Long Time Member, New Garden
As some Wild Ones members know, Penny Holtzmann discovered her love of native plants during a rainy camping trip where she happened upon a beautiful bloodroot bloom. Since that trip, her love of all things native flourished, resulting in her dedicated involvement with Wild Ones, beautiful native gardens, and the continued sharing of her knowledge and even her plants!
Penny began her journey with Wild Ones 25 years ago after her friend, Scott Woodbury, approached her to help lead the group. At that time Penny was focusing on volunteering with the Sierra Club, but she eventually joined the executive board of the St. Louis Chapter of Wild Ones 8½ years ago as the Treasurer. Her experiences with the chapter have given Penny numerous rewarding and joyous moments. These moments include going for dinner with fellow members after Garden Gatherings and exploring members’ yards each year to learn their functionality and backstories.
The backstory of her own garden is impressive and truly captures her love of native plants. Penny moved into her current home only two years ago and has already created, with the help of Pretty City Gardens & Landscaping, a bioswale, rain garden, and several native plant sections in her yard. Her impressive garden also features a beautiful path, made up of stones from a cabin her father owned in Illinois when she was growing up. This dedication, love, and sentimental value within her garden has created a stunning home for all the native plants and animals.
You can see her absolute dedication to all things native through her persistence in pulling chunks of clover out of her yard, and through her frequent sharing of plants and even the occasional caterpillar with her neighbors.
If you ask Penny what her preferred tree/forb/shrub is she’ll list her favorites such as glade coneflower, rock pink, downy skullcap, and spicebush. However, when you walk through her various gardens, she will mention how much she loves each plant. She will tell you how beautifully they had bloomed or the type of wildlife she had been able to see because of that plant.
The wildlife she has encountered includes a family of bluebirds who have taken up residence in one of her birdhouses, which just so happens to have a livestream camera inside. Penny was excited and quick to show this feed which keeps her aware of the birds’ development through life.
Penny’s delight in her gardens and all things native along with her optimistic demeanor, makes it easy to see how she has been able to create lasting friendships within the organization for all the years she has been a member.
post by Jeanine Arrighi, Chapter member and volunteer
To learn more about our Keystone Member series and other members we are highlighting
visit: https://stlwildones.org/keystone-members/
