Gateway Gardener
MAY 2021
THE
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Your Guide to Enjoyable Gardening and Easy-Care Landscapes
Native Phlox
Fragrance and Beauty in the Garden
Redefining A Healthy Lawn Breeding Breakthroughs Adding Excitement to the Veggie Garden FREE Courtesy of:
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Gateway Gardener THE
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Your Guide to Enjoyable Gardening and Easy-Care Landscapes
MAY 2021
Volume 17, Number 3
Founded in 2005 by Joyce Bruno & Robert Weaver Publisher and Editor Robert Weaver Columnists Diane Brueckman Rosey Acres 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.
I
From the Editor
have a long history with garden phlox, not all of it a very happy one. For starters, when my wife and I first took over the house I grew up in, and where we still live 30 years on, the tenderfoot gardener I was at that time noticed some plants growing in the existing garden. Since they hadn’t flowered by June, I considered them weeds, and routinely yanked them as they appeared year after year. The editor’s phlox...in a good One year, I must have missed a year. few, and I was rewarded for my bugs. “What’s a phlox bug?” was oversight with the beautiful pink Scott’s response. Apparently, the and white blossoms of Phlox native species suffers neither paniculata. Subsequently over from the pesky bug nor powdery the years, they multiplied to a mildew. Maybe it’s time for a point where they filled the entire swap out. I’ll check it out along bed with a beautiful island of with some of the other native pink and white. At that point, phlox species Scott writes about someone convinced me I should on page 20. Perhaps my phlox reduce their numbers and add a pox will have finally found its little diversity. In so doing I must cure. have wounded their pride, for the remaining plants responded with Another issue tending the ol’ a plague of powdery mildew and homestead’s landscape was dreadful orange and black phlox attempting to maintain the lawn bugs that finished the job the to the standards my father had established. Weed free and lush mildew had begun. green as all the other lawns in I attended a tour at Shaw Nature the neighborhood. The trouble Reserve a few years ago, and asked with that was, in the years since Scott Woodbury about the garden my father tended the turf, the phlox blooming in the Whitmire trees had matured, creating the woodland garden, specifically if dual challenges of shade and he had any problems with phlox competition for moisture and
On the Cover... Love garden phlox but not the powdery mildew? Try the native species, which don’t seem to be as susceptible to the disease. Here, they’re paired with snow-on-the-mountain. For more on the wild world of native phlox, see page 20. (photo by Scott Woodbury)
nutrients that is inevitably won by the trees. Gradually I turned much of the turf area into garden beds, and switched from traditional turf maintenance practices to largely organic inputs for the remaining lawn. No longer weed-free, the turf today is nonetheless much happier and healthier. See what Jennifer Schamber has to suggest along those lines on page 8. With Mother’s Day coming up, you might want to treat yourself, or treat the mothers in your life to some new flowering perennials for your garden. Abby Lapides has some new and improved perennials to suggest on page 4…including some new diseaseresistant phlox! Hmmm, see the opening paragraph to gauge my interest! As always there’s more in this issue, but no more space to tell you about it. So…Happy Mother’s Day to all who qualify, and…
Good Gardening!
IN THIS ISSUE 4 Breeding Breakthroughs 8 Redefining a Healthy Lawn 12 Eco-Sense for Mosquito Control 14 Hillermann Nursery is 70 16 The Awakening Rose Garden 18 Adding Excitement to the Veggie Garden 20 Irresistible Phlox 23 Upcoming Events 23 Dig This
Breeding Breakthroughs By Abby Lapides
W
hen dreaming of the perfect plant do you picture larger flowers, more vigor or extreme disease resistance? Plant breeders around the globe try to create plants that exceed our expectations. From better disease resistance to more sun tolerance, even a whole new genus, these prodigy plants will thrive and delight. Have you experienced the devastation of your favorite rose succumbing to the pervasive rose rosette disease? Caused by a virus that is carried by mites, no rose is immune to this lethal disease. Until now! ‘Top Gun’ rose truly is the best of the best for disease resistance. In multiple trials around the country when other roses began to fail, ‘Top Gun’ soared above with no spots, witch’s blooms, or signs of any disease, let alone Rose Rosette. Also a maverick in bloom abundance, ‘Top Gun’ produces clusters of ruby red flowers spring through fall. Growing a well-behaved 3-4’ tall and wide this elite shrub rose can tango in the garden without being a bully.
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water. Trying to match two containers, but they get different light? Use SunPatiens!
the natural C A R O L D AV I T
Carol Davit was a lucky kid—she grew up in a house on Shaw Nature Reserve, which fueled her passions for helping people and plants thrive as Executive Director of the Missouri Prairie Foundation.
Phlox ‘Glamour Girl’ The romantic flowers on tall garden phlox are a gardener’s dream, but their leaves’ susceptibility to powdery mildew can quickly become a nightmare. In the last few years multiple new varieties have been introduced that are nearly mildew-proof. Two of the best, ‘Glamour Girl’ and ‘Ultraviolet’ not only have disease free
After 10 years as Executive Director, where do you see yourself looking ahead? To keep learning and exploring, to continue to help lead efforts to protect irreplaceable biodiversity and promote the importance of using native plants in developed landscapes for all of their benefits—to water, land, people, pollinators, and other animals. What accomplishment are you most proud of? Playing a role in saving rare prairie remnants, definitely, and contributing to strengthening the framework of my organization and our Grow Native! program, so that we can continue to do great work.
