The Sustainable Backyard Tour is a self-guided, open-house-style tour of sustainable outdoor spaces in and around St. Louis. Attendees get to see how others have integrated sustainable living practices including rainwater harvesting, composting, keeping chickens, bees, or goats, using renewable energy, permeable surfaces, recycled art and more. The concept of…
by Betty Struckhoff Yesterday morning I was stretching in my favorite spot at my gym, next to a second story window overlooking some Deciduous Holly (Ilex decidua). A mockingbird was nestled in the branches full of fresh new leaves. Finally she poked her head up and opened her mouth like…
by Bill Hoss With many trees and flowers blooming so early in 2012, I been wondering what bees, butterflies and flies people are seeing. By middle to late March I was already seeing a Spicebush swallowtail, one of the smaller sulphurs, a Cabbage White and a couple Pearl crescents in…
By Amy Redfield Last spring I planted a new shade tree – a hackberry, Celtis occidentalis. Thanks to some pretty intensive babying – slow soaker watering every other day for that entire dry and hot summer – I’ve been rewarded with hackberries! Hackberry trees are among the best food and…
The 2012 Grow Native! Landscape Challenge will occur in the Normandy School District. If you live in the Normandy School District and want help incorporating native plants in your front yard, you are eligible to apply. Print, complete and mail the application form by May 25, 2012. Read more about the Grow…
by Betty Struckhoff Strolling in the woods on Saturday, I spotted an delightful yellow bloom with waxy leaves in a low area not far from a creek. It may or may not be a native plant. Here is a photo: Can anyone tell me what it is?
There will be a 2-day workshop at Powder Valley Nature Center on invasive plants. Aquatic and wetland species will be covered on May 16th and terrestrial species on May 17th. You can register for one or both days. More information (200KB PDF)
by Betty Struckhoff At our chapter’s monthly meeting on March 7, a guest who is very active in the retail nursery community raised an interesting question. He noted that the hottest thing in the nursery business right now is planting for edibles. He would like to see native landscaping become…
The native landscaping workshop, co-sponsored by Wild Ones, is Saturday, March 31 at Powder Valley Nature Center. Cost is $15, which includes a buffet lunch. To register, call 314-301-1500. Workshop schedule (updated 3/27)
On February 24, Ed Schmidt, Scott Woodbury, and a crew from St. Louis County Government seeded native plants onto five lots the county had cleared of abandoned homes in the Castle Point area of North County.
