Plant of the Week: native Butterfly Weed, Asclepias tuberosa

Go see the Sunflowers Fields at Columbia Bottom Conservation Area

Highly recommend visiting Prairie State Park, Missouri’s tall grass prairie home to a bison herd. It’s 4 1/2 Hours drive from St. Louis, 2 Hours from KC. There’s campground w/ vault toilet. Also, primitive camping at nearby Shawnee Trail Conservation. For hotel, Joplin is 30 minutes away.

If you are only looking for St. Louis Area Plant Sales, here’s a page for them. Updated this week with Aug 9th Online Ordering Begins for Shaw Nature Reserve Fall Wildflower Market and Missouri Wildflowers Nursery will be selling at Oct 4-6 Best of Missouri Market at MoBot

August 11th to December 23rd University of Missouri Extension Online Master Gardener Core Training. $200

August 30th Deadline to Enter Wild Ones Native Flora & Fauna Photography Contest: categories- Living Things, Landscapes, Winter, Events

August 31st Deadline to Enter Missouri Conservation Department’s Busch Conservation Area (St. Charles Mo) Wildlife Photography Contest. Submit photos of native Mo wildlife, trees, plants at Busch Conservation Area or Weldon Spring Conservation Area.

September 1st Deadline to Enter Missouri Department of Natural Resources Photography Contest. Submit photos of Natural Resources, Unique Places (state parks, historic sites), People Enjoying Outdoors

November 15th Deadline for Grade Schools to High Schools, Youth Groups, Community Groups with youth programs, to apply for Wild Ones’ Lorrie Otto Seeds for Education Program Grants: native plant use in pollinator gardens, rain gardens to improve water quality, tallgrass prairies, Monarch waystations featuring community science activities, and sensory and natural playgrounds.

Plan your garden with  Seed St. Louis Planting Calendar

Good Reads/Views —

A good resource for starting and maintaining a Seed Library (Seed Library Network) Some Seed Libraries in Missouri

Raising & Harvesting Okra (University of Illinois Extension)

This Long-Dead Scientist’s Collection of Rare Seeds Could Help Keep Us Alive. “Essentially we have uncovered a goldmine.” (Mother Jones)

This butterfly went extinct. That’s not the end of the story. The Xerces blue butterfly vanished from San Francisco in the 1940s. Scientists just released dozens of butterflies from a related species to take its place. Gift article (Washington Post)

A House Cat Was Brought to A Remote Island In 1894—A Year Later a Species Was Extinct (Forbes)

(Paywall) First Place Winner of St. Louis Post-Dispatch Garden Contest is Soulardian Steve Kotsines on S 12th. Well done!

Missouri Governor Mike Parson vetoed the near $500,000 that would reimburse the Missouri Ag Department’s meat inspection program for unexpected costs and Missouri’s ag director says the agency will go back to the drawing board. (Brownfield Ag News)

Illinois Native Plants for the Home Landscape

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

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 —

Going on now. Order Online: Brightside St. Louis Blooming Spring Daffodil & Tulip Sale. Carlton Daffodils- 30 bulbs $17. Midwest Mix Daffodils 30 for $17, 5 each Carlton, Barrett Browning, Pink Charm, Slim Whitman, Tahiti, Suada. Brightside Red Hybrid Darwin Tulip- 30 bulbs $17. Pink Impression Tulips- 30 bulbs $17. Pick up 11 am to 4 pm October 11th and 9 am to Noon October 12th at Forest Park Greenhouse. Orders to be shipped will be sent the week of October 7th.

St. Louis Gardeners: Growing more veggies than you can eat? Drop off by Noon Mondays-Tuesdays at The Garden Shop on Hampton. There’s a table for donated produce. Donated veggies go to Growing Food, Growing People

1:30 pm Tuesday, July 23rd, University of Illinois Extension Webinar: Companion Planting- Bountiful and Beautiful Together. Register

6 pm Tuesday, July 23rd, St. Louis Public Library event at Buder Library: Urban Homesteading: ABC’s of Honey Bees

5:30 pm Wednesday, July 24th, Bellefontaine Cemetery History & Horticulture Sunset Stroll with Master Guide. Register

5 Tickets remaining. For Kids 0-7 years. 10:30 am Thursday, July 25th, Missouri Conservation Department event at Tower Grove Park: Conservation Kids- You and Me under the Canopy, Tales and Tails. Register

Volunteers Wanted in Madison County IL. 8 am Saturday, July 27th, Heartlands Conservancy event: Arlington Wetlands Volunteer Workday. Register. More on Arlington Wetlands

Volunteers Wanted. 8 am Saturday, July 27th: clean-ups and beautification in Penrose Neighborhood and at Peace Park, College Hill Neighborhood

1 pm Saturday, July 27th, St. Louis Public Library event with River City Natives at Buder Library: Urban Homesteading- Using Native Plants in Your Urban Yard.

