After living in a 110-year-old home in the heart of Kirkwood for 30 years, it was going to take a lot to tear designer Karen McNamee away from her beloved abode. She loved the old Craftsman, but the upkeep of an aging home began to become tiring, and her husband Bob wanted a home with a basement. After searching the area for two years, the McNamees finally found a lot with a small ranch home they could tear down and start fresh. “Building new, I knew I could do everything I wanted my way,” Karen says.

Color. Bold, beautiful, exuberant, raucous, dazzling color sets the tone for this spectacular West County pool and patio space. But just below the brilliant surface, there is sentiment, nostalgia and peace.

To understand both aspects, requires knowing the story of how the garden came about.  It began when the homeowner’s mother passed away leaving her the family ranch-style home and 2.5 acres of property.

Long-blooming annuals and perennials bring color and texture to your garden all season. Check out our local landscape experts' favorites.

Situated between the Lichtenstein Victorian District and the Japanese Garden, visitors step into a shaded patch of tranquility known as the Cherbonnier English Woodland Garden. Beneath a canopy of trees, more than 300 rhododendrons and azaleas and 100 dogwoods burst into bloom each spring, while clusters of wildflowers, hydrangeas and perennials provide surprising splashes of color against the background music of a babbling brook. The garden peaks around the second week of April, when the dogwoods, wildflowers and other spring blooms are out.

Forget Jack and his ethereal, spiraling beanstalk. If you want to see some authentic, fancy, fast-growing plant magic, local garden experts want you to checkout “Green Giant” arborvitae. It is rapidly becoming the “go-to” plant for garden designers and homeowners who want to create an all year, living, green privacy screen.

Standing outside of the original white stucco and dark wood Bodegas Farina winery in the Toro region of Spain one early April day, Manuel Farina was preparing to make one of his many tours of the 742 acres of vines that have been in his family nearly 75 years.