Courtesy of downtownkirkwood.com
The gardening world, it seems, has become quite polarized of late. There are the traditional gardeners with Weed 'n' Feed lawns, smaller beds filled with vincas and hostas and petunias, and bushes and trees ringed with tires of wood-chip mulch. On the other side, you have people who have roto-tilled their lawn, planted corn in the front yard, installed rain gardens under the rain spout (if there's not a barrel there), and stuck with native plants and heirloom vegetables. So, it's nice to see Kirkwood throwing an event that caters to both types of gardeners: The Kirkwood Junction Festival of Food and Flowers. Participating businesses are giving away free six-packs flowering annuals with any $5 purchase (which of course comes with the caveat, "while supplies last"). The Kirkwood Farmer's Market will have "hundreds of flowering plants, locally grown produce, cheese, delicious treats, barbeque, Philippine cuisine and more," and there's a huge plant sale at the Gardening Center at the Kirkwood Amtrak Station, where you can buy all kinds of plants, including native wildflowers, and get advice from master gardeners. No one does festivals like St. Louis does festivals, so there will also be live music, lots of food, and a garden-themed art show, "Artists in Bloom," out on the plaza. It does look like it's going to rain again this Saturday, but we won't see a repeat of those clammy, miserable, sub-60s temperatures. Though there is any group that is ready to brave rain (even cold and misty rain), it's gardeners—both the lawn-lovers and the nativists both.
Kirkwood Junction Festival of Food and Flowers, May 21, 8am-5pm, downtownkirkwood.com.
