Plant of the Week: Swiss Chard. This beautiful, nutritious, easy to grow, vegetable is still producing in Zone 6b after a “last” harvest cutting two weeks ago and hard freezes. Cover these plants to extend the season thru winter.

The perfect holiday or birthday gift for the person who has everything: Adopt a Regal Fritillary Butterfly via Missouri Prairie Foundation

It’s never too early to start planning your 2024 Garden: Seed St. Louis Planting Calendar

Thru December 31st Sachs Butterfly House event: Winter Jewels- An Enchanted Celebration, Chesterfield, St. Louis County. Tickets

Thru January 6th Garden Glow at Missouri Botanical Garden. Tickets

Want a front yard native landscape makeover? Enter Grow Native! and Wild Ones St. Louis Chapter 2024 Landscape Challenge

January 15th Deadline for Missouri community gardens, conservation groups, parks, schools to apply for Missouri Prairie Foundation Prairie Garden Grants

February 28th Deadline to apply for Missouri Coalition for the Environment High School Student Environmental Action Award

Good Reads & Views—

Missouri Native Plant Top 10 Lists (Grow Native) Native Plants for Children, Poorly Drained Clay Soil, Sun, Shade, Half Sun & Half Shade, Under Utility Poles, Rain Gardens, Kitchen Gardens, Bees, Pollinators in Winter, Hummingbirds, Wildlife, Butterflies, More

If you’re in 6a-7a zones, there is a ton of useful gardening information available on Seed St. Louis YouTube channel

A lovers’ tale of romance, fidelity and aviary netting keeping them apart. Julieta, a wild bird, has been coming to see Romeo, who lives in a Rio de Janeiro zoo aviary, every day for 20 years. (Free read via my Washington Post subscription)

2023 Plants of Merit – Annuals, Bulbs, Edibles, Perennials, Shrubs, Trees, Vines (Missouri Botanical Garden)

2023 Plants of Demerit – Bamboo, Big Leaf Hydrangea, Blueberry, Burning Bush, Chameleon Plant, Lavender, Pin Oak, Wintercreeper (Missouri Botanical Garden)

Gardening and Nature Events

10 am Tuesday, November 28th, Bellefontaine Cemetery Trolley Tour: 2 Hour Horticulture & History guided tour. $5. Register.

6 pm Wednesday, November 29th, Missouri Conservation Department Zoom Class: Whacky Woodpeckers. Register

1 pm Thursday, November 30th, Missouri Conservation Department Zoom Class: Black Bears of Missouri. Register

1:30 pm Thursday, November 30th, Bellefontaine Cemetery Leaf Walk. 2 Hour Horticulture & History guided tour. Register

6 pm Thursday, November 30th, Seed St. Louis Zoom Class: Tree Saps & Syrups. Register

6:30 pm Thursday, November 30th, Missouri Conservation Department Zoom Class: Attracting Backyard Birds. Register

8 am Saturday, December 2nd, St. Louis Audubon Society Beginner Bird Walk at Forest Park. Register

8 am Saturday, December 2nd, Missouri Conservation Department In Person Class @ Forest Park Hatchery: Learn to Fish, All About Trout, Lesson 1. 4 Seats remaining. Register

9 am Saturday, December 2nd, Forest ReLeaf Christy Greenway Tree Planting, Old St. Marcus Cemetery Park. Register

8 am Sunday, December 3rd, Missouri Conservation Department In Person Class @ Forest Park Hatchery: Learn to Fish, All About Trout, Lesson 2. 10 Seats remaining. Register

4 pm December 6th Missouri Prairie Foundation Webinar: Honduras- A Natural Haven for Migratory Birds. Register.

10 am December 7th Seed St. Louis and St. Louis County Library Zoom Class: Tree Saps & Syrups. Register

6-8:30 pm December 7th Missouri Coalition for the Environment Holiday Party, University City, St. Louis County. Register

8 am Saturday, December 9th, Missouri Conservation Department In Person Class @ Forest Park Hatchery: Learn to Fish, All About Trout, Lesson 1. 10 Seats remaining. Register

1 pm December 9th St. Louis Public Library In Person Event @ Carpenter Library: All About Eagles with World Bird Sanctuary. Register.

8 am December 10th Missouri Conservation Department In Person Class @ Forest Park Hatchery: Learn to Fish, All About Trout, Lesson 2. 10 Seats remaining. Register

8:30 am December 13th Piasa Sierra Club event @ La Vista Trail, Godfrey, Illinois: Invasive Species Management Training & Work Day. Register.

Noon December 13th Missouri Conservation Department Zoom Class: Winter Woodpeckers. Register

6 pm December 14th Seed St. Louis In Person Class: Growing Fruit from Winter Cuttings. Registration Not Required.

9 am December 15th Missouri Conservation Department Zoom Class: Backyard Bird Watching. Register.

8 am December 16th Missouri Conservation Department In Person Class @ Forest Park Hatchery: Learn to Fish, All About Trout, Lesson 1. 7 Seats remaining. Register

10 am December 16th Piasa Sierra Club event: Treehouse Wildlife Center Tour, Jersey County, Illinois. $5. Register.

8 am December 17th Missouri Conservation Department In Person Class @ Forest Park Hatchery: Learn to Fish, All About Trout, Lesson 2. 3 Seats remaining. Register

2 pm December 19th Missouri Conservation Department Zoom Class: Creature Feature- River Otter. Register

10 am December 20-29th Missouri Botanical Garden holiday break fun for kids: Budding Scientist- Celebrate Urban Birds.  $3 each child. Register

1 pm December 20-29th Missouri Botanical Garden holiday break fun for kids: Budding Scientist- Celebrate Urban Birds.  $3 each child. Register

4 pm December 20th Missouri Prairie Foundation Webinar: Challenges and Opportunities for Conserving Rare Grassland Plants. Register.

8 am December 24th Missouri Conservation Department In Person Class @ Forest Park Hatchery: Learn to Fish, All About Trout, Lessons 1 & 2. 7 Seats remaining. Register

4:30 pm December 31st Missouri Conservation Department New Year’s Eve Stroll to the Confluence, Columbia Bottom Conservation Area. 16 Tickets remaining. Register.

8:30 am January 1st Piasa Sierra Club event: New Years Day Hike @ Pere Marquette State Park, Grafton, Illinois. Register.

2 pm January 13th St. Louis Public Library In Person Class @ Carpenter Library: Intro to Plant-spotting- Common St. Louis Flowers & Weeds.

1 pm February 10th St. Louis Public Library Class @ Central Library: Top 10 Orchids for Home. Register.

January 27th thru February 25th Orchid Show at Missouri Botanical Garden. Garden Admission is free to residents of St. Louis City and St. Louis County on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.

1 pm March 6th St. Louis Public Library In Person Class @ Central Library: Alien Invasion! Plants with Betsy Alexander, Master Gardener from the Missouri Botanical Gardens Master Gardener Program. Register.

March 8th-9th Midwestern Herb & Garden Show in Mount Vernon, Illinois (little over an hour drive from St. Louis City)

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