JB Design

06/09/2026

If you love older homes, or new homes in a beautiful and thriving historic neighborhood, this tour never disappoints!

Lafayette Square-St. Louis, Mo Lafayette Square is a historic St. Louis neighborhood known for its beautiful park and grand homes. Maintaining the park and the neighborhood is an expensive, never-ending task, but a top priority for the residents since the neighborhood’s rebirth in the early 1970.....

05/31/2026

After a two-year hiatus, the Open Days Tour is back in St. Louis in 2026! Enjoy this glimpse into a few of the top gardens of St. Louis!

https://garden-lou.com/highlights-from-the-garden-conservancy-open-days-tour/

St. Louis, MO The mission of the Garden Conservancy is to preserve, share, and celebrate America’s gardens and diverse gardening traditions for the education and inspiration of the public. The nationwide non-profit organization has been hosting its Open Days program as a major fundraiser since 199...

05/26/2026

Oh, the stories this guy could tell...

The American chestnut, Castanea dentata, is a tree with incredible stories to tell. Tales of diverse forests full of their ancestors soaring 75-100’ high. Tales full of Native Americans who coexisted with those giants, tending the landscapes where they grew in return for the nutritious nuts. Long ...

05/26/2026

WARNING=WILL EAT YOUR GARAGE

I haven’t seen my garage in over three years. The door still works, yes, but when open, my “garage” resembles a somewhat rectangular green monster that eats cars and grows larger and hungrier by the day. By next year, it might look like we have one of those cool garages with a game room or ser...

05/26/2026

The Belle of the Ball at last week's Native Plant tour!

“Elegant” is seldom a word you hear used to describe a native prairie plant. When it comes to Penstemon digitalis, commonly called foxglove beardtongue, I don’t think there is a more elegant perennial coming from such humble origins. Penstemon can look just as beautiful and quite at home, than...

05/19/2026

First tour of the season!!!

Sunday, May 17th, 2026 The Wild Ones St. Louis chapter and Bring Conservation Home partnered to present the annual St. Louis Native Plant Garden Tour once again last Sunday. The self-guided tour featured eight private gardens in and around Olivette and Ladue including the Price Road Prairie Project....

05/10/2026

When your favorite client turns 100!!! We should all be so lucky...

04/29/2026

With a Fantasy Forest, disc golf, and over 2,500 plants, Leila Arboretum in Battle Creek, Michigan blurs the line between fun public park, and serious arboretum!

Battle Creek, Michigan Leila Arboretum began like many arboretums and public gardens. Leila Post Montgomery (widow of cereal magnate C.W. Post) envisioned a cultural center amid the beautiful rolling hills just outside Battle Creek, Michigan. Formerly the Battle Creek County Club, Leila donated the....

04/21/2026

Fancy a game of Conkers, Mate?

Wanna play a game of conkers? IF you grew up in the UK, you probably have fond memories of collecting conkers to battle your mates with. The shiny mahogany-colored nuts collected in fall from the horse chestnut, Aesculus hippocastanum, were drilled in the middle and then threaded with a string.  Th...

04/21/2026

After the April Fool's prank Shrub of the Month, it's time to get serious...as in DEADLY serious...

Lily of the valley, Convallaria majalis, with its charming white flowers and intoxicating fragrance, has held symbolic meaning for centuries in Europe and Asia, where the plant is native. It’s also beloved on this side of the pond, where it has naturalized throughout much of the Eastern and northe...