Phlox ‘Ultraviolet’ cont’d on next page 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.
What landscape are you most inspired by? An original habitat that has—despite everything—remained relatively intact. However, I can find beauty in any living thing, like the architecture of a weed in a vacant lot.
Have any shifts in thought or practice been critical to your present work? The shift in conservation thinking in recent years to save ecosystem remnants, even if they are small, because of their irreplaceable biodiversity. What do you see as the challenges and opportunities for native landscapes in St. Louis? There’s tremendous opportunity in available land base and all of our institutional assets. The challenge is to help as many sectors as possible understand the time and maintenance and inputs that are required, in addition to holistic benefits. Guilty plant pleasure? I don’t have any guilt about plant pleasure! Life theme song? The sound of spring peepers. When I hear that every year it’s like wow, we get another chance.
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cont’d from previous page
after year only planting once. Showy blue flowers are born on tall stems over grass green foliage from midsummer into fall that foliage, but large vibrant flowers as well. ‘Glamour Girl’ features reliably overwinter in Zone 6 winters and reblooms. hot coral-pink flowers and ‘Ultraviolet’s intensely violet flowers can’t be missed.
Petchoa ‘Sunray Pink’
Agapanthus ‘Galaxy Blue’ Petchoa-- the cross between a petunia and a million bells (Calibrachoa) has given us one of the best annuals for containers and landscapes in a long time. Offering large flowers and strong vigorous plants from its petunia side, Petchoas will grow into long trailing plants perfect in hanging baskets, containers or used a quick spreading ground cover. Million bells parentage gives Petchoas vibrant flower colors and less hairy foliage which lets the plant easily drop dead flowers giving a cleaner look.
A biennial favorite, the foxglove, has been a cherished member in the cottage garden family for years. Being biennial we have to rely on seed dispersal to have colonies of foxglove come back year after year. The new ‘Arctic Fox’ breaks out of the biennial mould as it is a true perennial coming back for years in the garden. Another boon – its peachy pink flowers appear for months on end, much longer than the traditional foxgloves.
Year after year incredible new plants are being Usually Agapanthus is grown as an annual in the St. Louis area, developed, which can but with ‘Galaxy Blue’ you can get that iconic blue flower year make finding room in the garden the most difficult part of gardening.
Foxglove ‘Arctic Fox’
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Photo credits: Phlox ‘Glamour Girl’ and ‘Ultraviolet’, Coral Bells ‘Timeless Night’, Agapanthus ‘Galaxy Blue’ courtesy Walters Gardens Inc.. Foxglove ‘Arctic Fox’ and SunPatiens, courtesy Ball Seed. Petchoa Sunray Pink by Abby Lapides.
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Redefining a Healthy Lawn: Making Violets Into Lemonade by Jennifer Schamber
This old farmhouse’s natural springtime lawn has been always been managed organically, and it requires no irrigation even in hot summers. So the author’s daughter, Alice, can safely sprawl among the violets. 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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Perception of the ideal lawn varies with personal preference. Most common is the chemically-dependent representation at left. The author asks us to consider alternatives, such as the herbicide-free lawn at right blessed with a carpet of native spring beauties. customer walks into a lawn and garden shop with a baggie like athletic fields (functional) and maybe for some formal, of wild violets, clover or chickweed wanting to know how institutional environments. But the American obsession with to kill it. Their neighbor’s lawn resembles a golf course, formal turf applications has reached a point where maybe it is which for many homeowners is a symbol of achievement and the no longer serving us effectively. By continually relying on inputs result of a successful management regime. Depending from whom (fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides), we are denying the soil from and where this customer is seeking advice, the answer to this very performing its role breaking down organic matter and supporting common question is going to range from a prescription-based, one- beneficial microbes and insects that build partnerships with the size fits most conventional consumers (the so-called convenient roots and plants with which they cohabitate. solution), to a lesson (or reminder) in basic ecology. So maybe we should consider having less lawn? Maybe even no
A
The American definition of a “healthy” lawn baffles the minds lawn? Or most likely, the next accepted norm will be lawns that are of many other cultures around the world. In our attempt to a patchwork of seasonal turf alternatives that rotate throughout the conquer nature’s commitment growing season. Maybe the word “lawn” will no longer imply just to biodiversity, we’ve ended Cont’d on next page up becoming an eternal enemy to the systems that make this a productive and beautiful planet. YOUR ONE-STOP SHOP FOR Managed turf is the single most irrigated “agricultural” crop in the United States, more than corn, wheat and fruit orchards combined, occupying around 50 million acres. The inputs are high, while the output is primarily aesthetic. This is not Herbicide-free lawns might implying that turfgrass doesn’t even surprise with an occasional serve an important role in our woodland wildflower, like this lifestyles, a high input lawn is important for many applications, trillium.
