The Online Garden Gossip

1011 North Woodlawn, Kirkwood, MO 63122                         314-965-3070                                 www.sugarcreekgardens.com

Up close and personal
with Peggy Hoelting,
Sugar Creek horticulturist

I must have gotten the gardening gene from my ancestors. My father farmed corn, soybeans and cattle. In fact, farming was a way of life for most of my ancestors. Of course I didn’t discover my "passion" until I was well into my 30s. I was a new home owner with a garden of my own.

I was working long hours at my job in retailing. I found myself immersed in the garden on the weekends. I ventured outside in the morning, letting the day slip away until the mosquitoes reminded me that darkness was approaching. After 20 years in retailing, it was time for a change. After much soul searching, I realized my passion was for plants.

                                          continued

Unusual
plant of the month
'Crimson Fans'

Mukendia rossii 'Crimson Fans' is a new heuchera cousin from China.  Large, maple-like leaves emerge green, then age to mid-green splashed with bright red as the summer progresses.  Foliage remains red all summer and is striking in fall as the green areas change to gold.  Numerous white, bell-shaped flowers are held in branched panicles for several weeks from February to April.  An excellent groundcover or specimen plant -- likes part shade.

Features
Overwintering your tropicals

As the gardening season winds down, many of us are facing hard decisions about what to do with the plants in our much-loved containers.  Pitch them?  Overwinter them?  Here's some information about which tropicals you can bring indoors and how to do it.

Why we love
Beautiful Roses Made Easy

Even though frost is on the horizon, the weather is always right to read about our favorite roses and learn about others that do well in our area. 

That's why we like this book so much -- it's geared toward roses that thrive in the Midwest and gives practical advice on how to care for them.  Like this, for climbers:  "Train young climber canes to grow upward on their support when they are just getting started.  Later, when there is more growth, tie the canes more horizontally, since horizontal canes produce more flowers than those that are growing vertically."

Upcoming talks at Sugar Creek:
You're invited, and they're free!

"Outstanding Shrubs for Gardens and Landscapes," Saturday, Oct. 7, 11 a.m., Roxanne Cronin, Horticulturist.   Learn how you can enhance your gardens and landscapes with exquisite shrubs.  Roxanne will show you the plants that will give you luscious blooms, sumptuous fall color, textured winter bark and bright spring foliage.    

 "Window Boxes and Containers for Fall and Winter," Saturday, Oct. 14, 11 a.m., Tina Paletta, Garden Designer and Horticulturist.  Enliven your window boxes and plant containers with the festive foliage and plants of the season.  Learn how to use an exciting variety of  plants for great color and texture that will last through fall, the holiday season and beyond. 

"It’s Not Too Late — Colorful Spring Gardens Begin In The Fall," Saturday, Oct. 21, 11 a.m., Peggy Hoelting, Horticulturist.  For a garden that will explode with color in spring, fall soil preparation and planting is ideal.  Learn all about compost, soil preparation and other fall gardening techniques to help you create traffic stopping gardens.

"Holiday Decorating with Tina Paletta," Saturday, Oct. 28, 11 a.m. Tina will give you a wealth of ways to adorn your home for the holidays, from front porch to party table, hall to hearth.  Learn about the newest ideas for wreaths, mantels, chandeliers, and entryways. 

Karen's gardening calendar

Every few weeks we feature timely advice on things you can do in your garden, thanks to Karen Collins, one of Sugar Creek's longtime employees and a master gardener.

Things you can tackle in your garden this month include:

• Herbs such as parsley, rosemary, chives, thyme, and marjoram can be dug from the garden and placed in pots for growing indoors this winter.
• Autumn is a good time to increase organic matter content to your gardens by adding compost or leaf mold.  We recommend Cotton Burr Compost.
• Plant spring bulbs among ferns, daylilies, hostas, and groundcover -- these plants will hide dying bulb foliage in late spring.
• Continue watering all plants.
• Container-grown shrubs and trees can be planted.  Soil should be loosened five times the diameter of the root ball before planting.  Mulch well after watering.

Fall is the perfect time to plant perennials, shrubs, and trees.