For many Native American communities, three plants have played a vital role in indigenous agricultural practices – corn, beans, and squash. Known as The Three Sisters, these plants demonstrate how people can benefit from working with nature rather than against it. Who are the Three Sisters? Photos by Robin Powell, Gerrit Davidse, and Tom Incrocci…
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Death Plants: Plants and their symbolism in graveyards
Throughout history, plants have played a symbolic role in human burial practices as parts of graveyard landscapes and on individual tombstones. The meaning of each plants can vary depending on religious affiliations. As part of a research project done through the William L. Brown Center and University of Missouri St. Louis, Tonia O’Neal put together…
Wild Crops of America
As our natural food supply faces threats from climate change and habitat loss, crop wild relatives have been a recent research darling. Crop wild relatives can provide genetic diversity that modern agriculture lacks, offering better resistance to disease and pests. Much research on these wild species has taken place in distant locales, like Kyrgyzstan, which…
Trying Chaya: Introducing a Superfood in Madagascar to Address Food Insecurity
In many parts of Madagascar, crop farmers face a food shortage every year between harvests. To try to help with this issue of food insecurity, the Missouri Botanical Garden is starting a trial introducing a super food to farmers: chaya, a perennial spinach-like crop native to Central America. The hope is that once a few…
Is it Time for You to Go Solar?
Have you considered solar power in your home, but been overwhelmed by information and options? The Grow-Solar group buy program aims to make it easier, and cheaper, for homeowners to switch to solar! What is GrowSolar? Grow Solar Gateway Region combines Grow Solar St. Louis and Grow Solar Metro East. It is designed to help…
Sunflowers for Sustainability
On a vacant lot in the Old North neighborhood in St. Louis, bright yellow sunflowers bloom against a backdrop of brick buildings and a distant view of the Gateway Arch. Years ago, this picturesque scene was a bit bleaker, with construction debris and weeds filling the lot instead of flowers. In stepped the the Sunflower+…
2023 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 to…
Urban Garden Dreams: Student Community Art at the Sachs Museum
Urban Garden Dreams: Student Community Art is currently installed in the Stephen and Peter Sachs Museum, which is open daily for visitors, 11:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. It will be on view through March 2024. The exhibition content is available online at the Museum Twitter account here and the Museum Instagram account here. Please check the Museum site here for updates and future online events.
Collections Highlight: A Look at Daylilies
Daylilies have been cultivated by humans for years, originally more for food purposes than beauty. Today, there are more than 80,000 registered cultivars of daylilies.
Plant Profile: Coneflowers
A staple of many wildflower gardens in Missouri because of its beautiful blooms, coneflowers a have a long history of human use, including curing snakebites.
Gardening Help FAQ
The Kemper Center for Home Gardening answers some of the most common gardening help questions from St. Louis gardeners this spring.
Saving Spring: Growing Rare and Endangered Magnolias
An emblem of spring, magnolias are celebrated for their beautiful white and pink flowers that bloom early in the season. While common in home landscapes, half of all magnolia species are threatened with extinction in the wild. They are found around the globe, and are mainly threatened by logging activity as well as habitat loss…