Horticulture - Seasonal Operations
Summer at Missouri Botanical Garden
Summer in the Garden is lush, fragrant and colorful. Guests enjoy the plants that thrive in hot, humid St. Louis summers. Roses in the Gladney and Lehmann Rose Gardens are at peak bloom and fragrance. Daylilies dazzle in June and July. The Garden’s famous water lilies amaze visitors with their huge platter-like leaves (up to 75 inches wide!) and lovely blooms from July through September. Summer annuals brighten the Garden with vibrant color.
The Kemper demonstration gardens and the fruit and vegetable gardens give summer visitors great ideas for their home gardens. Inside the Kemper Center, visitors can take advantage of the Pest Selector, the Nursery Tracker, the Reference Library, the plant database, and a wall-size gardening tips calendar. Volunteer Master Gardeners and Horticulture staff share their expertise through demonstrations, classes, and The Plant Doctor diagnostic desk. The Horticulture Answer Service is available by phone (314-577-5143) year round from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., with its busiest time and highest staffing from April 1 through October 31.
Outdoor Horticulture staff spend much of their time maintaining the spectacular summer displays by fertilizing, weeding, watering, and mowing. Meanwhile the Greenhouse crew is thinking autumn, winter, and spring! 2000 mums are grown for autumn, poinsettias and other blooming plants arrive as tiny cuttings for the Holiday Show, and plants are propagated for next spring’s plant sale.
Students participating in our Summer Intern Program are a big help to staff at this busy time of year. Rotating through every aspect of Horticulture, these students work beside our expert staff. They learn and network throughout the summer while getting plenty of hands-on work experience in one of the country’s oldest public botanical gardens. Their enthusiasm and energy is refreshing and renews our own inspiration in this magnificent environment.