Bellefontaine in Bloom – Milkweed, side-oats grama, and mountain mint
Monarch butterflies are the talk-of-the-town, their plight being well documented and dispersed to gardeners across the country. This unique and beautiful butterfly uses the many species of milkweed (Asclepias spp.) to lay their eggs and subsequently provide food for the emerging caterpillar. Many different Asclepias species are available to gardeners, but one in particular is...
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Bellefontaine in Bloom – Missouri’s Summer Blooming Natives
As we get into the hotter months in Missouri, many of our prairie and glade natives begin to push their blooms, taking advantage of the myriad pollinators actively foraging. One such plant, the queen-of-the-prairie (Filipendula rubra), is a sight to behold. Growing in moist, open meadows, Filipendula towers above companion grasses and perennials to reach...
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Bellefontaine in Bloom – Conservation Partnership with the Missouri Botanical Garden
In late 2016, Bellefontaine Cemetery and Arboretum Horticulture Supervisor, Kyle Cheesborough, began collaborating with colleagues from the Missouri Botanical Garden to devise a conservation action plan between the two entities. The collaboration resulted in a grant from the American Public Gardens Association to conserve the genetic material from populations of bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus parviflora) and...
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Bellefontaine In Bloom – Lilies
The month of June brings BCA’s diverse collection of lilies into full bloom. True bulbous lilies, Lilium, cemetery lilies, Crinum, and hardy water lilies, Nymphaea, provide visitors myriad colors, textures, and fragrances. In the gardens of Wildwood Valley, twenty varieties and 3,125 total bulbs of true lilies, Lilium, were planted last fall, including Asiatic, Dwarf...
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