The Gateway Gardener July/August 2013

Gateway Gardener

JULY/AUGUST 2013

THE

速

Your Guide to Enjoyable Gardening and Easy-Care Landscapes

A Landscape Challenge

Replacing Turf with Beautiful Native Plants

Sunflowers Fireworks From the Garden Roses Like it Hot! FREE Courtesy of:

"Sophisticated Succulents" not your average houseplant!

For Almost Anything You(Including Need Hard In The Garden To Find Tools) We Also Carry a Full Line of Organic Solutions Gift Certificates Available e” Lik

Us

on

“

115 E. Argonne Kirkwood, MO

(314)822 -0083 Hours: m-f 9:00-5:30 • Sat 8:30-5:00

We Accept:

- Personal Checks & Cash

1605 S. Big Bend • Richmond Hts.

www.gardenheights.com

Watch This Space: Find Out What’s New & Exciting for 2013!

For Soil

Visit Your Local Dealer

Mender and Dyna Green Products!

The BEST selection of healthy, gorgeous flowers, plants, tropicals, large patio palms, pottery and landscaping options to help bring beauty to your gardens. e We’ro offer aT d t OUN e s a e C pl DIS our 10% to all s and an veterilitar y l! m onne pers

Dyna Green™ Eagle 0.39G And T-Methyl Granular Fungicides A granular product containing a systemic protective and curative fungicide for the control of diseases in established turfgrass.

Rotate each month to prevent disease resistance.

Find Your Local

Retail Store Manager (Earth City MO) We are looking for a qualified retail salesperson with experience in the greenhouse and nursery industry, or education in the horticultural field. Position involves taking phone orders, answering a multitude of horticultural questions, helping walk-in customers, helping with sales displays, and stocking shelves.

Position also involves greenhouse plant care and maintenance. Full time position available.

Must have a pleasant personality and appearance with an ability to get along well with people. No smoking. Please send confidential resume with salary requirements to: employment@hummert.com.

Dealer

5130 Mexico Road

St. Peters, Missouri 63376

(636) 244-5533 www.AnnsGandG.com

Gateway Gardener THE

®

Your Guide to Enjoyable Gardening and Easy-Care Landscapes

JULY/AUGUST 2013 Volume 9, Number 6

Founded in 2005 by Joyce Bruno & Robert Weaver Publisher and Editor Robert Weaver Columnists

Barbara Perry Lawton Garden Book Author and Garden Writer Connie Alwood Master Gardener Ellen Barredo Certified Nursery Professional Diane Brueckman Rosarian Joyce Driemeyer Master Gardener Cindy Gilberg Landscape Design Mara Higdon Gateway Greening Glenn Kraemer Turf Horticulturist Steffie Littlefield Nursery Professional Printing: Breese Publishing, Breese, IL The Gateway Gardener® is published monthly by Double Dig Communications, Inc. to promote enjoyable, successful gardening and livable landscapes in the St. Louis greater metropolitan area. The magazine is distributed free to the public at designated garden centers, nurseries, garden gift shops, lawn equipment rental, repair and sales establishments, and other locations supporting sound gardening, lawn and landscaping practices.

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

info@gatewaygardener.com www.gatewaygardener.com

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

A

From the Editor

bout 8 years ago, I lost a couple of white pines in my backyard, and at one fell swoop, a neglected shady corner, dominated by an overgrown patch of bamboo and euonymus vine bordered by a struggling strip of turfgrass, turned itself into an opportunity. Rather than replant trees, of which I had plenty still, I decided to take advantage of the sun, of which I had precious little. After ripping out the tangled overgrowth (I was younger then), I designated a third of the space for a vegetable garden and the other two-thirds for a “Petite Prairie” native plant garden.

In the years since, the vegetable garden has had its ups and downs (and in fact is lying fallow this summer after last year’s struggles and this year’s late spring), but the native garden has become my favorite area of my little horticultural kingdom. It’s still a work in progress—some of my favorite natives are glade species that do best in very poor soils, and in richer soils such as what some of mine have found themselves in, they either reseed enthusiastically, flop on their neighbors, or fail to thrive at all. I’ve experienced all three. But the successes outweigh the mistakes, and I’ve told countless people that, of my several garden

with fewer disease problems.

“rooms,” the native area is, by far, the most popular among the birds, bees, butterflies and other wildlife.

In midsummer it is constantly alive with enthusiastic winged visitors, and I frequently join them.

Of course, you don’t have to dedicate an area exclusively to natives in order to enjoy their beauty and benefits. I have other native plants tucked in and around my other ornamental beds, and they often make great neighbors to their exotic imported companions. If you’d like to try it, start with some of the plants recommended in our Top Ten Natives of the Month on page 7, a new feature you’ll find in this and future issues. If you’re new to natives, I’d start with the orange coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida var. umbrosa). In my experience this coneflower outperforms a lot of the fancier black-eyed Susan cultivars,

Native plants also do a good job of standing up to weather extremes such as we’ve experienced, especially last summer. But you can also help your other garden plants cope with nature’s vagaries.

On page 4, Steffie Littlefield has compiled some problems those extremes may have caused in your garden, and offers strategies to deal with them.

Our midsummer issue is small, but we’ve packed it with these and other helpful tips to get you through the gardening dog days. At least they’re the dog days in most parts of the landscape. In the “Petite Prairie”, things are buzzing!

Good Gardening!

Looking for your favorite columnist? We’ve given a few of our regular contributors a summer vacation. But don’t worry--Barbara Perry Lawton, Ellen Barredo, Joyce Driemeyer and Connie Alwood will be back next issue!

