Celebrate the Holidays at Missouri Botanical Garden

The Gardenland Express is only one of a wide variety of events marking the holiday season. Traditional celebrations for Chanukah, Christmas and Kwanzaa are also planned.

The Missouri Botanical Garden outlined its season-long schedule of holiday events in a news release recently. Included in the holiday events are flora, toy trains, holiday crafts and plenty of holiday decorations. The Missouri Botanical Garden is sharing the spirit of the holiday season with an abundance of festivities to create lasting memories for young and old alike. Enjoy the return of the colorful Gardenland Express holiday flower and train show, two weekends filled with holiday carols and visits with Santa, holiday décor, traditional Chanukah and Kwanzaa celebrations, and more. For detailed information on the complete lineup of holiday happenings, visit the Garden's website. Gardenland Express The annual Gardenland Express holiday …

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Political Rewind: Akin, McCaskill, Sinquefield, Raven

On the senate race, political spending by a powerful Missouri contributor and climate change—our roundup of some of the Missouri political stories that hit the media this week.

Editor's Note: The following articles were aggregated from several news organizations in Missouri. You can read more about each story by clicking on the headline. President Emeritus of Missouri Botanical Garden take out billboard to warn about climate change (St. Louis Beacon) Dan Burkhardt said to Peter Raven, emeritus head of MoBOT, spent $2,500 for a billboard along Interstate 70 between Warrenton and Wright City, saying "Climate change is real. Vote for candidates who will work to find solutions." Both men regularly champion environmental causes. Burkhardt created a land trust with his own farmland a few years ago and recently helped launch the nonprofit Magnificent Missouri, celebrating Missouri conservation efforts. No mention of '…

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March Morpho Mania Offers Brilliant Butterflies and Blooms

Blue Morphos are the stars, but butterflies and other insects from around the world provide entertainment and education for visitors.

In one stride, visitors to the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House in Chesterfield go from a low humidity temperate zone to a steamy tropical jungle. A fairyland of dancing, vibrant colors – both butterflies and blooms – bursts on the inside of the Butterfly House’s 7,900-square-foot Tropical Conservatory. Blue Morphos, the sky blue stars of the March Morpho Mania exhibit, are seemingly everywhere, meandering up, down and sideways like performing marionettes, stopping to feed on nectar or rotting bananas, racing from brilliant pink variegated orchids to searing red hibiscus blooms and darting in and out of thick foliage in endless games of tag. These blue beauties from Costa Rica are joined by a rainbow assortment of winged friends from around…

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One Tank Trips

Gardenland Express Chugs Into the Missouri Botanical Garden for Trainloads of Holiday Fun

Saturday features an appearance by Santa along with carolers, a brass concert and even chestnuts roasted over an open fire.

With model trains chugging through 5,000 square feet of blooming plants, Christmas trees, Nutcracker soldiers, wooden rocking horses and other old-fashioned toys, the Missouri Botanical Garden’s “Gardenland Express” holiday display is a throwback to an era people cherish and miss. “We’re kind of becoming a traditional spot for a lot of people,” said Karen Hill, a public information officer with the garden. “The old department store windows downtown used to have trains and things like that in them. A lot of people have commented over the years that our display kind of reminds them of that and has sort of replaced that as their holiday tradition.” Gardenland Express has been part of the garden’s holiday offerings since 2003. Preparation …

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