Gateway Gardener
MAY 2022
THE
®
Your Guide to Enjoyable Gardening and Easy-Care Landscapes
Stripes, Speckles & Picotee
Varieties of Variegation
Flavorful Flowers Root Crops Add Garden Dimension Native Plants that Ramble FREE Courtesy of:
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Gateway Gardener THE
®
Your Guide to Enjoyable Gardening and Easy-Care Landscapes
MAY 2022
Volume 18, 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 7 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.
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From the Editor
ariegated plants play an important role in garden design, especially in shade gardens where variegated leaves can provide much needed contrast to the otherwise largely green plant palette. Hostas have heroically done the heavy lifting in this category for years with countless variegated cultivars in endless combinations of whites, yellows, blues and a wide range of greens. I don’t have a lot of hostas, but one of my favorites is H. ‘First Frost’, with blue and yellow foliage. The variegation enthusiasm is exploding these days far beyond hostas, however, and is no longer constrained to the shade garden. Abby Lapides introduces us to some of the newer entries in this booming plant category on page 4. Flowers not only delight us with their beauty, but often offer up a flavor favor as well! Many flowers are not only used as a visual garnish on food, but add unique and flavorful taste of their own, so Jennifer Schamber tells us. Tender spring blossoms like pansies and redbud flowers are frequent go-tos for gardeners
plants, Scott Woodbury offers a chance to explore how many plants, though firmly rooted in the ground, still manage to spread their offspring far and wide through a number of different techniques. Some create seeds that float in the air or in the water, while others get on a roll! Find out more on page 16.
adding color to their plates, while summer blossoms like nasturtium and zucchini flowers provide culinary treats as well. Check out Jennifer’s other recommendations plus a recipe for Flower Rice Paper Wraps and Dipping Sauce on page 6 and 7. More traditional fare from the vegetable garden includes summer favorites like tomatoes and squash, but Steffie Littlefield urges us to take advantage of the edges of the garden for smaller plants like the root crops. In addition to the regulars like onions and potatoes, Steffie suggests some other not-so-ordinary but incredibly tasty options on page 12.
Finally, it is garden tour season once again. Thankfully, after a couple of years of scaled back schedules, the garden tour calendar is almost getting back to normal. We take a look at the plans of many clubs and organizations to open member gardens to visitors this summer. Save your dates by checking out our roundup beginning on page 8. Happy Mother’s Day, and...
Good Gardening!
Shifting to the world of native
On the Cover...
Beautiful flowers are usually the selling point of garden glory. But more and more, foliage is proving it can take the spotlight with stripes, spots and picotee edges of all colors and variations. Check out some of the garden world’s new variegations on page 4. Photo of redbud ‘Carolina Sweetheart’ courtesy Star Roses and Plants.
IN THIS ISSUE 4 Varieties of Variegation 6 Flavorful Flowers 8 Garden Tour Season is Here 12 Root Vegetables 14 Henry Shaw Cactus & Succulent Society Turns 80 16 Native Plants That Ramble 18 Feeding Your Roses 20 Gardening With Children: Farm to Table 22 Upcoming Events
Did Someone Trip with the Bleach? By Abby Lapides
S
stems. This vigorous petunia looks great in mixed containers, hanging baskets, or massed in the ground.
peckles, bold stripes, picotee edges. Highlighted with interesting patterns, these exceptional plants with their exciting foliage and flowers will make you wonder if someone snuck into the garden with a bucket of bleach.
Sweetheart’
A speckled wonder, ‘Glacier Sky’ petunia will have you believing you’re staring up at the Montana night sky instead of down at a bundle of flowers. Large inky purple flowers with white speckles and thick white picotee edges bloom all summer on trailing
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The Gateway Gardener™ MAY 2022
Ann Lapides
Star Roses and Plants
‘Birkin’ Philodendron features highly striped spade shaped leaves of green and white. Looking like they were dipped in bleach, the new foliage emerges Redbud completely white before ‘Carolina changing to green and white zebra stripes. This interesting houseplant grows anywhere that’s not in direct sunlight or extreme low light.
With its serrated edges and creamy variegation AtlantisTM stonecrop (Sedum) is a treasure to behold. The dense variegation catches the eye from afar. As the weather cools the creamy edges take on a blush of pink. Reaching about 6” tall and 12” wide, this low-growing hardy succulent excels in sunny dry locations where a small showpiece is needed.
Walters Gardens
Sedum Atlantis™
Sunflower ‘Sunstruck’
‘Princess Nadia’ bugleweed (Ajuga) packs tons of ornamental value in a small package. Small foliage of green, pink and white grows into a dense ground cover that
Unlike anything you’ve seen before, ‘Carolina Sweetheart’ redbud (Cercis) is a true marvel. In spring the lovely display of purple buds and pink flowers appear, but it’s the leaves that will turn heads. Rich maroon leaves emerge before gradually turning from pink to green with white edges. Leaves are heartshaped and slightly puckered. Growing about 20’ tall and wide this smaller tree shines as a focal point in the garden. Also a great choice to shade a garden or patio. Specimens with foliage beyond the traditional green add dynamic texture to the garden. When adding speckled, striped or other variegation to the garden, break up the lively patterns with solid colored foliage and flowers.
North Carolina Farms
Typically, plants with mostly white foliage can be anemic and slow growing. ‘Sunstruck’ perennial sunflower (Heliopsis), breaks the mold with its extreme variegation and vigorous nature. White leaves with emerald green veining add dramatic contrasting foliage to the sunny garden. Large golden daisy-like flowers bloom continually summer to fall. Grows about 1’ tall and wide, perfect for the front or middle of the garden.
is perfect in the front of a shady garden or creeping under shrubs. Spring brings small blue spikes that will lightly rebloom in late summer.
Lantana ‘Samantha’
Bugleweed ‘Samantha’ Ajuga ‘Princess Nadia’
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.
