Whether you’re a master gardener or planning your first raised garden bed, when it comes to gardening there’s always something more to learn. Start with some inspiration or consider incorporating new ideas into your existing outdoor spaces. While you’re inspired, see our suggestions of where to shop for outdoor living furniture in St. Louis. Click here to see how thoughtful landscaping helps boost a home’s curbside appeal. Are you interested in pursuing native gardening? Consult our guide to plants that thrive in St. Louis. And, when you’d rather hire out those monthly maintenance tasks or large outdoor projects, find a local expert on one of our lists below.
Want to learn more about gardening in St. Louis? Listen to these episodes of the House of Lou podcast:
- Lessons from the garden with Marcella Hawley
- Digging into native plants and gardens with local plant experts
- Tree expert Mike Sestric of Trees, Forests, and Landscapes
- St. Louis Gardening 101
Gardening Groups & Clubs
Find like-minded enthusiasts at one of the organizations below.
The Gardeners of Florissant (Facebook page)
Bonsai Society of Greater St. Louis
Greater St. Louis Daffodil Society
Greater St. Louis Daylily Society
Orchid Society of Greater St. Louis
Metropolitan St. Louis African Violet Council
New Town Garden Club (Facebook page)
Rose Society of Greater St. Louis
Webster Groves Women’s Garden Association and Groups IV, V and XXIII
St. Charles County Master Gardeners
Landscape Design and Maintenance Companies
Sometimes an outdoor project is better left to the pros. In those instances, consult our list of reputable local businesses.
Allen Outdoor Solutions: Through custom irrigation plans and lawn maintenance programs, Allen helps keep yards, corporate courtyards, and athletic fields looking green and healthy. The company also offers design services.
Big Bend Landscaping: This Kirkwood-based company installs retaining walls, patios, walkways, drainage solutions, fencing, and fire pits.
Chalily: Shop here for floating plants, water lilies, lotus, and pond supplies. The family-owned shop, established in 2011, is your single source for celebrating water in the garden.
Frisella Nursery: Winner of the National Association of Landscape Professionals Award of Excellence two years in a row, this business got its start in Ferguson in 1953, when Frank Frisella began growing and selling trees. The company provides tree delivery, full-service landscape, maintenance, and irrigation to St. Louis–area clients.
Lawn and Beyond: Since 2014, owner Tim Bennett and his team have provided mowing, mulching, aeration, leaf cleanup, and sod installation services to St. Louis homeowners. The company also offers treatment packages to help rejuvenate lawns experiencing a variety of common problems.
Poynter Landscape Architecture & Construction: This full-service firm offers everything from design and installation to ongoing garden maintenance. Its award-winning team has expertise in pool and hot tub design, waterfalls and features, hardscaping, drainage and irrigation.
Red Oak Landscaping: Arnold-based Red Oak prides itself on doing things right the first time. Team members have the opportunity to continue their training so they can provide top-of-the-line landscaping and lawn care services, as well as drainage installation, concrete work, retaining wall construction, and snow removal.
TRC Outdoor: Owner Chris Rhodes has loved the outdoors since he was a kid. Today, he pours that passion into his business, offering full-service lawn and landscaping, landscape construction, irrigation, and winter services. The Webster Groves–based company operates on the principle of providing value to customers through communication, on-time scheduling, and results-based performance.
Garden Supplies and Nurseries
From multi-generation family businesses to specialists in trees, shrubs and more, our list includes many of the best garden supply centers in St. Louis. Plus: Scroll to the bottom of this section for a list of places that offer complimentary mulch.
One of the largest garden centers and landscaping firms in Missouri, A. Waldbart & Sons has been in business since the 19th century. Check the firm’s website for a complete list of offerings, including trees, shrubs, conifers, and ornamental grasses. The company’s tree planting service handles everything from the planting of one tree in the front yard to an entire row of pines in the back of the house.
This city nursery supplies an assortment of perennials, annuals and herbs, which it delivers fresh weekly from its fourth-generation family farm in Clarksville to its Central West End storefront. But that’s not all: The shop also sells containers and garden supplies and even offers classes in its studio space.
In business for more than 25 years, this garden center provides not only a vast array of outdoor plants but also inspiration and direction, with display gardens and onsite landscaping. The retail center offers pots and planters, succulents and air plants, and more.
Fendler Nursery and Garden Center
Since 1954, this family-owned South County business has offered an outstanding selection of trees, shrubs, flowers, grasses, and hard-to-find plants, as well as mulch, rock, soil, organic fertilizer, and indoor growing supplies.
This floral shop and garden center on Cherokee offers a seasonal outdoor nursery with annuals, perennials, and vegetable and fruit starts, as well as a greenhouse filled with cacti, succulents, mounted staghorn ferns, and planters made by local artisans.
More than a garden center and nursery, this 30-acre, family-owned and -operated shop in Defiance is an experience. Take advantage of all Frisella has to offer by exploring its grounds, using its residential landscaping services, and participating in an upcoming workshop.
Whether you want to plan a garden or grab some houseplants, this garden and retail center has the seeds, soil, pottery, advice, and more to get you started. For those who prefer a more hands-off approach, leave the potting and delivery/installation to Garden Heights’ experts.
A multigenerational family business, this full-service Ballwin nursery is filled with trees, shrubs, and plants of all varieties, including natives, edibles, annuals, perennials, tropical plants, houseplants, and a great selection of planters. Greenscape even offers custom container design and a delivery service.
With a diverse selection of plants, selected for how well they do in the St. Louis area, as well as knowledgeable and helpful staff, Kirkwood Gardens makes choosing plants for your outdoor spaces simple and enjoyable.
