The Gateway Gardener is a regional consumer gardening magazine for the greater metro St. Louis region. Learn more at http://www.GatewayGardener.com
This robin gets two awards from me: Best nest builder of the year and Bravest mom of the year! I don’t know what winds were gusting to this afternoon, but at times I was afraid the sycamore was going to come down on the house! There were multiple times when the nest was upside down. But she clung on and so far both she and the nest are still in the tree! I have video but I have to figure out how to work with it. #
A few weeks ago we received permission from Kirkwood Park’s senior horticulturist to net the legacy tree our older son Chris arranged to have planted in memory of his brother/ our son Michael. Looks like it’s doing its job.
The April issue is making the rounds. Read how to boost the wow factor in your garden with plants that pop all season. Also our Eco-Garden Product Guide helps upgrade your garden sustainability quotient. Scott Woodbury implores us to reimagine lawns, and much more.
I was planting carrot seeds with the grandkids, in the garden near the neighbor’s honeybee hives, so quite a few bees scavenging about. “Don’t worry about them.” I assured the kids” they won’t bother you,” I said. About that time, one of them did indeed “bother” me upside the face! I think they were mad at me for hoeing up the flowering henbit the day before.
This mockingbird has been relentlessly defending its winterberry territory all winter against Bluejays, Robins and all others. But I heard it singing this morning, so maybe spring will finally distract him. Still, those eyes are intense!
After the long 4-month Winter issue span, it’s a pleasure to announce the arrival of the March 2024 issue at your favorite garden center or wherever you pick up your copy! Learn how strategically selected hardy perennials and shrubs can provide beautiful cut flowers all season year after year. Also read about another perennial, asparagus, that will also provide, you know, perennial harvests from your veggie garden. March on!
The folly of being ‘Rijnveld’s Early Sensation’. This frequently happens. But it will be all right. As will the winter aconites, snowdrops and witch hazels blooming in the winter scape.
Look what popped up overnight. Just in time for snow tomorrow. Rijnveld’s Early Sensation always lives up to its name as the first daffodil to bloom in my garden, sometimes at its own peril. I think it will be okay though.
The warm temps have brought the witch hazel blooms out and with them the neighbor’s honeybees. Photo by Robert Weaver, Glendale
Seen on New Year’s Eve dogwalk. Snowdrops in December!
For years Kirkwood Park has been a favorite play spot to visit with our grandkids and son Michael. So it was such a special gift from our older son Chris and his wife Lisa to have a Tulip poplar planted in Michael’s honor as part of the Greentree Legacy program. We’ll visit it often!
We convinced the twins’ older brother to join us on a hunt to Queeny Park. Ice cream was promised!
My bird spotting grandsons, wife and I are excited to be participating again in again this year. Got started Wednesday with searches at , Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center, and Laumeier Park. 3 down, 9 to go.
Media night at Missouri Botanical Garden’s Garden Glow. Pictures (at least mine) don’t do it justice. Beautiful! This is the most artistic holiday light show you’ll see!
Our Winter issue will be making appearances this week at your favorite garden center and other spots. Or if you can’t wait, it’s available online now. Find the link on our website home page. Learn how to care for evergreens and other plants over winter, see what exciting new plants are in store for next spring, and get some great gift ideas for your favorite gardener!
It’s hard to resist a post each fall when the canary yellow leaves of ginkgo trees depart from the tee nearly en masse to carpet the ground. This year Mother Nature’s hard freeze seems to have caught them off guard.
Amsonia hubrichtii, blue star, is noted as being among few perennials that provide fall color, and this clump in the median of Lockwood Blvd. near Berry Rd in Webster Groves, certainly lives up to the billing. Swipe to see the clump growing in my yard. Meh!
First white-throated sparrow of the winter stopped by the bubbler a few days ago for a drink and a dip.
One of my favorite fall color combos. Cliff goldenrod and American beautyberry.
The print edition of the October issue will be out next week, but if you want an early glimpse you can read on your device by clicking on the link on our website at gatewaygardener.com. You’ll find several articles to help you keep your garden looking great until frost, as well as getting the most out of your veggie garden this fall.
Another day, another couple of travelers. Chestnut sided warbler (with the wing bands), and what I believe is another mourning warbler, though I’m willing to be corrected. Spending way too much time sitting in my bird blind, but the migration is short and I suffer from FOMO, as the kids say.
Another new bird for me, a red-eyed vireo, stopped by today. Not as rare as yesterday’s visitor, but still a first for my blue eyes.
I’ve spent a few hours over the last few days at the bubbler hoping to meet some of the migrating birds, with no success until today when this mourning warbler stopped in for a quick snack.
After 3 months with the Summer Issue, it’s like Back To School with the September issue available on our digital publishing platform now, and soon at a garden center near you! So get your 64-ct. box of Crayolas and get on our gardening bus!
Happy 4th!
One of my favorite combos in the early summer garden, lance leaf coreopsis and poppy mallow.
After the long, not so hard winter, the March issue is finally here, soon to be found in your favorite independent garden center or other pickup spot. It includes a double helping of articles about pollinator plants, plus a look at hardscape design trends, tips on growing potatoes, and more! If you want a preview, you can find it on our digital publishing site by clicking on the link found on our website (see our bio).
