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.

Pumpkin Spice Plants

Autumn has become synonymous with “pumpkin spice.” You can find pumpkin spice lattes, breakfast cereal, cookies, candies, and seemingly every other type of pre-packaged food available. But what exactly is pumpkin spice, botanically speaking?  The flavors most associated with “sweater weather” are actually a blend of spices from tropical plants.  The five most common spices…

All About Pumpkins

From pumpkin spice lattes to jack-o-lanterns, pumpkins have become a universal symbol of fall. Pumpkins also come from an enormously diverse plant family, Cucurbitaceae, which contains more than 100 genera and over 700 species. In the U.S., any round, orange squash is likely to be called a pumpkin, but the term “pumpkin” has no real…

Scroll Through the Garden: September

September is the final month of summer, and its autumnal equinox ushers in the fall season. Take a scroll through the bright blooms of late summer and the first hints of fall color.

Fall Color in Your Yard

As temperatures cool off, it’s finally starting to feel like autumn outside. This means it’s time to enjoy bold fall foliage. But that doesn’t have to be limited to the red, orange, and yellow leaves of trees in the fall. Grasses, shrubs, and showy berries can all add beautiful color to your garden in the…

Fall Foliage at Shaw Nature Reserve

Shaw Nature Reserve is one of the best places in the St. Louis region to experience fall, as seemingly endless acres of tree canopies change from deep greens to luscious red, orange, and yellow hues.   There are several ways to enjoy the splendor of the season at the Reserve. 14 miles of hiking trails…

The Prairie: The First Landscape of Fall

As September begins we notice the subtle changes from summer to fall. The days are slowly getting shorter, monarchs abound, migrating bird species can be spotted, and the prairies are in full bloom.   The prairie is an ecosystem dominated by grasses and wildflowers with few trees or shrubs. Prairie once covered the central 1/3…