On the Cover...

In July and August, when your lawn is struggling to survive, a native garden like this one would be thriving and bursting with color, birds and butterflies!

To consider your options for replacing turf with native plants, see page 6. (photo by Robert Weaver)

IN THIS ISSUE 4 What’s the Weather Doing to Your Garden?

6 A Landscape Challenge 8 Roses and the Heat of the Summer 10 Cornucopia Corner 10 JT’s Fresh Ideas 11 Sunflowers 12 Dig This 13 Fireworks in the Garden 14 Upcoming Events

What’s the Weather Doing to YOUR Garden?

by Steffie Littlefield

T

he weather of 2013 so far is cooler and wetter than the last two years. Nothing like going from the rainiest year on record (’09) to a two-year drought and back to above average rainfall. What is this large swing in environmental conditions doing to our gardens? Well, mine has recovered from the drought and is getting to the point when I need to fight the volunteer trees with saws rather than clippers, and fungus on the roses may never be controlled again. What can we do to maintain what we have and how do we improve our landscapes in the craziest climate of all?

amount of flower and seed to reproduce. The moist conditions we are experiencing this year are ideal for tree seedlings.

That is why maple, mulberry, golden rain tree, redbuds and walnut trees are springing up in every bed, yard and pot of soil. Oh yes, I know weed This is the year of the tree seedling. After last year’s drought many trees are the least of the mature trees suffered and instinctively produced an excessive problems but they need to be dealt with quickly or their woody root systems will be very difficult to remove. After weeding the beds remember to spread a thick layer (3-4”) of mulch to suppress most of the weed seedlings.

EVERLASTING SUMMER Featuring 10 varieties of Everlasting Hydrangea with blooms changing three or more colors throughout the season

home & garden

l

landscaping

l

irrigation

l

maintenance

550 Hwy F l Defiance, MO l (636)798.2555 frisellanursery.com

Choose from THOUSANDS of Home-Grown Mums Available around August 15th!

Gardening Tip:

Mums planted in August survive winter and return more reliably than those planted later in the fall!

A few passes with the lawnmower will eventually take care of these guys; but if they’re in the flower beds, they’ll have to be pulled!

Many hollies and azaleas are looking bad in a lot of established landscapes. The heavy watering needed to keep them alive also leached the soil and left them anemic and prone to fungus and leaf spot diseases. A first response to yellowing leaves is to treat all acid-loving plants with Holly-tone fertilizer. Another good idea is to mulch these plants with pine needles, peat moss or wellcomposted leaf matter to help lower the soil PH. The vegetable garden also suffered from the high use of local city water supplies rather than rainwater. These waters deposit extra lime, chloride and fluoride in the soil that are not microbe friendly.

The adequate rainfall this year is helping to leach these out of the garden soil but something will still be lacking for a good healthy productive garden. Supplementing your regular garden compost with worm-castings will be extremely helpful and ensure a good harvest of tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables. Installing

D

aniel’s Farm

& Greenhouses

352 Jungermann Rd. • St. Peters, MO 63376 • (636)441-5048 Hours: M-F 9-7, Sat 9-5, Sun 10-5 • www.danielsfarmandgreenhouse.com

“We grow color for your home!”

4

The Gateway Gardener™

JULY/AUGUST 2013

a rain-barrel and using collected water in the garden will also prevent this from happening in the future.

Increased problems with insects and fungus diseases are consistent with the above-average rainfall this year. Protect yourself, your garden and ornamental plants by clearing out heavy undergrowth of invasive groundcovers and vines to minimize habitat for slugs, mosquitoes, ticks, beetles and grubs. Open areas make it easier for birds and other natural predators to control insect populations.

Encourage bats, birds, ladybugs, frogs and toads to cohabitate in your garden. They will eat an amazing quantity of insects.

Fighting the tendency for our gardens to become a jungle will also help with the never-ending fungus problems. Getting more air circulation, improving soil drainage, and using organic lowanalysis fertilizers all help with prevention. I’ve experimented with plant pruning/thinning to control, leaf spot and powdery mildew. Allowing for better air circulation in and around the plants helps them dry faster and become less susceptible to leaf fungus.

On the brighter side this has been a perfect year to expand the garden and complete landscape renovation projects. New trees and shrubs will get established faster with the wonderful rain that Mother Nature has provided.

Improve your property values, the appearance of your neighborhood and your family’s environment by planting new trees, shrubs, perennials and vegetable gardens (prepare an extra bed to plant peas) this summer.

Celebrate the

Joy of Summer with us!

11530 Gravois Road St. Louis, MO 63126 (314) 843-4700 or www.sappingtongardenshop.com OPEN 7 DAYS

Mini Excavating Services

Underground Utility Installation • Water Services • Downspout Drains • Stump Removal • Grading Excavation for Foundation Drainage Issues • Trenching • Site Prep for Retaining Walls • Ponds • Bobcat Work Licensed, Bonded and Insured in the City of St. Louis & St. Louis County

We Dig Where and When Others Can’t!

Family-Owned & Operated since 1983 • Highest Customer Satisfaction Rating • www.TheJoshuaCo.com (314) 275-8623

UNIVERSITY GARDENS www.university-gardens.com

Save BIG on Annuals, Perennials and Tropicals...

New Low Prices! • Bring this ad for an additional 10% discount.

Steffie Littlefield is a horticulturist and garden designer at Garden Heights Nursery.

