A Conversation with Julie Hess, Senior Horticulturist at Missouri Botanical Garden

“Grok” Verb. To comprehend (something) fully in all details intuitively or empathetically.

“A word for how I have designed over the years,” says Julie Hess, Annual Display Designer for the North Gardens at MBG. “I just look at a space or grouping of plants and ‘grok’ what needs to be done. My gardening has always been a very subjective activity for me in that I can look at a space or a set of plants and see in my head exactly what needs to be done or know what I want to do with them. Not real glamorous, but it’s worked for me for over three decades.”

One of Julie’s impressive designs for 2022 at MBG.

On December 1st, after 34 years at Missouri Botanical Garden, Julie Hess will continue groking at home. Julie’s been the Annual Display Designer for the North Gardens at MBG since 2014, in charge of designing, ordering, installing, and maintaining all of the annual displays from the front entrance to the Museum building and two of the beds in the Kemper Flower Trials. “This includes amending, tilling, and grading the beds (it all starts with the soil), planting, weeding, deadheading, and general maintenance of all the displays,” Julie says. “I design, calculate numbers needed, and order each year’s display. Plant it, mulch it, maintain it.”

Julie started at MBG as an intern while going through the STLCC Meramec Horticulture Program, but she didn’t start out in horticulture. “I spent ten years in the medical field as a phlebotomist/lab tech, and we did a lot of chemo patients. Then one was my mother, and she didn’t make it—died at 50. One day, shortly after her passing, I was putting stuff away in my cedar chest when I came across a pamphlet I had picked up at Meramec my senior year of high school about their Horticulture program. My mom had dissuaded me from pursuing that and pushed me toward the medical field because ‘I’d always be able to find a job’. But I had tucked it away ten years prior, and there it was, calling out to me. The next time my dad stopped by, I asked, ‘Guess what I’m going back to school for?’ as I waved my hand around the room at all the houseplants, and the next semester I enrolled.”

From 1989-2014, she was the horticulturist for the Director’s Residence-one of the most unique positions at MBG. “I did the annual displays plus vegetables, herbs, and all the trees, shrubs, and perennials, including pruning, mulching, and often tree removal. We had several memorable storms over the years, and I spent lots of time behind a chainsaw. I did everything but turf and climbing trees. During Dr. Raven’s tenure, there was a heavy entertainment aspect at the Residence, so the grounds had to be maintained so there could be an impromptu dinner, fundraiser, etc., at the drop of a hat. I also oversaw several construction projects over the years—installation of the stream, foundation repair to the front of the house, hardscape installations, irrigation installation, and several versions of patio repair”.

Julie wishes most people would realize that a job like hers is not easy., “It’s not playing with pretty flowers, blah, blah, blah. It is hard physical work out in the elements. It’s hard on your body and your psyche as you head out day after day to work in 95+ degree heat or to shovel snow for hours at a time. It takes a toll on your body that you will likely never recover from. There’s a reason old gardeners walk like that…”

Creating something of beauty that people enjoy is the best part of the job. Julie’s talent for unique and always exciting plant combinations has helped make MBG the botanical showcase it is today, wowing visitors and co-workers alike.

What are a few of her favorite memories? “When we hosted the 2009 APGA for the Gardens’ sesquicentennial. I did an outrageous amount of annuals at the Residence—over 10,000—and gave tours of what was normally a private area. I was headhunted by a few different gardens, so it must have looked okay. Next would be giving Michael Dirr (author of the horticulture “Bible”, Manual of Woody Landscape Plants.) tours whenever he came to town—I did that three times. He loved poking around the far reaches of the Residence because I had things (plants) up there that didn’t know they weren’t supposed to live here—I never bothered to tell them. One of the best things about working at the Residence—besides no visitors—was getting to play around and do hardiness tests on lots of different plants.”

Julie leaves MBG with no unfinished business. “If I haven’t done it or accomplished it by now, it doesn’t need to be done. In retrospect, I don’t think there’s anywhere else in the area that I could have learned so much and had the design freedom I’ve had. But you can bet that come the first snowfall in December Ima have a big ole smile on my face as I sip my hot tea, look out the window, and stay inside for the duration.”

Quick Facts;

-Favorite garden you’ve visited in person, near or far? RBG Edinburgh

–Funniest plant/garden-related question you’ve ever been asked? ‘Um, I have this plant at home, and it’s about this big and has green leaves. Do you know what it is?’ Not necessarily funny, but I’ve been asked that in one way or another several times over the years.

– Favorite gardening tool? Soil knife or stirrup hoe

-What is your first plant-based or garden-based memory? Collecting seed from my Granny Ellen’s annuals in her yard in south St. Louis. She would send me out with waxed paper bags—yes, I’m waxed paper bags old—to collect seeds off of her Portulaca, four-o-clocks, impatiens balsamina, etc. Then she would fold over the end, cover it with a handkerchief, and iron it shut—sealed and ready to go in the crisper drawer until the next spring.

-If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only have ONE plant to keep you company, what would it be? It doesn’t have to be a food-bearing plant since this island has a free buffet! Monstera deliciosa ‘Variegata’—they’re tough and can take the neglect while I’m off at the buffet.

Here’s more of Julie’s unique display combinations over the years!