Blueprints in a basement, a pond full of koi, and a prairie with an array of wildlife 

Twelve months ago, Rhonda Shoemaker started researching gardens throughout the region to prepare for this year’s Open Days event. Her goal was to identify a range of garden styles that hadn’t been featured in previous annual tours. “A prairie garden has never been included in a St. Louis open day program. A major water-feature garden hasn’t been highlighted before either, so I was actively seeking out these kinds of unique garden categories that would be fresh for our program,” she explains.

Working as the regional ambassador for The Garden Conservancy in St. Louis, a national non-profit organization focused on preserving and celebrating American gardens, Shoemaker is tasked with selecting the outdoor spaces that will be included in this year’s St. Louis Open Days program—an event that allows garden lovers to tour privately-owned gardens nationwide.

Shoemaker’s search started twelve months ago this month. The process included reaching out to colleagues in landscape and nursery associations for recommendations and connecting with local gardeners through her network. “I made numerous phone calls and inquiries, and that’s essentially how this group of gardens came together,” she explains.

Among those gardeners were Chris and Tara Siewing, residents of Sunset Hills and owners of Nature’s Re-Creations, a firm that designs and builds custom outdoor water features. Their backyard includes a recreational pond inspired by Chris’s childhood memories of lake time, complete with hundreds of fish and aquatic plants. This garden is among the five featured on the tour this year.

“Water naturally captivates people,” Chris notes. “Everyone enjoys vacationing at the beach or lake—I’m no exception.” Chris and Tara decided to participate in Open Days partly to share the appeal of water gardens with a broader audience. “We’re passionate about inviting people to experience and relax near water,” he explains. “That’s really why we do what we do. Water creates a unique mood and transforms how people think about their spaces. Visitors genuinely become enchanted by these water gardens,” he adds.

The Garden Conservancy recognizes the value of diversifying beyond conventional European-inspired estate gardens, according to Shoemaker, though she notes “those remain valuable.” She continues, “But because of my extensive background in horticulture and the industry, I have deep awareness of the many different styles within horticulture.”

Alongside the Siewing’s Fox Mountain Falls garden, the St. Louis Open Days tour includes: a wetland prairie garden showcasing abundant wildlife and over 100 species of grasses and wildflowers grown from seed, created by owners dedicated to promoting biodiversity and conservation; an original Russell Page-designed garden that had been obscured by overgrown vegetation before being carefully restored after the original blueprints were located in a basement box; a multi-room garden featuring hundreds of white daffodils in ivy borders, with design elements from landscape architect Edith Mason’s original work visible in the brick patio, walls, and gates; and a 1924 garden designed by Warren Manning of Boston, who trained under Frederick Law Olmsted. This final garden, now predominantly meadow-like, also contains an English perennial border, white peonies, boxwood plantings, terraces, fountains, and is documented in the Smithsonian Archives of American Gardens.

Shoemaker plans to begin her search for gardens for 2027 immediately following this year’s event. At the top of her list is a foodscape garden. “I was particularly interested in featuring a well-designed foodscape garden because it represents a significant movement in horticulture right now. But we want it to be an engaging and intellectually stimulating experience as well,” she notes.

The current garden selection provides diverse appeal for visitors while showcasing thoughtfully maintained properties throughout, Shoemaker believes. The St. Louis gardening community deserves nothing less, she says—a group she characterizes as devoted, collaborative, and enthusiastic. “That’s why I’m drawn to horticulture: the gardening community is genuinely welcoming, passionate about sharing their knowledge, and eager to tell their stories,” she says.

St. Louis Open Days takes place on Saturday, May 30. Tickets are available for purchase.