She has degrees from St. Louis Community College at Meramec and Southeast Missouri State and is a member of Gateway Professional Horticultural Association and past president of the Horticulture Co-op of Metropolitan St. Louis.

Free cint water h visit s just f or ing stor our e!!!

hya

(314) 863-1700 8130 Delmar Blvd. • St. Louis, MO 63130

UnivGardens_GardenPub_5-7.indd 1

Hillermann’s DIY Landscape Help Center

5/9/13 9:05 AM

Do landscape projects have you down? Visit Rick Watson in our DIY landscape center.

He has great ideas and how-to landscape tips to help you turn your property into the sanctuary you deserve! Stop in today, an appointment is not necessary, but is recommended.

Hillermann’s Farmers’ Market - Every Thurs. & Fri. 10am to 2pm

636.527.2001

chalilypond.com JULY/AUGUST 2013

14430 Manchester Rd. Manchester, MO 63011

owned by Joe & Tonya Summers

The Gateway Gardener™

NURSERY & FLORIST

www.hillermann.com

2601 E. 5th Street • Washington, MO • 636-239-6729 Hours: Mon - Sat: 8:00 to 5:00, Sun: 10:00 to 3:00

5

Native News!

A LanDscape Challenge

T

By Cindy Gilberg

he lawn is an AllAmerican icon— expanses of irrigated, fertilized, pest-free, mowed, green carpet. In fact, turf is considered the #1 crop (in acreage) in the U.S., with an estimated 40 million acres in cultivation. Most landscapes are primarily or even completely in mowed turfgrass, requiring a lot of resource input in the form of time, water, fertilizer, pesticides and fuel for mowing.

Lawn is important in that it provides pathways for movement through the landscape, is a visual base for the surrounding landscape and a place where people can play and sit. While lawn fits into the human ‘habitat’, it offers very little habitat for nature’s creatures—insects, birds and other wildlife. This is especially true when pesticides are part of the lawn maintenance program.

The heat and drought of last

summer made it obvious that cool-season turfgrass requires even more water to maintain in extreme conditions.

Find ways to reduce the amount of lawn by replacing it with resilient and hardy native plants.

Accomplish this by identifying areas of your property that are high use and high traffic zones where it makes sense to have mowed grass or a permeable surface such as a flagstone patio or path. Next, look at other areas of your property—under trees, difficult–to-mow slopes or large, open expanses of lawn. These are perfect opportunities for mixed plantings of native trees, shrubs and low-maintenance ground covers using a design style that can be formal, traditional or naturalistic. This approach includes aesthetics while addressing the need for a more sustainable use of the land as well as habitat for our local ecosystems.

Bring Conservation Home

• Dreaming of your own wildlife sanctuary?

• Fascinated by hummingbirds, butterflies or creepy/ crawlies?

• Not sure how to get started or which native plants are best?

Call (314) 599-7390 or check out our habitat assistance and certification program at:

StLouisAudubon.org/bch 6

A border of mostly natives, including perennials like phlox, rudbeckia fulgida, and shrubs and trees, including dogwood, clethra and serviceberry, reduced a segment of turf in the editor’s landscape.

For example, identify a few large shrubs like hazelnut and large trees that are close to viburnum. Finish the scene each other under which you can with low-growing shrubs and create a native shade garden. perennials to visually tie the Plant smaller native trees, bed together. Always plant a such as redbud or serviceberry, combination of trees, shrubs and and add masses of shrubs like perennials to add visual interest wild hydrangea, coral berry and fulfill habitat requirements. or fragrant sumac. Around Include plants that provide the edges of these plantings flowers, seeds and berries in use native perennial ground various seasons for the same covers such as oak sedge, wild reason. ginger and Senecio. Along the boundary of your property Native landscapes such as try similar plantings of small these, once established, require trees, for example dogwood, less water to sustain them and fringetree, or hawthorn. Add fertilizing is as simple as an Cindy Gilberg is a horticulturist and Missouri native who writes, teaches and does consulting and design work in the St. Louis area. Her work focuses on both native plant landscapes as well as other styles of landscape design. Contact cindy. gilberg@gmail.com www.cindygilberg. com This column is written in collaboration with Shaw Nature Reserve (Missouri Botanical Garden) in partnership with the Missouri Department of Conservation. Visit the Whitmire Wildflower Garden (at Shaw Nature Reserve), a 5-acre display garden, for ideas on native plant landscaping. Native plant conservation and the promotion of native plants in our landscapes is vital to restoring the rich biodiversity of our region.

The Gateway Gardener™

JULY/AUGUST 2013

Tips and Resources for Growing and Landscaping with Sustainable Native Plants annual application of compost.

Pesticide use is discouraged in order to maintain a healthy habitat. Cutting and/or pruning is done once or twice a year, depending on which plants are used. Compare this in time and money spent to lawn care which requires ample watering, fertilizing, pesticides and weekly mowing.

Dig Deeper.

Visit

promote regionally native plants as solutions to many of our landscape challenges and are great resources for more indepth information.

Bringing Nature Home by Doug Tallamy is an excellent resource on why and how to create native landscapes. For more how-to on a local level, GrowNative (www.grownative. org) and Shaw Nature Reserve ( w w w. s h a w n a t u r e . o r g )

GreenGardeningStL.com for More on Sustainable Gardening

A Grow Native!

Top 10 List attractive • durable • non-seedy • long lived • attracts pollinators

FEATURED CATEGORY: Outstanding Natives for the Sun Garden

Vignettes from the editor’s native garden, including (top) gray coneflower and liatris, and (above) aromatic aster adorning the weathered “Petite Prairie” sign.