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soil. Some gardeners have discovered that allowing clover to grow amongst turf keeps the neighborhood bunnies happy and maybe even a little less likely to find a hole in the fence surrounding the veggie garden or mowing down your favorite hostas. Maybe spot treating for nuisance weeds instead of treating an entire lawn with herbicide will be healthier in the long term, especially for those with kids and pets. Maybe the next generation of homeowners and land managers will embrace a new aesthetic where we recognize a healthy lawn as a place where we don’t hesitate to go barefoot. Where we know that the inputs aren’t fighting against nature, but enabling it, and working with it to improve its function and balance. So, when the customer walks in with a bag of “weeds” into my store, I’m going to share with them the fun we have every year making magenta-colored fresh lemonade out of our wild violets, the laughs we get when we see our dog chasing the bunny from the clover patch and the magic we experience when the fireflies put on their beautiful, shimmering show after nightfall. Things we get to experience by embracing nature’s way of doing things. Maybe these stories will change the view for some folks, or maybe not. Some will walk out and head to the hardware store to continue their battle, while others may experience a lightbulb moment and forever change their relationship with their outdoor space.
The author’s husband and daughter, Jeremy and Alice, creating a favorite summer beverage, violet lemonade! turfgrass, but simply low-lying plants that serve us by protecting A Simple Recipe for Violet Lemonade our soil from erosion and preventing mud that the dog brings in. • Fill a pint-sized mason jar with violet flowers, add water to full, As opposed to fighting a never-ending battle, maybe it is time we and let infuse overnight. embrace and nurture natural systems. An acidic, shady backyard may be the perfect place to allow colorful moss to grow, as opposed • Make a simple syrup with water and sugar at 1:1 ratio, bring to a boil. to trying to reseed and restart a lawn that wants to grow in sweeter • Strain flowers from mason jar and add that water to the NOW HIRING! syrup. Gardeners
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• Add lemon juice from fresh squeezed lemons, about 1 lemon per cup of water or 1 cup lemon juice per 6 cups water! Enjoy! Photo credits: Alice Schamber on page 3, and Alice and Jeremy Schamber on this page, courtesy Jennifer Schamber. Lawn photos by Robert Weaver.
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Add a Splash of Eco-Sense for Mosquito Control By Jean Ponzi
M
ost people don’t realize this hard biological fact: Pest control ads touting use of “eco-products” perpetuate assumptions that aerial sprayed chemicals only target insect “pests.” As advocates for native plants and insects, we have the knowledge and the will to educate others about mosquito abatement methods that don’t harm the ecosystem we work to
Priority One: Strategic personal shields
enhance. A personal focus on effective, strategic YouCan-Do is a powerful and healthy place to start. Is there a niche for chemical control of mosquitos? Yes, but NOT the silver bullet Fogging Truck or hired Mosquito Guy. We need Eco-Logic to inform and direct our chemical powers, to protect the health of pollinators, people and plants. Our communities can save a lot of money too.
Mosquitos are attracted by the CO2 we respire through our skin. Spray stuff where you most want a barrier to biting mosquitoes: Visualize this as a purple cloud, your personal CO2 aura. Every on yourself. Today’s range of repellants offer child-mild to super- body’s chemistry is different. Some of us are palest mauve, barely visible to mosquitos. Others are day-glow violet, flagging hungry strong protection. Do you know how personal repellants work? mamas in to nourish eggs with a blood meal. Mosquito repellant masks this aura of CO2. Key to success is testing and using the repellant that works for you. The intense synthetic chemical mask from DEET was a military innovation to protect U.S. troops in mosquito-infested tropics. For years, DEET was the only repellant recommended by U.S. EPA, though cautions came with the thumbs-up. DEET may be your repellant of choice for a deep woods or jungle expedition, or if you’re an ultra-violet beam of CO2. Milder chemical camouflage can come from active ingredients EPA now also recommends, including some directly obtained from plants. For example: Catnip Oil – a 2011 University of Iowa study found that Nepetalactone, a substance in Catnip (Nepeta cateria, in the super-scented mint family, Lamiaceae), is as, or more, effective a repellant than DEET. Imagine this plant’s aroma cloaking your CO2 – as it lures your cat. Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus – contains p-Menthane 3.8-diol (pmd, also a specific EPA approved active ingredient for repellants), another strongly aromatic plant essence, not recommended for small children. Oil of Citronella – the stuff we burn in candles is distilled from two grass varieties with the active ingredients citronellol, citronellal, and geraniol.
How to evaluate? Read up and try some. The Environmental Working Group provides a good summary of mosquito repellant options and concerns. Bonus: CO2 obscuration repels ticks too. Two locally made plant-based repellants are Summer Spray from Cheryl’s Herbs in Maplewood and Citronella Mist made by Herbaria Soap on The Hill in south St. Louis. Both have a light minty scent that doesn’t linger, with no oily or cloying feel, and they don’t stain fabric. Both work for pale-plum me and I like using them 12
The Gateway Gardener™ MAY 2021
even when dressed up. Spritz bottles of either one would be a healthy outdoor-party favor… with a DEET product also on hand, for your vividly amethyst friends.
NOT interrupt mosquito breeding, but they must serve public needs and the expectation that “we pay taxes” for official control of a pest. Understanding this constraint will breed empathy when you call on municipal staff to educate and ask about fogging cessation.
