When Connie and Lynn Suydam considered a move to the City of St. Louis, Connie had one requirement. “I had to have a place to put my fingers in the dirt,” she says firmly.

Sharon Buchanan gardens on two acres that she and her husband Larry are transforming from an out-of-control wilderness into a native Missouri showplace. Her efforts already are getting attention. Last December, Creve Coeur recognized the Buchanan garden as the best in the city.

That type of recognition should be no surprise when you learn a bit more about Sharon, who cannot remember a time when she did not love being outdoors. The love of the natural world led her to pursue a career in forestry at the University of Georgia, where her family lived at that time.

“A web-based irrigation controller is great to have in the garden. We like the Irrigation Caddy. It has an app for irrigation instead of going to the control box all the time. You can use any web browser or the app to fully control your irrigation system no matter where you are.” Bob Graeler, Chesterfield Valley Nursery.

To spend time with Melanie Fathman, longtime Garden member and volunteer, is a delightful experience to say the least. Her vast knowledge and long history is admirable and has inspired many throughout the years to become a part of the Garden family – that is, its members. Melanie began volunteering at the Garden hosting children’s birthday parties in 1969. She served on the Friends Board and was a founding member of the Boxwood Society.

When she began designing her own garden, Betsy was well up to the task. Describing herself as someone who had previously “putzed around” with gardening when her children, now 22 and 24, were small, Betsy got serious 10 years ago. She took the Master Gardener course at the Missouri Botanical Garden, offered through the University of Missouri Extension Service. Following the completion of the course, she began working at Garden Heights Nursery in Richmond Heights, and immediately “hit it off” with a coworker, Caroline Hogg.

Take a walk with Deb Hollingsworth at the Missouri Botanical Garden on a cold blustery day, and you will quickly warm to her enthusiasm for the bare landscape. Hollingsworth, a member of the Garden’s Corporate Council, is quick to point out the stark beauty of the season. “I love how the ice and snow frame everything in a different way,” she says. “I think the trees are the most beautiful at this time of year because you see the structure and bark features.