MAY 2022
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Concept Plants
Walters Gardens
Ball Seed
Petunia ‘Glacier Sky’
‘Samantha’ features sunshine yellow flowers that bloom nonstop once the temps warm up. On top of its delightful flowers, the green and gold striped foliage adds dimension to mixed containers and landscapes that can be missing from sun annual combos. I particularly love mixing ‘Samantha’ with orange cuphea and purple fan flower.
Wrapping The Flavors of the Season by Jennifer Schamber
YOUR ONE-STOP-SHOP FOR
MAY BLOOMS
F
lowers can be celebrated not just for their beauty, but also for their flavors. Every season delights us with an array of options to be used in culinary creations as well as cocktail sensations. The months of May, June and July present us with the best opportunity to fuse together the worlds of gardening, cooking and art, while the colors of late spring and early summer reach their peak. Exploring the realm of edible flowers opens up a pathway that leads to a true appreciation for the goodness that our gardens bestow on us. Some of the best chefs in the world are admired for their creative methods of incorporating local and seasonal ingredients in their dishes, and many of their trade secrets can be grown, cultivated and prepared right in our own gardens and kitchens. A vast range of edible flowers may already exist in your yard, from early blooming gems in the spring like pansies, redbud flowers, dandelions and chickweed, to summer season favorites, like marigolds, calendula, borage flowers, nasturtiums and zucchini blossoms. The simplest way to incorporate these unconventional edibles would be to add as tasty garnishes in a salad. Another easy trick is to use the flowers to decorate sweet treats like cupcakes. Perhaps you might want to take it up a notch? Why not try a chickweed chimichurri? Or maybe turn a simple focaccia recipe into a masterpiece by artfully arranging foraged flowers on top?
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Another beautiful way to showcase the colors and flavors of the season is by featuring them in rice paper wraps. This gardeninfluenced delicacy is inspired by Vietnamese spring rolls and truly presents itself as a work of art. See notes for recipe ideas. The Gateway Gardener™ MAY 2022
Remember when using foraged plants or plants from your garden, the Missouri Department of Conservation’s website for more great be sure they are properly identified before consumption. Also, steer forage flowers. clear of any plants that have been treated with pesticides, and be sure to thoroughly wash and properly store all edibles. Check out Jan Phillip’s Wild Edibles of Missouri available on
Flower Rice Paper Wraps (pictured) From the kitchen of Katie Adelia of Greenscape Gardens Soak your rice paper wrap in warm water until it is pliable. Place on a plate for assembling. Arrange your flowers face down in the center of the wrap. Next put cooked rice noodles on top of the flowers, then layer your veggies- carrots, cucumbers, red cabbage and marinated mushrooms. Once all the ingredients are in, fold the sides to meet in the middle, then fold the side closest to you over the top and gently roll it forward.
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.
Dipping Sauce (Can also be used for marinading mushrooms) From the kitchen of Chef Gary of Greenscape Gardens If feeding a group (say 12 people) and you’re planning to use this as a marinade for the mushrooms, prepare about cup’s worth of dipping sauce. Stir together: ½ cup Aji-mirin (Japanese sweet cooking rice wine) or Honmirin (if you’re looking to really impress), ¼ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup Tamari brewed soy sauce, 2 cloves finely minced garlic, 2 teaspoons finely minced ginger and ½ teaspoon black garlic salt.
MAY 2022
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Garden Tour Season is Here! After a year or two pause for most garden tours, more are returning to the calendar for 2022. Here are the ones who have notified us as of our deadline, providing plenty of opportunities to check out the area’s most interesting gardens and gather some tips to implement in your own landscape! Ste. Genevieve Master Gardeners Garden Walk May 14th-15th 10am-4pm both days. Ste. Genevieve Master Gardeners’ annual Garden Walk is held in the downtown historic district of America’s oldest French Colonial village. This is a unique opportunity to tour private and public gardens. Several gardens are part of historic homes in Ste. Genevieve and are typical of the 18th century time period. The Master Gardeners’ plant sale begins at 9am and extends through Sunday. Other weekend activities: Private vendors, discounts at participating downtown merchants, art exhibits, and the Farmers’ Market on Saturday morning. Tickets are available at Ste. Genevieve Welcome Center, 66 S. Main, Sainte Genevieve, MO. $7 per person. Gardens in Bloom Tour June 3rd-4th 4:30-8:30 Fri., 9am-1pm Sat.. Featuring gardens in Belleville
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and Swansea, IL. Tickets available after May 1st at Sandy’s Back Porch, Effinger’s Garden Center, Creative Landscapes Garden Center, Ace Hardware O’Fallon, Hometown Ace Hardware Belleville, and University of Illinois Extension Offices in Waterloo or Collinsville, and online at https://event.gives/ gardensinbloom2022. Day of event tickets at West End Dental, 9460 W. Main Street, Belleville, IL. For more information contact U. of I. Extension (618) 939-3434 or uie-mms@illinois. edu. The Square in Bloom Garden Tour & Antique Fair June 4th 10am-5pm. Tour of 8 unique Lafayette Square neighborhood gardens, local food and beverages, music in the plaza, outdoor living vendors, classic trolley, vintage Packard Club Car, Historic 1860s baseball, evening concert and more, plus the popular outdoor Antique Fair. $15/person, $20 day-of can be purchased at www.lafayettesquare.org/housetours. 27th Annual Town and Country Garden Tour June 4th – 5th 10am. The Garden Tour includes both a walking tour of gardens in downtown Historic Hermann and a driving tour to gardens in the hills around Hermann. The $15 ticket price includes visits to at least four private gardens; these gardens are both in town YOUR TREES DESERVE THE BEST CARE
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cont’d from page 6 and in the country and include a traditional four-square garden. Garden Tour visits may be spread over Saturday and Sunday. Tickets will be sold online before the tour at Eventeny and at Topiaries (138 E. 4th) in downtown Hermann during the tour from 10-5 on Saturday and 10-3 on Sunday. Gardens close at 5pm on Saturday and 4pm on Sunday. A map to the gardens will be provided starting on Saturday June 4th at the Topiaries ticket sale site. The Hermann Garden Club’s website www. hermanngardentours.com provides up-to-date events, ticket prices, links to the online ticket sale site, contact numbers, and photographs of past tour gardens. 22nd Annual Madison County Garden Tour. June 10th-11th 4-8pm Fri., 9am-1pm Sat. Visit six beautiful private gardens and two community gardens in Edwardsville and Glen Carbon, Illinois. The gardens may be toured at the leisure of the ticket holders. The tour is sponsored by Madison County Extension Foundation with the support of the University of Illinois Master Gardeners. Tickets are $13 online, children 10 and under free. More information at (618) 344-4230 or http://event.gives/ madcongardentour22. St. Louis Native Plant Garden Tour June 11th 9am-4pm. The popular St. Louis Native Plant Garden Tour is produced annually by St. Louis Audubon Society and Wild Ones