St. Louis, MO
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This is a video of the robin I posted yesterday in the still photo riding out the wind gusts. This segment actually depicts a fairly mild moment. As mentioned in the previous post, at times the nest was sideways and even upside down. Update today: Mrs. Robin and nest are intact and doing fine. Background buzz in video is cicada song. #robinbird #birdsofinstagram #stlouisaudubonsociety #stlaudubonsociety #birdphotography #gatewaygardener
Cedar waxwings descended upon my serviceberry trees and shrubs today, feasting despite the berries being far from ripe. #cedarwaxwings #cedarwaxwingsofinstagram #birdsofinstagram #birdphotography #stlaudubonsociety #gatewaygardener
Try this again without the jam.
A fresh cicada takes a breather on a waning tea rose blossom. Then swipe and turn up the volume to hear what the cicadas are saying in Glendale! #cicadasofinstagram #cicadas2024 #gatewaygardener
Cicadas go marching one by one hurrah, hurrah… #cicadas2024 #gatewaygardener
More Glendale cicadas, including a couple of whites freshly emerged from their exoskeletons. #cicadas2024 #gatewaygardener
Cicadas exoskeletons and one live one at the front porch. Supposed to be climbing trees. They must think these are “post” oaks! Haha a little hort humor. #cicadas2024 #gatewaygardener
Happy Pollinator Week! This bumblebee is celebrating on native smooth leaved hydrangea (H. arborescens). Also other tiny pollinators seen flitting in and out. #pollinatorweek2022 #grownative #bringconservationhome #gatewaygardener #beesofinstagram #bees #nativebees
This robin keeps coming in to try out the nest outside my office window originally built then abandoned by a northern cardinal. She’ll visit once or twice a day, skootch around for a few minutes, and fly off. I know robins build several nests, and don’t know if this is a decoy maneuver, or if she’s seriously considering settling in. Time will tell. Volume up to hear her as well as a nearby cardinal, maybe the builder trying to close the deal! 🥴 #birdsofinstagram #stlaudubonsociety #americanrobin #gatewaygardener
Mama’s construction skills are being tested today. So far so good! #birdsofinstagram #northerncardinal #stlouisaudubonsociety #audubonriverlands #birdfriendlygardening #gatewaygardener
It’s GBBC weekend ( Great Backyard Bird Count). Brought to you by @cornellbirds, GBBC is a citizen science effort to gather data on bird populations. Google to learn how you can participate. It’s going on through Monday. So far I’ve seen a lot of cardinals, Eurasian Tree Sparrows and starlings, but this little song sparrow broke up the monotony. Volume up to enjoy the cheery spring song. #greatbackyardbirdcount2022 #greatbackyardbirdcount #birdsofinstagram #backyardbirds #gatewaygardener #audubonsociety #stlaudubonsociety #audubonriverlands
These dogfights go on all…day…long. Funny little guys are these hummers. #hummingbird #hummingbirdhijinx #stlaudubonsociety #gatewaygardener #hummingbirdsofinstagram
The petite prairie is in summer form. Volume up to hear the sounds of nature (as well as my size 12 clodhoppers). #grownative #nativeplants #gatewaygardener #stlgarden #stlgardening #nativeplantsofinstagram
Even I know that’s a northern cardinal up there somewhere, but mostly I have a hard time learning and remembering bird calls and songs. So I’m thrilled that the Merlin Bird ID app has added a bird song id function. It works pretty good too. So far I’ve recorded several calls it has ID-ed for me. You just have to be close enough that it can distinguish the song from other nearby ambient noise. It was able to id a goldfinch song despite the nearby chatting of a couple of family members and the pool bubbling in the background. Of course the birds will be growing quieter as the summer rolls along but there’s always next spring. #thecornelllabofornithology #thecornelllab #merlinbirdid #whatisthatbird #stlaudubonsociety #gatewaygardener
I was weeding this morning when a plant in front of me started to move suspiciously. Watch closely for the big reveal. #molesofinstagram #gatewaygardener
Fireflies going crazy tonight. #fireflies #lightningbugs #glowworms #pesticidefree #gatewaygardener #stlgardening #stlgarden #bringconservationhome #naturesbesthope
Bubbler’s back in business. Volume up tells the story of why I can spend a lot of time here even when the birds don’t come. #birdbubbler #stlaudubonsociety #bringconservationhome #naturesbesthope #gatewaygardener #homegrownnationalpark
“Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.” I spend many hours in this bird blind, often with little or nothing to show for it. But especially on a day like today, with the bumblebees checking out the rhodie blossoms and the bubbler gurgling quietly, it’s easy to pass some time here. Volume up for best effect. #gatewaygardener #stlgardening #stlgarden
Sometimes, if I sit in the rhododendrons long enough—my bird blind for taking pics at the bubbler—I become part of the shrubbery. This white throated sparrow wasn’t bothered a bit by my presence as he scratched among the leaves for bugs n such. #birdsofinstagram #whitethroatedsparrow #stlaudubonsociety #bringnaturehome #naturesbesthope #homegrownnationalpark #gatewaygardener #stlgardening #stlgarden
Birds are attracted to the sound of moving water. A frustration I had with my bubbler occurred when the pump filter would clog a little and the bubble would slow a bit, reducing the sound of moving water. So I raised the bubble rock a bit so there’s a little more splash when the water hits the puddle. Birds love it, I love it. #stlouisaudubonsociety #gatewaygardener #birdslovewater
