This Week in Gardening & Nature

Giant hyssop with small purple false whirl flowers creating long spikes. This blooming plant is in a raised wood flower bed with sage and a hyacinth bean vining on tomato cage.

Plant of the Week: Giant Hyssop

New St. Louis Area Upcoming Plant Sales List– Vegetable Seedlings, Native Plants, Pretties

Gardening by Month from Missouri Botanical Garden: August Tips & Tasks, Pests & Problems

August Garden To Dos from P. Allen Smith

Order Brightside St. Louis Daffodil & Tulip Bulbs Online for October Pick Up

Download the Seed St. Louis Planting Calendar

Hey, St. Louisans: Need seeds for planting now and Fall/Winter harvesting? Check out the 50 Cent to $1 deals at Seed St. Louis

The massive fire which destroyed Skate Liborious also destroyed New Roots Urban Farm. All donations to help rebuild the farm are appreciated: GoFund for New Roots Urban Farm

It’s Sunflower Season at Columbia Bottom Nature Conservation Area

Thru Tuesday, August 1st at Buder Library, St. Louis Hills: The Art of Science and Nature by Dr. Robert Bolla: Art Exhibit an exhibit of photography of animals and botanicals

Current Exhibits thru August 6th at Pulitzer Arts Foundation, Grand Center- Faye HeavyShield’s Confluences and The Nature of Things: Medieval Art and Ecology, 1100-1550

Know a great tree steward? August 7th Deadline to submit Nominations for Arbor Award of Excellence

Sept 1st Deadline to enter Missouri Department of Natural Resources 2023 Photo Contest Categories: Natural Resources, Unique Places: state parks and historic sites; People Enjoying Missouri’s Outdoors.

—– Good Reads

August issue of Missouri Conservationist magazine features Bellefontaine, Calvary, and Greenwood cemeteries of St. Louis: Resting in Peace with Nature. Bellefontaine Cemetery has suspended tours due to early July storm damage.

Tropical Milkweed for pollinators For or Against? from Ryan Pankau, horticulture educator @ University of Illinois County Extension, Champaign, Ford, Iroquois and Vermilion Counties

Interested in Bees? Download USDA Forest Service’s Bee Basics, An Introduction to Native Bees

Do you Deadhead Butterfly Bushes?

Tips on harvesting Sunflowers for planting next year.

———- Events

6 pm Monday, July 31st, Missouri Conservation Department Online Class: Hummers of Summer. Register

2 pm Tuesday, August 1st, Seed St. Louis and St. Louis County Library Zoom Class: Fall Gardening. Register

4 pm Wednesday, August 2nd, Missouri Prairie Foundation Zoom Master Class: Native Grasses and Sedges-Smart Choices for Native Landscape Design. Free for MPF dues-paying members and Grow Native! professional members. $15 for non-members. Register

6:30 pm Thursday, August 3rd, Missouri Conservation Department Zoom Class: Making Friends with Fritillaries. Register

For Children ages 0-7. 10 am Friday, August 4th, Missouri Conservation Department event at Tower Grove Park- You and Me Under the Canopy- Hike. 18 Tickets remaining. Register

8 am Saturday, August 5th, St. Louis Audubon Society Beginner Bird Walk at Forest Park. Register

10 am to 4 pm Saturday, August 5th, Green Living Festival at Missouri Botanical Garden: Workshops, Guided Walking Tours, Family Friendly Activities. Garden Admission is FREE to St. Louis City and St. Louis County residents 7 am to Noon Wednesdays and Saturdays.