St. Louis Chapter. This year it also will include participation from Wild Ones St. Charles Area Chapter because some of the 10 gardens on the Tour are in the St. Charles/St. Peters area. The others are in Chesterfield and Maryland Heights. This self-guided tour includes a wide variety of habitats, native landscaping styles and yard sizes. This is an educational tour, so there will be a lot of information posted in gardens and shared by the homeowners and by volunteer docents throughout the day. Mark your calendars for May 7, when registration opens. In previous years registration has filled up very quickly. To register go to stlaudubon.org. St. Louis Master Gardeners Garden Tour June 12th 9am-3pm. The 2022 St. Louis Master Gardener Garden Tour will include ten beautiful gardens from around the St. Louis area and is open to all Master Gardeners and their guests. There will be a $15 per person charge to be paid upon registration at the University of Missouri Extension website. In case of rain, the tour will be held on Saturday, June 18th. More information and a link for registration will be provided later this spring on the Master Gardener website.
22nd Annual Pond-O-Rama Water Garden and Pond Tour June 25th and 26th 9am-5pm both days. The St. Louis Water Garden Society (SLWGS) is celebrating 32 years as a society sharing information about fish, ponds, and gardens. This year is the Society’s 22nd annual water garden and pond tour, The 2022 tour will feature 30 private gardens owned and maintained by Society members. The gardens are located 10
The Gateway Gardener™ MAY 2022
throughout the St. Louis metropolitan area. This self-guided tour is arranged each day by geographic location. There are always so many varieties of water gardens, bubbling rocks, small ponds to massive ones. There is something for everyone to enjoy safely outside and social distancing. In addition to their water features, most of our hosts are avid gardeners who maintain beautiful landscapes filled with perennials, annuals and shrubs. Our hosts will be available and delighted to share information and answer questions. This event provides funds for the St Louis Water Garden Society to continue their civic project to plant and maintain the reflecting pools at the Jewel Box in Forest Park. Tickets covering both days of the tour are $15 each (18 and older. A special 2022 Discount: Groups of 10 or more are only $10 each person. The tour ticket booklet provides location addresses, descriptions and driving directions. For more information on where to purchase tickets call 800-374-9665 or by mail order from the Society’s website in May, www.slwgs.org, and at many retailers and garden centers. Bittersweet Garden Club 22nd Annual Garden Tour June 26th Noon-4pm. Tour five beautifully landscaped gardens in the Jefferson City area and discover fresh ideas to apply to your own gardens. More information can be viewed at www. bittersweetgardenclub.com. New Town Garden Club Annual Garden Tour June 26th Noon-4pm. Tour up to 10 different New Town home gardens that use small spaces for a big impact. Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 on the day of the event. Contact Terri via email at terristeffes@ gmail.com for more information or to purchase tickets.
11am-4pm. The Sustainable Backyard Tour is a free, openyards tour of eco-friendly spaces throughout St. Louis and St. Charles. Get tips and ideas for living more sustainably on a warming planet, like organic gardening, beekeeping, stormwater management, renewable energy and more. Don’t miss this chance to see first-hand how others have integrated sustainable living practices into their lives and learn what you need to know to go green! Visit sustainablebackyard.org for more information. St. Louis Open Yards St. Louis Open Yards isn’t a one-day tour. Rather, it’s a program that allows visitors to select from a database of participating native garden homeowners and schedule a tour any time of the year the host makes the garden available! The St. Louis Open Yards program recognizes the tremendous diversity of native plants and their gardeners and that each native plant landscape looks different from week to week and month to month. No single day event can capture multiple seasons of beauty and inspiration; some gardens will be at their peak while others past or not yet reached, and all will look different on a different day. Our hosts’ open dates reflect their own unique landscape and when they feel it will be best to see. Net proceeds go to various participating charities. To find out more, visit stlopenyards.com.
Dig Deeper.
Visit GatewayGardener.com/events for the latest updates and additions
YOUR
The Sustainable Backyard Tour June 26th
HAPPY
PLACE www.greenscapegardens.com MAY 2022
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The Cornucopia Corner
Tips for Growing, Buying and Cooking Fresh, Locally Sourced Food for Your Table
Root Vegetables Give Garden Another Dimension By Steffie Littlefield
E
veryone is in a hurry to get their tomatoes and peppers in the ground at this time of year. But let us not forget that in a few months we will be looking for those awesome root vegetables for our rich fall meals. I love to fill my raised garden beds to the brim, planting the tall stuff in the middle and the root veggies to the sides. Root vegetables are one of the reasons I even went to all raised beds so I could create the amazing loose rich soil that would produce long carrots, fat onions and bulging beets.
radish, with a white skin and reddish pink center. It’s a bit sweeter and is wonderful added to a roasted vegetable medley. French Breakfast is an elegant long variety with a slightly spicy flavor and used as a decorative accoutrement. Daikon is an Asian variety with a hotter almost horseradish taste, it is quite long and cream colored. Used grated for soups and stir-fry dishes and chopped for relishes to serve with seafood. Rat’s-tail radishes have bumpy seed pods used for their very spicy flavor, chopped in mixed greens or in stir-fry dishes. The dragon’s-tail radish also has a large thin seed pod that turns a lovely purple and is quite decorative in salads, giving them that zing!
er flavor than their red cousins. Remember that the greens are great sauteed or in chopped salads.
