Lafayette Park Conservancy

Nice shout out to Lafayette Park from our friends at St Louis Magazine. You're more photogenic in a beautiful setting! https://www.stlmag.com//local-photographers-share-where-/

This week's Featured Creatures are... the Northern Cardinal, Rose-Breasted Grosbeak, and Red Crossbill! https://www.lafayettepark.org/wildlife/nutcracker-suite-2/

This week's Featured Creature is... the Striped Skunk! https://www.lafayettepark.org/wildlife/king-of-the-road/

Lafayette Park is ready for the Holidays. Michael Bushur and his elves have been busy stringing lights on the Grotto bridge and corner gates. Photo by Sydney Willmore.

This week's Featured Creature is... the Wild Turkey! https://www.lafayettepark.org/wildlife/runner-up-repost/ (and yes, they are sometimes seen in Lafayette Park)

Just inside the mid Mississippi gates of Lafayette Park, at the end of Kennett Street, there’s a marker for something that no longer exists. Here’s the story of the lost playground and a local boy who did well and made good from it. https://lafayettesquarearchives.com/1956-the-first-lafayet/

This week's Featured Creature is... the Daddy Longlegs! https://www.lafayettepark.org/wildlife/long-stemmed/

Join the Lafayette Park Conservancy on Sunday, November 14 for Mike Jones's program "the History of the Lafayette Park Fence in Three Parts." The talk will be held in the Kern Lakeside Pavilion at 3:00 p.m. The Fence of Lafayette Park, the Conservancy's fourth history booklet, is hot of the presses and will be for sale. The Conservancy's Annual Meeting follows the program. The Conservancy is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

Saturday was a beautiful fall morning to ready the grotto gardens for the coming winter season. Mike Jones, Marilyn Lane, Ward Buckner, Elizabeth Freeman and Carolyn Willmore pose behind to the pile of plant material they amassed

Project Updates A new irrigation system has been installed around the Washington Statue. The outdated system of four standing pipes supporting pulse sprinklers has been replaced. Green, red and white flags mark the location of concentric circles of sprinkler heads. The area has been graded in anticipation of new landscaping plants. With the outdoor wedding season over, Tom Dahms is back at work stripping and repairing the last two sections of wood trim on the Cook Pavilion.

This week's Featured Creature is... the Pumpkinseed Sunfish! Sorry this post is a little late but we had some minor issues with the new LPC website (which is beautiful by the way -- check it out!). If you're already feeling a little nostalgic for Halloween this post might be just the pumpkin-flavored treat you need right now. https://www.lafayettepark.org/wildli/the-great-pumpkinseed/

the Lafayette Park Conservancy is pleased to announce the launch of our new website at https://www.lafayettepark.org Please have a look. We think you'll find a much improved visitor experience, with better information more intuitively presented. A couple things you might notice are increased white space, letting it breathe a bit and not crowding you with text. Our full story and history are there too, for when you want to explore it.... A simple tile system lets you pick where you want to be, then arrive with a single click. * Graphics are vibrant and fonts are larger for easier reading. * Reaching us is easy, with contact email forms at the bottom of many pages. * Donating, Joining the Conservancy, and volunteering are simple and straight forward. * All events involving the park and its partners are listed and frequently updated. * The Lafayette Park blog keeps you posted on what's going on in the park. Thanks for visiting https://www.lafayettepark.org and let us know what you think. Mike Jones

From the Archives: Every city has a Chestnut Street, but not many have chestnut trees anymore. Wha'happen? Catch some detail here. Meet the writer at the Lafayette Park Speaker Series finale, Sunday, November 14, 3pm at the Kern Pavilion (boathouse) in the park. All about the 1869 vintage fence that encloses our 30 acre park. https://lafayettesquarearchives.com/2019-the-chestnut-tree/

Long Awaited Fence Installation Begins Empire Fence spent the day in Lafayette Park installing the redesigned section of fence between the Park House and Mississippi Avenue. The Lafayette Park Conservancy is restoring this section of fence to determine the cost of restoring the entire fence around the park. The weight-bearing skirt/beam that was eliminated when the fence was restored in the 1980s has been replaced. New posts were installed and one section of the skirt was... installed before the first fence section was moved into place. Tom Dahms, LPC Fence Committee, and Empire Fence check the fit. Three of the five sections are in place and the last two will be installed later this week, weather permitting. Rain on Wednesday would actually help our cause.

