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Wrapping Up a Hard Year for Home Gardening

It was a tough year for gardeners across the region. Here’s how to put your garden to bed for the season If you’re ready for a fresh start next spring.

Garden Scientists Describe Rare New Species of Leafless Orchid

With such a strong contrast from a typical orchid, the other-worldly translucent pink stem and petals of this leafless species are certainly striking. In fact, João Farminhão was so struck by the beauty of the plant when he saw a photo of it, he went down a research rabbit hole learning all he could about…

Botanical Resonance: Plants and Sounds in the Garden

Botanical Resonance: Plants and Sounds in the Garden is currently installed in the Stephen and Peter Sachs Museum, which is open for visitors Tuesday–Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 4:30pm. The exhibition content is available online through the Museum’s Twitter and Instagram pages. Please check the Museum website for updates and future online events. All about the…

Saving Potted Mums

Mums are a staple in fall gardens. With a little extra care, they can bloom again year after year and save you from making an annual purchase.

Native Plants Monarchs Love

In July 2022, the International Union for Conservation of Nature officially designated the monarch butterfly as an endangered species. The IUCN Red List, of which the Garden is a contributing partner, is considered the world’s leading authority on conservation status of species. The designation is a big step for monarch conservation, but also left many…

Plant Profile: Surprise Lilies

Every spring, Lycoris plants produce green leaves before going dormant. Months later, as if by magic, colorful blooms suddenly appear, long after the leaves are gone. This peculiar flowering habit has earned Lycoris several nicknames—magic lilies, surprise lilies, resurrection lilies, or disappearing lilies—and make them a popular plant for home gardens. Where it comes from…

Making the Mark

Earlier this year, Missouri Botanical Garden Botanist Patrice Antilahimena embarked on a field trip to a protected area managed by the Garden in southern Madagascar. The dry forest, thick with spiny plants was unlike anywhere he had collected before. But the trip was exciting for another reason: Patrice knew it was likely he would make…

Heat-tolerant Plants

As St. Louis and much of the surrounding area experience another round of triple-digit temperatures, the plants around us are feeling it too. Hot, sunny weather will dry out soils quickly. With less water available for the roots to absorb, leaves and stems may start to wilt and flag. An occasional deep, slow watering should…

Plant Profile: St. John’s Wort

As interest grows in native plants, some gardeners may be wondering what kinds of options are available to add to their own backyards. From our experts at the William T. Kemper Home Gardening Center comes a suggestion for a native, flowering shrub with an eye-catching bark: Hypericum prolificum, or St. John’s wort. The unique, layered bark…

American Roses

In 1986, the rose became America’s national flower, succeeding where more than 70 bills had previously failed. The rose’s top competitor was the marigold, a cause that had been championed for years by the late Illinois Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen who noted it was native to America and thrived in all 50 states. An aide…

Honeysuckles Explained

Most gardeners cringe at the word “honeysuckle” these days. But not all species of honeysuckle are bad. Here, the William T. Kemper Home Gardening Center explains which native species you should plant in your garden to attract pollinators and which invasive species you should eradicate wherever possible.

Climate Change and Common Violets

In many Missouri backyards, a carpet of small purple or white violets is a sure sign of spring. In future springs, we’re likely to see more of these cheerful flowers earlier in the season as a result of climate change, a recent study from Garden researchers found. This may seem like an unexpected positive outcome…