We're not sure how it happened, but we are happy it has: St. Louis has gone from having no seed swaps to quite a few! On February 25 from noon-3 p.m., Drop. Swap. Grow. hosts its Second Annual Seed and Tool Swap in the basement of The Word at Shaw (4265 Shaw). Like last year, the event is free but registration is required (you can do that here). Organizer Holly Schroeder says that D.S.G. “aims to help people who have little or no experience gardening gain the necessary confidence to start growing a garden and encourage those who are already digging in the dirt to keep going." The event is also designed to expose beginning gardeners to the benefits of growing their own (outdoor exercise; greater and cheaper access to healthy food; more interaction with family and neighbors), and link them up with more experienced gardeners. The event also includes peer-to-peer presentations on how to cook with that bumper crop of tomatoes or peppers, how to preserve what you can't eat right away, and (whee!) how to bake bread, which may be of special interest to some of the people out there who have moved beyond just growing backyard produce to raising heritage grains. For more information, call 314-494-4931, or email dropswapgrow@gmail.com.
You'll have to flip a calendar page to mark this one down, but it's worth noting: the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Horticultural Co-op of St. Louis are throwing a Garden Blitz, titled "Solve - Grow - Enjoy" on March 3 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. This event, though it also has a three-syllable title, is not free; in fact, it costs $85 (or $70 if you're a MoBot member). The event is a day-long workshop on native gardening, including units on attracting birds, native plantings in urban landscapes, ground covers, urban food gardens, seed saving, and how to humanely deal with the creatures who like to hang out in your garden and munch on the leaves. The faculty includes local and national garden experts, including keynote speaker Doug Tallamy, a professor at the University of Delaware and author of Bringing Nature Home. Registration (natch) is required. Go to www.mobot.org/adulteducation or call 314-577-9506 to get more info, or to sign up. The Missouri Botanical Garden is located at 4344 Shaw.