NATIVE PLANT NAME

HABIT

UNIQUE QUALITY

1

Amsonia illustris (shining blue star)

bush

tolerates some shade

2

Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly milkweed)

mound

butterfly nectar source

3

Aster oblongifolius (aromatic aster)

bush

impressive late season color

4

Baptisia australis (blue false indigo)

bush

extremely long-lived

5

Carex muskingumensis (palm sedge)

mound

excellent for rainscaping

6

Echinaea Echinaceapurpurea purpurea (purple coneflower)

upright

tolerates some shade

7

Iris fulva (copper iris)

upright

excellent for rainscaping

8

Pycnanthemum tenuifolium (slender mt. mint)

bush

butterfly nectar source

9

Rudbeckia fulgida var. umbrosa (orange coneflower)

mound

butterfly nectar source

10

Sporobolus heterolepis (prairie dropseed)

mound

enjoys rocky soils

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

1.

Ritter Greenhouse and Ball DPF are proud to announce the arrival of…

Grow great plants indoors & out with NATURE’S SOURCE® Plant Food, a renewable source of plant nutrition from oilseed extract. With a new hose-end attachment on the 32oz. bottle, it’s the perfect choice for the time-challenged home gardener looking for a more sustainable fertilizer.

“Bring out the best in everything you grow” …ask for it at your local independent garden center!

JULY/AUGUST 2013

The Gateway Gardener™

7

Roses and the Heat of the Summer

I

by Diane Brueckman

f I learned one thing last summer, it is roses can take heat very well. Yes, the colors

would be to relocate your roses, again in the fall. The pH problem is easier to deal with, do a soil test. The optimum pH is between 6.3 - 6.8 but anything between 6 and 7 will be satisfactory.

Over 7 is too alkaline and you will need to add sulfur while under 6 is too acid and you will need to add lime. Here is where I get on my soap box. Use organic fertilizer. Adding organic matter

A two-inch layer of mulch will keep the moisture in and the plant roots cool. Of course, any roses in pots will need to be watered more often, probably every day.

get somewhat washed out and the blooms are a bit smaller than in cooler Temperature is a factor when you spray weather. Overall, however, the roses your roses. When the temperature is in came through the season healthy and the high 80s or 90s it is best to spray strong. It just proves that roses are in the early morning or evening when tough plants. Of course, selecting roses it is cooler. Some products will caution that like the Midwest is essential to against spraying above a certain having good-looking roses, and “Selecting roses that like the temperature. This warning goes providing the best environment for liquid fertilizer as well. Try Midwest is essential to having goodpossible for them goes a long not to put anything on the leaves looking roses.” way to having that healthy, that might burn them. I stay strong and beautiful plant. to the soil helps to maintain the soil pH away from liquid feed in the middle of at the right levels for most plants. It also summer and use dry fertilizer scratched Roses like at least 6 hours of sun helps drainage by keeping the soil loose into the soil then watered in. a day. Many will survive with less (weeds are easier to pull) allowing more but you might not be happy with the oxygen to help plants take up nutrients. The Belleville Area Rose Society started flower production. When you select a small test garden at the Henry White your planting site, make sure it is well In the heat of summer, especially here Research Farm just past Millstadt, IL on drained. I cannot repeat it often enough, where rain is in short supply most Diane Brueckman roses do not like wet feet. summers, be sure to water your roses. I is a retired rosarian do not have a preference for overhead with Missouri If you find that your roses are barely or drip irrigation. The most important Botanical Garden, hanging on check your soil for two things, thing is to not water at night or so late in and currently owns drainage and soil pH. If the drainage is the day that the leaves cannot dry off in Rosey Acres in poor but you want your roses in that less than 6 hours. Be sure to give your Baldwin, Illinois.

You can reach her at site perhaps you could raise the bed. I roses adequate moisture, at least 1 inch (618) 785-3011 or Brueckman Diane would wait until fall to do a major bed a week, or more if it is very hot. I like to <droseyacres@egyptian.net>. redo but plan it now. The other solution soak my roses once a week.

DRAI

& AINS DENS T N U R FO R GA WATE

NAGE

E SCAP LANDTING and LIGH RS PAVE

2541 Link Rd • St. Louis, MO 63114 (314)426-4838 • FAX (314)426-1382 Toll Free (800) 369-7257 MPR Supply Company has been commited to supplying the highest quality landscape related materials since its founding in 1991. MPR Supply Company carries irrigation systems and components, low voltage lighting systems, water fountains, water features and related supplies .

IRRIG

ATION

SEE US FOR BELGARD® AND OTHER HARDSCAPE PAVERS AND WALL SYSTEM PRODUCTS!

www.mprsupply.com Email: info@mprsupply.com

Supplying the Irrigation and Landscape Industries with quality materials since 1991

8

The Gateway Gardener™

JULY/AUGUST 2013

Hwy 158. The Society is using the EarthKindtm methods for the care of the roses. One requirement is to mulch the beds with a 2-inch layer of single ground raw wood chips with some leaves, the kind you would get from tree trimmers. Before the beds were watered last summer the moisture was tested and found to be higher than all of the other beds in the garden.

After the first year the beds get no water. The wood chips are also the only fertilizer the roses will get. Each year a two-inch layer of fresh wood chips is added and the old wood chips break down to provide the nutrients. It will be interesting to see how they do this year.

Dig Deeper.

