Catherine Hu, ecologist and natural science illustrator, didn’t set out to be an artist. “I’ve always enjoyed arts and crafts and being creative, but before painting plants, I never felt super inspired or motivated to do art consistently,” she reveals. Hu works full time as an ecologist, though for years she’s practiced and refined her art, painting for herself or making work she would gift to friends and family.

They only have to step out their own back door to find themselves in a paradise. Adjacent to an upper patio, gold, silver, orange and black koi flash their iridescent colors in a water lily-accented pond with a water-jet fountain. Alongside that same patio is the head of a small stream that twists down the hillside creating a series of tiny waterfalls as it cascades over strategically placed rocks; appears to course under an arched bridge, and eventually find its watery way into a stone-surrounded recreation pond suitable for swimming.

Tommy and Tara Holstein built a mountain—complete with a waterslide and a waterfall—in the back yard of their Wentzville home. “We wanted to make our back yard as fun as possible,” Tara says. “It keeps us young too.” The family loves to entertain, and wants plenty of awesome spaces to accommodate guests, including their kids, grandkids and everyone’s friends.

    When they bought the home in 2019, the only backyard feature was a small deck on the side of the house toward the driveway. The house’s lower level had no walk-outs, and the yard was bare.   

Saturday, September 10th, 2022 | 10am - 3pm

Enjoy this tour of various garden centers and residential outdoor spaces in the St. Louis area and learn how to make your landscape more beautiful and easier to maintain throughout the growing season. All proceeds from the event will go to Junior League of St. Louis!