10 Seats remaining. 10 am Saturday, August 5th, Missouri Conservation Department In Person Class at Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center, Kirkwood: Watercolor Painting and Fun with Butterflies! Register

For Children Ages 3-6. 10 am August 8th Missouri Conservation Department event at Tower Grove Park: Conservation Kids- Nature Scavenger Hunt. Register

7 pm August 8th Missouri Conservation Department Zoom Class: Introduction to Missouri’s Caves and Caving. This class is a requirement for August 9th field trip to Cliff Cave, Cliff Cave County Park, St. Louis County. Registration for that is closed but I thought the Zoom Class on its own might be of interest to some. Register

12 Tickets remaining. 6:30 pm August 10th Missouri Conservation Department “Calling All Owls” In Person Event @ Shaw Nature Reserve, Gray Summit, Franklin County. Register

10 am August 11th Missouri Conservation Department Nature Art In Person Class at Tower Grove Park: Nature Crocheters, Session 1. Prior experience not necessary, but bring a size 5 mm, 5.5 mm, or 6 mm crochet hook. Future Sessions: October 14th & November 18th. Register

9 am August 12th Seed St. Louis Fall Plant Sale. $3.50 4-pak Vegetable Seedlings (bok choy, broccoli, cabbage, collards, kale, kohlrabi, heat tolerant lettuce) + seed packets. Please bring your own tray or box for your plants.

9 am to 5 pm Saturday & Sunday, August 12th & 13th, Greater St. Louis Iris Society Plant Sale @ Missouri Botanical Garden. Entrance included with Garden Admission. Garden Admission is FREE to St. Louis City and St. Louis County residents 7 am to Noon Wednesdays and Saturdays.

6:30 pm August 12th Nature Night Film Series at Tower Grove Park: Over the Hedge. + Raptor Basics Show with live birds from World Bird Sanctuary. + Educational activities and crafts sponsored by U.S. Forest Service, Missouri Conservation Department, St. Louis Zoo, Tower Grove Park, St. Louis Public Library, Wild Bird Rehab, more

Noon August 15th Missouri Conservation Department Zoom Class: Outdoor Skills- Reading the River. Learn the fundamentals of how to travel down a waterway safely. Register

4 pm August 16th Grow Native! Webinar: Learning to Grow Native- Four Seasons of Transformation in a Residential Landscape. Register

10 am August 19th Seed St. Louis Tasting the Rainbow Class: Garden Recipes for Kids at Bell Garden. Register

11:30 am August 19th Seed St. Louis Tomato Tasting & Potluck at Bell Garden. Register

August 19th Missouri Prairie Foundation Annual Dinner & Auction, Stoney Creek Hotel, Columbia. Tickets

8 am August 26th St. Louis Audubon Society Beginner Bird Walk @ Sunset Greenway, Florissant, St. Louis County. Register

9 am to Noon August 26th Webster Groves Herb Society Display at Missouri Botanical Garden. Garden Admission is FREE to St. Louis City and St. Louis County residents 7 am to Noon Wednesdays and Saturdays.

10 am August 26th Missouri Conservation Department Zoom Class: Native Plants- What’s Blooming? Register

Noon to 5 pm August 27th Orchid Society of Greater St. Louis Auction @ Missouri Botanical Garden. Entrance included with Garden Admission. Garden Admission is FREE to St. Louis City and St. Louis County residents 7 am to Noon Wednesdays and Saturdays.

2 pm August 29th Missouri Conservation Department Zoom Class: Creature Feature- Kingsnakes. Register

6:30 pm August 29th Mid Continent Public Library (Kansas City area) Zoom Event: Monarch Mania. Register

August 30th to September 4th Greater St. Louis Daylily Society Online Sale & Auction

4 pm August 30th Grow Native! Webinar: Soft Landings- Providing Year-Round Sanctuary for Pollinators. Register

8 am September 2nd St. Louis Audubon Society Beginner Bird Walk @ Forest Park. Register

9 am to 5 om September 9th Gateway West Gesneriad Society Sale @ Missouri Botanical Garden. Entrance included with Garden Admission. Garden Admission is FREE to St. Louis City and St. Louis County residents 7 am to Noon Wednesdays and Saturdays.