Add these interesting and flavorful root vegetables to your garden now. You can enjoy them so many ways; roasted, baked, mashed, grated and cubed in soups and salads. Because they store well in a cool spot, you will have a healthier winter with these vitamin rich veggies.
Onions are a favorite root vegetable and maybe the easiest to grow. Sweet or hot, white yellow or red, small or large. Pick your favorite and add them in that tight corner to fill your bed. Remember they like to be grown close together and Potatoes and sweet potatoes are very rewarding to grow. have a relatively short seed to harvest time frame. Spring potatoes are planted and harvested early making For guaranteed success, I soak my beet seeds for an hour or room for other crops, but sweet potatoes love our summer more in water before I sow them and then keep them evenly heat and will produce copious quantities of tubers if left unmoist for a week to get them to pop up and grow. They love til just before frost to harvest. Buy plants or slips and plant being close to my beans or peas for the extra nitrogen those them when the weather is consistently warm, keep them wacompanions produce in the soil. The same treatment goes tered and weeded. Gently dig them up in early October to fill for turnips and rutabaga. These have a creamier and sweet- basket with the sweet orange and red tubers. Carrots and parsnips love to be planted near the tomatoes. Their foliage is so pretty in the garden and the parsnip flowers are truly beautiful in flower arrangements. Parsnips are one of my favorites for soups and stews with that soft creaminess and sweet flavor that complements pork and lamb dishes.
Another rare but fabulous root vegetable is celeriac! I love to grow this for the stems to use like celery and the round root that has a crisp interior that lasts in the refrigerator for a long time and is perfect for those fall dishes and soups. This is a great companion to spinach or kale to make a creamy soup.
For the more exotic chef grow a variety of radishes; watermelon, daikon, French Breakfast, white and then try the ones grown for their seed pods, rat’s-tail and dragon’s-tail. Who knew that those cute little cherry belles had such a crazy group of cousins! Watermelon is the reverse of your average 12
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 2022
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St. Louis Hort History by Bob Williams, HSCSS
80 Years of Cacti and Succulents Henry Shaw Cactus and Succulent Society
Cactus and Succulents at MBG
that first meeting, their early efforts steadily evolved into an active, The Missouri Botanical Garden has a long history with cactus modern Henry Shaw Cactus and Succulent Society with over 150 and succulents dating back to its inception. Famed botanist members. George Engelmann encouraged St. Louis businessman Henry Early Growth Shaw to develop his gardens to be of scientific as well as public The club was named to honor Henry Shaw, whose Missouri use. Engelmann’s botanical collection, containing his original Botanical Garden did much work on desert plants and housed a specimens from which many western plants have been named notable collection. Early on, Garden Director George T. Moore and described, was given to the Missouri Botanical Garden. This graciously offered the garden as a meeting place, where the society collection is still used by botanists today. has regularly met since. In 1927, Ladislaus Cutak began his career at Missouri Botanical Garden, and by 1933 was curator of the main conservatory, which housed the exotic plants. The following year, he was put in charge of a range of greenhouses at the Garden. At that time, there were only 138 named species of succulents at the Garden, but by 1941 the number soared to 1300.
HSCSS Founder Ladislaus Cutak celebrating the Club’s 25th Anniversary.
In August 1942, Herman A. Kropp was appointed editor and publisher of the group’s new publication, the Cactus Digest. Neobesseya missouriensis (Escobaria missouriensis) was officially adopted as the society flower. The 33 charter members established a treasury, and officers were installed at the society’s January 1943 meeting. By 1945, membership had risen to over 50 members, some from HSCSS History as far away as Minnesota, Oregon, New York and South Carolina. This passion for With the advent of Zoom meetings on the internet, our meetings cacti and succulents have been attended by individuals all across the U.S and as far fostered an idea away as Croatia, Bavaria, the Netherlands and Scotland. that many people Enjoyment and Education in the St. Louis To boost meeting attendance, the membership gave away an area shared his attendance prize at each gathering (a tradition still practiced today). enthusiasm. On July A library was also started, with many of the members donating 12, 1942, Ladislaus the first books. Current members can still view some of these Cutak hosted a publications before meetings. meeting at the Missouri Botanical Plenty of food, games, contests and organ music entertained the Garden for the crowd at the society’s first birthday party, held at the spacious home express purpose of of society member Carleton Blandford. Subsequent anniversary organizing a cactus picnics were held at Alpine Gardens, Mackle Nursery and other club. Although only members’ homes and farms. 12 people attended 1944 saw the first Christmas party in the experimental greenhouse 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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at the Garden. Attendance was over 40 people. Attendance would Annual Cactus have been greater if there had not been a winter storm. Show The first HSCSS HSCSS Digest Since 1942, the Henry Shaw Cactus Digest has grown from a cactus and succulent simple, two-page affair to represent the club around the world. plant exhibit was It’s down-to-earth and relatively non-technical articles have been staged in conjunction distributed to individuals and libraries throughout the United States with the St. Louis and in Mexico, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain and Australia. Horticultural Society at the Missouri Desert House Botanical Garden in Missouri Botanical Garden displayed its cacti, succulents and the fall of 1944. By related plant specimens in the Desert House for 80 years. But 1946, the society had The Show and Sale, 1978. even after several organized its own Spring Cactus Show, with 33 classes on the renovations, it was schedule. In 1948, the show was moved to the fall. The HSCSS closed in 1994 due Annual Show and Sale, which grew to feature over 100 categories, to deteriorating is now held during the summer. s t r u c t u r a l conditions 2022 Show and Sale and increasing After a two-year absence, HSCSS is pleased to announce that our maintenance costs. show and sale is back. The Annual Show and Sale will be held on HSCSS members Saturday July 16 and Sunday July 17, 9 AM to 5 PM. Due to new have assisted construction, we will not be able to hold this event at the Missouri the garden in Botanical Garden. The location will be at the Glaziers Hall, 5916 The former Desert House at MBG. c a t a l o g i n g , Wilson Ave., St. Louis, Missouri 63110. Browse, buy and enjoy evaluating and reducing the collection of desert specimens for a the show! There will be beautiful and unusual plants to view and move to the Temperate House which is currently under renovation. buy. For additional information, please go to our website at: https:// While this renovation work is in process, HSCSS now supports hscactus.org/events/show-sale/ MBG’s current efforts to display its collections of arid plants in the photos courtesy Henry Shaw Cactus and Succulent Society. Shoenberg Temperate House and the Linnean House.
