New Member Lisa Brunette: Her Creative Telling of Our Shared Story

by Marsha Gebhardt   
President, Wild Ones St. Louis Chapter 

Lisa Brunette joined Wild Ones St. Louis in 2019.  It was a mutually beneficial connection. 

I met Lisa at our November Potluck/Seed Exchange.  I was charmed and excited as I learned about her enthusiasm for native landscaping and for the Wild Ones St. Louis sharing network.  Recently I received this email message from her:

Hi, Marsha! I sat near you at the potluck in Nov – lovely to meet you. I just want to express gratitude to WO for the gifts of seeds and seedlings. Here’s my way of saying thanks:

Here is a portion of that ‘thank you’ blog post. 

Receive Your Gifts

The gifted native plants were surprisingly easy to find. The first batch came from a seed exchange hosted at a local brewery. We also joined and attended several Wild Ones garden tours, plus a seed exchange, a fantastic source for seedlings and seeds. Just starting out with a blank canvas at first, we could not bring anything to offer in exchange, but there are always so many seeds and seedlings on hand, and none of the Wild Ones members minded. Besides, our turn to donate came sooner than expected…

We picked up the above swamp milkweed in early summer as a tiny seedling gifted at a Wild Ones event, and over the course of the year, it exploded into a sizable bush that attracted pollinators in droves. Another tiny Wild Ones seedling, anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum), took immediately to a site with poor, rocky soil, bloomed its head off, and likewise drove the bees mad with love.

Encourage Self-Sowing

The next step with these now-established natives is to let them self-sow. I’m hopeful this happens with minimal intervention, though I have helped things along by spreading seeds around, like with this old field goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis), another freebie. All three plants picked up as free seedlings at Wild Ones garden tours exploded with growth, so I was able to collect their seeds and offer them back to the community at the fall seed exchange.

For the full post, “Garden Stars of the Year: How to Win with Native Plants”, go to on her website Cat in the Flock.  In this post you also will find ideas about such things as how to record your plantings.   While on the website you may enjoy other related posts such as “Mulch Ado About ‘Nothing’, How to Convert Your Lawn in 5 steps”. 

And while you’re there, you may get hooked on Lily’s Garden, as I have.  It is an example of one of the games her company….  Lisa is the Owner and Head Writer/Designer of Brunette Games.  She helped design the game’s story, setting, and characters.   Her interest in and increasing understanding of ethical gardening show.  For example, these screen captures:

Welcome to Wild Ones St. Louis, Lisa.  Here’s to moving forward together in pleasure and purpose.