"Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme," was one of the popular folk-song lyrics a half-century ago when guitar music floated above the Olive-and-Boyle intersection that was the heart of Gaslight Square. Obviously, something stuck in the clouds above the corner, because today, just a couple of blocks to the west, these herbs-and many more-add to the sights and smells of Bowood Farms, where tomatoes and potatoes, zucchini and kohlrabi, all grow in what was an urban wasteland not very long ago.
We’re only a couple of blocks west of the magical neighborhood where Barbra Streisand sang, Lenny Bruce delivered comedy, Fran Landesman and Tommy Wolf wrote the cleverest of songs. But night-time glamour has vanished, replaced by a residential neighborhood and now, vegetable and herb gardens that flourish under sunshine and rain.
The rooftop herb garden, which offers a reunion with a very steep ladder for admission, will hold an open house on Saturday. No admission charge, and a chance to see what a little imagination-and a lot of hard work-can accomplish, an opportunity to learn what will grow around a St. Louis house and to realize what it can add to a St. Louis kitchen.
Lots of varieties of basil, thyme and oregano, along with plenty of other interesting things, like cardamom, which we’ve never seen growing before. Also dynamite are the sedums, low-growing succulents that make for drought-hardy, no-mowing ground cover. Across the street is a fenced garden with more than 70 varieties of tomatoes they’re trying out.
We’re not kidding about the ladders, but they do have handrails. Wear sturdy shoes; this is no place for flipflops or your Manolos. Tours are first come, first serve, they tell us.
Bowood Farms
4605 Olive St.
314-454-6868