Lake Tishomingo- The Lakeside Gardeners have a long history of gardening in this community. This ejournal only touches the time from 2019 to present gardeners. Currently our garden club cares for the gardens at the sales office, around the flagpole and near the pump house. Several of the gardeners designed, built, and maintain the mini-park near the bus shelter. Now that you know a little about what we volunteer to take care of we want to share a little about us and what our home gardens look like.
The Gardens of Janet & Rich Hirsch
I interviewed Rich about his love of gardening and this is what he shared with me. When we moved to St Louis in 1973 I became interested in tropicals & orchids. So much so that I put up a 16’x14’ greenhouse in Webster Groves in 1978. We also had a 8’x16’ veggie garden. The trees shaded the garden & greenhouse, so it was not very rewarding. When we bought the Jefferson County house in 1999, I became much more interested in landscape plantings, The first tree I planted here was a Ginkgo from a seed collected from a 25yr old Ginkgo tree that I grew from seed in Webster.
What do you like planting? Planting is hard work in Jefferson County. The soil is heavy clay infested with rock, but it is worth the effort. The last perennial I planted was another Arrowwood Viburnum at the street to extend the tall Viburnum privacy hedge.
Rich Hirsch is one of our most active members of our Lakeside Gardeners. I take care of: 1) Northwest planting bed at flag pole (Zinnias) 2) Two half-barrel planters flanking Bulletin Board at entry gate 3) Plantings around Sales Office (5706 N Lakeshore Dr) 4) Ornamental grasses along Lake Tish Rd near maintenance yard fence.
Picture to the left is Blue Fortune Agastache
The Garden of JoAnn Ross
JoAnn Ross has been gardening since she was a kid. She grew up on a farm. Bells of Ireland was the first flower package she grew on her own. When she reminisces about growing up in the garden, she starts by saying, "My mama had a nice flower garden!"
The Garden of Gail Lents
I talked to Gail about her lovely gardens and this is what she shared with me. Gail started off gardening was she was quite young. She shared, "I was 8 years old and I earned my own money so I fell in love with roses. I started gardening during that time. Grandpa Pigeons use to sell roses 2 for a dollar. Every year I would buy new ones and every year I would kill them off. Then when I married I started growing vegetables. My mother in law broadened my knowledge of growing plants especially flowers."
Every year I have my assortment of pots that I re-use every year. The pots are old and not ornate but you don't see them once the plants start flourishing. Gail propagates her plants during the winter or over winter plants and then organizes them in pots the next growing season.
(Picture to the left: Millet and Sweet Potato vine)
"The Mexican Sunflower above I received from Rich Hirsch and they did very well in this bed this year. Besides flowers I usually grow some tomatoes but not as much as in the past. I finally got rhubarb to grow in a pot. I've been working with rhubarb for some time now so I am pleased it worked in a pot. I like to use rhubarb in my baking and cooking. My focus in the garden now is for pollinators the bees, hummingbirds and butterflies which I know will help our environment, and they are I love viewing them in action they are pretty and very fascinating to watch."
Gail's shares that her plants survive despite the care they get, not because of it. She likes to do very little but I love to look at the plants that surround my house and decks. "I like to buy every summer Wave Petunias but spend very little on annuals. I don't have any rhyme or reason I just like to put pots and beds together with very little care." And as you see she has a gift for putting these plants together so they give the pots and beds color, texture and different heights.
My focus in the garden now is for pollinators the bees, hummingbirds and butterflies which I know will help our environment, and they are I love viewing them in action they are pretty and very fascinating to watch."
The Garden of Liz Higgins
Liz Higgins have been gardening for about 25 years now. She enjoys planting perennials in the garden beds, and annuals in the containers and hanging pots. Liz shared with me, "I also plant a very small vegetable garden in containers." Why do you enjoy gardening I asked Liz? "I find it peaceful and relaxing…. kind of a “get-away” without getting away. It’s also fun to watch the hummingbirds we feed enjoy the flower nectar." Liz helped out the Lakeside Gardeners for our 2021 spring plant sale. She potted up and tagged many of the plants that sold that rainy day.
What are your favorite plants and why? "I like perennials, especially peonies, hydrangeas, butterfly bushes, hostas, bearded iris, and roses."
"Don’t be afraid to cut back “ leggy” petunias for a “re-blooming”. I was always afraid to do so, but it really works!"
Photo to the right has a variety of perennials including hydrangeas, hostas, astilbe, huechera, peony and others. All photos provided by Liz Higgins.
Gardening is peaceful and relaxing…. kind of a “get-away” without getting away."
The Garden of Steve Kottemann & Rena Rockwell
Steve has been gardening for more than 30 years as a master gardener and landscaper. Rena learned early about gardening and cooking from her Italian grandparents that had apple and peach trees, vegetables and herbs in their backyard. Together they have collaborated on this new garden that they have created since 2019.
