June 2018 Gathering Highlights

Participants at the gathering

Saturday, June 9
Bellefontaine Cemetery

The weather couldn’t have been better and the setting was the best! Forty members (+ two children) and 16 guests attended our tour.

Bellefontaine Cemetery was established in 1849 as a country cemetery. Its 314 acres are host to an international variety of meticulously cared-for trees and shrubs, providing a changing landscape every season. Until the mid-twentieth century, Bellefontaine Cemetery was home to a greater variety of trees than the Missouri Botanical Garden. Today, the 1,100 shrubs and more than 5,000 trees represent more than 200 distinct varieties. It is a Class II arboretum.

Our tour hosts were Cindy Steinbruegge, a volunteer, and Nathan, one of the three horticulturists. We carpooled for our caravan through the property for ease in parking.

Our first stop was Wildwood Valley. The lake, and flowing brooks presented the viewer with a beautiful view of stone pathways and elevated garden beds. While there were areas of many native plants, they were not the majority. The expanse of color however, did not disappoint!

Nathan talking about the old entrance

Our second stop was Magnolia Avenue. Many varieties of magnolias have been planted along the road. We saw the sweet bay, Magnolia virginiana, and the southern magnolias, Magnolia grandiflora  planted there. In addition, a magnolia native to Missouri, the cucumber tree, Magnolia acuminatae, and Missouri-native tulip trees, Liriodendron tulipifera, which are also members of the magnolia family were planted there.

 The third stop was the Humboldt Gatehouse. It was the original main entrance to the cemetery off Broadway. On all sides of the road, a native wildflower garden was planted two years ago by Jason Delaney. Jason formerly worked at the MoBotGarden and then went to Bellefontaine to work for about two years. This area was his first design there and it is stunning!

Our final stop was to the lower wild prairie area where green burials are done. This area will always look like a wild prairie even after people are buried here. The graves are dug by hand and only dug 4 ft. down as opposed to the traditional 6 ft. The body is not embalmed and can be put in a biodegradable casket or shroud. We observed one site that had been covered by straw. In addition, those that currently have plots in the cemetery can also have a green burial on their plot.

After the tour, we all returned to our starting point for a short meeting. Marsha Gebhardt, our president thanked everyone for coming and reminded all about the upcoming St. Louis Native Plant Garden tour on June 16. Also, she had tour tickets for sale. In honor of our 20th year celebration, we gave away two native garden books. Those with June birthdays were winners! We also had some plants to give away as well as the remaining seedlings that we bought from Missouri Department of Conservation.

All were happy that we were finished before the rain came as we could hear the thunder and see the lightening advancing!

Recorded by and Photos by: Ginny Johnson, Secretary