Historical September–October 2009 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
Participants in this year’s Breakfast Garden Tour experienced neighbors working together, using recycled materials, and keeping their yards eco-friendly.
The tour took place on the 6000 blocks of Kingsbury and Waterman. Bill Christman’s garden pays homage to things declared obsolete or no longer useful, which he believes should be re-examined and perhaps re-used. Sculptures, creative seating areas, retaining walls built of various materials, things to climb and discover, are serenaded by the melody of a waterfall which resembles an oldtime gold-panner’s sluice.
The waterfall is run by an industrial cast-off sump-pump, which delivers water into several pools, under bridges, and into a found-object sculpture garden.
When neighbor Gary Bierman (Breakfast Garden Tour ’05) built the Nina Place Townhomes, he gave Bill the displaced soil for a hill in the center of the sculpture garden.
The hill is home to the ‘whirligig’ or merry-go-round that long-time neighbor Bob Newsham built and featured on B.G.Tour ’03.
When Bill turned his studio into a neighborhood gathering place, the famous ‘Joe’s Cafe,’ he built a new studio out of bits and pieces he salvaged, leaving the framework of the structure visible to be appreciated by viewers who can also see old and new projects inside. Ferns, impatiens, roses, decorative grasses, and other plants offer a touch of class to the naturally occurring volunteers. Jon and Shelly Parker’s backyard extends into the alley with no back fence.
This gives them a more spacious yard and helps them keep in touch with their neighbors and anyone passing by. Their gardens are designed “like a series of outdoor rooms,” says Shelly, with micro-climates for different needs of plants and herbs.
A closer inspection reveals little treasures like river stones, pieces of architecture, castings with marbles and shells, and even a trellis made of security bars, which now supports a grapevine. Chris Moritz started 100 Lombardy pine trees in his yard, which he relocated as they grew, . Trees and shrubs are planted with precision like players on a chessboard, broken up by experimental gardens where Chris examines what happens with grains sold as food, not intended for growing. Harry Schmink (B.G.Tour ’05) lost a large redbud tree, and had to find a new home for his collection of impressive hostas, so he contacted the beautification committee of Skinker DeBaliviere.
We gave some of the hostas to Gateway Greening for their Great Perennial Divide and those hostas now reside in community gardens throughout St. Louis. Many of the other hostas found homes in the tour gardens of Deborah Rice, Ellen Blau, Faith Sandler, The McPherson Community garden, the ‘alley garden’, and Becky Homan’s garden. Rex and Deborah Rice’s yard is a year-round outdoor dining/living room/ reading area, with a pergola that supports clematis.
The deciduous vines grow shade as the summer gets warmer, then they drop their leaves and allow the sunlight in the winter. Deborah grows a series of herbs, which progress into a native plant collection that surrounds a Chapungunu sculpture overlooking a waterfall.
After leaving the Rice’s yard, tour goers enjoyed a section of alley which had transformed from an undriveable and unattractive place into a spot so pleasant that a wine and cheese party is being planned there. Alderperson Lyda Krewson had the area resurfaced and neighbors Becky Homan and Deborah Rice cleared debris, set out planters, and planted flowers donated by friends and Operation Brightside.
A fountain made from a watering can found in the alley is just one of many clever ideas in Alex and Becky Homan’s yard. Their collection is comfortably packed with interesting and gorgeous specimens, but the most impressive is an unsuspecting ostrich fern with far-reaching effects. Not only has she transplanted the fern to neighbor’s gardens, “Those ferns got me interested in gardening,” says Becky, former gardening editor of the St. Louis Post- Dispatch. Becky joined the Master Gardener’s Program at the University of Missouri Extension in conjunction with the Missouri Botanical Garden in 1998.
Now Becky is the event planner for nearby Bowood Farms Nursery in the West End.
To top it off, she has recently published a book: The Missouri Gardeners Companion. Ellen Blau’s lush collection of roses is tastefully interspersed with blue and sepia ceramic planters and a variety of blue flowers.
They can be taken in from her multi-leveled deck, which she recently resurfaced with ecologically sound recycled lumber that will last a lifetime. Warren Rosenblum and Nicole Blumner broke up a large patio and softened their yard with cooler surfaces like grass and pine bark for the children to play on.
They increased the planting areas, and built a two-level deck to step down into the yard to soak it in rather than tower over it. Alongside the house they created an eco-center: a clothes line dries clothes with no energy/no carbon footprint/no cost and it makes laundry dry fresh and smell great. Nearby is a mulch cage, and after that is a compost bin.
A rain barrel – available to you from M.S.D. – catches the best product you can give your plant, while taking the burden off our sewer systems. For a new twist, tour goers entered Michael Hollihan and Faith Sandler’s backyard by going through the house, which appears to be bigger on the inside than it is on the outside! Award-winning architect and former resident of Skinker DeBaliviere, George Johannes designed an addition which draws people to the back room, where the indoors and outdoors connect. George kept the design within historic district guidelines, and built an eco-friendly/responsible structure with eight-foot glass doors, which allow you to be inside and outside in any kind of weather. Michael designed the wood fence, inspired by a balcony on Frank Lloyd Wright’s Dana Thomas house, to give a little privacy while letting light and air flow through.
The fence was so popular Michael built two more of them in Becky Hohman and Ellen Blau’s yards.
All of the lumber from Michael and Faith’s old deck (before the addition was built) was recycled into other decks and projects.
Some of the lumber was given to the S.D. Beautification committee, which was used to make the planter on the barricade at Kingsbury and Rosedale. Barry and Caroline Leibman have a peaceful, shady yard that was designed by George Johannes when he lived there.
They have added some shade plants, borders, and a marble and stone tile pathway.
While keeping the design that George created, they work with nature to keep their yard with a simple Asian aesthetic. Tall shade trees outside the yard protect smaller Japanese maples, redbuds, and roses-of-sharon, to make a quiet peaceful haven where statues of the Buddha and Kwan-Yin are at home. Sharing of knowledge, materials, talents, and good neighbor attitudes made this tour a success. Thanks to all the gardeners, volunteers, and all who attended.
Original photograph caption
The Parkers’ garden.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, September–October 2009.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Archival transcription note: Source names Lombardy pine and Hohman variant of Homan; retained without guessed corrections.
Original source: SD_Times2009_09.pdf, printed page(s) 5; PDF page(s) 5.