Multiply repellant power with these simple measures for overall warm weather Eco-Sense:
Brentwood, MO and Collinsville, IL have discontinued fogging. Their websites explain why and give guidance for residents to join in effective mosquito control.
Go Fragrance-Free with personal-care products. Many scents attract mosquitos and other insects. Wear loose, light colored clothing. Space between fabric and your skin adds one more barrier element. Light colors are less attractive than darker hues, plus they reflect summer heat.
Now is the perfect time to begin, or continue, to spread the word in your community about how to cope with and control mosquitoes without endangering the health of people, Wear your loose togs long. Covered skin leaves less exposed to treat pollinators and plants. with repellant, logic that also prevents tick and chigger bites.
Call in the winds to thwart mosquito landings. A lovely breeze from ceiling or portable fans will cool outdoor seating spaces and deter mosquito nip-and-sip.
Priority Two: Control mosquito breeding
All mosquito species need standing water to reproduce. Any current will disrupt their aquatic development stages. Our simple responsibility and charge: eliminate standing water around our homes and neighborhoods.
Jean Ponzi is Green Resources Manager at the EarthWays Center of Missouri Botanical Garden, a frequent speaker on eco-logical topics, and a proud member of Wild Ones St. Louis Chapter. Send your sustainable living questions to greenresources@mobot.org.
Say it with flowers...
After all is dumped – DUNK! For any stagnant water you can’t control, toss in some BTi. Mosquito Dunks or Mosquito Bits are dried, compressed BTi (Bacillus thuringiensis, subspecies israelensis), a bacterium found in soil. Spores of this biological larvicide release toxins into the developing guts of mosquito larvae. They stop eating and die. BTi will not harm birds, mammals, or other aquatic species. Insect toxicity is specific to the Diptera (fly) family, clan of Culicidae, the mosquitos. Use mechanical action first, then – as necessary – fling out the safest chemical controls.
Priority Three: Talk to your neighbors and city leaders Start from your fond, fun feelings about the pollinators winging to the native plants you grow. Talk from there about Eco-Logical ways to protect them, and ourselves. Positive, factual dialogue is a pest control strategy. Share this article from Missouri Botanical Garden with your neighborhood group and municipal staff to start the conversation. Seed a “Tip & Toss Campaign” on your block, in your HOA, or in your community overall. Fertilize the effort with this thought: Responsibility means our Ability to Respond. Individual will and capacity to pitch in can evolve. Seeing neighbors take action is an action motivator. Make up some fun T&T yard signs! Our public health departments know that chemical fogging does MAY 2021
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St. Louis Hort History by Robert Weaver
Hillermann Nursery & Florist Celebrates 70 Years
Don and ie cir Bern 54 ca 19
Hillermann’s circa 1951
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Hillermann Nursery & Florist Today
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Joes Market Basket Edwardsville, IL O’Fallon, IL www.joesmarketbasket.com
BRING YOUR GARDEN TO LIFE Bayer’s Garden Center Imperial, MO St Louis, MO www.bayergardenshops.com Crabapple Cove Nursery St Louis, MO Tel.: (314) 846-4021
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Garden Heights Richmond Heights, MO www.gardenheights.com
Sherwood’s Forest Nursery & Garden Center Ballwin, MO www.sherwoods-forest.com
Greenscapes Garden & Gifts Manchester, MO www.greenscapegardens.com
Passiglia’s Nursery Wildwood, MO www.passiglia.com
OK Hatchery Feed & Garden Store Kirkwood, MO (314) 822-0083 Timberwinds Nursery Ellisville, MO www.timberwindsnursery.com Sugar Creek Kirkwood, MO www.sugarcreekgardens.com
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H
illermann Nursery & Florist, a large family-owned Nursery/Garden Center in Washington, MO, celebrated their 70th Anniversary during the month of April. “We are so honored and excited to celebrate this longtime milestone! We are grateful to all our customers who have supported us over all the years. We could not have done this without our customers, and of course, founders Don and Bernie,” said Sandi Hillermann McDonald, current CEO of the company.
Butterfly Favorites
Founded by Don Hillermann in the spring of 1951, Hillermann Nursery started out as a hobby. Don’s brother Bernie joined him in 1953 and a partnership was formed. One year later, having been laid off from their factory positions, the two became fulltime nurserymen. The business was started at the old location on West 5th Street in Washington. From these beginnings, Hillermann Nursery & Florist has flourished. The company moved to its current location at 2601 East 5th Street in November of the year 2000. Today Hillermann’s is a large, diversified company, employing more than 80 people and providing a wide variety of services. Departments and services include Garden Center, Nursery, Florist/ Gift Shop, Landscape and Irrigation Design, Installation and Maintenance, Landscape Lighting, Grading and Seeding, Snow Removal, Spraying, and Lawn and Garden Equipment Sales, Parts and Service. You can shop for local wine, wine and beer making supplies, beekeeping supplies, bird and wildlife items, and beautiful décor and patio furniture along with a great selection of plants and lawn and garden items. There are always unique items and displays to discover.
Coral Honeysuckle
Clusters of long tubular stems of rich coral red are beloved by butterflies and hummingbirds alike. This twining vine is perfect along fences or trellises. The host plant to the Azure Bluewing butterfly and Snowberry Clearwing.
