This Week in Gardening & Nature

Joe Pye Weed- a tall plant with clusters of tiny pink flowers

Plant of the Week: Joe Pye Weed

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

Tips on Drying Flowers

What an hour of gardening does to your body

City of St. Louis would like your help watering trees

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 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.

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11 am Wednesday, July 26th, Missouri Conservation Department Zoom Class: Hummingbirds. Register

11 am Thursday, July 27th, Missouri Conservation Department Zoom Class: Snakes of Missouri. Register. Also, download MDC’s A Guide to Missouri Snakes

6 pm Thursday, July 27th, Seed St. Louis Zoom Class: The Forgotten Season- Fall Gardening at Home and School. Register

9 am to 5 pm Saturday, July 29th and 8 am to 4 pm Sunday, July 30th Shaw Cactus and Succulent Society Annual Show & Sale at Jost Event Center, Overland, St. Louis County

8 pm Saturday, July 29th Stargazing at Tower Grove Park

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

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

4 pm 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 August 3rd Missouri Conservation Department Zoom Class: Making Friends with Fritillaries Register

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

9 am to 5 pm August 5th & 6th 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.

August 5th Green Living Festival at Missouri Botanical Garden. Garden Admission is FREE to St. Louis City and St. Louis County residents 7 am to Noon Wednesdays and Saturdays.

13 Seats remaining. 10 am 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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

9 am to 5 pm September 16th & 17th Greater St. Louis Daylily 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.

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

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

Close up of yellow with red center accent partridge pea flowers with fern-like leaves growing in garden

Garden path overgrown with yellow flowering partridge pea plants with fern-like leaves

Plant of the Week: Partridge Pea

Looking at you, St. Louis City. Boston is having their 27th annual Mayor’s Garden Contest. Prizes! Multiple year winners enter Hall of Fame, can’t enter again but serve as contest judges.

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

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

July Gardening To Do List from P. Allen Smith

It’s Sunflower Season at Columbia Bottom Nature Conservation Area

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

What Milkweed is Deer Resistant?
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In the News…
+ Free read via my WaPo subscription: Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ taint nearly half of U.S. tap water, study estimates. The research adds to the evidence that PFAS chemicals are as pervasive as they are long-lasting in the environment
+ From KCUR NPR: A Kansas gardener is suing for the right to sell honey and fruit from her Ottawa yard
+ From Prevention Magazine: The 12 Best Mosquito Repellent Plants to Try in Your Garden
+ Free read via my WaPo subscription: Why fireflies are going extinct and what you can do about it
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4 pm Thursday, July 13th Seed St. Louis Happy Hour for Educators & Parents of School Gardeners at Civil Life Brewing, Tower Grove South

6 pm Thursday, July 13th Seed St. Louis Zoom Class: Summer Care of Orchard Trees, Vines, and Cane Fruit. Register

6:30 pm Thursday, July13th Missouri Conservation Department Online Class: Invasive Species Series- Wintercreeper. Register

10 am Friday, July 14th Kids event at Tower Grove Park: Children’s Performance Series- EcoTones, Beings of the Air Trio Concert

5:30 pm Friday, July 14th Horticulture & History Tour at Bellefontaine Cemetery: Sunset Stroll. Register

6:30-9:30 pm Saturday, July 15th Tower Grove Park Nature Night Film Series: A Bug’s Life. Includes educational activities & crafts via The U.S. Forest Service, the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Butterfly House, Great Rivers Greenway, Tower Grove Park, The Mighty Cricket, The Dunlap Lab at UMSL, St. Louis Wildlife Project, Webster Groves Nature Study Society – Entomology Group, Show-Me Green Schools

7 pm Saturday, July 15th Missouri Conservation Department event at Shaw Nature Reserve, Gray Summit, Franklin County: Evening Hike- The Sights & Sounds of Shaw Nature Reserve. 9 Tickets remaining. Register

4 pm July 19th Missouri Prairie Foundation Zoom Master Class: Moths in and Around Grasslands. Free for MPF dues-paying members and Grow Native! professional members. $15 for non-members. Register

6:30 pm July 20th Missouri Conservation Department Online Class: Invasive Species Series- Bush Honeysuckle. Register

10 am to 3 pm July 22nd Green Living Festival at Missouri History Museum

July 29th & 30th Shaw Cactus and Succulent Society Annual Show & Sale. This year at I-70 Business Center, 8195 Lackland Road

4 pm 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

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.

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.

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.

9 am to 5 pm September 16th & 17th Greater St. Louis Daylily 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.

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

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

Friday Deadline to Order from Brightside St. Louis Annual Daffodil & Tulip Sale. 30 for $17. Order now for pick up Sept 30 or Oct 1st at Forest Park Greenhouse.

1:30 pm Friday Leaf Walk at Bellefontaine Cemetery. Master Guide led walking tour. Register

6:30 pm Friday tasteMAKERS Screening: “Winemaking in Missouri” with Cat Neville and Panel at Nine PBS Public Media Commons, 3653 Olive Street. Free Tickets

9 am to Noon Saturday Wells-Goodfellow Clean Up with North Newstead Association, Wellston Loop CDC, Cure Violence, Employment STL. Register

10:30 am to 5 pm Saturday Missouri Department of Conservation Eco Tones Concerts & more at Emmenegger Nature Park, Kirkwood

3-7:30 pm Saturday Grow Native Missouri Native Plant Sale at Meramec State Park, Sullivan, Franklin County. Missouri Wildflower Nursery is one of the vendors. But if you’d like specific plants, order by Tuesday for pick up Saturday.

4-7 pm Saturday ForestReLeaf ArborMeisters Homebrew + Craft Beer Festival at Creve Coeur Park. Tickets: $5 Designated Driver, $35 General Admission, $55 VIP

10:30 am to 5 pm Sunday Missouri Department of Conservation Eco Tones Concerts & more at Emmenegger Nature Park, Kirkwood

Sept 30th Missouri Prairie Foundation Native Plant Sale at Roeslein & Associates, 9200 Watson, Crestwood

Oct 1st Deadline to enter Missouri Department of Natural Resources Photo Contest. Categories: Natural Resources, State Parks and Historic Sites, People Enjoying Missouri Outdoors

Oct 1st St. Louis Audubon Beginner Bird Walk at Forest Park. Register

Oct 1st Seed St. Louis Garlic & Shallots Sale at Carriage House, 3815 Bell. Softneck Garlic ‘Inchelium Red’: 50¢ per clove, Hardneck Garlic ‘Music’: 50¢ per clove, Elephant Garlic: 75¢ per clove, Red Shallots: 50¢ per shallot

Oct 5th Seed St. Louis and St. Louis County Library Workshop: Edible Landscaping at Rock Road Library, St. Ann. Register