According to climate experts, drought is the new black. Or the new biege, as in the color of your dead lawn. Speaking of lawns, they are still considered by most to be a non-negotiable part of the American landscape. But there will be a shift there eventually, if only because municipalities will put a ban on using too much water, like they did in St. Charles and St. Peters during July's never-ending heat wave. And when a human being is faced with the choice between taking a shower and watering the lawn...um, well, that outcome is pretty predictable.
Though turfgrass is a true water hog, there are other plants, including hydrangeas and annual flowers, that were once easy to grow in Missouri—back in a time when it actually rained and snowed, and we were not dealing with plus-100-degree days for weeks in a row—that now need watering twice a day just to survive. So, as we continue with the same weather patterns, expect to see more and more people adopting wildflower landscaping.
For those who feel intimidated by that: there are a lot of good local resources toward that end. The St. Louis Chapter of Wild Ones runs a Native Plant School, and organizes lectures and nature walks, like the educational wildflower hike this Saturday at 8:30 at Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit, which is totally open to beginners, and the wildflower tour of Forest Par on September 5. (For info on that, click here.) If you missed the spring wildflower sale, the fall sale and open house is just a few days later on September 7. Also held at Shaw Nature Reserve, the sale is only $3 admission, and there will be experts on hand to answer your questions. They'll also open up the Whitmire WIldflower Garden, so you can stroll through and get this old cliche out of your head that native gardens look like a leggy patch of weeds.