This Olivette nursery specializes in native plants, shrubs, and trees; pollinator support plants; perennials and biennials; water plants; and seasonal annuals, vegetables, and herbs. They also offer bulk and bagged mulches, composts, fill dirt and specialty soils.
Known for its combination greenhouse and coffee shop, this Webster Groves garden shop carries a selection of indoor and outdoor perennials, annuals, trees, shrubs, and edible plants. Enjoy a latte while taking in the sights and scents.
Started downtown in 1950, Passiglia’s is a third-generation family business, now operating its 10-acre nursery and garden shop in Wildwood. In addition to the highest-quality trees, shrubs, plants, flowers, garden art, fountains, birdbaths, and statuary, Passiglia’s offers full landscape design services.
At its three locations—O’Fallon, Missouri; Oakville; Olivette—Planthaven offers 30 varieties of tomato plants and 20 varieties of peppers in addition to annuals, perennials, and beautiful mixed containers.
In business since 1959, Rolling Ridge offers everything from straw and compost to hard goods, trees, shrubs, annuals, and perennials, all from the historic Henry Schulz Feed Co. Stable in Webster Groves. Free local delivery to the greater St. Louis area.
A full-service nursery and garden center in Ballwin, Sherwood’s Forest also offers landscape design services. They carry a complete range of trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, tropicals, bulbs, seeds and garden supplies.
Located in the heart of Kirkwood since 1994, this nursery and garden center offers more than 2,500 varieties of plants, specializing in rare perennials and shrubs, plus Missouri natives. Online ordering for curbside pickup is available.
Open April–June, this seasonal pop-up garden center in St. Charles boasts a surprisingly large selection despite its limited calendar. Look for a variety of spring and summer seasonals, including hundreds of annual and perennial varieties, pollinator favorites, natives, edibles, grasses, and hanging baskets.
For a no-frills experience—just great prices, quality, and service—this Brentwood establishment is the place. Its convenient location near the intersection of Brentwood and Manchester make this garden center an easy place to drop in.
With a passion for tree care and preservation, owner William J. Spadley has offered his clients top-notch tree service since 1990. Arborists at the company are all ISA-certified and hold degrees in either horticulture, forestry, or arboriculture.
Homeowners needn’t look far to find mulch. Here’s a list of places around St. Louis where it’s available to pick up and take home—for free.
Organic material in the form of hardwood shavings, manure, and hay is cleaned daily from the stalls at Castlewood Stables, in Ballwin, and is available on a static pile. Pick-up is “any time there’s sunlight ” and, schedules permitting, the staff is willing to help load materials.
This family-owned tree service company offers an abundance of free wood chips to interested homeowners, who can sign up to receive a full load of chips, approximately 10-15 cubic yards, delivered to their property. Fill out the contact form on the company’s website and expect a call 24 hours in advance of delivery.
St. Louis City Department of Forestry
City of St. Louis residents can find free organic materials at seven drop-off sites across the city on a weekly basis. While wood chips are available at all locations, compost is produced at the Carondelet facility and is sometimes in short supply. For more details, check the Department of Forestry website.
St. Louis County Parks and Recreation
Four St. Louis County parks provide free mulch year-round. Locations include Spanish Lake Park (in the parking lot across from the football field), Creve Coeur Park (in the parking lot at Sailboat Cove), Queeny Park (in the upper-parking lot near Weidman Rd.), and Sylvan Springs Park (near the tennis courts).
Landscape Designers
St. Louis is teeming with talented gardeners who run their own boutique landscape design businesses.
Linda Widden Kraft creates gardens that are beautiful and bring meaning, joy, and satisfaction to the homeowner.
Owner Matt Lebon and his team work with both residential and commercial clients, and specialize in planting raised bed vegetable gardens, food forests, orchards, herb gardens, culinary gardens and profitable vegetable farms.
Award-winning landscape architect Gay Goessling has been designing spaces that delight the senses and are enhanced with time. Her residential designs range in scale from small gardens to large estates.
Julie’s Garden Design at Kirkwood Home & Landscape
Julie’s Garden Design was founded in 2002 after word spread of the owner’s talent and knowledge of flowers and plants.
Owners Kim Kelce and Nancy Pedley are known for their sophisticated garden designs. Their award-winning work has been featured in local design magazines.
The team at OCD believes that a garden should reflect the personality of its owner and caretaker.
Educated in architecture with a background in landscape design, Kyle West makes clear connections in his work between interior and exterior spaces. West studied throughout Europe and South America, exposing him to a variety of plant materials and design styles.
Arborists
If you keep one specialist on speed dial, make it a trusted tree expert.
This Fenton-based company—recipient of Angie’s List Super Service award, Thumbtack’s Best of 2015 award, and Home Advisor’s Best of 2014 award—offers tree trimming and removal services, as well as brush removal, hedge trimming, stump grinding, and tree disease treatment. ISA-certified.
International Society of Arboriculture and Tree Care Industry Association member, Clipper works with both residential and commercial clients. Their services include tree trimming and removal, landscape design, forest and vegetation management, and emergency storm cleanup.
In business since 1954, GAMMA is family owned and operated. The company’s team of horticulturalists and certified arborists are committed to preserving their clients’ investments.
Happy Tree provides tree care services to the St. Louis area. Its certified arborists diagnose tree disorders, evaluate tree damage, and use current arboricultural practices to keep trees healthy, safe, and—well—happy.
For more than 40 years, this Kirkwood-based company has been serving the St. Louis area. Its ISA-certified arborists provide tree removal, tree trimming, and plant care. Ray’s also offers lawn care services.
William Spradley and his team of ISA-certified arborists are experts in tree care and preservation, landscape design, and tree selection, with a focus on choosing healthy native plants. Homeowners appreciate selecting tree species on site.
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