Several greenhouses are in use at the current location where the company grows some of the plant products that are available in the nursery and greenhouse. Hillermann staff members also create beautiful container gardens and hanging baskets. The company strives to make all of their plant items the best quality possible. Second-generation family members actively continue the business. It is through the inspiration of Don and Bernie Hillermann that they are able to continue our many years of service.
Blazing Star
Th e #1 favorite nectar plant for Monarch butterflies. Expect to see Monarchs in your garden feasting for hours on these vibrant lilac blossoms.
for more top plants visit sugarcreekgardens.com Over 2,500 varieties of plants! Hillermann’s involved in the business today include: Top, left to right: Sandi Hillermann McDonald, Scott Hillermann, Sherry Hillermann. Front, left to right, Chris Hillermann Beste and Gail Hillermann. MAY 2021
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The Awakening Rose Garden by Diane Brueckman
M
ay is the time our roses awaken from their winter nap. April 15th is the day I start to uncover my roses and by May I am looking for the first buds. It’s always exciting to uncover the roses and watch the canes grow and the leaves expand. I feared the roses might have taken a bad turn with the week of extreme cold in February, but they all seem to have survived. Let that be a lesson, once the roses have shut down and the bud unions are properly covered, they can take bitter cold and survive. The canes did die back some, but not all the way down to the bud unions. The Easy Elegance® shrub roses that I do not cover all came through, however they are on their own roots, which gives them an advantage over budded roses. Roses love the gradual warm-up we had this spring, with no drastic temperature highs or lows. Now is the time to feed the roses. I feed my roses with organics, which are easy and will not burn the plants. There are several products to choose from. I mix a product called Grandma B’s Chicken Soup. This is a mixture of different organic ingredients (Milorganite, alfafa meal, cotton seed meal and bone meal). You can also use fish meal and kelp to name a couple other alternatives. Follow the directions on the package for the amount to use. The other advantage of many of the organic fertilizers is they contain the micro-nutrients roses need to be healthy and vigorous. Organic fertilizers feed the soil and
the nutrients are available when the plants need them. Using organic fertilizer also keeps the pH of the soil stable. A pH of 6.3 to 6.8 is ideal for roses, however, they will do well anywhere from 6 to 7. Another huge factor is organics promote the growth of mycorrhizae fungi and worms that are beneficial to plants. The worms help to aerate the soil and their castings add nutrients to the soil. In short, organic fertilizers feed the soil as well as the roses. Many people like to use synthetic fertilizers such as 12-12-12 or Osmocote instead. When selecting such fertilizer look at the N-P-K numbers, N being nitrogen, P being phosphorus and K being potassium. Look for a balanced fertilizer where all three numbers are equal. Do not give the roses a high nitrogen fertilizer. Too much nitrogen will promote excessive green growth, which is an invitation to bugs and disease. A word of caution on the chemical fertilizers, it is possible to give the plants too much, causing problems. Follow the directions on the package. When I used 12-12-12 I would give the Hybrid Teas, Floribundas and Grandifloras ¾ cup applied around the dripline of the bush, being careful not to get any on the leaves or canes. Climbers received one cup and miniatures about ½ cup. Bugs and diseases are the other thing to look for in spring. The roses that are susceptible to powdery mildew and blackspot should be given a preventive spray with a fungicide before the symptoms are visible. Neem oil is a great preventative treatment for powdery mildew. It also helps prevent blackspot. Neem oil is an organic product that is classed as an insecticide, fungicide and miticide. It is a ‘wonder drug’ in the plant world. I use it for everything, although if I see blackspot getting out of hand, I use a fungicide for blackspot. Good garden hygiene is another method of disease control. Picking off and destroying diseased leaves goes a long way to preventing disease. Proper watering is another way to keep disease at bay. Water early in the day so foliage can dry in less than 6 hours. I tolerate some insect damage while waiting for the good bugs to come. Neem oil will harm honeybees so I spray it very early in the morning before the bees are out. My garden is twenty years old now and over the years I have reduced the use of insecticides to almost none. When I lose patience with Japanese beetles, I spot spray some plants where the beetles are feasting. The army of good bugs has grown to where I have very little insect damage on my plants. It took patience and tolerance to reach this point, but it has been worth it. Birds nest in some of my larger roses and I believe they help keep the bugs in check, too.
Diane Brueckman is a retired rosarian with Missouri Botanical Garden, and currently owns Rosey Acres in Baldwin, Illinois. You can reach her at (618) 785-3011 or droseyacres@ egyptian.net.
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The Gateway Gardener™ MAY 2021
TREES WORK
health for your
Feeling tired? Spending just 20 minutes outside can give your brain an energy boost comparable to a cup of coffee.
Spending time in nature, conservation areas, woods, backyards, and urban parks may ease stress levels.
Getting away from busy schedules allows people to connect with nature and themselves in a way that brings calm and a sense of well-being.
Taking a nature walk may increase attention spans and creative problem-solving skills by as much as 50 percent.
Exposure to nature contributes to physical wellbeing, reducing blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, and the production of stress hormones.
