Garden-Lou Spotlights the Garden of Marty and Bridget Koenig

Starting a career in landscaping at 62 might sound crazy, but for Marty, it was a natural transition after teaching for 38 years. Now at 72, the self-taught designer and keen plantsman has left his artistic touch around town with numerous private client designs and three public native garden designs at the Endangered Wolf Center near Tyson Park.

Marty and his wife Bridget, who retired from Growing Green Inc. after 24 years, live in the Tower Grove South Neighborhood with a typical-sized lot; however, what they did with the lot is anything but typical.

Among the lush plantings of hostas, natives, and mature trees are treasures, from tiny to “can’t-miss,” everywhere you turn. Stones hang by natural holes from branches, architectural pieces rest under the trees, and found objects are turned into garden art pieces, some with personal sentiment or connections, like the Koenig son’s finger puppets, or a concrete baby head found on a walk together. Some of the plants are reminders of family, such as the ‘Xanadu’ philodendron from his sister Kathy’s funeral and the Tradescantia from his 103-year-old grandmother. The ribbon grass, the tall native phlox, and the native coral bells are all from Great Aunt Bess. Other pieces in the garden just plain look cool and are conversation starters because each piece has a story, no matter how minuscule. The garden is special, sentimental, sweet, and sensational enough for the Koenigs to name it “South Stone.”

Marty is a big Hosta fan, with over 35 different cultivars. His poem Hosta Tale was published in Horticulture Magazine. (See below) But it’s the ‘big picture’ type of gardening that the Koenigs embrace. The garden was featured in The South Side Journal when it was certified as a backyard Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation in 1982.

The Koenigs do not keep track of the hours spent maintaining the garden. Dusk is a favorite time among the sounds of birds and water. As for a favorite spot, “Whichever area is in bloom,” according to Marty.

Other passions include Hiking, writing, reading, and live music, especially when their son Ryan, a musician with the Rum Drum Ramblers, the Goldenrods, and the So Grand Polka Band, plays locally or on tour. Their other son, Alan, a Marketing Manager, lives in Kentucky but catches concerts when in town. Both sons have an interest in plants and the outdoors, but according to Marty, not to the same degree. “The boys know it is something I’m into.”

Rum Drum Ramblers

The Goldenrods

Home | So Grand Polka Band

*Marty loves to create dish gardens too!*

Quick Facts;

-Size of Garden; around 35’ x 124’

-Year Garden began; 1980

-Favorite Gardening Tool: Hand pruners with a leather holder handmade by Nick Pence of Seeds and Sawdust.

-Other gardens or gardeners that inspire you. The woods inspire me. And designers like Gertrude Jekyll, Piet Oudolf, and Dough Tallamy.

-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!)

Hosta ‘June’