See past issues at www.issuu.com/TheGatewayGardener

Pat’s Concrete

Chicken Soup

8038 Hwy 30 Dittmer, MO

F or Rose s

“The Original” 100%

Organic Fertilizer

•Bird Baths •Fountains •Benches •Statues 636-274-1516

www.patsconcrete.com

Davidsan’s Japanese Maples

Springfield, Illinois

Originally formulated for roses at the Missouri Botanical Garden, but will benefit the WHOLE garden!

Available at $10/5lb Bag

ROSEY ACRES

(618) 785-3011

Email: droseyacres@egyptian.net

90 minutes north of St. Louis

Over 400 varieties of Japanese Maples: Palmatum • Dissectum • Dwarf • Japonicum • Shirasawanum AND hundreds of other rare trees Other Acers • Conifer • Ginkgo • Beech • Magnolia • Franklinia • Oak • Redwood...

VISIT OUR SIX GREENHOUSES AND THREE ACRES OF BEAUTIFUL GARDENS and CHINESE GRANITE SCULPTURES by appt. 217-303-2641

Red, orange, green, pink, white, yellow, variegated, dwarf, weeping, contorted, columnar, miniature, cold-hardy, heat-tolerant, sun or shade. 1 gallon size up to 65 gallon potted. Monthly specials for pick-up orders! Professional landscapers’ discounts!

Visit by appointment JULY/AUGUST 2013

www.davidsansjapanesemaples.com

The Gateway Gardener™

217-303-2641 or 217-341-5909 9

The Cornucopia Corner

Jt’s

Fresh Ideas

Courtesy http://blog.bolandbol.com

Easy Crockpot Peach Butter

Preparation: Hillermann’s Farmer’s Market 2601 E. 5th St. Washington, MO (636) 239-6729 www.Hillermann.com

Hours: Year-Round Thursdays & Fridays 10am-2pm Open air market in the summer, indoors in the winter. Fresh, locally grown fruits, vegetables and food items, plus crafts and other items for local artisans and craftspeople.

Support local growers and enjoy delicious food fresh from the fields to your table.

Overland Farmers’ Market

2500 Woodson Road Overland, MO 63114 www.OverlandFarmersMarket.com Hours: 8am-12:30pm Saturdays May-Oct. Visit us for locally grown seasonal produce, homemade bread and sweetrolls, entertainment and special events. Food available for purchase. Centrally located and accessible by public transportation. Have fun and eat well. We look forward to seeing you at the market!

10

Sept. 8th 6-9pm The Palladium St. Louis, MO If you’ve never been to Chefs in a Garden, don’t miss it this year. Chefs from some of the area’s best restaurants prepare sampler plates of delicious appetizers, entrees and desserts made from many ingredients that come fresh from Gateway Greening’s community gardens. Plus you can mingle with many of our region’s gardening experts and enthusiasts.

The evening’s proceeds help support Gateway Greening’s programs for community gardens, school gardens, their City Seeds Urban Farm and their participation in the Urban Roots activities to help beautify downtown St. Louis.

For tickets or more information, call (314) 5889600.

Fill a 3-quart slow cooker with about 5 to 6 pounds of chopped, peeled peaches. Add 1 tablespoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground cloves, ¼ teaspoon allspice and 1 ¾ cup sugar. Stir the mixture, and cover it with a vented lid, such as splatter screen, to allow the steam to escape. Cook on low over night or for about 6 to 10 hours. Puree with a hand blender. Turn slow cooker to high heat, and cook until desired thickness, for about 1 to 3 more hours, stirring occasionally.

This recipe courtesy http://www.yorkblog.com/smart/2012/09/10/seasonal-recipecontest-peach-butter-in-a-slow-cooker/

Canning

Wash your jars, lids, and rings in hot soapy water. Rinse well. Sterilize the jars and rings by boiling them in a large pot of water for 10 minutes (the water should cover the jars completely). Add the lids to a clean bowl and add a ladle of boiling water to the bowl. Remove the jars and rings onto a clean towel, placing the jars upside down to remove any excess water. Remove the lids from the bowl onto the clean towel.

Divide the hot peach butter between the jars, leaving about a 1/2inch space at the top. Wipe the rims clean with a paper towel and cover with lids and screw on the rings. Submerge the jars in the pot of boiling water, either in a removable basket (I recommend the basket.

It makes the process easier, and you’re less likely to get burned) or with tongs. Make sure the jars are fully submerged and covered with at least 1 inch of water. Boil for ten minutes. Remove the basket or dip out individually with tongs. Let cool completely on the towel, leaving them there overnight, untouched (do not touch the lids or push on them). You’ll begin to hear a popping sound a few minutes after the jars have been removed from the hot water. This is completely normal and a good sign that you properly canned the butter. The next morning, check the lids by making sure they don’t make a popping sound when pressed with your finger. If they’re canned correctly, the lids won’t budge or flex. If they do flex, place the jar in the fridge and use right away. Label and date the jars and store at room temperature.

This recipe courtesy http://themessybakerblog.com/2012/08/23/peach-butter/.

Please share some of your favorite recipes with us.

You can FAX your recipe to 314.968.3740 or email us at info@gatewaygardener.com.

The Gateway Gardener™

JULY/AUGUST 2013

Tips for Growing, Buying and Cooking Fresh, Locally Sourced Food for Your Table July/August Harvest

Here are some fruits and veggies you might find in the garden or your local farmers’ market these months:

Vegetables

R

ising high above the garden, mammoth sunflowers are a sight to behold. It’s amazing to think that one small sunflower seed can produce giants of such stature and beauty. Sunflowers come in all colors and heights, but the varieties that produce the best edible seed for human consumption are the giant varieties. Some edible sunflowers to try are Mammoth Grey Stripe, Sunzilla, Paul Bunyan, and Aztec Gold.