MAY 2022
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Naturally Natives Plants that Ramble
Robert Weaver
by Scott Woodbury
Milkweed’s fluffy seeds can drift for hundreds of miles.
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. 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. April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30; May 21, 28; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Shaw Nature Reserve, 307 Pinetum Loop Rd Gray Summit, MO 63039. Event: “Spring Wildflower Market;” General Public: Free admission. May 7, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Members preview sale: Friday, May 6, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. 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. We can ship your order! We ship plants on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays all year. UPS usually delivers the next day to Missouri and the surrounding states. Shipping charges apply.
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ong-distance dispersal is how species migrate long distances, maintain genetic variability, and will potentially adapt to climate change. This is why frogs hop like crazy on rainy days in summer: to mate with distant frogs and hopefully keep a healthy and diverse bloodline going. This is why male black bears and timber rattlesnakes wander far from the den in summer. Occasionally, unusually long-distance dispersals take place, including a bald eagle that got caught up in a storm over the Atlantic and came down in Scotland, and a Chinese duck that flew all the way to the West Coast of North America. Who knows what hitchhiking seeds they may have carried with them to distant lands. Coconuts float across oceans, and with luck, sprout on a faraway island. In the short run, the chances for successful dispersal (in rare cases) might appear slim, but over geologic time (thousands of years), the chance for success becomes more plausible. That said, common dispersal happens all the time and close to home. Along Ozark rivers, wild gourds, with fruits that resemble large bobbers, can float for hundreds of miles when the waters rise. I’ve seen them floating into West Valley at Shaw Nature Reserve on rising spring floodwaters. Native Americans used wild gourds as floats for fishing nets. Other native riparian (living near creeks and rivers) plants with floating or buoyant seeds include sedge, rush, iris, arrowhead, rose mallow, monkey flower, water plantain, and pipevine. The muddy floodwaters of autumn are a stew of silt, sand, mussel shells, river glass, and seeds that get deposited far away downstream. Milkweed, willow, aster, groundsel, goldenrod, and blazing star (most species in the Aster family) have fluffy seeds that can fly for hundreds of miles on a steady breeze. Willow seeds fluff out and take to the breeze in May. That’s why black willow (Salix nigra) quickly shows up in every ditch and pond. Milkweeds begin their aerial journey in late summer and fall. It is not uncommon to see The Gateway Gardener™ MAY 2022
Scott Woodbury
Tips and Resources for Growing and Landscaping with Sustainable Native Plants
The tiny fruits of our native gourd Cucurbita pepo var. ozarkana can float for hundreds of miles to a new home downstream.
across the backyard, or an ancient wild prairie remnant, where they are free to travel long distances, with the assistance of strong winds. Our local tumbleweeds are blue (Baptisia australis) and white wild indigo (Baptisia alba). Yellow wild indigo (Baptisia sphaerocarpa) is less common in the wild, but more common in gardens. They begin tumbling in late November or December when the base of the main stalk rots off neatly at ground level. At this point, the mass of dead plant stems, leaves, and viable seeds in black pods is as wide as it is tall and is the shape and weight of a beach ball. You can imagine how fast and far a beach ball can travel, bouncing over a wide-open prairie. They eventually run into a fence or a woodland edge where they come to rest, until the wind changes direction! Wild indigos carry their seed in pods that are tightly held at first, but when they dry out and start bouncing over the ground, seeds fall out along the way: long-distance dispersal. They often also carry weevils that like to eat wild indigo seeds— dispersal of two species, all for the price of one.
So in your garden, don’t cut that stalk. Wait for the first winds of them floating in the breeze at the same time that monarch butterflies winter to jostle your indigos free. And when they hit the other side begin their migration south. Candles in the wind. of the garden, wait for them to go the other way the next time the My favorite examples of dispersal are tumbleweeds. You know, wind picks up in the other direction. Who knew how much fun the ones that appear in old westerns. A drive through Kansas or could be had with tumbleweeds in the confines of a tiny urban yard. Happy gardening ya’ll.
