This is my third year as a Missouri Master Gardener and my husband's second year. All members are required to have at least six hours of continuing education relating to gardening. One of our favorite things to do is a garden tour put on each year by neighboring counties. We especially like the ones set up by Greene, Stone, and Taney counties. This year the Master Gardeners of the Ozarks presented a tour that included private and project gardens at eight locations close to Branson, Missouri. The opportunity to self-teach by inquiring and observing serves the education requirement well. It is also fun and interesting to see what other Master Gardeners can do and serves as an inspiration.
This Memorial Weekend Saturday was a rainy one. Of course, walking around gardens in the rain is not unpleasant at all when you have the proper rain wear and umbrella. There were as many smiling faces at each stop as on a sunny day touring. I was happy to have my brother join us as this happened at the time of year he usually visits from Iowa. He is not a gardener but enjoys going to places in Missouri he hasn't experienced before. A good change from all the typical commercial attractions.
The tour began in Forsyth, Missouri at the Taney County Extension Office. Forsyth is the Taney County seat. My husband and I were very impressed with all that has been done in four years on this location especially with native plants. The gardens include a Rain Garden, Butterfly Garden, Herb Garden, Keyhole Garden, Shade Garden, Native Grasses, Shrubs, and Trees plus many other garden venues. The established demonstration gardens give residents a place to learn about plants that do well in the area as well as to see gardening techniques and methods. The gardens are used in many classes offered.
This is where we sign in and pick up our pass booklets which tell all the eight locations open for the tour. Of course, there are refreshments at each stop. It is a self-tour where we can drive in any order and time as long as it is between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm. The catered lunch was served between 12:30-2:00 at the final location on the tour…Bonniebrook. So with the plan made and GPS set-up, we were on our way...
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| 122 Felkins Ave., Forsyth, MO 65653 - Extension Office front |
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| Extension Office - backyard view |
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| Extension Office - Butterfly Garden |
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| Extension Office - Rain Garden |
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| Extension Office - backyard view with arbor |
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| Extension Office - wood pallet vertical planting of succulents |
Just a few blocks from the Extension Office is a small corner park of interest. The Forsyth Garden Club was organized in 1958 and have been tending this beds for about 30 years next to the library and across from the old courthouse. Seasonal displays of flowers and other ornaments are used by the public as a quiet getaway to sit and enjoy the flowers.
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| 162 Main Street, Forsyth, Missouri - Forsythia Place |
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| Forsythia Place Park - Forsyth, Missouri |
The third stop is also in Forsyth but in a residential neighborhood. Tom & Kathy Riley's landscape is largely sloped and many aspects are used to minimize maintenance with beds of river gravel bordered by bark mulch. A small fescue-sod yard confines mowing to a manageable area. The east-side gardens are defined by a large gravel filled retaining wall that provides usable area in what had been a steep, erosion-prone hillside. These gardens are devoted to butterfly nector and food plants.
A shade garden occupies the small west side yard since 2014. Two tulip poplars and two maples shade the entire area. It is defined by a river-gravel and stepping-stone path that weaves through and around the trees. Mulch covered beds of azaleas, hydrangea, and hosts dominate the garden. A south facing area features plants to provide color and attract butterflies.
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| 160 Honeysuckle Ct, Forsyth, Missouri 65653 - Tom & Kathy Riley |
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| Tom & Kathy Riley - Master Gardener Landscape |
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| Tom & Kathy Riley - Master Gardener Landscape |
The next stop is in Rockaway Beach which was a major resort destination before Branson grew so fast in the 1980's. This garden was created using natural rock. Strawberries and mint are the ground covers in the securely fenced garden in the front yard. Down the natural dry-set rock steps through a terraced garden, there a shaded sitting area with a dripping spring. Pass through the gate and there's a 3300 gallon gold fish pond.
