Kress Farm Garden Preserve

Save the date... Plant lists can be found at the "Plant Sale" button on our website. https://www.kressfarm.org/plant-sale Vegetable, herbs, annuals/perennials plants will be added soon.

Fresh picked Today! Available tomorrow at Kress Farm from 9am to 3pm and every day while supply lasts. Carrots, Radishes, Mixed Greens, Carrot tops and more.

Our native honeysuckles... Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) and Yellow Honeysuckle (Lonicera flava).

MAYAPPLE (Podophyllum peltatum) is a native woodland plant that is widespread across Missouri. This native perennial typically grows in colonies from a single root in open deciduous forests . All the parts of the plant, except the fruit, contain podophyllotoxin which is highly toxic if consumed, but was used by Native Americans for a variety of medicinal purposes. Podophyllotoxin is used as an ingredient in prescription drugs today.

EVERYDAY is Earth Day!

HOARY PUCCOON (Lithospermum canescens) Found statewide, it can be a showy specimen for native plant gardens.

We are a wildlife sanctuary. Pets are not permitted on the Kress Farm trails. This is for the protection of our wildlife and YOUR pets. Recently, we've had to turn away several hikers who brought their pets with them. Thank you for your cooperation!

We're in the seed collecting mode all around Kress Farm. Once we're assured of pollination, we use fine mesh organza bags to cover the seed heads of our native plants as in this pic. The seed pods can develop normally and the seeds are protected from dispersal and birds looking for a meal. When the seeds heads are thoroughly dried, we harvest, clean, and hold them for winter planting.

COMPOSTING WORKSHOP - Learn how to compost!

A little blurry, but just had to share this...

Time changes ALL things...

Boy Scout Troop 406 spent the weekend at Kress Farm, camping, hiking, and working on advancements. They helped us clean, sort, and organize our plant pots as a service project. Their activities also included a flag ceremony at the Kress Farm flag pole and a campfire on Saturday night.

FLOWERING DOGWOOD (Cornus florida) was officially declared Missouri's state tree in 1955. It delights us with its beauty all year long, with its clouds of white flowers visible in springtime woodlands, its attractive green midsummer foliage, its brilliant red or orange leaves and bright red berries in fall, and its interesting bark in winter. The fruits are eaten by squirrels and white-tailed deer and are a preferred food for wild turkey and at least 28 other species of birds, including northern bobwhite.

Our native Coral Bells (Heuchera americana) is sometimes called "alumroot". It occurs in somewhat dryish locations in rocky open woodlands and along ledges and crevices of bluffs. The attractive foliage and airy flower panicles provide color and contrast to the rock garden, perennial border, native plant garden, open woodland garden or shade garden. I found this one along one of the Kress Farm trails.

BUTTERFLY WEED (Asclepias tuberosa) has long seedpods, up to 4 inches long with numerous, tightly packed seeds in spirals. They are released by the wind and transported by their silky floss.

WHITE HEATH ASTER (Symphyotrichum pilosum) and other late-season bloomers provide nectar to many types of insects, including monarch butterflies that are migrating south. Although the flowers are small the plant may reach heights up to 5 feet. White heath aster is one of Missouri's most widespread and "weedy" native asters. It grows in uplands, bottomlands, and nearly all habitats in between. "Weedy" pioneer plants, like this one, are among the first colonizers of disturbed ground, helping immediately to bind the soil and prevent erosion.

Our native Common WITCH HAZEL (Hamamelis virginiana), is a fall-blooming, deciduous shrub or small tree that is native to woodlands, forest margins and stream banks. Plants of this species are usually the last native flowering plants to bloom in Missouri each year.

The beautiful OKRA (Abelmoschus esculentus) flower is a member of mallow family. It is related to Hollyhocks, Rose of Sharon and Hibiscus. It is also known in many English-speaking countries as ladies' fingers. It is valued for its edible green seed pods.