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.

​“Helleborus is a winter hardy shade perennial that blooms early spring. This plant is deer resistant and comes in many varieties and colors.” David Sherwood, Sherwood’s Forest.

Karlene Feldker has been a member of the Missouri Botanical Garden for more than 30 years. Her love of and fascination for the Garden eventually led her to a volunteer position as a “Plant Doctor” at the Kemper Center for Home Gardening, where home gardeners bring in all sorts of plant questions ranging from simple identification to diagnosing diseases and pests. Karlene’s earliest memory of the Garden was as a school girl. “I was so impressed that each plant had a label describing the plant, its characteristics and country of origin.

Driving due south from Salzburg, Austria surrounded by the Australian Alps, I ask myself, How can the scenery possibly get any better?  Enter the country of Slovenia. 

Slovenia, a tiny little country of majestic mountains and hills sandwiched between Austria, Croatia, Italy and Hungary has quaint medieval villages tucked into the rolling hillsides as far as the eye can see.  Each village is unique in itself and bursting with centuries-old charm.  My driving companions, who include my husband and another couple from college, are in awe of the beauty before us.

Debbie Thompson remembers a moment 15 years ago just after she had started working as winemaker at Simonsig Wine Estate, located outside of Capetown in the sumptuous Stellenbosch region of South Africa.  “Someone asked me to handle a group wine tasting,” she says, “so there I was before 200 people – me, a real greenhorn, before a roomful of elderly wine aficionados.  Everything I said about the wines, the vineyards and terroir was met by a sea of stony faces.

Being eco-friendly doesn't just have to be about soncerving water and energy. You can incorporate green design into your wallcoverings with pretty papers made of natural materials like cork, bark, recycled paper and more.

Tahoe in starlight, paper, by Hartmann & Forbes, available at KDR Designer Showrooms and The Great Cover Up.

Lakeshore, cork with metallic, by Hartmann & Forbes, available at The Great Cover Up.