The story began with a lawn mower, a trimmer and a newlywed couple. John & Sally Loyet started J&S Lawn Service in the early 70's, John mowed while Sally used a hand trimmer. Their attention to providing quality service helped grow their business with an uncommonly high rate of customer retention. The name of the business later changed to Greenscape Lawns and as the business grew, so did their family, with the birth of their son, Jason, followed by daughters Jennifer and Jill. By the mid 1980's, Greenscape had grown into one of the top lawn and tree care companies in the St. Louis area. In 1994, John & Sally seized the opportunity to purchase the property of the former Treeland Nursery at the corner of Dougherty Ferry and Barrett Station Rd, where John had worked just out of high school. The lawn and tree care division was sold to TruGreen, and the family directed focus on turning the tree nursery into a full-service garden center. The company continues to evolve with the energy of a team of passionate, diverse and skilled people that believe in the purpose of plants and the idea that quality of life begins with connecting people to the natural world.
Here at Greenscape, we see firsthand the amazing benefit that connection with the natural world can have on people’s lives. The benefits of gardening are expansive. Not only does it offer joy and healing, but also serves as an incredible educational tool for expanding our minds, understanding of nature, and also the role that humans play in preserving our environment. Our goals include raising environmental awareness and understanding, increasing access to gardening for all, and empowering individuals to get outside and experience the many benefits that nature has to offer.Over the years, we have made an effort to share our passion for gardening with our community and beyond. Through sponsoring and participating in community projects, partnering with incredible organizations, and launching outdoor education pilot programs - we strive to use our resources here to help create positive change, one garden at a time.
Over the years, we have hosted a variety of events and programs with the goal of being of service to our community. As a local business with a unique set of resources, we strive to give back to our community and play our part in empowering others to experience the benefits of the natural word. From our talented staff who each have a diverse set of skills and education, to our property that has abundant garden space, to all of the beautiful plants here at the nursery - there is so much that we’d like to offer our community. Here are a few examples of projects we participated in past years.
The idea for the Blooming Minds program was created after the children transitioned to virtual learning as a result of COVID19. We wanted to offer an antidote to the screen time by offering children a chance to connect with nature and learn through an outdoor experience. This programming was truly magical. It was so inspiring to see the excitement, happiness, and joy that time spent in nature can bring to children. This was an 8-week pilot program led by Lisa Ann, our former education coordinator at Greenscape Gardens. It was an outdoor learning curriculum that drew on principles of Horticultural Therapy and mindfulness! We wanted to use the resources we have at the garden center to provide a learning outlet away from the screen. There is so much to be learned and experienced through nature!
You can learn more about this pilot program and the horticulture therapy principles used in the Blooming Minds series by clicking below. Here you’ll find Lisa Ann’s article published in the Winter 2020 Edition of the Gateway Gardener Magazine.
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