Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011

SEPTEMBER 2019

Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood. FREE. Call (314) 965-3070.

Sept. 18 5:30-7:30pm—Native Shrubs and Small Trees Walk at Bellefontaine Cemetery. Enjoy an early fall walk on the beautiful grounds of historic Bellefontaine Cemetery. Learn about the many native shrubs and small trees, plus wildlife conservation activities. Free, but registration is required. Call 888-843-6739.

Bellefontain Cemetery, 4947 W. Florissant Ave. th

Sept. 21st 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.

Fall Kickoff Classes. A full day of classes and workshops, including Fall Shade Trees (10am), Attracting Birds and Pollinators to Your Yard (11am), Bug Hotel Make-and-Take Workshop (noon), Fall Lawn Renovation (1pm), Preparing Your Houseplants for the Indoors (2pm) and Macramé Making for your Houseplants (2:30pm). Some classes have supply fees. Hillermann Nursery & Florist, call 636-239-6729 to sign up. www. hillermann.com.

Sept. 24th 9:30-10:30am—Overwintering Tropicals and Other Tender Plants Indoors. Learn the techniques needed to overwinter your tropical and other tender plants. Light requirements, watering, fertilizing and pruning will be discussed. Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood. FREE. Call (314) 9653070.

Sept. 26th 5:30-8pm—3rd Annual Wine Sampling and Shopping Monarch Jewelry Event. 314-846-0078.

Planthaven Farms Garden Center, 6703 Telegraph Rd., Oakville.

Sept. 28th 10am-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

The Gateway Gardener™

for summer cooking with herbs.

midmotix.com.

Sept. 28th 10am—Fall Bulb Basket Make-nTake. Make a beautiful spring bulb planter. $40 supply fee. Hillermann Nursery & Florist, call 636-2396729 to sign up. www.hillermann. com.

Oct. 5th 9am-3:30pm—Sustainable Garden and Kitchen Seminar. Learn about key practical information and demonstrations on living a sustainable lifestyle in an urban setting. Learn how to save time by meal prepping, make delicious meals with summer produce, have the best lawn in the neighborhood and more. Other topics include vermincomposting, pollinator gardens, fermentation, understanding your soil for garden and lawn success and more. Hosted by MU Extension St. Louis County. Eliot Unitarian Chapel, 100 South Taylor Avenue, Kirkwood 63122. $75/person includes lunch. Call 314-400-2115 to register.

1pm—Fall Indian Corn Wreath Make-n-Take. Make a beautiful and different wreath for your front door. $45 supply fee. Hillermann Nursery & Florist, call 636-239-6729 to sign up by Aug. 31st. www.hillermann. com.

11am—Fall Design Demonstration with Rhonda Lynn Moeckel.

314-846-0078. Planthaven Farms Garden Center, 6703 Telegraph Rd., Oakville.

Sept. 29th 1-4pm—Sustainable Shindig. A celebration of backyard abundance and sustainable living in St. Louis.

This is a chance to connect with sustainable living advocates, to share information on local resources and celebrate the earth’s beauty and abundance together. Wm. A. Kerr Foundation, 21 O’fallon St., St. Louis. Tickets $15 in advance through Eventbrite, $20 at the door.

Oct. 2nd 7pm—Restoring Nature’s Relationships at Home. Doug Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home, will explain why our yards and gardens are essential parts of the ecosystems that sustain us, and how e can use our residential landscapes to connect the isolated habitat fragments around us.

Rolla Middle School Auditorium, Rolla, MO. Presented by Missouri Wildflowers Nursery and Legends of Conservation. Tickets available at

9:30-10:30am—Growing Houseplants Indoors, A Beginner’s Guide. Learn the most popular varieties, along with the techniques needed fro these hardworking beauties.

Light requirements, watering, fertilizing and pruning will be discussed. Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood.

FREE. Call (314) 965-3070.

SPECTACULAR DAYLILY SALE September 7-8, 2019 9am-5pm

MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN ORTHWEIN ROOM

HUNDREDS OF VARIETIES Experts on hand to help choose the right ones for you

PRICES FROM $5

SALE LIST ON FACEBOOK PAGE

GREATER ST. LOUIS DAYLILY SOCIETY

Garden Tour & “Paint U City” Plein Air Festival

U City in Bloom Gardens of Brittany Wood neighborhood

Sunday, Sept. 22, 2019 1-5pm Reception and Art Show and Sale following 5-7pm U City Community Center 975 Pennsylvania (63130) Plein air art by Allen Kriegshauser

Tickets: $20 in advance www.ucityinbloom.org $25 day of tour or call 314-725-8243

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Top 10 Reasons to Topdress* with STA-Certified Compost this Fall 1. Supplies beneficial microorganisms 2. Encourages a healthy, more disease resistant lawn 3. Increases nutrients in your soil 4. Improves soil structure 5. Helps grow deep and strong roots 6. Reduces compaction in heavy clay soils 7. Aids in building a strong over-winter foundation 8. Improves water retention and drought resistance 9. Increases pore space for better water movement 10. Gives your neighbors LAWN ENVY VALLEY PARK, MO BELLEVILLE, IL ST. LOUIS, MO FLORISSANT, MO 5841 Mine Haul Rd 39 Old Elam Ave 560 Terminal Row 13060 County Park Rd 636.861.3344 618.233.2007 314.868.1612 314.355.0052

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO 11294 Schaefer Dr 314.423.9035

PACIFIC, MO 18900 Franklin Rd 636.271.3352

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*Best after lawn aeration