Historical September 2014 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
In anticipation of the upcoming Sept 13th Better Block Project, the Breakfast Garden tour in June focused its attention at gardens on and just off of DesPeres Ave. DesPeres is a central corridor of Skinker-DeBaliviere, and we included a number of public areas which help make DesPeres a reflection of the kind of neighborhood we have in SD. Tour-goers entered the first garden on 5900 Pershing through the alley, as Brian and Valerie Helt’s neighbor-friendly backyard is a welcome sight for anyone walking or driving past to stop and enjoy. Brian designed and built the open fence with a bright sunburst on the alley gate that greets you as you travel by.
A chicken coop that their neighbors, the Wimmer-Browns, gifted to the Helts has been added on to, and is now set along the alley for the passers-by to visit the chickens. Peach and apple trees line the fence along with two kinds of blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries, all from Stark Brothers.
The Helts grow things so that the children can learn to harvest and enjoy their work. Super-tall peas of green and blue varieties, also radishes, and turnips rarely make it to the table; not a usual fare for a kids’ snack! By involving the kids in the garden, they take a vested interest in what they are eating.
From one urban farm to another, the next garden was across the street at Sean and Angie Meara’s house.
The Meara’s yard has a beautiful and versatile chicken coop which won the Best Woodworking ribbon at the Skinker-DeBaliviere County Fair last year.
The coop is big, so the kids can go in, and the chickens can come out to roam the yard freely. Sean and Angie have to chicken-proof their plantings along with the areas the chickens shouldn’t get to, like the amazing cloche hoop-house and raised bed, which Sean created with a clever suspended hose, which is perforated to water the plants by a simple turn of the faucet.
The hoophouse starts plants early in spring, and crops are rotated through the extended growing seasons so fresh home-grown foods are always available.
This kid-friendly, educational backyard was ready for the St. Louis Sustainable Backyard Tour the following weekend.
The Helt’s garden was barely one year old, and the Meara’s yard had been converted from a field of rubble and broken glass to a green, fertile garden with plantings in the alley to beautify the view of our neighborhood for traffic on the Forest Park Expy. Later in the tour we visited Hal and Amy Kennedy’s large mature yard, which has an open picket fence, so neighbors can look through the front color garden and take in the view of the Japanese Red Maple, Oriental Dogwood, Bald Cypress, Alba (white) Redbud. Amy allows the branches of the knobby old redbuds to descend down low and extend their lovely arrangement of gentle heartshaped leaves.
An herb garden safely resides in a cove of the house and nearby Amy has a thriving vegetable garden. Around their birdfeeders, Hal and Amy have counted over 20 different kinds of birds including goldfinches, hawks, hummingbirds, robins and blue jays, along with their annual residents; a pair of cardinals, eight mourning doves, and a pair of downy woodpeckers. At the end of the tour, guests received a map of 34 of the STL 250 Cakes which are within walking- or biking-distance of SD.
We hope this view of the gardens and neighbors on or near DesPeres helped spark your interest for the Better Block project on Des Peres on September 13th attended the. Thanks to all who attended the tour, and to all our wonderful gardeners and volunteers.
Original photograph caption
Child with chicken at garden tour. Person not separately identified.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, September 2014.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Archival transcription note: Printed September 13 th attended the fragment and County Fair instead of State Fair retained. Helt spelling differs Helf in earlier reporting; do not infer identity change.
Original source: SD_Times2014_09.pdf, printed page(s) 4; PDF page(s) 4.
