Master Gardener’s Speakers Bureau
The St. Louis Master Gardener Speakers Bureau provides quality horticultural information as a public service. All speakers are Master Gardener volunteers who have completed the Master Gardener training under the direction of University of Missouri Extension.
Each year St. Louis Master Gardeners make over 100 presentations to garden clubs, schools, businesses, churches, neighborhood and civic organizations. Presentations are typically 50-60 minutes in length. Also available are three walking and teaching tours of Missouri Botanical Garden’s specialty gardens and the annual orchid display.
- Choose a talk from the Program Topics
- Call or email that speaker directly. The speaker will explain the booking process and provide you with the combined Confirmation/Invoice form.
On the lower invoice portion of the Confirmation/Invoice form are directions for payment to St. Louis Master Gardeners. Return both the form and a check to the address given
For any issues or concerns related to the Speakers Bureau, please contact Betsy Alexander at betsyace@earthlink.net or (314) 283-0974, text preferred.
PROGRAM TOPICS
A Dark Side to Your Garden
Plants that Prickle or Poison. There are villains lurking in the garden. Find out if you are harboring one.
Speaker is Betsy Alexander
A Perfect Perennial – Daylily Magic for Your Garden
Go beyond Stella D’Oro! The modern daylily gives a spectacular display of color when other garden plants are wilting in the heat and humidity.
Speaker is Betsy Alexander
A Primer on Tree Care or How Not to Kill a Tree
Based on the poster, How to Kill a Tree, the talk goes through in detail how to care for your home’s trees, addressing topping trees, lawn equipment damage, water needs, pest damage, pruning and hiring tree care workers.
ABC’s of Honeybees
An introductory frolic through the intriguing world of all things honeybee.
Speaker is Marc Hartstein
Alien Invasions
There is a group of local, non-native plants that have become invasive problems.
Speaker is Betsy Alexander
All About Orchids
Orchids, the largest of all plant families, are the most diverse, fascinating and exotic plants on earth.
Speaker is Carol Gravens
Autumn Spectacular
Travel in a photo journey to witness the spectacular changes of autumn.
Speaker is Carol Gravens
Best Gardening Practices for a Sustainable Garden
This program offers an outline of sustainable/organic practices for use in your home garden.
Speaker is Betsy Alexander
Botanic Garden Arm Chair Tours
Seventeen botanic gardens are available for your arm chair tour. Choose 3 or 4 for your personalized adventure. They are all sites that have been visited by Master Gardener, John Hensley.
Boxwood: the Oldest Garden Ornamental
This talk gives a comprehensive look at the ornamental, boxwood.
Bring the Natives Home
Learn how to include Missouri native plants in your home garden. This talk features photos of native wildflowers.
Speaker is Betty Struckhoff
Chocolate
Chocoholic? Better, yet, a chocoholic gardener? Learn the earliest history of chocolate, learn how it is cutivated and processed, and then consider ways to take your chocolate addiction into your garden with ‘chocolate’ plants.
Speaker is Betsy Alexander
Critical for Gardening – Get the Dirt on Soil
A critical aspect of gardening is creating the soil necessary for lush, healthy plants.
Speaker is Betsy Alexander
Designing A Perennial Garden
A humorous look at designing her perennial garden includes the struggles encountered when putting in a new garden.
Speaker is Alice Mitchell
Designing with Nature in Mind
Attract more birds, butterflies, and pollinators to your yard by creating an appealing design to welcome the natural world.
Speaker is Betty Struckhoff
Elephant Ears and Other Aroids
This program covers the culture and garden use of Elephant Ears and other Ariods like Caladiums.
Speaker is Carol Gravens
Fall Wildflowers of Missouri
Autumn is a time of beautiful weather when nature puts forth with a display of colorful wildflowers. If you venture into the forests, prairies, and glades of Missouri, you will be treated to this showy spectacle. This presentation is a hiker’s compilation of photographs and interesting facts about fall wildflowers.
Speaker is Carol Gravens
Fascinating Victorian Gardens
Gardening during the Victorian Period included a fern craze, orchid mania, lavish tropicals, intricate outdoor gardens.
The overall Victorian look is described as opulent. It included unique elements, several of which continue in use today as well as one that changed the the course of history.
Speaker is Betsy Alexander
For the Birds
Beautiful, backyard birds can be easily attracted to home gardens.by providing a few simple things.
Speaker is Carol Gravens
Gardens and Plants of Colonial America
American colonists planted kitchen gardens out of necessity. Later flower gardens were added. Several elaborate gardens from this period still exist today.
Thes speaker is Carol Gravens
Glades of Missouri
A picture program on the unique environment of Missouri’s glades, their magnificent plants and unique animals.
Speaker is Carol Gravens
History of Missouri Botanical Garden
Updated 2023. Enjoy a history lesson on the growth and development of the Missouri Botanical Garden.