Start your sunflowers off right by planting them after all danger of frost has vanished. They don’t enjoy being transplanted.

Sunflowers also need at least 6-8 hours of direct sun each day to produce sunflowers with lots of delicious seeds. Plant 2-3 seeds in groups about ½” deep into well-drained soil. Space your groups 6-8 inches apart.

When the seedlings reach 3-4” high, thin the seedlings down to one sunflower plant per group.

Water your sunflowers regularly and consistently. For really large sunflower heads, fertilize using a diluted fish emulsion.

First use a stake to make a 1-2 foot deep hole about a foot away from the sunflower seedling and fill the hole with diluted fish emulsion. This will encourage JULY/AUGUST 2013

Squash (summer) Sweet Corn Sweet Potatoes Tomatoes Turnips

Artichoke Beans Beets Broccoli Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower Cucumbers Eggplant Garlic Herbs Horseradish Kohlrabi Leeks Lettuce Okra Onions Peas Peppers Popcorn Potatoes Pumpkins Radishes Rhubarb

Fruits

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

Sunflowers

By Mara Higdon the sunflower’s roots to spread and further support the growth of the giant flower.

After about 3 months from planting, the sunflower heads can be harvested or you can choose to let them mature and ripen on the stalk. Cut the flower heads with about 1 foot of stalk attached. You can use a paper bag or cheese cloth to cover the flower head while it dries in a warm, dry space with good air circulation. Any seeds that fall out will be caught with the bag or cheese cloth. If you choose to let the seed mature on the plant, cover the flower head with the paper bag (punch a few small holes for ventilation) or cheese cloth. This will protect the seeds from birds and other wildlife from eating your seeds.

Check on the flower head

The Gateway Gardener™

periodically and make sure it’s getting enough ventilation.

After 3-4 weeks, the seeds should be ready to harvest.

To harvest, simply rub the seeds out with your fingers. If they need a little more coaxing, you can use a wire brush. Store the seeds in a container that provides air circulation such as a mesh bag or panty hose.

Don’t put them in plastic bags or glass jars as any remaining moisture may cause the seeds to mold. To roast the seeds, coat lightly with olive oil and bake in a single layer on a cookie sheet in a 350 oven. Bake for a total of 10-12 minutes, but shake the seeds after 6 minutes to ensure even roasting. Sprinkle with salt and/or pepper and enjoy!

M a r a H i g d o n is the Program Director at Gateway Greening, Inc. They focus on community development through gardening throughout the St. Louis area. You can reach her at (314) 588-9600 x22 or by email at mara@ gatewaygreening.org.

Schlafly Farmers Market Schlafly Bottleworks

7260 Southwest Avenue Maplewood, MO 63143 (314) 241-2337 farmersmarket@schlafly.com www.schlaflyfarmersmarket.com Hours: April-Oct. Wednesdays 4-7pm.

One Sat. per month Nov.-Mar. 9am-1pm 28 vendors each week selling local produce, flowers, meats, eggs, cheeses, baked goods and more.

Live music on the Bottleworks patio starting at 5pm.

The Land of Goshen Community Market

South of the Courthouse Edwardsville, IL (618) 307-6045 www.GoshenMarket.org Hours: May 12-October 20th Saturday mornings 8am-noon An open-air farmers’ market that is a great source for locally grown, fresh, naturally ripened farm products, tasty baked goods with locally grown ingredients, and wonderful art and gift ideas. Live entertainment and free demonstrations add to the festive atmosphere. A safe, wholesome place for kids and the whole family.

11

Dig This!

Gateway Gardeners and Businesses in the News Jenkins Daylily Garden Celebrates Nature’s Rainbow!

The Jenkins Daylily Garden at Missouri Botanical Garden will celebrate the 25th anniversary this summer of its dedication, and the 24th anniversary of its opening and of the end-of-season Marked by Lydia, an awardwinning spider daylily Daylily Sale that helps photographed at the Jenkins support it. A sanctioned Garden in 2011.

American Hemerocallis Association Display Garden, the garden was dedicated in 1988 in memory of G. Stuart Jenkins by his family, and the garden was designed by Ed and Mary Schnarr, longtime volunteers and avid daylily enthusiasts at the time.

The garden is laid out in the arching shape of a rainbow, and varieties representing American Hemerocallis Society award winners are mixed throughout to create a rainbow of color. Visitors will find all types of daylilies in the garden, from spider forms and miniatures to doubles, extra large types, late bloomers, eyed flowers and other award winners. There’s also a special bed dedicated to the products of Missouri daylily hybridizers.

Today, the Missouri Botanical Garden Daylily Association in association with the West County Daylily Club, other MBG volunteers and a staff horticulturist maintain the garden. Each summer the volunteers dig and divide selected varieties to offer at the annual Daylily Sale, the proceeds of which are returned to the Jenkins Garden in the form of various hardscape purchases, new daylily cultivars and heavy equipment used by the horticulture staff to maintain the worldclass garden. The dig process is carefully organized to only remove selected plants and to carefully keep the plants’ identification intact throughout the process of dividing, washing and packaging for the sale. Each plant for sale is labeled with price, cultivar name, hybridizer, and details of the plant’s size, bloom color. The actual sale is run by the West County Daylily Club. The sale this 12

year is August 24. See the Upcoming Events section for details, and don’t miss this opportunity to add some beautiful and historic daylilies to your garden!

