Intuitive Value: Five Oaks Farm

"The mission of the University of Missouri Extension Master Gardener volunteer program is to provide horticultural information and training to the gardening public based on proven research specific to the local climate, soils, and plants."

As a Certified Master Gardener since May 2012, I have completed both the core course and the volunteer requirements. It is recommended that six or more additional hours of continued education be taken each year as an Active Master Gardener. The education requirements were met on this garden tour with six different Educational Demonstrations available from 8:30 - 4:00 on May 18, 2013 in Forsyth, Missouri. It was a wonderful experience as well as an educational one. Much thanks to the owners of Five Oaks Farm for allowing Master Gardeners and the public to view the beauty and tranquility of their estate. I am very happy to share this gardening experience...

The Rose Garden/Conservatory

The Master Gardeners of the Ozarks hosted a garden tour just for the love of gardening on May 18, 2013. Keith and I attended and had a wonderful day touring the estate grounds which included educational demonstrations by Master Gardeners and garden professionals, visiting with horticultural societies and garden clubs, shopping at the vendor tents, a catered lunch, a guided tour of the estate and relaxing and enjoying the day with friends. It was the perfect way to spend the day sharing ideas and gaining inspiration for our own garden. The timing was close to our 39th Wedding Anniversary so this was a special time for us personally as our love of the outdoors and gardening is what we share the best. Our love of each other and of gardening came together.

The first year we were together, Keith worked as a night watchman at a huge greenhouse business at Morningside in Sioux City, Iowa. There were dozens of greenhouses for all different types of plants requiring different environments. When I got off work at the local garment factory I would bring him dinner at the Rose House. We had fresh flowers in our house everyday as they discarded all that were not perfect.

Keith and Beti inside the Conservatory

The garden tour took place on the estate of Tony and Robin Collier, owners of National Enzyme Company in Forsyth, Missouri. The estate is located on the bluffs of Bull Shoals Lake. Tony, the President and CEO of the company, relocated here in 1979 from Chicago, Illinois. NEC is the largest enzyme supplement manufacturer in North America, producing cutting edge products for the largest nutritional and dietary supplement companies including GNC, Swanson's, and New Foods. Their estate includes 142 acres of which 25 acres are manicured or for farm production. Not only are there flower gardens and lawns to meander through but they also have a commercial hydroponic lettuce production facility on the property.

Robin Collier, The Lady of the Estate

Vendors in front of the residence included Bee creek Creations, Bonnie Brook Historical Society, Biological Tech Solutions, Brights, Candace Clark Art, Cedar Creek Gardens, Farmgirl Sisters, Fitzwater Design, Granny Good's Naturals, Mary Hall Art Studio, Ozark Bee Company, Ozark Cedar Hives, Smiling Sun, The Flower Farm, Three Crazy Gardeners.

Catered lunch under the tent - pulled pork, baked beans, potato salad, cole slaw, fresh salad from their greenhouse, many delicious desserts and refreshing drinks! Brought to us by T & K Catering Caterer.

The Participating Horticulture Societies and Garden Clubs include:

Water Garden Society
Rose Society
Herb Society
Master Naturalists
Bee Keepers of the Ozarks
Iris Society
Hosta Society
Azalea Association

There were 55 donors of which several of the above mentioned societies and clubs were included in giving to this event to help fund the College of the Ozarks Horticultural Scholarship Fund.

Upon entering the gates of Five Oaks Farms, we were directed to park our cars and several shuttle vans wind through the creeks and valleys which lead to the residence. Everything was within walking distance around this beautiful lake located in the center of the drive approaching the home.

The first stop for the tour was The Rose Garden/Conservatory. Dan Faflak has been a member of the American Rose Society for over 40 years, serving in numerous local and district positions. He is a Greene County Master Gardener who grew up in northern Minnesota and had up to 350 plants on five acres! We received some very informative handouts on rose choices, pruning, and rose deficiencies. He likes a 20-20-20 liquid rose fertilizer because roses are heavy feeders. Pruning Knock-outs should be in late March dead-heading as needed.

Dan Faflak - Educational Demonstration about Roses

Keith and I would return to the peaceful tranquility of the Rose Garden/Conservatory many times throughout the day.

Our next stop on the tour was at the residence. The rear patio area had a variety of sunny and shade flowers where we had a class on perennial gardening by Kathryn Kufahl who retired to the Ozarks from Green Bay, Wisconsin in 2005. She loves the long growing season of the Ozarks and her favorites are ornamental plantings with ten different cultivars in her home landscape. She enjoys growing new annuals every season and tries something new each year. Some of the annuals she showed included Asclepiag Curassavia "Silky Gold" which is food for the monarch butterfly and Angelonia which loves the heat, draught resistant and long blooming. It has a spiky look. Perennials that draw butterflies and hummingbirds are favored. Ruella Purple Showers, Sedum Blue spruce and Guara were shown. She is active with Master Gardeners Speakers Bureau and is happy to respond to speaking invitations.