8 am September 9th St. Louis Audubon Society Beginner Bird Walk @ Mississippi Greenway, Cliff Cave Park, St. Louis County. Register

10 am to 2 pm September 9th Missouri Prairie Foundation Native Plant Sale at Wild Bird Sanctuary, Valley Park, St. Louis County

10 am to 5 pm September 16th Old North St. Louis House & Garden Tour + Arts Festival at Crown Square. Tickets

5:30 pm September 18th Missouri Prairie Foundation Guided Hike of Deer Lake Savanna in Forest Park. Register

8 am September 23rd St. Louis Audubon Society Beginner Bird Walk @ Meramec Greenway, Al Foster Trailhead, Wildwood, St. Louis County. Register

3:30-6:30 pm September 28th Missouri Prairie Foundation Native Plant Sale @ Roeslein & Associates, St. Louis County

1 pm October 21st Missouri Prairie Foundation Members Field Trip: Bellefontaine Cemetery Fall Tree Walk

9 am to 3:30 pm November 8th Grow Native! Professionals Conference @ University of Missouri- Columbia. $20 per person for Grow Native! professional members (and their staff). Zoom option: $30 for non-members. Register

Join us Sundays on Spoutible or Twitter for #GardenSunday to interact with other outdoor and indoor gardeners and nature enthusiasts, ask questions, give answers, share photos.

This Week in Gardening & Nature

March Garden To Do List from P. Allen Smith

This week: Start Basil and Pepper seeds indoors + Transplant Bok Choy, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Chard, Kohlrabi, Leeks, Onions to garden. Plan your 2023 Garden with Seed St. Louis Seed Starting/Planting Calendar

Gardening By Month- March Tips & Tasks, Pests & Problems from Missouri Botanical Garden

Interested in Residential Compost Services in St. Louis? Check out compost pick up from New Earth Farm. Weekly pick up is $26 a month, Bi-Weekly is $18 a month.

Nature, Gardening, Horticulture, Ecology: 2023 St. Louis Community College Continuing Education Classes, some online, some in person. Fees apply

Missouri Botanical Garden Spring and Summer Classes. Fees apply

New Direction’s in the American Landscsapes’ March – April Virtual Education Series. Classes are $42 each and are 2-5 sessions each.

Wild Ones Free St. Louis Native Garden Design

Wild Ones Sample Native Plants Ordinance

Blog post on Mushrooms: buying spores from Seed St. Louis, growing info, mushroom hunting in MO and IL, online class, psychedelics legislation, more

7 pm Tuesday St. Louis County Library Zoom Class: Birds, Bees, Flowers & Trees. Register

2 pm Wednesday St. Louis County Library Zoom Class: Homegrown National Park is Growing Here! Register

10 am Thursday Bellefontaine in Bloom at Bellefontaine Cemetery. 2 Hour walking tour with master guide. Register

7:30 am to Friday Grow Native’s Native By Design: Community Conservation Conference at Lewis & Clark Community College, Edwardsville IL. $25 for Grow Native! or Missouri Prairie Foundation members, $30 for non-members, $15 with student ID. Register

Friday-Saturday Midwestern Herb & Garden Show in Mount Vernon, Illinois. Little over an hour from St. Louis, might be a fun day trip.

3:30 pm Friday Missouri Conservation Dept Zoom Class: Planting an Edible Native Garden. Register Also, Jan Phillips “Wild Edibles of Missouri” available for free as pdf

9 am to Noon Saturday Seed St. Louis Spring Sale @ Carriage House, 3815 Bell. Arrive early for best selection. Bring a box lid to carry your plants. Available at this Sale: Potatoes, Onion bulbs, Asparagus crowns, bare root Strawberries, Leek starts, Mushroom spawn, all with instructions

Noon March 14th Missouri Conservation Dept Zoom Class: Native Plants- Gardening for Pollinators. Register

7 pm March 14th St. Louis County Public Library Zoom Class: Container Gardening with Native Plants. Register

March 15th Registration Begins for 2023 Callery (Bradford) Pear Buyback Program. Missouri Invasive Plant Council in partnership with Forest ReLeaf, Forrest Keeling Nursery, and Missouri Conservation Dept will host “buyback” around the state on April 18. Homeowners are invited to cut down one or more Callery pear trees and receive one free, non-invasive tree at this event.

