Horticulture Staff Spotlight
Walter R. Behrendt - Senior Horticulturist
38 years at Missouri Botanical Garden
There aren't many people on staff here who can claim they've driven their cars right across the Garden, but when Walt Behrendt began working for the Horticulture Division, staff routinely drove in and simply parked on the garden grounds.
Of course, when Walt first came to work here in November of 1971, there were just THREE people on the outdoor horticulture staff. Walt recalls how they referred to the area where the Japanese Garden is today as the back forty, which was mowed only two or three times a year back then.
Walt has really watched the Garden grow! He helped to plant the Lehmann Rose Garden and the English Woodland Garden. He handled the landscaping around the Ridgway Center, including the Azalea-Rhododendron Garden, which he tended for many years following. During the renovation of the Climatron, Walt and his crew balled and burlapped all the trees and put in 1500 cubic feet of soil.
As the resident expert on vegetable gardening, Walt used to plant and maintain the Demonstration Vegetable Garden that grew near the Kemper Center area. Currently he works on the vegetable, fruit, and experimental displays in the Kemper Center Demonstration Gardens.
Walt grew up near Chicago and graduated from the University of Illinois in 1968 with a B.S. in ornamental horticulture and floriculture. After moving to St. Louis with his family, Walt worked for a local greenhouse for just a few months. One day he walked into the Garden and simply asked for a job. He and his wife met at work and were married in the Linnean House in 1982. Walt is an avid fisherman when he isn't gardening.
Over the years Walt has written for the Garden's Bulletin magazine and for the journal of the American Rhododendron Society. He also does reviews and consulting for other garden writers and publications.
Walt Behrendt has made many lasting contributions to the spectacular displays at the Missouri Botanical Garden over the past 30 plus years. As just one example, after experimenting with rhododendrons at home, he began propagating plants for the Garden's display. Today, our popular Azalea-Rhododendron Garden includes many of Walt's plants.