John Perkins’ path to becoming a chef and restaurateur was as winding as it was unconventional. “I was late to the game,” taking his first restaurant job at age 30, says Perkins, chef-owner of Juniper in the Central West End. He also considered a number of other careers, including photography, writing and graphic design, and he earned a master’s degree in divinity.

Neal Thompson and John Wallace love to entertain during the holidays. Each year, the couple hosts a party for more than 100 family and friends. Taking in the festive décor that cheerfully fills their three-story Soulard home, first-time guests would never guess that Neal and John tore the place down to the studs and have spent more than 24 years renovating the home from the ground up.

Jim and Ashley Souers collect Santas. Not the traditional variety immortalized by Clement Clarke Moore. Instead, one-of-a-kind figures of all sizes, each hand-crafted and uniquely portrayed by artisans the couple has discovered during their extensive travels. 

For this engaging duo, the winter holidays are a highpoint of the year, and decorating their magnificent residence in Ladue for the season is an art form that takes weeks of preparation. 

There should be no mystery as to what inspires the stunning garden that surrounds Carol and Steve Higgins's Ladue home. The clues are everywhere.

In the colder, winter months indoor cacti bring a fresh breath of air to your home. The spiny plants require little care making them ideal for a sunny window space. We asked local landscapers to share their favorite cacti.

Easter Lily Cactus

“For months of colorful blossoms try the Easter Lily cactus. Large pink flowers burst out from the white spine-jeweled ribs of this cylinder-shaped cactus. It brings year-round beauty for containers indoors and out.” Ann Lapides, Sugar Creek Gardens.

A walk through the Shoenberg Temperate House is a lovely respite from the blustery St. Louis weather.  Dedicated in March 1990, the building replaced the 1913 Mediterranean House on a site just north of the Climatron® geodesic dome conservatory.  Boasting 8,900 square feet of space, it displays warm temperate-zone species requiring special protection from our St. Louis winters. The largest portion of the house features species from five widely separated regions of the world known for their “Mediterranean” climate, chiefly characterized by warm, dry summers and cool, moist winters.