Composting Workshop Continues to Grow!

St. Louis Composting encouraged gardeners from across the bi-state area to join in celebrating International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW), on May 11 at their 3rd Annual “Give Compost a GROW at Home” workshop! The A young visitor checks the temperature of the compost.

2013 ICAW theme was “Compost...Nature’s Way to Grow!” and planned activities spanned the globe with events scheduled across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe and Australia. Participants in the workshop learned all about compost and its benefits from the experts – including alternative composting methods and options – and how to start your own compost pile. Roy Gross and Ashley Bement of St. Louis Composting gave the inside scoop on composting at home and composting St. Kat Golden, center, answers questions Louis Composting style, and Kat on home vermicomposting.

Golden from the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Earthways Center spoke about vermicomposting and Bokashi – a great method for apartment composters!

In addition to learning about how to compost, Rob Carrothers with Filtrex educated participants on how to use compost to grow their plants in GardenSoxx, a weed-free, disease-free, no tilling grow system for fruits, flowers and vegetables.

With over 200 participants in this year’s workshop, St. Louis Composting is already brainstorming to make ICAW even better for the St. Louis area in 2014!

The Gateway Gardener™

JULY/AUGUST 2013

Fireworks from the Garden!

With a little imagination, you might just see some botanical bursts and plant pyrotechnics in these images from the editor’s garden. If you see some fireworks in your garden, share them with us on Facebook or email them to robert@gatewaygardener.com.

Happy 4th!

Saturday

SEPtEMBEr 28

9 a.M.–4 P.M. Missouri Botanical Garden www.mobot.org/greenhomesfest

• 100+ Sustainable Living Exhibitors will help with your project ideas • Talk with experts about your health questions • For Kids: Solar Car Races— Storytelling—Recycled Art • Green Marketplace— Local Food Court—Live Music brought to you by

presented by

media sponsor

Gateway Gardener THE

®

Your Guide to Enjoyable Gardening and Easy-Care Landscapes

JULY/AUGUST 2013

The Gateway Gardener™

13

Upcoming Events 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!

Updates to this information are often posted on our online events calendar at GatewayGardener. com, so check there for the latest details. If you have a smartphone, scan this code to go directly to the Upcoming Events online calendar.

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 October issue is September 1st.

How to reach us: Mail: PO Box 220853, St. Louis, MO 63122 Email: (314) info@ gatewaygardener.com

CLASSES, LECTURES AND EVENTS Now through Aug. 4th 9am-5pm—Desert Show: Plants and People of the Western US Deserts. This newly introduced show will feature plants rarely on display from North American deserts and will emphasize plants used by Native Americans. Visitors will learn about the economic and medicinal potential of cacti and other desert plants and see traditional Navajo artifacts including a replica hogan dwelling.

Missouri Botanical Garden, Orthwein Floral Display Hall.

Garden admission plus $5; free for Garden members.

Sponsorship provided by the Henry Shaw Cactus and Succulent Society.

Now through October 31st 9am-5pm daily—Plastic Pot Recycling. Recycle plastic garden pots, cell packs and trays. West parking lot of GARDEN CLUBS AND the Garden’s Monsanto PLANT SOCIETY Center, 4500 Shaw Blvd.

MEETINGS at Vandeventer. (314) 5779441. Look for Plastic Interested in Joining a Garden Pot Recycling at several Club or Plant Society? We satellite collection centers have meeting dates, locations throughout the metro area and contact information on through Sept. 30; for a more than 50 area garden complete list of participants, clubs on our website at visit www.mobot.org/ www.GatewayGardener. plasticpotrecycling. com. Don’t have access to the internet? Just call us at July 6th (314) 968-3740, or write us 10am—Shady Oasis. at PO Box 220853, St. Louis, Learn how to create a 14

shady retreat with the everexpanding selection of perennials and ferns, along with our cherished natives.

Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood.

FREE. Call (314) 965-3070.

July 13th 10am—Fairy Gardening, Mini Landscaping for Containers and Gardens.

Learn about doll-size shrubs, plus the perennials, annuals and vines with teeny leaves and flowers. Learn the unique care tiny plants need along with mini-gardening deisgn tips and techniques.

Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood.

FREE. Call (314) 965-3070.

July 20th 9am-3pm—Friends of the Garden Butterfly Festival.

FREE event celebrating the Bill Roston Native Butterfly House at Springfield Botanical Gardens, Nathanial Greene/Close Memorial Park, Springfield, MO. Caterpillar Petting Zoo, children’s crafts and activities, costume contest for kids, educational workshops, vendors and live music. (417) 368-2113.

10am—Maintaining Perennials and Rejuvenating Your Summer Garden. Learn aggressive pruning techniques that will help you achieve strong, more compact plants and many more blooms in your garden.

Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood.

FREE. Call (314) 965-3070.

July 24th 9am-5pm—Henry Shaw’s

Birthday. Missouri Botanical Garden founder Henry Shaw’s 213th birthday celebration. Admission is free for all visitors. Missouri Botanical Garden.

July 24th and August 21st 7pm—Terrarium-Making Classes. Guests will receive a standard jar, 2 plants, rocks, charcoal, and moss for $50. Guests are more than welcome to bring their own containers. Trinkets such as porcelain mushrooms, miniature people and statues will be offered for an additional price. Flowers & Weeds, located at 2118 Cherokee St. Saint Louis.

(314) 578-8793.

