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Vegetable Gardens

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Gardener Builds a Sustainable Backyard

Barb Stettner's organic and sustainable garden is an animal-friendly haven for foxes, deer, coyote and many species of birds.

Organic and natural are two words that describe Barb Stettner, 2010-11 president of the O’Fallon Garden Club. Throughout her extensive backyard, Stettner uses sustainable methods to cultivate flowers, plants and vegetables.  Stettner draws inspiration from the women in her family. Her German immigrant mother-in-law, a workaholic, nourished a small, but vibrant garden chock-full of every flower imaginable.   Her grandmother, a share cropper from Tennessee, grew vegetables such as purple-hull peas, mustard greens and butter beans, among others. Another grandmother grew moss roses. Stettner remembers a time as a young child climbing grandma’s tree, only to fall out, directly onto a pan of moss roses.  Global Bucket Stettner has a large white …

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Sheri Menscher Finds Creative Outlet in Her Garden

President of Lake Saint Louis Jardin du Lac Garden Club shares secret to good growing conditions.

Strolling the stone walkways at 1820 Briarcommon Drive in Lake Saint Louis, Easter egg-hued flowers bloom in Sheri Menscher’s spring garden.  Tulips, pansies and hybrid columbines burst with cheer, while Spanish Bluebells, Wild Sweet William and Foxglove are reminiscent of a Monet painting. President of the 47 member Jardin du Lac Garden Club, Menscher is smitten with gardening, and says there’s nothing better than rising in the morning and spending the first hour of the day deadheading and weeding flowers. She loves relaxing in her gazebo reading the newspaper and appreciating the surrounding beauty. Menscher was actually a late bloomer to gardening.  She helped her mom plant beautiful flowers growing up on a grain farm off Highway N as a…

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