Steve likes watching the plants progress through their growing cycle throughout the season. He likes building gardens that give people pleasure. Rena likes working on her garden as a form of creativity and an expression of art, to relieve stress, and to provide joy to others. We both enjoy savoring the herbs and vegetables we grow together. "It gives us great pleasure to eat tasty food, tastier then you can get in a store, and the pride of knowing you grew it yourself." Besides eating from our garden we stock our neighbors with our surplus and we we want to feed our pollinators to help our environment for our insects, birds and animals as well as us.
"We like to plant perennials as much as possible and use the features of the land for our garden. Terracing on our hillside towards the lake has helped us gain garden bed space, allowed us to walk across the yard with paths and limit the amount of grass cutting on a deep slope. Our land has given us much rock which we have incorporated into our landscape."
Caring for our land, lake, ourselves and our community is achieved through knowledgeable gardening techniques."
The Garden of Dave Kaucher
Dave has lived here for 37 years. He wanted to share the beauty of his garden with us and let it tell it's own story.
The Garden of Dana Diaz de Leon & Steve Dobson
Dana and Steve are into growing vegetables. Specifically tomatoes and peppers. The fenced garden is not big enough anymore so they have plant bags along side the vegetable garden and as you look around the yard there are plant bags along side garden walls, terraced areas and the patio. Most gardeners understand that to have great plants especially vegetables you need great soil, plenty of sun and a lot of water. Steve has worked hard on the composting to keep the soil ready for his plant bags and he has engineered water drip hoses to water each bag but not trip over the as you are walking their beautiful garden. They use all of the tree leaves to make a fine mulch to add to the plant bags as you see below. They also use cardboard to line rows and terraces to ease walking and to keep the control of weeds.
Dana grew up walking in her Mom's garden which she referred to as Shangri La. Where her mother had native plants and flowers. Steve says his parents gardened as well. He just started gardening recently with Dana and from the work they both have done in past couple years together it looks like they have been gardening for decades together. Steve & Dana get some inspiration and gardening knowledge from watching the YouTube channel "Roots & Refuge" and Martha Stewart. Sunflowers and Zinnias are Dana's favorite flowers and tomatoes and peppers are Steve's favorite.
This is Dana's favorite part of the garden. The Samurai statue brings a sense of strength and peace as she views and experiences the garden. Gardening is another medium she uses to in her artistic expression. It allows her to manipulate different colors and textures in a new way compared to her painting on canvas.
Gardening is another medium to express myself artistically. It allows me to manipulate different colors and textures in a new way compared to my paintings on canvas."
The Garden of Jacque Marschuetz
Jacque has had help with the landscaping of this house from her father 51 years ago. She uses free mulch from Union Electric. She started with a Yellow and White Dogwoods on the hillside by the road. The hillside has many bulbs janquils, tulips, hybrid iris and vinca on the hillside by the road. We went from one bed to to another over the years. All the Dogwoods are volunteers. She has one down by the lake that she feels may be over 200 years old. We started with and kept the perennials that different people have given me. So splitting them and moving them from the beds to help the garden flourish. Jacque has a yellow poplar from Arbor Day. She loves variagated plants and she has a mixture of plants in all of the beds. The perennials have just keep giving and producing. Many people say its alot of work but when you love what you do it's not work.
The Begonia bed is one of my favorite places in the garden. Marlyn Whiteman gave me several Begonias and they survived and the color is beautiful. When you water it the leaves and flowers perk up.
The garden changes so fast. Because I have so much lush flourishing plants in my beds. Many people enjoy it as much as I do. So it brings happiness to me, my family, friends and new visitors who walk along the road. Many friends like the beds by the lake and want to gravitate towards the it is shaded, comfy and you can see the colors when the garden is in bloom.
So many of the plants came from family, friends and neighbors. When I was little we would picnic here at the lake. Once I got married I always wanted a house on the lake. In 1971 we started building this house and I planted myself here and my family helped me with this garden. My mom and my dad helped me with this garden. It gives me joy thinking about my Dad since his white Clematis blooms on his birthday. And my children and grandchildren help me with it today. So as I walk my garden I am surrounded with great memories of all of these treasures and all of these people in my life.
Picture below: Snow bush below from Chyrie DeRoode that rests on top of Varigated Vinca blooming Purple Phlox, The Obedient Plant from Marilyn Meyer.
"l would love for anyone to stop by and look anytime even bring their shovel and bucket and take some home to their garden." Jacque photos and interview taken on June 23, 2022."
The Garden of Linda & Steve Blaha
The following quotes and stories were taken from a phone conversation with Linda Blaha in July, 2022.