10 am March 15th Bellefontaine in Bloom at Bellefontaine Cemetery. 2 Hour walking tour with master guide. Register

1-5 pm March 19th Old Bakery Beer Buzz’d Beer Festival in Alton, IL to benefit Piasa Palisades Sierra Club. Tickets

2 pm March 15th St. Louis County Public Library Zoom Class: Transforming a Yard from Invasives to Natives. Register

4 pm March 15th Grow Native! Webinar: Gardens of Excellence Panel. Includes Cody Hayo on the gardens of South Grand Business District. Register

6 pm March 16th Seed St. Louis Zoom Class: Growing & Processing Staple Foods. Register

10 am March 17th Missouri Conservation Dept Zoom Class: Creating Soft Landings for Pollinators. 42 seats remaining. Register

6 pm March 23rd Seed St. Louis Zoom Class: Spring Crops & Planning your Growing Space. Register

9 am March 25th Forest ReLeaf event. Volunteers wanted. Tree Planting at Ruth Porter Mall Spring Tree Planting, St. Vincent Greenway. Register

Volunteers Wanted for 10 am March 27th Delmar (Vandeventer to Boyle) Litter Pick Up on Tree Planting Day. Join SLACO, Forest ReLeaf, Vandeventer Community Development Corp, Brightside St. Louis, and AmeriCorps to clean up Delmar as City Forestry plants 102 trees. Register

4 pm March 29th Grow Native! Zoom Master Class: Prairie Garden Primer for Town and Country. Free to Missouri Prairie Foundation members and Grow Native professional members. $15 nonmembers. Register

9 am to Noon April 1st Seed St. Louis Spring Plant Sale @ Carriage House, 3815 Bell. Arrive early for best selection. Bring a box lid to carry your plants. $4 seedling 6-packs. Available at this Sale: Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Bok Choy, Collards, Dinosaur Kale, Lettuce

Native Plant Sales Return: 8 am to 4 pm April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 and May 20, 27 Missouri Wildflower Nursery @ Kirkwood Farmer’s Market. Order in advance– by Tuesday prior to market day- or buy what they bring to Market

8 am to 2 pm April 15th Native Plant Workshop and Plant Sale at Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center, Kirkwood. Hosted by Partners for Native Landscaping.

April 28th-29th St. Louis Herb Society Plant Sale @ Missouri Botanical Garden

9 am April 30th Partners for Native Landscaping Native Plant Sale & Native Plant Swap @ Beyond Housing. Preorder from vendors for pick up or shop from what is available that day.

9 am to Noon May 13th Seed St. Louis Summer Plant Sale @ Carriage House, 3815 Bell. Arrive early for best selection. Bring a box lid to carry your plants. $4 seedling 6-packs. Available at this Sale: Basil, Eggplant, Sweet & Hot Peppers, Tomatoes, Mint, Lavender, Rhubarb, Sorrel, more

10 am May 13th World Bird Sanctuary Native Plant Sale. Preorder from vendors for pick up or shop from what is available that day.

Join us Sundays on Spoutible or Twitter for #GardenSunday to interact with other outdoor and indoor gardeners and nature enthusiasts, ask questions, give answers, share photos.

This Week in Gardening & Nature

A Life Bird for a President. The true story of how former President Jimmy Carter saw his first Painted Bunting. – August 2012 issue of BirdWatching. Painted Buntings are seen in Southwest Missouri with occasional sightings in St. Charles County Mo and St. Clair County IL as well as Boone County in Central Missouri.

Missouri Botanical Garden Spring and Summer Classes

Nature, Gardening, Horticulture, Ecology: 2023 St. Louis Community College Continuing Education Classes, some online, some in person. Fees apply

New Direction’s in the American Landscsapes’ March – April Virtual Education Series. Classes are $42 each and are 2-5 sessions each.