Robert Weaver
In all things of nature there is something of the ~ ARISTOTLE
A dried Baptisia australis can snap off and tumble through the landscape, dropping seeds from dried pods as it goes. Colorado reveals how they roll and bounce across the Great Plains during the dry season, until they get caught by a fence. We have tumbleweeds here in the lower Midwest. You don’t typically see them on highways, but you may see them rambling 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. OPEN MONDAY - SATURDAY | 8 AM - 5 PM 88 Forrest Keeling Lane | Elsberry, MO 63343 | 573-898-3010 | forrestkeeling.com
MAY 2022
The Gateway Gardener™
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Feeding Your Roses by Diane Brueckman
T
David Austin Roses
here are two schools of the market. Using a combination of thought on feeding roses. organic fertilizers will provide the ‘Olivia Rose Austin’ One thought is to feed roses the micro-nutrients they need. Organics can also be applied at any the soil with organic fertilizers, the other is to use commercially time including late in the season. I like to give my roses a dose of my produced synthetic fertilizers. I have become completely organic “chicken soup” for roses in fall before I cover them, just to give with my fertilizer program, in part because I am lazy. The chance of them a quick start in spring as the soil warms up. making a mistake with organic material is less than with synthetic There are several advantages to products, which can burn the roses using organic products in the garden. if applied too close to the bud union Organics tend to stabilize the soil pH and keep the soil alive with or gets directly on the foliage. However, both methods of feeding micro-organisms. It is very important that plants have the microyour roses will produce beautiful roses. nutrients available. When you feed the soil all the nutrients are
One of my favorite “fertilizers” is a 2-4” layer of single ground wood chips with some green material mixed in. If you are able get wood chips from tree trimmers, these usually contain leaves. Most of the time the tree trimmers are only too happy to dump a load. The raw wood chips mulch is the fertilizer used in the EarthKindtm Rose Trials. Look for products such as Milorganite, kelp, alfalfa meal, cottonseed meal, bone meal or one of the mixed products on
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Celebrate MOM on Mother’s Day
available for the plants to take up as needed. It is less likely that you will burn your plants or overdose them with excess nutrients. Nitrogen is very important for all plants but in the case of roses too much nitrogen can give excessive green growth, which encourages black-spot and insects such as aphids.
I started out with synthetic chemical fertilizers when I worked at the Missouri Botanical Garden. I applied 12-12-12 to the roses in spring, when I uncovered the roses and again, after their first bloom (about 6 weeks later). The application rate depends on the size of the bush, ½ cup per hybrid tea, ¼ cup per miniature rose and ¾ to 1 cup for climbers. In spring, I also gave each rose bush 1 or 2 tablespoons of Epsom salts to help promote basal breaks (new growth from the bud-union). In the heat of summer, I would give the roses a liquid feed of a bloom booster fertilizer like Peters 10-30-20. An alternative to 12-12-12 is Osmocote, a time-release product. This product does not need to be applied as often. Never apply granular nitrogen after August. A liquid feed of a bloom booster is OK to get that late season bloom. This regimen works well but care has to be taken to prevent burning the roses and it is possible to miss some of the micronutrients. The time-release products release their nutrients with water. However, too much water can release more nutrients than is good for the rose at one time, leaving the roses hungry until the next time they are fed. Another side effect was damage to the soil. Using synthetic chemicals won’t feed the microorganisms in the soil, leading to fewer microorganisms and less healthy soil. They can also change the pH of the soil, making testing for pH necessary more often.
Plants • Trees • Pottery • Gifts • Decor & More
54 Clarkson Road, Ellisville, MO 63011 636-227-0095 Open 7 Days
timberwindsnursery.com 18
Diane Brueckman is a retired rosarian with Missouri Botanical Garden, and currently owns Rosey Acres in Baldwin, Illinois. You can reach her at (618) 785-3011 or droseyacres@ egyptian.net.
The Gateway Gardener™ MAY 2022
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 2022
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Gardening with Children by Valerie Scolarici
Farm to Table
P
Plants and Seeds in our Food
lants are the definition of fitness. They need very little from us to survive. Yet their unique relationship with us touches every aspect of our being. Take a minute to look around the room that you are sitting in now and count the products of plants you see. Our homes and furniture are often built with lumber from trees, our clothes
What’s in Your Food?
In the kitchen we usually call seeds something else--grain or wheat. But they’re just the same as the seeds we plant in the garden. There are lots of seeds and other plant parts in our food. Reading the food label is not only an excellent way to see what is in the food we are about to eat, but it also tells us how much of that food we should eat daily. Circle the plant products you see on the nutrition label of this popular snack.
have cotton in them, and most plastics, rubbers, cardboards, paper, and ink have plant ingredients. A good number of medications come from plants, and the food in our pantries, refrigerators, and spice cabinets are stocked with—you guessed it— PLANTS! So where do plants come from? Most plants start with a seed.
What Makes Whole Grain Whole?
On a basic level, there are three parts to a whole grain. The GERM makes a plant grow and is also what offers much of the nutritional value. The outer shell of the seed is called the BRAN. It is also healthful to eat, adding fiber to our diet. Finally there is the ENDOSPERM, which is mostly starch, plus a few vitamins. All are helpful to us, which is why it is recommended that we eat “whole grains”. Refined grains leave only the seed’s endosperm and that translates to starch and not much else hitting our plate. We grind seeds (grains) into flour, and we also eat them fresh, dry, canned, and cooked. Here’s how those seeds get from the farm to your table.
Valerie Scolarici has a horticulture degree from Southwestern Illinois College, is a mother of four and lives on a five-acre hobby farm with her husband. There they care for a goat, two potbelly pigs, a rabbit, a wheelbarrow of chickens, a few farm cats, and a dog. She says she finds herself happiest when her hands are dirty.
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The Gateway Gardener™ MAY 2022
Host a Seed Exchange
your own from scrap paper. Cut on the dotted lines and fold the solid lines inward gluing or taping together. Or Seeds hold the answers to a lot of questions. They are also not in short supply. In one seed packet there is more use old envelopes from the mail your parents get. This than enough to plant. Share those extra seeds by calling way you can divide the contents of a seed packet into some friends and asking them if they want to exchange several packets to share. Date and label them, and host seeds with you. At right is a template for a seed packet. a seed exchange party of your own. Let’s celebrate these Cut this template out and use it to make seed packets of edible marvels by planting more seeds!!