Get healthy in nature this year. Visit mdc.mo.gov/places-go or download the free MO Outdoors app for ideas on where to go near you. Download for
Android
MAY 2021
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The Cornucopia Corner
Tips for Growing, Buying and Cooking Fresh, Locally Sourced Food for Your Table
Making the Veggie Garden an Exciting Destination By Steffie Littlefield
B
ig work and big rewards in May. Plant it all now; beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, sweet potatoes, summer squash, melons, and tender herbs like Basil. All the while you are now starting to harvest spring greens, arugula, peas, green onions, baby potatoes, kale, broccoli, small cabbages and asparagus. There’s always lots to do in the vegetable garden but no other month is as rewarding and fun. As you are doing the basics it’s fun to think of creative ways to make the garden attractive and exciting to share with neighbors or visitors.
your seeds along the side to clammer up the fencing.
Accent the entrance or open spots in the garden with decorative bright colored pots filled with herbs like chives, mint, rosemary or a Bay Tree. Include some edible flowers for accents and color like calendula, pansies, nasturtiums, petunias, cornflowers or hibiscus. Dress up the pathways between the garden beds with decorative stone that is also easy to walk on. You can plan herbs like thyme, small oreganos, & winter savory in open spots between stones. When walking in the garden the herbal scents will soothe the tired gardener.
Here are some fun features to add to the veggie garden;
Give you garden some Drama My favorite is to grow climb- This arched trellis and pergola provide climbing structures by developing perennial beds, ing vegetables on obelisks for vining crops like beans and squash, while adding aesthetic bulb plantings and cut flower and stick them in a square appeal to a vegetable garden. Designed and installed by Custom groups around the outside. or at the end of rectangular Foodscaping I have even started planting beds. They can also be used some trees with edible fruit on to create an entrance or can accent corners or form a central the northside of my garden to grow a green backdrop with area for seating. spring flowers and fall fruit for interest.
A bamboo trellis designed to support a “three sisters planting” (beans, squash and corn), also provides aesthetic interest. By Custom Foodscaping. 18
A tunnel of beans with bright flowers like the scarlet runner bean, hyacinth bean or the yardlong bean can really make your entrance or form a hidden seating area to cool off in the summer’s heat. You can make your tunnel with some green coated wire fencing for pens attached with zip ties to iron rebar bent to form a curved shape. Plant
The garden gate is always a good place to start to add charm or style to a garden. Add an antique bell, a reclaimed sign, paint it a bright whimsical color or find an antique gate with pizzaz. A fun garden gate will welcome visitors and look lovely no matter what the season. Attract bluebirds or bees to your garden with appropriate 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.
The Gateway Gardener™ MAY 2021
houses/boxes. These beneficials will also add life and excitement as they whirl around your garden beds and take care of some insect pests and pollination. Add hummingbirdattracting plants to really add to your show when visitors are marveling at your beautiful plants and veggies. Along the main axis of your garden, emphasize the path by planting the edges with strawberries, these will return for years and look so sweet in the spring with their blossoms and scarlet fruit. The truly ambitious garden can add a potting shed with charming displays of antique or rustic tools. Throw in a few weather resistant chairs or a bench and a table/surface to offer guests refreshments from a water dispenser or pitcher
Get Started with something
Beautiful This Year!
of lemonade. Next thing you know it’s a garden party! Have fun and enjoy sharing your oasis with friends and family. You deserve it. Photos courtesy Custom Foodscaping.
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MAY 2021
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Naturally Natives Sand phlox
Carol Davit
Irresistible Phlox! by Scott Woodbury
Garden Phlox and Snow-on-the-Mountain
A
romas forge strong memories. Take my first encounter with a fragrant native plant—garden phlox. When I was in high school, an older friend showed me her garden. To this day I remember the details. Walking down the sidewalk, approaching masses of pink and white flowers growing along a picket fence, generating distinctive sweet summer smells. The fragrance was so intoxicating that I think of that forty-year-old memory every summer when phlox is in bloom. Garden phlox (Phlox paniculata) cultivars are prolific and common in garden centers. But the native straight species is not. Unfortunately, the world of horticulture has overlooked one of nature’s greatest gifts. As a straight species, this phlox is reasonably powdery mildew free, as opposed to the many cultivars that perform so poorly in the humid lower Midwest. (Yogi Berra said it best, “It ain’t the heat, it’s the humility.”)
Scott Woodbury
Garden phlox grows in part shade to full sun, in poorly drained moist soils, or in well-drained dry areas in the garden. Its greatest strength is in its ability to colonize strongly on difficult-to-mow shady slopes and complement other strong-performing species like creek oats (Chasmanthium latifolia), smoothcone sedge (Carex laeviconica), rough goldenrod (Solidago rugosa), false sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides), woodland knotweed (Persicaria virginiana), curlytop ironweed (Vernonia arkansana), yellow wingstem (Verbesina helianthoides), obedient plant (Phyostegia virginiana), and Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium purpureum). It has the potential to spread from seed and underground rhizomes.
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The Gateway Gardener™ MAY 2021
Tips and Resources for Growing and Landscaping with Sustainable Native Plants Individual seedlings may be clump forming or suckering, so we look for clump formers (we have a large patch with hundreds of seedlings in the upper woods) and transplant them to the more formal section of the garden. Because birds don’t eat many (or any) of the seeds, we deadhead plants growing in the garden when they are finished blooming.