Front view of the house

Rear patio of the house - all the chairs had feathered cushions!

Behind the lovely chairs was a highly scented old rose bush.

Beautiful old rose that is very fragrant!

People gathering at the side of the house by the rear patio.

View of the perennial gardens on the side of the rear patio.

Rear of the house as people look out at the spectacular view off the bluffs of Bull Shoals Lake.

View of Bull Shoals Lake from the rear patio.

View of Bull Shoals Lake from the rear patio

Katheryn Kufahl - Educational Demonstration on Perennial and Sunny Flower Gardening

Ruella Purple Showers is a perennial that grows well in our area.

Then we walked to the front of the residence which is well shaded by tall oaks for the presentation on Shade Gardens by Tom Lakowske. Keith and I had met Tom at his home last year as part of the Springfield Garden Tour which I have included in an earlier blog. He entertains and educates using the knowledge, experience, and ideas he learned while creating Alta Birdsong, one of the SW Missouri's most beautiful private gardens. His website, SWMOgarden.com is full of gardening tips and ideas, landscape designs, articles and games, a complete gardening calendar and a how-to series. He is a board member of Friends of the Garden, a Master Gardener, President of the Greater Ozarks Hosta Society, and a contributing writer to Greene Magazine since its inception.

Hosta varieties in front of the residence

Tom Lakowske - Educational Demonstration on Shade Gardens

Lunchtime was anytime between 11:00 and 1:00 with so much food available that one could go back as many times as wanted. The catering service did a wonderful job keeping everything fresh and ready. The desserts were donations that included a large variety of cakes, cookies, and confections. It is good that the afternoon classes were a little bit more of a walk to the other end of the lake!

The first afternoon demonstration was next to the greenhouse in an area under a large oak tree with a garden shed nearby. Linda Lauer had gardening as a hobby which gave her a reason to be outside with her children. Her degree in Fine Arts was paying off as she discovered a world a color, texture, form, and shape as the tools for creating with plants and designing beds and containers. When her husband retired from the service, they found their way to the Ozarks and her hobby happily became a vocation. She, along with others created a company called Terrace Gardens and has The Flower Farm which produces plant offerings for the community. She was one of the first Master Gardeners in Branson.

The garden shed sets under a large oak tree that has two huge cast-iron lantern holders hanging from the tree. ready to place a couple lanterns anytime to light up the work area located close to the greenhouse and lake.

Linda Lauer - Demonstration on Container Gardening

Close by is the greenhouse. On the payroll for Five Oaks Farms for a little over a year is Mandy Stuart who came to Missouri in 1990 from the Denver, Colorado area and lives with her husband and children in Taneyville. She became a Master Gardener in December 2012 and looks forward to learning from fellow Master Gardeners as well as sharing her knowledge and gardening experiences.

The greenhouse is located next to the lake. The covered center is used as the office/sitting area inside.

Mandy Stuart - Greenhouse Tour - talked about the daily operation and projects involving the greenhouse, outdoor gardens both landscaping and vegetable production. There is also fresh cut flower arrangements for the residence. She has two people helping her in the greenhouse and there is also two groundskeepers and two hires for the all the residential needs.

Workbench area in covered center of the greenhouse

Organized filing system next to workbench

Resource Center next to workbench

Visiting Area next to workbench

Tropical Flowers hanging like lanterns in the visiting area

A beautiful area to visit

Very decorative as well as useful - tools kept in a decorative urn filled with sand to keep sharp and rust-free

Yes, indeed! This is a tranquil place.

Definitely a working greenhouse...

...all the plants for the landscape...

...tomatoes grown year-round hydroponically!

The final demonstration was about Vegetable Gardening by Jim Kohler. Jim was born in St. Louis County and raised on a truck farm in the midst of suburbia. He taught BS Vocational Agriculture Education at Missouri State in 1980 and taught high school Vo-Ag in SW Missouri for four years. He operated SW Landscaping Company from 1985-1990 with 22 years experience as a wholesale distributor sales representative at Springfield Seed and Hummert International. Currently Jim is employed in the growing and retail operations at Garden Adventures Nursery in Nixa, Missouri. He and his wife tend about 1500 square feet of vegetable garden, berries, and brambles on 24 acres outside Nixa, Missouri.