The Kemper Center for Home Gardening is the largest non-profit gardening information center of its kind in the nation. That means they get a lot of gardening questions every week. Many of those questions are about pests wreaking havoc on home gardeners. The type of pests doing the most damage varies from year to year,…
Category: Home Gardening
Plants of Demerit
Recently, the Kemper Center for Home Gardening shared a blog post on the 2019 Plants of Merit, which are easy to grow, noninvasive, ornamentally attractive, less susceptible to common problems like insects or diseases, and reasonably available to purchase. To really provide a full picture of what works, and doesn’t, in Missouri backyards, the Kemper…
2019 Plants of Merit
Every year since 1998, the Missouri Botanical Garden has partnered with other regional horticultural institutions to select Plants of Merit. Plants of Merit are chosen for outstanding quality and dependable performance in Missouri, southern and central Illinois, and the Kansas City metro area. To qualify as a Plant of Merit, the plants must be easy…
Help for the Home Gardener
Using What We’ve Learned in Our Garden to Help You Manage Yours
Flora, Fauna, and Fortune: Looking for Luck in Nature
For centuries, people have looked to nature for symbols of good fortune. Now the Blues are on the brink of making history, and fans across St. Louis are doing whatever they can to bring a little luck our way. It’s in honor of these noble efforts that we offer this brief history of a few…
Caring for Your Young Trees
Spring is finally getting underway with some warmer temperatures, which means many of you are out in your gardens planting flowers and perhaps even saplings. Spring is a wonderful time to plant a new tree, but keep in mind that young trees need a little extra love. The Kemper Center for Home Gardening shares the…
Pruning for Non-Professionals
As we get into gardening season, more tedious tasks like pruning may be on the mind of wary home gardeners. For many gardeners, pruning can seem like a daunting task best left for the classically-trained professional. But with a bit of knowledge and practice, anyone can understand the basics of pruning. The Kemper Center for…
Enhancing Your Landscape for Winter
Spring is just around the corner, which has many people waiting for warm weather and blooming flowers. While you’re waiting for temperatures to warm up, take the time to appreciate the beauty of landscapes in the winter. Many people think of winter as the least interesting to be outside. But if you look a little…
Orchid Cultivation for the Home Gardener
Every year, the Orchid Show turns the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Orthwein Display Hall into a tropical oasis brimming with vibrant, blooming orchids. Visitors can take in a display that features between 400 and 500 orchids from the Garden’s permanent collect, which includes about 6,300 orchids. The display is lovely, and can also leave the home…
Protecting Houseplants from Pests
The cold weather may be keeping you away from your backyard garden, but it’s a wonderful time to focus on your plants indoors. Winter is also when houseplants are especially susceptible to issues like pests. The shorter days mean a reduced photosynthetic output, which in turn means plants can produce fewer protective chemicals. Reduced humidity…
Accomplish Your Gardening Goals for the New Year by Starting a Garden Journal
The New Year is a wonderful time to refresh, make goals for the year ahead, and get more yourself organized. If gardening is an area where you could use more organization, a garden journal is a wonderful solution. In addition to helping with organization, garden journals can help you increase productivity in your garden, collect…
Caring for Your Cut Christmas Tree
Choosing a fresh fir over a plastic pine for your Christmas tree has some definite perks. There’s the chance to make special memories cutting a tree down at a farm or carefully choosing the right one from a lot. And, of course, there’s the irreplaceable fresh evergreen smell that comes with a cut Christmas tree….
