By Ellen Barredo
(This article was first published in a shortened form in The Gateway Gardener March 2012 issue)
Houseplants, our Green Heroes, work tirelessly purifying our home and office environments removing common pollutants and continuously releasing oxygen and moisture into our homes and offices. Houseplants improve our lives, naturally cleansing the very air we breathe. A recent news report noted that people in general spend 90 percent of their lives inside their home or office. YOU NEED A HERO, a houseplant in your life and yet you have resisted the purchase of one. WHY? The number one reason that customers tell me is: I don’t want to kill it. This month I want to review some general guidelines about houseplants in an effort to encourage those of you who have failed to try again! Tip! You learn from your mistakes! Continue reading →
By Mara Higdon
(This article was first published in The Gateway Gardener Jan./Feb. 2011 issue)
Can’t wait to get out in the garden? You can start sooner and have easily grown produce if you plant cool season vegetables! Cool season veggies such as spinach, mustard, radishes, cabbage, kale, swiss chard, broccoli, and an array of lettuces can be started as seedlings indoors in February or sown in ground in a pre-warmed area of your garden. These veggies thrive in the cooler weather of our early Missouri springs. Many of the cool season veggies are also high in vitamin A and/or C. A double bonus! Continue reading →
By Steffie Littlefield
Photos courtesy Tammy Palmier, Missouri Botanical Garden
(This article was first published in The Gateway Gardener January/February 2011 issue.)
Malabar spinach, gombrena, hemigraphis, and ornamental pineapple make up this edible frontyard landscape.
Creating a garden or landscape that is more than a park but a place that produces food for your family is not just a trend, it is a style of gardening that has been documented since ancient times. From earliest recorded history there is evidence of kitchen gardens or enclosed spaces open to the sky, where plants were cultivated for their edible and herbal properties. Throughout history families and communities would organize a protected area of land where special produce, more than just the grains of the field or roots from the woods, could be propagated and grown to provide superior flavors for their meals. Modern gardeners have the same desires to grown their own special vegetables, fruits and greens to enhance the family’s table. And no longer are those plants consigned strictly to a defined vegetable garden or fruit orchard. More and more gardeners are mixing them right into their ornamental beds and borders to create their own edible landscapes! Continue reading →
Kirkwood resident Bill Ruppert's chickens and coop
There are lots of benefits to keeping backyard chickens. Turns out one of them comes from simply watching them. Debi Gibson, director of the Maplewood/Richmond Heights School District’s Seed to Table program and the “mother hen” who cares for a clutch of chickens at the district’s Early Childhood Development Center’s teaching garden, says that’s what the employees of the adjacent fast food restaurant do on their breaks. “They bring their lunch out and just sit up there and watch the chickens,” she says.
Roxanne Oesch, a Kirkwood resident and owner of a small flock of backyard chickens, agrees. “My husband even built a bench for me, just so I could come out here and sit and watch them,” she says. “It’s very relaxing.”
Whether for stress relief or the prospect of fresh eggs, more and more city and suburban dwellers are exploring the benefits of raising backyard chickens. If you’re thinking about joining the flock, here are a few things you should know. Continue reading →
On this February 1st, 2012, it’s a sunny 55 degrees F–the third day in a row of spring-like temps, and it shows in the garden. Here are some things I found in bloom. It’s been a crazy winter!
Click on any photo to view and click on the forward or backward arrows to move through the photo gallery. After the last slide, click inside the photo to close. (Note: if you choose the Slideshow option, the captions don’t appear, so if you want to know who you’re looking at, view the images through the “Pictures List” option.)
Phalaenopsis, or Moth Orchid
January and February are top months to purchase blooming orchids of all types. But buyer beware! Don’t be tempted by the “Just add ice” plants found in groceries and mass merchant stores. The ice watering method may reduce the store’s loss but is not best for the plant. Plus, “grab n go” orchids’ sitting around by drafty doorways in winter in plastic sleeves can be permanently damaged. Shop for orchid plants at a garden center or nursery! Continue reading →
Posted in Houseplants |
Tagged Orchids |
By Ellen Barredo
(This article was first published in The Gateway Gardener December 2009 issue)
When you first see a fern, it is graceful and delicate experience. The fronds from species to species are unique in size, texture, and color. They evoke thoughts of a fresh environment! Ferns can be striking specimens in the home and work beautifully when displayed with poinsettias for the Holiday Season. Another feature: many can be used in cut flower arrangements and be pressed/dried for artistic uses. Continue reading →
By Joyce Driemeyer
(This article was first published in The Gateway Gardener December 2006 issue)
Artemisia forms the base of this holiday wreath, with dried herb accents. Photo by Joyce Driemeyer, wreath created by Webster Groves Herb Society.
The omnipresent wreath has become a major statement seasonally. It no longer manifests itself just at the holidays, but now trims entries year-round with ornamentation and color appropriate to the season. Continue reading →
(This article was first published in The Gateway Gardener December 2006 issue)
By Steffie Littlefield
This holiday season leave the glitz and glimmer to the commercial establishments and refresh your outdoor pots, window boxes and porches with natural fresh cut greens and colorful twigs. Combining beautiful lush evergreen boughs, wreaths and garlands with weatherproof berries, pinecones, charming outdoor ornaments and rich red ribbons, will make the entrance to your home warm and inviting. Continue reading →
By Barbara Perry Lawton
Photos Courtesy Brent and Becky’s Bulbs
[This article was first published in The Gateway Gardener October 2009 issue]
Tulipa 'Golden Apeldoorn' courtesy Brent and Becky's Bulbs
The trouble with tulips is that they often act more like annuals and do not reliably come back every year like daffodils, hyacinths and crocuses usually do. Yet they are simply gorgeous and worth planting in the fall. Further, if you take some time to study tulips, you will find there are certain ones that are reliably perennial. Continue reading →
Houseplants, our Green Heroes, work tirelessly purifying our home and office environments removing common pollutants and continuously releasing oxygen and moisture into our homes and offices. Houseplants improve our lives, naturally cleansing the very air we breathe. A recent news report noted that people in general spend 90 percent of their lives inside their home or office. YOU NEED A HERO, a houseplant in your life and yet you have resisted the purchase of one. WHY? The number one reason that customers tell me is: I don’t want to kill it. This month I want to review some general guidelines about houseplants in an effort to encourage those of you who have failed to try again! Tip! You learn from your mistakes! Continue reading 
