More species of plants exist in the Ozark Highlands (one of the oldest mountain ranges on the planet) than anywhere in the lower Mid-west. Why? By Scott Woodbury (This article was first published in The Gateway Gardener April 2021 issue.) It is said that blues musician Robert Johnson (Tommy Johnson in the movie, O Brother Where Art Thou) sold his
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There is perhaps no native plant more ubiquitous than willow, especially black willow (Salix nigra). It comes up in house gutters, garden beds, low farmers’ fields, roadside ditches, pond margins and every creek-side gravel bar in the eastern half of the United States. By Scott Woodbury [This article was first published in The Gateway Gardener March 2020 issue.] “Between the
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I took my first steps in horticulture walking down a narrow path of age-old gardening traditions. I learned to care for vegetable gardens, a rose garden, a lilac screen and perennial borders each with squarely trimmed hedges and edges. The lawn was cut in a diamond pattern using an old-style reel mower. By Scott Woodbury [This article was first published
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Annual plants sprout from a seed, grow and die in the same growing season. Red-whisker clammyweed (Polanisia dodecandra) is a native annual that blooms for two to three months in late summer. By Scott Woodbury [This article was originally published in The Gateway Gardener March 2018 issue.] Annual plants sprout from a seed, grow and die in the same growing
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As a family with an active child, our most successful place to watch birds is through windows. Birds tolerate us that way and we see amazing things while munching granola in our PJs. By Scott Woodbury [This article was first published in The Gateway Gardener September 2017 issue.] As a family with an active child, our most successful place to
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When the red buckeye and columbine bloom in April, it signals the time to start looking for the ruby-throated hummingbirds. By Scott Woodbury [This article was first published in The Gateway Gardener April 2016 issue.] When the red buckeye and columbine bloom in April, it signals the time to start looking for the ruby-throated hummingbirds. It pays to look in
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Late fall and winter are my favorite seasons to watch pollinators. True, there aren’t many native plants blooming at this time, but the ones that do are mighty popular with our little buzzing friends. By Scott Woodbury (This article was first published in The Gateway Gardener January/February 2016 issue.) Late fall and winter are my favorite seasons to watch pollinators.
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Like children, the summer lilies in the native garden are painfully slow to grow. That’s why when we finally produced a lovely show of flowers, it gave a sense of accomplishment, like when our son began using the words please and thank you, oh the relief. By Scott Woodbury [This article was first published in The Gateway Gardener July/August 2016
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Like the great recession, the back-to-back summer droughts of 2012-13 were a test of mettle in the plant world. By Scott Woodbury (This article was first published in The Gateway Gardener April 2015 issue.) Like the great recession, the back-to-back summer droughts of 2012-13 were a test of mettle in the plant world. Many people lost more than hope and
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A common misconception about purple coneflower is that they are sun-worshiping prairie dwellers. Not so. In nature they grow in the woods, open woods that is, or savannas where the trees are widely spaced, limbs are high and only patchy-filtered sunlight reaches the ground floor. By Scott Woodbury [This photo was original published in The Gateway Gardener June 2015 issue.]
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