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| 294 Arrowhead Circle, Rockaway Beach, Missouri 65740 - Sid & Jerra Cardwell |
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| Sid & Jerra Cardwell's Landscape |
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| Sid & Jerra Cardwell's Landscape |
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| Sid & Jerra Cardwell's dog watching everybody in HIS yard. |
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| Shiitake mushroom logs in Sid & Jerra Cardwell's backyard. |
The McKenna Family Farm is operated by the mother, father, and son purchased in 1990. By 1995 they opened a pumpkin patch planting a few acres of pumpkins, putting up fall decorations and starting a family business now in its 10th season. In 2009, they planted their first large scale vegetable garden and sell out of the barn and local farmer's market. In 2012, they added a high tunnel to the farm so they could have tomatoes earlier in the growing season. Each year they try different things and grow in many ways. For more information, check out their Facebook page which they update daily.
Facebook.com/mckennafamilyfarm
The Pumpkin Patch opens September 19th thru October 31st in 2015. For more information about what is offered there:
mckennafamilyfarm.com
The first business that the McKennas opened on the farm was the wedding chapel. They bought the chapel from the Catholic Church grotto in 2000 at an auction and moved it on site.
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| 3265 State Hwy F, Branson, Missouri 65616 - McKenna Family Farm |
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| McKenna Family Farm - high tunnel and vegetable gardens |
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McKenna Family Farm - inside the high tunnel tomatoes are grown right in the ground and were ready for sale on
May 12, 2015. |
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| McKenna Family Farm - high tunnel variety vegetables grown inside |
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| McKenna Family Farm - machine that places the plastic covers in plant rows |
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| McKenna Family Farm - after the machine places the plastic buried properly in the row, a slit is made and a plant is placed inside. |
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| McKenna Family Farm - tractor and machine |
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McKenna Family Farm - Dogwood Chapel
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McKenna Family Farm - front view from highway where produce is sold
Still Waters International Ministries is an unusual site with palm trees and banana trees! Driving by this site just west of Hwy 65 on Hwy 160, you may wonder, "How are they growing tropical plants and do they dig them up each year?" The answers are passionately given by Kevin on site who loves to talk plants. He is growing hardy sub-tropical plants, cactus, and yuccas with much success. Part of his success is carefully wrapping each plant in burlap then stringing Christmas lights around them to keep warm when it gets cold. This ministry center is a welcoming place full of good Spirit and positive energy!
S.W.I.M. was founded in 2000 and is an active ministry to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. Their basic philosophy is "…Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." (Matthew 11:28-30). Land across from this site will soon have a large cross constructed with an elevator to reach the top. See Branson Cross. "Something monumental is coming."
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124 Deer Mountain Rd, Walnut Shade, Missouri 65771 - Still Waters International Ministries
Still Waters International Ministries
Still Waters International Ministries
Still Waters International Ministries
Still Waters International Ministries
Still Waters International Ministries
The next stop was Erick & Tracy Walker at 8253 Hwy 160, Walnut Shade, Missouri 65771 but we skipped it. It is described as a "work in progress" and "eclectic" and "mod lodge." We had one more stop on the tour so we decided to move on.
Bonniebrook was the home of Rose O'Neill, an American writer, illustrator, artist, best known for her Kewpie dolls. Rose and her family also loved nature and gardens. The Bonniebrook Historical Society reached out the the Master Gardeners of the Ozarks for guidance to "bring back the gardens to Bonniebrook." The project started 2.5 years ago. The story is worth reading about as Rose O'Neill was quite a character of her times. From Omaha, Nebraska, Rose and her family settled here in the late 1890's. Her art paid off very well with well-known ads such as Cambell Soup and Jello but it was the Kewpie doll that was the big money-maker. Bonniebrook Historical Society online is a good place to start. A visit to the estate is well worth the time when you visit the Branson area.
This was our last stop on the tour. as the sun finally came out! The wonderful catered lunch by T&K was provided from 12:30 to 2:00 pm inside the fine art museum. This was also the location for a Papercrete Class, Historical Society Presentation, and Musical Performance. It would take many hours to truly take in all that was offered here especially in the arts, Rose's career, and all that they influenced on the Women's Movement of the early 1900's. Outside there were many gardening-related vendors. Not only did we see the gardens and landscape, but we got to know Rose and the life she led from touring the house and seeing her life in her art. A walk down to her family's grave site was a spirit-filled experience with babbling brooks and quaint gardens and landscapes. I especially liked the Fairy Gardens. It was a fun and educational experience! It was great experiencing all of it with my Master Gardener husband and my brother who especially liked the old house which looked similar to the one he has restored.
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