Landscaping with Native Trees and Shrubs
Ready for low maintenance, plus more birds and butterflies in your garden? Incorporating native shrubs and trees into your landscaping will achieve both.
Speaker is Betty Struckhoff
Lawns
Lawns in the St. Louis area require specific care and maintenance.
They often develop barren patches, problem areas. Renovate or start new?
Speaker is John Hensley
Making the Connection: How Indigenous American People Use Native Plants
Making the Connection covers 40 plants that the Osage Peoples used for food and wellbeing.
Medium to Large Trees for St. Louis
Making the long-term investment of purchasing the right tree and placing it in the proper location can pose uncertainty and hesitation.
Speaker is Carol Gravens
Missouri’s Amazing Natural Communities
Missouri’s amazing natural communities are the result of the convergence of the nations’ great grasslands, glaciated plains, rugged Ozarks, and broad river flood plains. This convergence provides the state with a rich multitude of diverse natural communities. Anong these are prairie, forest, glade, wetland and cliff. This program explores the physical makeup of these communities as well as the plants and animals that inhabit them.
The speaker is Carol Gravens.
Missouri’s Native Orchids
Missouri has 35 species of native orchids. Finding one is a rare and exciting event. Many of them are endangered and elusive. Some of the
blooms are tiny, delicate flowers while others are quite showy, such as the Lady slipper. This talk will explore the great variety of species as well as their anatomy, pollination, seed germination and other unique characteristics.
The speaker is Carol Gravens.
Missouri’s Wild Mushrooms Is It Edible?
There are many common, edible mushrooms in Missouri. This program gives information on finding mushrooms in the wild or even in your own backyard!
Speaker is Maxine Stone
Orchids: Lure and Legend
This program explores the history, magic, and beauty of orchids.
Speaker is Carol Gravens
Organic Gardening
Organic gardening promotes a healthy, sustainable environment. Enhance your gardening, your plants, and your life with these simple and effective techniques.
Speaker is Cheryl Rafert
Photosynthesis – It’s not just about plants
Learn how nature figured out solar energy eons before man did.
Plants of the Bible
From Genesis to Revelations, there are numerous references to plants in the Bible. This is a presentation on plants that were important to the people of the Bible and are referenced in their stories.
Speaker is John Hensley
Plants that Changed the Course of History
This talk is on a subset of plants taken from Bill Laws’ book, Fifty Plants that Changed the Course of the History.
It includes plants that the speaker has identified as of special interest.
Speaker is Carol Gravens
Plants that Changed the Course of History – vol. 2
The talk is based on a 2nd subset of plants from Bill Laws’ book, Plants that Changed the Course of History.
John Hensley in collaboration with Carol Gravens, the original speaker, has identified additional plants to explore for their important role in our history.
The speaker is John Hensley
Plants, Pollen, and Allergies
Have you ever suffered from pollen allergies? This talk will take you through the plant physiology involved and how to select plants that minimize allergen occurrence and your exposure to them.
Speaker is Carol Gravens
Problems Common to Perennials and Annuals
Trying to perfect your home garden to the Better Homes and Gardens ideal? It is frustrating to do all of the right things and then find insects and plant diseases challenging your best attempts. Learn about common garden pests and diseases and how to manage them using safe, sustainable tactics.
Speaker is Carol Gravens
Spring Wildflowers of Missouri
Go on a photo spring hike looking for Missouri wildflowers with advanced Master Gardener, Carol Gravens.
Ten Ways to Add Biodiversity to Your Garden
Learn specific ways to increase the biodiversity of your garden.
Speaker is Carol Gravens
The Art of Container Gardening
A step-by-step guide for creating a gorgeous container garden for your home.
Speaker is Kim Gamel
The Blooming Prairie
Using the speaker’s own photography, the program follows the succession of prairie plants from spring, summer, fall to winter.
Top 10 Orchids for the Home
This talk discusses one orchid hobbyist’s favorites and how to grow them in the home, without a greenhouse or special equipment.
Speaker is Carol Gravens
Understanding the Shade Environment
This presentation covers factors to consider for a successful shade garden, including degrees of shade, moisture, soil composition, and maintenance of trees.
Wildflowers of the High Sierra
This program is a naturalist hiker’s photo collection from exploring the High Sierras.
Speaker is Carol Gravens
Wildflowers of the Swiss Alps
Take an arm chair trek thru Switzerland to view Alpine wildflowers. Your guide is Master Gardener/Master Naturalist Carol Gravens.
Winter Damage
While you are snug in your home on a winter evening, there are several types of damage that can be happening outside in your garden.
Speaker is Betsy Alexander
Winter’s Natural Beauty
Take an alternate look at Missouri winter scenery. Things we take for granted as a gray, bleak season find an attractive, creative look thru the lense of Carol’s camera.