When Linda & Steve bought this house they were fortunate to buy this house from the previous owner who was part of the original garden club. There were a variety of plants in the beds above that allowed Linda and Steve to move things all over the yard. I didn't have any plants from our yard in Arnold so this bed of plants and the variety of plants helped me begin what you see today. We have had this house and gardens for 19 years. Steve built us a irrigation system that allows me to water 2 beds for an hour at a time. So it takes me two days to water all of the beds surrounding this house.
"I have always enjoyed gardening, my grandparents, my parents all were gardeners. My Dad had an extreme green thumb. Everything he planted seemed to grow. When we were growing up each of us had specific plants we were in charge of. I recall all sorts of vegetables in our gardens as a child. We had Tomatoes, potatoes, strawberries, green beans, corn, onions, and lettuce. We were constantly growing, cleaning, harvesting and eating our food grown from the garden. We didn't have a grocery down the street. We grew most of our food. We were processing and canning our veggies as well. Growing up in Arnold which was rural in the 60's we were growing our own food. This is what we did back then. My dad grew grapes so he was making wine. As I started working full time the garden was reduced and I started freezing instead of canning. So I learned by doing."
"We live on a mountain side here at the lake, so we didn't want grass. Having perennial beds, rock gardens, and other types of ground cover like Veronica, Ajuga, and Vinca. However the Vinca chokes out other plants. So I am cutting it back because it choking out my preferred plants. I experiment by moving plants all of the time. If it doesn't look like it is doing well I move it and see how a plant progresses. The Knock out Roses didn't do well in one area of the yard but are doing well with others. I also like keep my plants alive in the winter by bringing them into the house or garage for example, Asparagus Fern, the two palm trees, the spike plants, the purple clover, and several Hibiscus."
What is your favorite spot in the garden? Linda's favorite spot is on the bench by the trellis up by the mailbox. "I look at the mail on the bench and reflect on how much has come out of this one bed from the previous owner and how many plants have moved with successful transplanting." "From the top of my hill on this bench, I often look at the water. During early spring seeing the colors from this vantage spot, the variations of large green beds just pop and help me move out of the winter blahs." "Steve's favorite place in the garden is the flag pole area. He loves to plant Elephant Ears and some of these have grown taller than him."
What do you love about gardening? "I love the red purple brown plants to give more textures in my garden." "I love the challenge of planting a seed and seeing what it will look like and when it will pop out, the anticipatory hobby with lots if excitement." "I don't have as many indoor plants as I use to I have some Aloe Vera, Mother In Law Tongues, Christmas Cactus, and 3 Hugosas Philodendron." "I love having plants from my family members like the Geranium from my grandmother have to be 50 year + and I want to keep these alive. Banana trees are from my Aunt on my Dad's side. I love being surrounded by plants from friends and family."
"I love having plants from my family members like the Geranium from my grandmother have to be 50 year + and I want to keep these alive."
The Garden of Marlene Whiteman
Marlene Whiteman moved to the lake in 1966 and was one of the founding members of the Lake Tishomingo Gardening Club. She wanted the club to reach a status so our gardens and floral displays would be seen in national magazines. This vision didn't reach fruition until we could make our own digital magazines online. So with Marlene's inspiration we have placed our gardens so we can see their beauty and read the gardener's stories on our Lake Tishomingo website.
When you are outside, listen, listen to how the land, the plant, the wood speaks to you. It will tell you what it wants to go, or where to plant, are how to transform it. Listen and be patient."
One of Marlene's favorite places to sit in her garden is the pavilion area. It is the confluence area for water, walkways, and wildlife. This zen like Asian inspired garden area has a mixture of ferns, Hostas, Evergreens, hanging pots and plenty of hummingbird feeders.
Gardening was not just for adult volunteers. Marlene encouraged and had kids of all ages helping clean out and develop the mini park. Kids did flower arrangement competitions for prizes. They helped do spring and fall garden cleanups with their parent volunteers. And they did tree walks in spring and fall.
As a founding member she was one of the leaders in creating the mini park and several trails around our lake including a Blue Bird trail. She volunteered numerous hours in her gardens, her neighbors gardens and the gardens at Jefferson College. As a former president of the garden club and a member of the Blue Bird Society of Missouri she was instrumental in applying for our status as a bird and wildlife sanctuary.
Currently Dean (Marlene's son) is actively gardening with several banana trees in the yard by the road.
Marlene's impact on others. Today many of the members of the Lake Tishomingo gardening group talk and show off their plants that were given to them by Marlene. They talk about how it was such a large group that strived to make many improvements to the Lake. And currently Marlene's son is continuing the garden tradition in one of the yards around the house.
Credits:
Photos taken by Rena Rockwell and Lakeside Gardeners