Children’s Garden Club is Back!
After a pandemic induced hiatus,The St. Louis County Parks Children’s Garden Club is back with its mission to promote an interest in gardening and horticulture in children of all ages. Each month, kids get to create a project to take home while learning about some aspect of gardening. The Club meets the first Saturday of each month (2nd Saturday in July and September) at various locations. It’s free and no reservations are required. For details about the next meeting, see our Upcoming Events calendar or call (314) 822-9095 or email dwolter@ stlouiscountymo.gov. MAY 2022
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The Gateway Gardener • PO Box 220853 St. Louis, MO 63122
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Upcoming Events is designed to educate and bring delight in gardening to children with projects they do themselves. Sherwood Forest Nursery and Garden Center, 2653 Barrett Station Rd., Manchester, MO 63021.
Upcoming Events Meetings, Classes, Entertainment and More Updates to this information are often posted on our online events calendar at www. GatewayGardener.com, so check there for the latest details. Give us the details of your upcoming gardening, lawn or landscaping event and we’ll add it to our website and include it in our next issue. Deadline for printing in the July/August issue is June 1st. How to reach us: Mail: PO Box 220853, St. Louis, MO 63122 Email: info@gatewaygardener. com
Fun for Kids May 7th 9am—Children’s Garden Club-The Garden. FREE, no reservations required, everyone welcome. The Children’s Garden Club is designed to educate and bring delight in gardening to children with projects they do themselves. Queeny Park, 1675 South Mason Rd., Nursery #1. June 4th 9am—Children’s Garden Club. FREE, no reservations required, everyone welcome. The Children’s Garden Club
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Plant Sales, Garden Tours and Other Events April 29th-May 1st 5-7pm Fri., 9am-1pm Sat., 11am-1pm Sun.—U City in Bloom Plant Sale and Party. Opening night party features a chance to mingle with other gardeners and enjoy food and beverages, while getting first dips on plants for sale. Reservations required. Sale continues through Sunday. All proceeds benefit U. City in Bloom. Heman Park Community Center. April 30th 9am-1pm—Ascension Lutheran Church Plant Sale. Choose from a colorful section of fresh, locally grown pre-ordered annual flowers, vegetables and hanging baskets. Pre-sales are required for our choice of these plants prior to April 13. Shop for additional annuals flowers, perennials, vegetable that will brighten your landscapes or give to Mom for Mother’s Day. Please visit ascensionstl.com/plants for complete details and to download the order form. Proceeds benefit our youth activities. Event is held at Word of Life Lutheran School 6535 Eichelberger St. 63109 near Francis Park in South St. Louis. 8:30am-noon—Webster Groves Herb Society Plant Sale. First Congregational Church of Webster Groves 10
S. Lockwood Ave., Webster Groves 63119. Check or credit only. Free parking. Wonderful variety of herbs, your one stop shopping place. Check out our Herb list at Wgherbs.org that will be available at the sale. We will be following Covid numbers to keep everyone safe so sale may be inside or outside.
perennials, tomatoes, hanging baskets, annuals, vegetables house plants, gardeners’ native and special plants and flowers, assorted potted arrangements. James J. Eagan Center Ice Rink, James J. Eagan Drive, Florissant, MO 63031. gardenersofflorissant@gmail. com.
April 30th 9am until sold out--Olivette in Bloom Native Plant Sale. Master Gardeners will be on hand to assist with your native plant and tree selections and answer questions on native plants and offer general gardening advice for your garden. Olivette City Center, 1140 Dielman Road.
May 7th 8am-noon—Mississippi Valley Garden Club Plant Sale. Alton-Wood River Sportsman’s Club., 3109 Godfrey Rd, Godfrey, IL 62035. We will have many perennials and gently used gardening items. Experienced gardeners available for assistance.
8am-1pm--Lincoln County Master Gardener Plant Sale. Lincoln County Extension Center, 880 W. College, Troy, MO. May 6th-7th 3-7pm Fri. (members only), 9am-1pm Sat.—Spring Wildflower Market. Shop from a wide selection of Missouri native wildflowers, grasses, shrubs, vines, sedges and trees suitable for all conditions and grown by local nurseries in the region. Talk to native plant experts and enjoy beer, wine, spirits, cheese, honey, crafts and more. Shaw Nature Reserve. May 6th-7th 9am-2pm—Franklin County Master Gardeners Plant Sale. 1115 Clocktower Plaza parking lot in Washington, MO. Mother’s Day plants, giant patio tomatoes, garden plants, herbs, garden books, tools and misc. Fri. noon-9pm, Sat. 9am5pm—Gardeners of Florissant Plant and Flower Sale. Herbs, peppers, ground covers,
9am-noon—Seed St. Louis Summer Plant Sale. Behind the Carriage House building at 3815 Bell Avenue in St. Louis. Summer vegetable seedlings, edible perennials, seed packets, plus Seed St. Louis t-shirts and stickers. 8:30am-12:30pm--Webster Groves Women’s Garden Association Plant Sale. Homegrown perennials for sun and shade, natives, pre-planted pots for Mother’s Day. First Congregational Church in Webster Groves (Lockwood and Elm Ave) parking lot rain or shine; Credit, Debit or Check accepted, Following CDC guidelines. Master Gardeners on hand to help with plant and garden questions. Profits raised to support local schools and community organizations. 10am-5pm—Washington County in Bloom Flower Festival. Seed and plant swap. Craft and Plant booths, 5 expert speakers presenting workshops, food trucks and more. Forshana Farm, 16270 W. State Highway 8, Potosi, MO. Visit
The Gateway Gardener™ MAY 2022