6 pm July 29th St. Louis County Library & Left Banks Book author event at Clark Family Branch: Nature Writer Amy Stewart, Author of “The Tree Collectors: Tales of Arboreal Obsession.” Register

10 am July 30th Bellefontaine Cemetery History & Horticulture Trolley Tour with Master Guide. $5. Register

1 pm July 30th Missouri Conservation Department Zoom Class: Snakes of Missouri. Register

6 pm July 30th St. Louis Public Library event at Buder Library: Urban Homesteading- Carnivorous Plants 101

4 pm July 31st Missouri Prairie Foundation Webinar: Dark Sky as a Natural Resource presented by Dr. Vayujeet Gokhale. Learn about the problem and solutions to light pollution. Register

5:30 pm July 31st Bellefontaine Cemetery History & Horticulture Sunset Stroll with Master Guide. Register

9 am August 1st Missouri Conservation Department event at Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center: Guided Nature Walk with Naturalist. Register

3 pm August 1st Missouri Conservation Department Zoom Class: Missouri Bees. Register

7:30-10:30 am August 2nd Missouri Conservation Department and Wild Bird Sanctuary event at Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center, Kirkwood: Bird-Banding Demo

8 am August 3rd St. Louis Audubon Society event at Forest Park: Beginner Bird Walk. Register

9 am to 5 pm August 3rd Greater St. Louis Iris Society Iris Sale at Missouri Botanical Garden. Garden admission free to St. Louis City and County residents on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.

10 am August 3rd Bellefontaine Cemetery History & Horticulture Trolley Tour with Master Guide. $5. Register

2 Seats remaining. For Kids ages 0-7. 10:30 am August 8th Missouri Conservation Department event at Tower Grove Park: You and Me under the Canopy- Splish, Splash. Register

9 am August 9th Online Ordering Begins for Pick Up at September 6th Shaw Nature Reserve Fall Wildflower Market

2 pm August 9th St. Louis County Library class at Mid-County Branch: Homesteading- Windowsill Herbs. Register

9 am August 10th Seed St. Louis Fall Seedling Sale: 4-packs for $3.50 each- Bok Choy, Broccoli (purple & green), Cabbage (red & green), Cauliflower, Collards, Edible Hosta, Lettuce (red & green), Misome (Tatsoi Hybrid)

8 Seats remaining. 10 am August 10th Missouri Conservation Department event at Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center, Kirkwood: Nature Art, Watercolor Painting: Summer Meadows. No experience necessary, all supplies provided. Register

11 am and 1 pm August 10th Missouri Botanical Garden event: Sachs Museum Performance Series- “A Corn-Fed Musical Comedy Performance” by Opera Bell Band. Seating first come, first served. Garden Admission is free to St. Louis City and St. Louis County residents Saturday and Wednesday mornings.

1:30 pm August 13th University of Illinois Extension Webinar: Foodscaping- Creating Snacks Among the Flower Beds. Register

9 am August 15th Missouri Conservation Department event at Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center: Guided Nature Walk with Naturalist. Register

6 pm August 15th Willoughby Farm, Table to Garden, Seed St. Louis In Person Composting Series, Collinsville IL: Bokashi. $12. Register

19 Tickets remaining. 6 pm August 15th Missouri Conservation Department event at Forest Park Hatchery: Fishing Lesson 1- Equipment, Casting, & Proper Fish Handling. Register

9 am to 1 pm August 16th Missouri Conservation Department event at Lincoln University’s Carver Farm, Jefferson City: Pollinator Workshop. Register

9 am to 5 pm August 17th Missouri Botanical Garden Daylily Association Plant Sale at Missouri Botanical Garden. Garden admission free to St. Louis City and County residents on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.

10-11:30 am August 17th Homegrown Hot Sauce Class with Urban Harvest’s Chef Queenie at Rung, Fox Park. Register

Noon to 5 pm August 18th Orchid Society of Greater St. Louis Auction at Missouri Botanical Garden. Garden admission fee required.

21 Tickets available. 5 pm August 22nd Missouri Conservation Department event at Forest Park Hatchery: Fishing Lesson 2- How to Tie a Knot & Bait a Hook. Register

6 pm August 22nd Wild Ones Webinar: Combating the Biodiversity Crisis with Native Plants presented by Sarah Gray and Coralie Palmer from the Indiana Native Plant Society. Register

August 24th Soulard’s Art in the Garden Tour fundraiser for Beautification Committee, Soulard Restoration Group

3-7 pm September 6th Shaw Nature Reserve Fall Wildflower Market

9 am to 5 pm September 7th Gateway West Gesneriad Society Show and Sale at Missouri Botanical Garden. Garden admission free to St. Louis City and County residents on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.

September 13th, 14th, 15th Kirkwood Greentree Festival at Kirkwood Park. Greater St. Louis Daffodil Society sells Daffodil bulbs at this event.

6 pm September 19th Willoughby Farm, Table to Garden, Seed St. Louis In Person Composting Series, Collinsville IL: Static Systems. $12. Register

9 am to 5 pm September 28th Rose Society of Greater St. Louis Show at Missouri Botanical Garden. Garden admission free to St. Louis City and County residents on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.

September 22nd Bring Conservation Home Native Plant Expo at Tower Grove Park

October 4-6 Best of Missouri Market at Missouri Botanical Garden: Missouri Wildflowers Nursery is a vendor. Buy from what the bring or order online for pick up at event. Garden admission free to St. Louis City and County residents on Saturday and Wednesday mornings.

9 am October 5th Seed St. Louis Garlic Sale

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