July 25th 7pm—Schlalfy Gardenworks Summer Garden Social. Join our gardeners, Jack and Nolan for stimulating vegetable garden conversation and lecture. As usual there will be a Swap Table. So bring your excess plants, seeds, tools and whatever you can share.

And then take something you might need. Schlafly Bottleworks Crown Room.

The event is free and seating is limited.

July 27th 10am—Growing Up—A Guide to Vines. Learn about the vines that will turn an ordinary garden into a showcase. Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood. FREE. Call (314) 965-3070.

Aug. 3rd 9am—Nursery Tour.

The Gateway Gardener™

JULY/AUGUST 2013

Disover the hidden treasures at Sugar Creek, tour the nursery, see what’s in bloom, learn the newest selections and rare gems. Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood. FREE. Call (314) 965-3070.

Aug. 10th 10am—Drought Tolerant Perennials and Shrubs.

Discover the best, longblooming hybrid perennials, shrubs and grasses along with the toughest wildflowers that laugh at heat and humidity.

Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood.

FREE. Call (314) 965-3070.

Aug. 11 Noon-5pm—Orchid Society of Greater St. Louis Annual Orchid Auction. New cultivars and old favorites are auctioned by the area’s top growers, who are on hand to give plant care advice and share information about their organization. Silent auction and attendance prizes.

Beaumont Room, Ridgway Visitor Center. Entry included with Garden admission. osogsl.org. th

Aug. 13th 7-8:30pm—Utilizing Urban Wood. 2012 Tap Root Speaker Series. Local woodworker and artist Roger Branson, owner of Red Rooster Sawmill, will share how he uses urban wood sources to create unique art pieces and functional furniture. CEU credits available for professionals, others interested are invited as well. Schlafly Bottleworks, 7260 Southwest Ave. Call (636) 970-3000 to preregister Thursday prior to event date. $10.

JULY/AUGUST 2013

August 15th 10am-1pm—Native Plant Edibles Class. Garden tour followed by indoor class and cooking demo using native plant ingredients. 2013 native plant classes sponsored by Lincoln University Native Plants Program, 900 Chestnut St., Allen Hall, Rm. 100.

Jefferson City, MO. Contact Amy Hempen at HempenA@ LincolnU.edu.

Aug. 17th 10am—Best New Perennials, Shrubs and Vines. Hear about the exciting new creations that have the garden world amazed, awed and just plain star struck. Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood. FREE. Call (314) 965-3070.

Aug. 24 9am-5pm—West County Daylily Club Annual Sale. Choose from a wide array of new cultivars and old favorites sold from the Missouri Botanical Garden’s displays. Experts from the West County Daylily Club will be on hand to give plant care advice and share information about their organization. Proceeds benefit the Missouri Botanical Garden. Orthwein Floral Display Center, Missouri Botanical Garden. th

10am—Best Fall Gardening Tips. Discover which varieties are flowering along with the garden practices that will produce the longestblooming, heaviest producing plants and more. Sugar Creek Gardens, 1011 Woodlawn Rd., Kirkwood. FREE. Call (314) 965-3070.

The Gateway Gardener™

Aug. 24th-25th 5th Washington County Home Grown Farm Tour and Field Dinner. This free self-guided tour features venues highlighting the diversity of local farms and history in Washington County. From bison to vineyards, alpacas to a Saddle Club rodeo, there will be something for everyone. (Reservations required, limited seating).

Proceeds benefit the Washington County Farm Tour Scholarship Fund. For more information visit www. homegrowntour.com or call Debby Bust at (573) 4388555 to make reservations.

Sept. 6th 4-8pm—Fall Wildflower Sale and Open House.

Stroll through the Whitmire Wildflower Garden and gain inspiration for your home landscape, then purchase native plants at the Wildflower Sale. Experts on hand to assist with questions.

Shaw Nature Reserve, Gray Summit. $3 non-members, FREE for MBG members.

(636) 451-3512.

Dig Deeper.

Visit GatewayGardener.

COM for Articles, videos, projects and more!

FUN FOR KIDS July 13th 9 am-Children’s Garden Club. Fun in the Garden.

FREE. Chesterfield Valley Nursery, 16825 N. Outer Rd., Chesterfield. Hosted by St. Louis County Parks and Recreation.

Aug. 3rd 9 am- Children’s Garden Club. Craft from the Garden. FREE. Queeny Park, 1675 South Mason Road.

The Orchid Society of Greater Saint Louis

Invites you to our

20th

Orchid Auction AnnuAl

Beginner to Expert, Come Grow with Us Sunday, August 11, 2013 From: 12noon to 5pm Missouri Botanical Garden (Beaumont Room) Entrance and Parking are Free with Garden Admission

www.osogsl.org

Made in the St. Louis Area

See them on display at Outdoor Living, Inc. in Kirkwood, MO. stand up and garden 855.USA.GROW • (855.872.4769)

www.guttergardens.com 15

Compost can reduce water consumption and add nutrients to your soil!

Visit St. Louis Compostingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s five area locations for the largest selection of STA-certified Compost, Mulch Products and Soil Blends BELLEVILLE, IL

VALLEY PARK, MO 39 Old Elam Ave. 636.861.3344

ST. LOUIS, MO

5841 Mine Haul Rd. 618.233.2007

560 Terminal Row 314.868.1612

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO

FORT BELLEFONTAINE COMPOST FACILITY

(This is a drop off facility only) 11294 Schaefer Road 314.423.9035

13060 County Park Rd. Florissant, MO 314.355.0052

Visit us online at www.stlcompost.com

ENRICHING THE SOIL NATURALLY SINCE 1992