Help Wanted. Volunteers needed to get Lafayette Park ready for spring. Join us for a panned work day this Saturday, April 24. We will gather at the Cook Pavilion at 9:00 a.m., weather permitting. Rain cancelled our first workday and the forecast for Saturday predicts more of the same. Please check this site on Saturday for workday update due to rain. Tasks include cutting back grasses and other dead foliage, filling in holes created by long dead trees, clearing paths, raking and planting. If you have not already done so, please let us know if you think you will volunteer. Contact [email protected]

Fence Update: Empire Fence installed metal eye bolts in the cement bases on Friday. These large metal loops will be used to firmly attach the fence posts. White cement caps were attached to the top of the cement bases. The caps provide an additional means of leveling the fence as they are attached to the in ground bases with a variable layer of concrete. These caps have a more decorative appearance and are wide enough to support the skirt/beam. The skirt, a feature of the original fence, will keep the 15-foot fence sections from sagging

Progress was made on two Lafayette Park Conservancy projects last week. The test section of the historic iron fence along Lafayette Avenue and east of the Park House was taken down. New foundations for the fence posts were poured. The fence sections will be reinstalled with an iron skirt that replicates the structural support of the 1869 fence. Work continues on repairing squirrel damage to the Cook Pavilion. Paint on the decorative fascia below the roof is being safely removed and will be repainted with period appropriate colors. This pavilion was built at the turn of the 20th Century and originally had a red clay tile roof. Want to help? Donations can be made at Lafayettepark.org/donate

Check out these upcoming events: the Lafayette Square Restoration Committee House Tour and the Flora Conservancy of Forest Park's pre-Mother's Day plant sale. Both events have been adapted to meet Covid requirements.

Lafayette Park Spring blitz workday for Saturday, April 24 has been cancelled. There is a 90% chance of rain tomorrow morning. We'll try again in May.

Happy Earth Day! The theme for Earth Day 2021 is "Restore Our Earth" which focuses on natural processes and emerging green technologies that can restore the world's ecosystems. An ongoing goal of the Lafayette Park Conservancy is reforestation. Last year we planted about 50 new trees in the park. Want to help? Contact lafayettepark.org/donate.

This week's Featured Creature is... the Softshell Turtle! http://lafayettepark.org/flat-as-a-pancake/

April snow shower covers spring blossoms in Lafayette Park. The average last frost date for St. Louis is April 15 but gardeners are warned not to set out plants until Mother's Day. Yesterday's snow reinforces that gardening adage. In the Grotto, tulips, creeping phlox and developing snowball viburnum nod under a layer of wet snow.

April showers cancelled the planned Spring Blitz for today, but rain or shine, Lafayette Park is beautiful. The Grotto area is especially colorful. The redbud and dogwood trees are blooming. Creeping phlox spills over the wall behind the Cook Pavilion.

Today’s work day in Lafayette Park is cancelled due to wet weather A work day is scheduled for Saturday, April 24. Hope you can join us then

This week's Featured Creature is... the Eastern Cottontail Rabbit! http://lafayettepark.org/track-field/

Spring Park Clean-up Two workdays are planned for April: Saturday, April 10 and Saturday April 24. Lafayette Park is the heart of Lafayette Square. Volunteers are essential to keeping the park beautiful. Volunteers are needed to prepare garden beds, plant annuals and mulch. Other tasks include sweeping paths and filling in holes created by long gone trees. More information will be posted on this page and Nextdoor. ... Not interested in gardening? The Lafayette Park Conservancy needs volunteers with computer skills, grant writing and fundraising expertise, as well as general park maintenance. Contact [email protected] or [email protected].

This week's Featured Creature is... the green grass snake! http://lafayettepark.org/slender-in-the-grass/

What's Blooming. The Witch Hazel bush along the flagstone path on the west side of the park is in full bloom. Because of the intense cold snap last month, the blossoms opened in March. Usually Witch Hazel blooms in February in Lafayette Park. Yellow and purple crocus are popping up on both sides of that path. On the east side of the park, Lenten roses are blooming in Grotto gardens.

This week's Featured Creature is... the Common Pillbug! http://lafayettepark.org/identity-thief/