First opening its gates in 1859, the Missouri Botanical Garden has a rich history of connecting St. Louis with plants. But did you know St. Louis’ ties to plants also include multiple cultivars bearing its name? The following are stories of three cultivars linked to the Gateway to the West. Nymphaea ‘St. Louis’ Nymphaea ‘St….
Cajun Cooking, Chubby Cheeks, and Dumbledore: The Iris Name Game
Everybody knows to stop and smell the roses, but do you stop to read the signs? Peak Iris bloom is expected to hit around the second week of May, and if you read the name plates, you’ll notice something unusual in the Goodman Iris Garden: the flower names. Among the Irises, you’ll see names like…
Spotlight on Science: Olga Martha Montiel
Olga Martha MontielVice President, Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development Olga Martha Montiel is not a scientist by training. In fact, Montiel, who co-authored the Flora de Nicaragua and heads the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development(CCSD), actually holds a master’s degree in photography. She intended to pursue a career in documentary…
Have Ewe Herd? The Sheep Are on the Move
For the first time in over a decade, the Garden’s scientists have noted a change in the behavior of that famous flock of sheep. They have now migrated to a fresh new grazing patch 20 feet from their original location. Anyone who knows the Garden knows the sheep sculptures just as well. A familiar staple…
Turning Special Interests into a Career: Horticulture and Autism
Horticulture, botany, conservation, and education are all fields people on the autism spectrum often have interest in, and in which they can excel.
From the Library: Rebuilding the Bateman Book (Part 7)
Conservation work on the Peter H. Raven Library’s copy of The Orchidaceae of Mexico and Guatemala is underwayhas! Follow along as we document this painstaking restoration of one of the largest and grandest volumes in the Garden’s rare book collection. As of March 2019, Bateman’s Orchidaceae of Mexico and Guatemala had been surface cleaned, mended, filled…
Collection Connection: John Muir
Through the plants Muir collected, we can catch a glimpse of the Yosemite he first experienced more than a century ago.
Grow a Reusable Bag Habit This Earth Day
Reusable bags are beautiful, functional, and a really impactful way to help halt plastic pollution. So why don’t we all use ‘em? The EarthWays Center staff poses this question whenever we educate companies, classes, or visitors about recycling. The #1 answer we hear is: I can’t remember to take my bags when I go to…
Garden of Thrones
Lamenting the end of Game of Thrones? We’re here for you. After all, where else in the 7 kingdoms of St. Louis can you sit on an actual throne? And that’s not the only GoT inspiration you can find at MoBOT. Take the Kingsroad (Kingshighway) to the Missouri Botanical Garden and let your inner dragon…
40 Years of Friendship
Like the roots of a plant growing deeper over time, the bonds between siblings often strengthen with age. As 2019 marks the 40th anniversary of the sister city partnership between the Missouri Botanical Garden’s home in St. Louis, Missouri, and the city of Nanjing in the People’s Republic of China, the Garden continues to play…
A Partnership to Prevent Blight
Chinese chestnut blight has decimated North American members of the genus Castanea, which includes American chestnuts, Allegheny chinkapins, and Ozark chinquapins. The Missouri Botanical Garden’s Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development (CCSD) and Horticulture Division are working with the Ozark Chinquapin Foundation (OCF) on a project that will reveal how well individual Ozark chinquapin trees…
The Science of Looking: The Vast World of Botanical Art
Science and the arts are often treated like totally separate worlds, but the two are not incompatible. They have more in common than meets the eye. “Science and art are really intertwined,” says Nezka Pfeifer, Museum Curator at the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Stephen and Peter Sachs Museum. “They’re not these two separate specializations like we sometimes…