Wild Sweet William
Though each phlox species varies widely in vigor, soil, and sunlight requirements, they have one thing in common. They are all pleasant on the nose. Wild sweet William (Phlox divaricata) is a species with an allure like the sirens from Homer’s ancient Odyssey—so beautiful, yet so dangerous. The scent of the light blue flowers in April is irresistibly sweet. On a scale of aggression (1 being nonaggressive, 10 being most aggressive) wild sweet William scores a 2, compared to the suckering form of garden phlox, which scores an 8 (clump-forming garden phlox is a 5). I’ve never seen too much wild sweet William in a garden, because they prefer well-drained soils in the shade, and many of our garden soils are heavy clay, with less-than-perfect drainage. My favorite companion plants include yellow honeysuckle (Lonicera flava), flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), round-leaved groundsel (Packera aurea), wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), sweet Cicely (Osmorhiza claytonia), and celandine poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum).
Scott Woodbury
Sand phlox (Phlox bifida) blooms in March and April, with light blue flowers (or lavender) and gold stamens. It doesn’t need sandy soil to grow well, but it does prefer full sun and good drainage. Ours perform nicely in well-drained, average garden soil. Sand phlox makes a great addition to the top of a retaining wall and between boulders and receives an aggressive rating of 1. It also cont’d on next page
Please join in our
Fourth Annual
makes the whole world kin. ~ JOHN MUIR
Birding for Everyone! Kickoff May 1, continues the entire month. Registration now open at stlouisaudubon.org/birdathon Have fun and raise money to protect birds of the Greater St. Louis area.
A uniquely St. Louis Audubon way to help protect Greater St. Louis native birds, Birdathon brings people together to raise funds to protect birds while watching birds. Everyone is welcome – expert birders, casual birdwatchers and beginners! Like a walk-a-thon, Birdathoners collect pledges and donations from friends, family members, and coworkers for finding and counting bird species.
CONNECT NATURE
www.stlouisaudubon.org MAY 2021
The Gateway Gardener™
MONDAY-SATURDAY 8 AM - 5 PM | CLOSED SUNDAY 88 Forrest Keeling Lane | Elsberry, MO 63343 | 800-FKN-2401 | forrestkeeling.com
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Carol Davit
Sand Phlox sun to part shade. It works well in rock gardens and the edge of a sidewalk or driveway, because it grows wild in rocky areas. It blooms in mid-spring along with fire pink (Silene virginica), western Sand phlox wallflower (Erysimum capitatum), and fringed bluestar (Amsonia cilliata). Downy phlox is a short-lived perennial that comes up in works well in container gardens. Sand phlox blooms in early spring new places from seed, scoring a three on the aggressive scale. It and combines well with rose verbena (Glandularia canadensis) will not be weedy, and the extra seedlings are always welcome and prairie pussytoes (Antennaria neglecta). in our garden. Its close relative, Ozark phlox (Phlox pilosa var. Downy phlox (Phlox pilosa) requires well-drained soils in full ozarkana) tolerates a much wider array of soil conditions and is a better choice for most garden soils that have more clay and part shade.
Missouri Wildflowers Nursery 9814 Pleasant Hill Rd Jefferson City MO 65109 www.mowildflowers.net mowldflrs@socket.net 573-496-3492
Meet us at one of these locations in the St. Louis area. Give us your order by Tuesday before a sale, and we will bring it to the location. Plants purchased at events away from the nursery cost 10% more, which covers sales tax and shipping. This costs less than having them shipped UPS from the nursery. Kirkwood Farmer’s Market, 150 East Argonne Dr. Kirkwood MO 63122. Give us your order in advance, or pick from the selection at the market. May 1, 22, 29; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Shaw Nature Reserve, 307 Pinetum Loop Rd, Gray Summit, MO 63039. Event: “Shaw Wildflower Pickup-Up www.shawnature.org. May 8, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. No Friday sale this year. Shopping at our Brazito (Jefferson City) location: Our retail “store” (outdoor sales area) is open for you to make selections. You can also send a pre-order and pick it up at the nursery. Open 9 to 5 Monday through Saturday, noon to 5 Sunday. Please practice physical distancing if you are not vaccinated. We can ship your order! We ship plants on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays all year. UPS usually delivers the next day in Missouri and to the middle of surrounding states. Shipping charges apply.
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A close relative to garden phlox is meadow phlox (Phlox maculata), which is similar in size and shape, but has purple speckles on the stem and grows in wetlands. It is a good choice for sunny, wet gardens because it is much less aggressive (a 3). Another wet-tolerant species is smooth phlox (Phlox glaberrima), which is a shortened version of meadow phlox, but with bright pink flowers and an aggression factor of 1 or 2. Both species are especially useful in rain gardens and wet gardens in full sun or part shade. Stems of smooth phlox may flop over, so plant it next to companions like swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), palm sedge (Carex muskingumensis), and hop sedge (Carex lupulina).
For my whole life, I’ve been enchanted by the unique and irresistible aroma of phlox, and many other aromatic plants. I encourage you to try them as well. Happy gardening! Horticulturist Scott Woodbury is the Curator of the Whitmire Wildflower Garden at Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit, MO, where he has worked with native plant propagation, design, and education for 30 years. He also is an advisor to the Missouri Prairie Foundation’s Grow Native! program.