Wild Ones Free St. Louis Native Garden Design

Wild Ones Sample Native Plants Ordinance

Thru next Sunday Orchid Show at Missouri Botanical Garden. Tickets

Start eggplant and lettuce seeds indoors this week. Plan your 2023 Garden with Seed St. Louis Seed Starting/Planting Calendar

Blog post on Mushrooms: buying spores from Seed St. Louis, growing info, mushroom hunting in MO and IL, online class, psychedelics legislation, more

10 am Thursday Missouri Conservation Dept. Virtual Class: Becoming a Bluebird Landlord. Register

6 pm Thursday Seed St. Louis Zoom Class: Who is Pollinating Your Food? Register

9-11 am Saturday Missouri Botanical Garden Black History Month event: Black Farmer Panel Discussion @ Visitor Center. Free to St. Louis City and St. Louis County residents with proof of residency and MoBot members.

Volunteers Wanted for 9 am Saturday Forest ReLeaf Tree Pruning at Penrose Park. Register

10 am Saturday Missouri Conservation Dept Virtual Class: DIY Native Landscape Design. 12 Seats remaining. Register

10 am March 1st Bellefontaine in Bloom at Bellefontaine Cemetery. 2 Hour Walking Tour with Master Guide. Register

Noon March 1st Missouri Conservation Dept Zoom Class: Mushrooms- Meet the Morels. Register

4 pm March 1st Missouri Prairie Foundation Zoom Class: Deciphering Botanical Latin. Register

3:30 pm March 3rd Missouri Conservation Dept Zoom Class: Native Plants- Creating a Butterfly Garden. Register

8 am March 4th St. Louis Audubon Society Beginner Bird Walk @ Forest Park. Free. Register

10 am March 4th Missouri Conservation Dept event at Powder Valley Conservation Nature Area: Family Invasive Species Day. Ages 12 and older. Register

7 pm March 7th St. Louis County Library Zoom Class: Birds, Bees, Flowers & Trees. Register

2 pm March 8th St. Louis County Library Zoom Class: Homegrown National Park is Growing Here! Register

7:30 am to Noon March 10th Grow Native’s Native By Design: Community Conservation Conference at Lewis & Clark Community College, Edwardsville IL. Register

3:30 pm March 10th Missouri Conservation Dept Zoom Class: Planting an Edible Native Garden. Register

9 am to Noon March 11th Seed St. Louis Spring Sale @ Carriage House, 3815 Bell. Arrive early for best selection. Bring a box lid to carry your plants. Available at this Sale: Sweet Potato slips, Onion bulbs, Asparagus crowns, bare root Strawberries, Leek starts, Mushroom spawn, all with instructions

10 am March 11th Missouri Conservation Dept event at Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center: Native Plants- Tasty Tree-ts. Learn how to make Shagbark Hickory bark syrup. 8 Tickets remaining. Register

Noon March 14th Missouri Conservation Dept Zoom Class: Native Plants- Caring for Pollinators. Register

7 pm March 14th St. Louis County Public Library Zoom Class: Container Gardening with Native Plants. Register

2 pm March 15th St. Louis County Public Library Zoom Class: Transforming a Yard from Invasives to Natives. Register

6 pm March 16th Seed St. Louis Zoom Class: Growing & Processing Staple Foods. Register

9 am March 25th Forest ReLeaf event. Volunteers wanted. Tree Planting at Ruth Porter Mall Spring Tree Planting, St. Vincent Greenway. Register

April 28th-29th St. Louis Herb Society Plant Sale @ Missouri Botanical Garden

9 am April 30th Partners for Native Landscaping Native Plant Sale & Native Plant Swap @ Beyond Housing. Preorder from vendors for pick up or shop from what is available that day.

10 am May 13th World Bird Sanctuary Native Plant Sale. Preorder from vendors for pick up or shop from what is available that day.

Join us Sundays on Spoutible or Twitter for #GardenSunday to interact with other outdoor and indoor gardeners and nature enthusiasts, ask questions, give answers, share photos.