Mason Bee House

Mason bees don’t sting plus this house is an easy way to encourage polinators into your garden.
If you’re not handy, you can buy bee houses online.

$3.00 in Materials

Using one 6 foot long, 1″ x 6″ cedar fence, I was able to construct a basic native bee house. The entire piece of wood cost about $4.12 and I used about 2/3 of it.

Sides (2) – 6″ x 6.5″ – the tubes are 6″ so I prefer to have them slightly recessed.

Top and Bottom – both 6″ x 7″

Back – 6″ x 9″ – drill a hole at the top to support the house.

Shelf – measure to fit – approximately 4 5/8′ x 6″
This is used to put cocoons on in the spring.

I used 14 screws. Pre-drill 3/32″

Other Tips.

• Select the cedar boards with care. Try and find boards without knots.
• I will waterproof the roof later.
• The boards are actually 5 7/8″ so take that into consideration in your cutting.
• I also plan to slightly tilt the house forward to help with drainage.
• You can either buy the tubes online or make your own.
• Please watch the video below to learn the basics.
• You can buy bees in cocoons from Crown Bees.

Below is another inexpensive option.

7 Inches in length. 3″ pipe

Bush Honeysuckle – Taking Over

If you are interested in growing native plants, bushes and trees, plus attracting birds, butterflies and pollinators, then bush honeysuckle is a big bully which will take over your garden.

The pamphlet above is put out by the Missouri Department of Conservation and GrowNative.org and is available as a free download – click here.

It should answer most of your questions and also has lots of other resources to check out.

The city will be working on removing at least some of the bush honeysuckle next year and will be looking for volunteers to help. If you’re interested in helping, please email BeautifyCrestwood@Gmail.com

City of Crestwood Bush Honeysuckle Page.

The pictures below are from Spellman Park.

Before – Honeysuckle

After – Honeysuckle

Before – Honeysuckle

After – Honeysuckle

Pollinator Friendly Parks

In the next few years, Crestwood is going to add some more pollinator gardens to our local parks.

Below is a free publication From the Xerces Society with lots of good information on the topic.

Note – much of this information can be applied to any home garden.

Click here to download.

Free Native Seeds

We have 50 free native seed packets at Whitecliff Recreation Center.

These seeds are best planted in the late fall and have around a thousand seeds.

These won’t last long so drive over ASAP.

Free Native Seeds – Saturday, Oct. 23rd.

Whitecliff Park Fall Festival – 11 a.m.

1000 seeds – needs at least 25 square feet – weed free.
Plant after Nov. 15th – barely cover with soil or potting mix.
This mix has both annuals and perennials.

Below is what my natives looked like on July 23rd.

Father Dickson Cemetery Clean-Up

Volunteers Needed.

Father Dickson Cemetery Clean-Up,

845 Sappington Rd, St. Louis, MO 63126

Sat. Oct. 16 at 9:00 a.m.

Bring rakes, pruners for trimming ivy, loppers for branches/honeysuckle, and lawnmowers.  

Will be done about noon.  

This is being sponsored by Kiwanis One Day of Service for 2021.

Rain Gardens and Other Options

City Regulations – Stormwater Management Techniques

Crestwood-Stormwater-Management-Handout-8.17.21Download

• EPA – Rain Garden Information
• Mobot – Rainscaping Guide
• Shaw Nature Reserve – Rain Gardening

Crestwood Water Mitigation Examples

Crestwood-Rain-Gardens-Dry-Well-etc.-ExamplesDownload

Echinacea Problems

Aster Yellows Disease

The most common problem I have with Echinacea is the Aster Yellows Disease which shows up occasionally in my garden. The above picture shows what it looks like as compared to a normal Echinacea.

The only solution to this is to dig out the entire plant and throw it away.

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The second problem I have are Rosette Mites. They only affect the seed heads.

The main solution is to clip off the flower heads and get them out of your garden.

I found a great article on these two problems at this link.

Crestwood Native Plant Sale

Thursday – September 30 @ 3:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Roeslein & Associates, Inc. is hosting a native plant sale.

Sale will be in the parking lot.
9200 Watson Road, Crestwood, MO 63126

Some vendors accept cash, check, or credit cards; some only cash or checks. Vendors will donate 5% of proceeds to the Missouri Prairie Foundation to support their prairie conservation work, with Roeslein & Associates match this total amount in a donation to the Missouri Prairie Foundation.

The following Grow Native! professional members will have plants available:
Papillion Perennials
Gaylena’s Garden
Forrest Keeling
MO Wildflower NurseryYou may browse and shop from the vendors during the sale. You may also pre-order plants from the vendors to have your order ready for you when you arrive at the sale, if you wish.

Pre-order information:

Papillion Perennials — Find available plants at https://www.papillonperennials.com/. To place your order, call (636) 273-9688 or email cathy@papillonperennials.com by September 29 at 5 p.m.

Gaylena’s Garden — Find available plants at https://www.facebook.com/Gaylenas-Garden-103825317932028. To place your order, send an email to gaylenasgarden@gmail.com by September 29 at noon.

Forrest Keeling — Find available trees, shrubs, and plants at https://fknursery.com/. To place your order, send an email to info@fknursery.com by September 28 at 5:00 p.m.

MO Wildflower Nursery —  Find available trees, shrubs, and plants at https://mowildflowers-net.3dcartstores.com/. Order by calling 573-496-3492, by email at mowldflrs@socket.net, or online here by Monday, September 27: http://mowildflowers.net/

August Soil Preparation

If you’re contemplating putting in a native seed flower bed in late fall, August is a good time to get the soil ready.

Your main job is to get rid of all the grass and weeds and have a clean area without any vegetation.
Don’t till as that will bring up weed seeds.

I’d loosen up the top 1/2″ of soil and keep the area moist to encourage any weed seeds to germinate now before the growing season.

In St. Louis, Scott Woodbury our resident expert, suggests advice from Merv Wallace…
“Merv recommends one ounce of seed mix per 400-500 square feet and 3 grams per 20 square feet.
With your 4 grams, you are looking at around 25 sq ft.”
Note – 4 grams is the size of the seed packet we are giving away in Crestwood at the
Halloween Family Fun Fest – Whitecliff Park
Saturday, October 23, 2021
11 am to 2 pm

Sow the seeds on the surface in December.

I’d suggest mixing the seed with either play sand or potting mix. It makes for better disbursement when you throw the seeds out.
Don’t mix into the soil or cover with straw.
Just let the seeds sit on the surface.
Winter frost heave will move the seeds into the upper layer of the soil to the perfect depth.
Seeds will sprout in early April.

Native plants don’t need fertilizer, but might need watering during the first year.

Note – I like to cover my seeds with a light dusting of potting mix to hide them from the birds.