The Gateway Gardener™ MAY 2021
Scott Woodbury
cont’d from previous page
Upcoming Events May 1st 9am-noon—St. Clair County Garden Club Plant Sale. Eight varieties of milkweed, houseplants, annuals, perennials, bulbs, tubers. In front of Wild Birds Unlimited store in Schnuck’s Plaza, Swansea, IL. May 1st-31st St. Louis Birdathon. A walkathon but instead of counting miles, you count birds! Anyone can participate, from beginners to expert birders. This is a fun and educational event for all ages and runs the entire month of May. No time for birding? You can still make a difference for birds by making a pledge to support a team or an individual. For more information, please visit https// stlouisaudubon.org/stlbirdathon/.
May 7th-8th Noon-7pm Fri., 10am-6pm Sat-Florissant Plant & Flower Sale. Herbs, vegetables, ground covers, perennials, natives, annuals, houseplants, potted arrangements and more. Hosted by Gardeners of Florissant. Bangert Park Shelter #1, 275 New Florissant Rd., Florissant, MO. May 8th 8:30am-noon—Webster Groves Herb Society Sale. Culinary, ornamental, and medicinal herbs will be out on the church parking lot. There will be herb society members there masked and socially distancing to answer any questions you may have about growing and caring for your herbs. This event supports the
Dig This!
Gateway Gardeners and Businesses in the News New Poinsettia Honors Heimos Patriarch
Dümmen Orange, an international floriculture company that acquired the Ecke poinsettia production program, recently announced it will name a new orange poinsettia “Norwin” in honor of the late Norwin Heimos, the owner and founder of N.G. Heimos Greenhouses in Millstadt, Illinois. Mr. Heimos, who passed away in February, was an instrumental collaborator with the Ecke program, according to Garden Center magazine, and discovered a pink genetic sport of poinsettia that he patented and later assigned to Ecke. It became a worldwide seller for many years. The new “Norwin” poinsettia is said to offer more vibrant orange color, set against dark charcoal green foliage, and comes into color earlier, allowing retailers to offer it for the Thanksgiving season. It will be available for the 2022 season. Local Green Industry Representatives Promote Legacy Oak Tree Planting at State Capitol Two native Missouri oak trees were recently planted on state Capitol grounds in Jefferson City in honor of the state’s upcoming bicentennial this August. The planting was realized thanks to the work of several local green industry members. The two trees, an overcup oak and the Quercus x ‘Jillian Ann Young’, were donated to the Mizzou Botanic MAY 2021
The Gateway Gardener™
Society’s work at local herb gardens as well as providing scholarships to local horticulture students, and donating to local schools and organizations. No cash transactions. For information about our group and plant list of available plants at the sale check out www.wgherbs.org. First Congregational Church of Webster Groves, 10 W. Lockwood. Free admission and parking. May 8th 9am-noon—Mason Ridge Garden Club Plant Sale. Perennials from the gardens in the park and members own gardens will be for sale. Longview Farm Park, 13525 Clayton Road in Town & Country. Cash or checks, only. Questions? Contact claire@ chosid.us. May 8th 8am-noon—Mississippi Valley Garden Club Plant Sale. Mostly
perennials, gently used gardening items. Please social distance. Sportsmens Club, 3109 Godfrey Road, Godfrey, IL 62035. Contact: (618) 917-5853 for more information. May 11th 1:30pm—Green Screen, Fences, and Borders. Illinois Extension is offering this free one-hour webinar as part of its spring Four Season Gardening series. Learn how to add living walls, screens and fencing using evergreens and perennial shrubs for added privacy in outdoor spaces. Explore design elements and species suggestions for landscapes of all sizes. Registration is required one week before the session. Sign up at extension.illinois. edu/global/four-seasons-gardeningwebinar-series, or call (618) 3444230 (Collinsville) or (618) 939-3434 (Waterloo) to attend the sessions at Extension offices.
Garden by the Forrest Keeling Nursery in Elsberry as part of University of Missouri Legacy Oaks collection being grown at MU’s South Farm Research Center in preparation for the eventual replacement of the pin oaks on the University’s Francis Quadrangle.
The Quercus x Jillian is an unusual three-way cross between swamp white oak, bur oak and overcup oak. The species is named for Jillian Young of Elsberry, who died in a car accident her senior year in high school before she could come to Mizzou in 2013. She was the daughter of Kim Hainsfurther, president of Forrest Keeling Nursery.
The oak trees now ringing the MU quadrangle are in decline due to age and poor growing conditions caused by excessive calcium content in the soil resulting from buried limestone from previous campus buildings. The Capitol grounds also have a high calcium content, also likely from old building debris. The new species appears to be more tolerant of calcium-rich soils.
Bill Ruppert, owner and manager of the St. Louis office of National Nursery Products, came up with the idea to recognize Missouri’s bicentennial with native Missouri oak trees about two years ago. As a member of the Missouri Green Industry Alliance, he floated the planting concept among staff members in the Missouri State Capitol Commission. Once the Capitol grounds trees had been inventoried by Skp Kincaid of Hansen’s Tree Service, the project moved forward.
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