St, Louis Community College Horticulture Program Native Gardens
Wednesday, July 9th at 6:30 PM
Saturday, July 12th at 9:30 AM
Wild Ones St. Louis goes back to school!
We began our garden tour in the classroom for a presentation by Carrie Coyne, our tour host. Carrie explained the St. Louis Community College Horticulture Program, transformation of the Program’s learning environments and updates to curriculum. Also, she acknowledged several program graduates, professionals working in the field, and current teachers at the College who were among the members in the classroom on Wednesday and Saturday.
Carrie Coyne, Horticulture Program Facilitator
Our tour began in the latest addition to the native plant garden collection, the Pollinator Bahr. A rock bubbler is surrounded by Pennsylvania Sedge (Carex pensylvanica ) and Roundleaf Groundsel (Packera obovata).
Purple Coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) line one side of the Pollinator Bahr.
In the center of the area there are small trees and plants such as Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis), Royal Fern (Osmunda regalis), grasses and sedges.
We followed the mulch and turf path through the Program’s ten acre, hands-on learning environment. We saw collections of native trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses, and sedges throughout the Garden Classroom.
Along the path to the display garden this area features Long-headed Coneflower (Ratibida columnifera) and Blazing Star (Liatris spicata) surrounded by Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis) and other grasses.
Blazing Star (Liatris spicata)
Spotted Bee Balm (Monarda punctata)
View of the display garden from Big Bend Rd.
A test garden is planted with Verge Pollinator seed mixture, which has potential as a lawn alternative. The mixture features several low growing, fine textured, cool and warm season grasses that combine with various yellow, orange, pink and white flowers.
For more information about the St. Louis Community College Horticulture Program visit this link to their website.
During the classroom introduction Carrie invited us to two exciting upcoming events scheduled for October. An Open House for new state-of-the-art labs and greenhouses and the Horticulture Exchange 2025 featuring Doug Tallamy, renowned entomologist, ecologist, and bestselling author, and Austin Eischeid, independent garden design consultant. For more information and registration visit www.stlcc.edu/exchange.
About our tour guide: Carrie Coyne is the Horticulture Program Facilitator at St. Louis Community College. Carrie supports students, faculty, and staff while managing the day-to-day activities of the Program. Prior to her service at STLCC, she practiced landscape architecture at SWT Design where she utilized her passion for horticulture, arboriculture, and native ecologies on built projects across the country. She holds a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from University of Illinois and an Associate of Horticulture from STLCC. Carrie is a native plant enthusiast and currently serves as a Grow Native! Advisor.