WashCoFlowerFestival.com for more info. May7th 8:30am-12:30pm— Huge Plant Sale Event. Webster Groves Women’s Garden Association will offer homegrown perennials for sun and shade, natives, pre-planted pots for Mother’s Day. Rain or shine. First Congregational Church of Webster Groves, 10 W. Lockwood (corner of Elm and Lockwood). Rain or shine, Following CDC guidelines. Master Gardeners on hand to help with plant and garden questions. Profits raised to support local schools and community organizations. More info at WGWGA.org. Every Saturday in May 8am-noon—Friends of the Market Community Garden Plant Sale. Offering garden plants on a first-come basis. 28 Suburban Ave., Ferguson, MO 63135 (next to Ferguson Farmer’s Market). May 12th 1-4pm—Native Plant School: Rainscaping Practices. Learn how to plan, install, and maintain rain gardens and other rainscaping practices like lawn alternatives, permeable pavers, trees and green rooftops. Shaw Nature Reserve, Whitmire Wildflower Garden. $14 Garden Members, $17 General Public. Register at missouribotanicalgarden.org. May 13th-14th 3-8pm Fri., 8am-noon Sat. O’Fallon MO Garden Club Plant Sale. Native plants, annuals, vegetables and houseplants at great prices. Gently used gardening items and neighborhood rummage sale. Experienced gardeners available for assistance. 46 Spangle Way Dr., O’Fallon, MO63366. May 14th 9am-noon—Mason Ridge
MAY 2022
Garden Club Annual Plant Sale. Plants have been lovingly tended in the Longview Gardens and members’ own gardens. Tried and true selections. Proceeds directly benefit the Longview Gardens. Cash or check only. Longview Farm Park,13525 Clayton Road, the northwest corner of Clayton and Mason, Town and Country. (314) 479-3158 or claire@ chosid.us. May 14th 9am-1pm--Bethel’s Plant Sale. Shop for annuals, perennials, veggies, houseplants and much more. Bethel UMC. 17500 Manchester Road. Wildwood. MO 63038. For more information: 636 458-2255. May 21st-22nd 9am-5pm both days—Chinese Culture Days. Annual celebration features a Grand Parade with 70-foot dancing dragon, authentic regional cuisine, t’ai chi and martial arts. Special tours in the Grigg Nanjing Friendship Garden (the Chinese Garden) focus on the symbolism of many plant species and architectural details. Please note: No trams, free hours or early morning walking hours on signature event weekends. Missouri Botanical Garden. $16 nonmember adults, $5 children, $8 Garden members (free for member children under 13), FREE for Festival-level members and above and their children. June 3rd-4th 4:30-8:30 Fri., 9am-1pm Sat.—Gardens in Bloom Tour. Featuring gardens in Belleville and Swansea, IL. Tickets available after May 1st at Sandy’s Back Porch, Effinger’s Garden Center, Creative Landscapes Garden Center, Ace Hardware O’Fallon, Hometown Ace Hardware Belleville, and University of Illinois Extension Offices in Waterloo or Collinsville, and online at https://event.
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gives/gardensinbloom2022. Day of event tickets at West End Dental, 9460 W. Main Street, Belleville, IL. For more information contact U. of I. Extension (618) 939-3434 or uie-mms@illinois.edu. June 4th 10am-5pm—The Square in Bloom Garden Tour & Antique Fair. Tour of 8 unique city gardens, local food and beverages, music in the plaza, outdoor living vendors, classic trolley, vitage Packard Club Car, Historic 1860s baseball, evening concert and more, plus the popular outdoor Antique Fair. $15/person, $20 day-of can be purchased at www. lafayettesquare.org/housetours. 9am-noon—St. Louis Urban Gardening Symposium. Guest speakers Gerardo Camilo, Ph.D., Biology professor at Saint Louis University and Scott Woodbury, Horticulture Manager at Missouri Botanical Garden’s Shaw Nature Reserve will lead two hourlong presentations, which will be offered virtually as well. Following these special presentations, two 30-minute workshops led by experts in their respective fields will help gardeners learn how to plan, plant and care for a neighborhood or home garden. There will be opportunities to “Ask the MO Dept. of Conservation (MDC) Experts” between sessions and to purchase native plants after the workshops! Brightside St. Louis Demonstration Garden, 4646 Shenandoah Ave., St. Louis. Register at brightsidestl.org or call the office at (314) 772-4646 June 4th – 5 10am—27th Annual Town and Country Garden Tour. The Garden Tour includes both a walking tour of gardens in downtown Historic Hermann and a driving tour to gardens in the hills around Hermann. The $15 ticket price includes th
visits to at least four private gardens; these gardens are both in town and in the country and include a traditional four-square garden. Garden Tour visits may be spread over Saturday and Sunday. Tickets will be sold online before the tour at Eventeny and at Topiaries (138 E. 4th) in downtown Hermann during the tour from 10-5 on Saturday and 10-3 on Sunday. Gardens close at 5pm on Saturday and 4pm on Sunday. A map to the gardens will be provided starting on Saturday June 4th at the Topiaries ticket sale site. The Hermann Garden Club’s website www. hermanngardentours.com provides up-to-date events, ticket prices, links to the online ticket sale site, contact numbers, and photographs of past tour gardens. Visit the FAQS page on the website for answers to all your questions. “Like” us on Facebook at “Hermann Garden Tours.” Go to www. visithermann.com to find information about lodging. June 10th-11th 4-8pm Fri., 9am-1pm Sat.—22nd Annual Madison County Garden Tour. Visit six beautiful private gardens and two community gardens in Edwardsville and Glen Carbon, Illinois. The gardens may be toured at the leisure of the ticket holders. The tour is sponsored by Madison County Extension Foundation with the support of the University of Illinois Master Gardeners. Tickets are $13 online, children 10 and under free. More information at (618) 344-4230 or http://event.gives/ madcongardentour22. June 11th 9am-4pm—St. Louis Native Plant Garden Tour. Ten locations in St. Charles, St. Peters, Chesterfield and Maryland Heights. Visit stlouisaudubon.org for the latest information.
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