Since 1908, I have made my home in the cultural hub of the city in the Central West End, minutes from shops, restaurants and the famed Forest Park. While my inhabitants have come and gone, my core and structure have remained intact. Sure, owners have nipped and tucked me over the years, but isn’t everyone always in need of a little paint and personality? And sure, I’ve grown in size, but who doesn’t add on a few extra rooms in 105 years. What matters is that my bones are intact, and each of my owners has taken great care to preserve me as best as possible.

In her 30-year career Diane Breckenridge-Barrett has created beautiful living rooms, grand hotel lobbies and handsome offices. Her interior design talents have transformed sleek downtown condos and rustic country getaways.

But no matter what the project, somewhere in that design you would be hard pressed not to find a bouquet of flowers. The arrangements might show up as part of a painting or a fabric detail or displayed in a fine container, but flowers there would be.

As you begin to fill in your garden, consider these blooms for full sun, full shade and partial sun. Your garden will be lush and beautiful in no time.

Full Sun
“One of my favorite sun plantings is the scavola. I like the prolific bloom and color that scavola exhibits. It also helps that it is extremely durable and easy to grow.”
Jim Graeler, Chesterfield Valley Nursery

Most of us in St. Louis and the surrounding suburbs live in very close proximity to our neighbors – some of us cheek by jowl and others a large, hopefully green, lawn away.  This is a far cry from the outermost reaches of Western Australia. The Smith family, most of whom were born among the vines are living in a remote, pristine environment in the Frankland River region of Western Australia -- just north of the largest protected wilderness area in the country.

Downsizing certainly doesn’t have to mean downgrading. When two empty nesters traded their roomy Frontenac home for a smaller place with high walk-ability scores, they retained the grandiose open-air amenities they’d previously enjoyed by cleverly facilitating a collision of functionality, comfort and class.

Don’t sacrifice your view any longer. Frameless glass fences are an architecturally savvy alternative to common fencing materials, such as wood or aluminum. Typically seen in New York and California, glass fences are no longer an East Coast or West Coast design. St. Louisans desire the clean lines and transparency that a glass fence offers.

Glass fences give the illusion of having no boundaries. In addition to preserving a coveted view, the fences are also a powerful design option, creating a dramatic architectural feel of greater space.