Throughout December
The Missouri Botanical Garden offers a wide variety of weekday, evening and weekend programs for adults at its family of attractions. Discover a new color palette in A Wonderful Winter Garden, make a Holiday Card Basket or create a Garden in Glass. Program themes include gardening and landscaping, arts and crafts, food and cooking, green living, nature study and health and wellness. View a print-at-home catalog of all fall and winter classes for adults and register online at www.mobot.org/classes. For more information, call (314) 577-5140.

Through Jan. 2
Gardenland Express annual holiday flower and train show, presented by Wells Fargo Advisors. Watch as G-scale model trains travel through a mountainous, miniature landscape of living plants, small towns and rural dwellings along the Appalachian Trail. Twinkling holiday trees, oversized snowflakes, over 600 colorful poinsettias and other blooming plants surround the festively detailed scene. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily; closes early at 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve; closed Christmas Day. Orthwein Floral Display Hall, lower level of the Ridgway Visitor Center. Garden admission plus $5; free for members.

Through Jan. 2
Holiday Wreath Auction features unique creations by some of the area’s finest floral designers. All wreaths are sold by silent auction bidding, with proceeds benefiting the Missouri Botanical Garden. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monsanto Hall, upper level of the Ridgway Visitor Center.

Through Jan. 2
Victorian Christmas at Tower Grove House. See the Victorian country home of Garden founder Henry Shaw decked for the holidays with wreaths, garlands, floral centerpieces, greenery and a holiday tree. Enjoy storytelling on Saturdays at 11 a.m. and don’t miss the special Seek-and-Find activity for children! Open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m. Closed Mondays.

Dec. 1 through 5
Missouri Botanical Garden members enjoy 20-percent off purchases in the Garden Gate Shop.

Dec. 1 through Jan. 3
Holiday Trimmings at the Kemper Center. Enjoy a 12-foot balsam fir tree naturally decorated with hand-crafted “gourdaments” and gourd birdhouses. All decorated gourds will be sold on Jan. 1 to benefit the Kemper Center. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Kemper Center for Home Gardening.

Dec. 2
Holiday Nights. The Gardenland Express show is festively lit with twinkling lights for Thursday evening viewing! Enjoy the holiday flower and train display and the custom creations decking the walls of the Holiday Wreath Auction. Dine in the Sassafras cafe, serving a full dinner menu; a cash bar will also be available. Shop for unique holiday gifts at the Garden Gate Shop. 5 to 8 p.m. Ridgway Visitor Center (please note: Garden grounds are closed). $5 adults and children; free Garden members.

Dec. 4
Members' Event: Breakfast with Santa. Members can visit with Santa as he makes his yearly stop at the Garden. Bring a pair of mittens or a child’s hat to donate to charity. 8 to 10:30 a.m. Monsanto Hall, upper level of the Ridgway Visitor Center. $20 per person; children ages two and under free. Seating is limited. Advance reservations required; (314) 577-9570 or www.mobot.org/membership. For more information, call (314) 577-5154

Dec. 4 & 5
Christmas Carols in the Garden. Listen to festive holiday carols, visit Santa in his sleigh, meet Rudolph, smell chestnuts roasting on an open fire and enjoy a gingerbread house display. Don’t forget to see the choo-choos and blooms inside the Gardenland Express holiday flower and train show! 1 to 5 p.m. Ridgway Visitor Center, Kemper Center for Home Gardening and Spink Pavilion. Activities included with Garden admission; Gardenland Express show is an additional $5 per person (free for Garden members).

Dec. 4 & 5
Story Tram. Join Mrs. Claus for a tram ride as she reads “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” told from Garden founder Henry Shaw’s perspective. A cookie and small gift are included. 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. $15 per person ($10 Garden members), in addition to Garden admission. Space is limited; purchase tickets in advance at www.mobot.org.

Dec. 9
Garden Buds: Plants as Presents. The fall and winter seasons can be magical, memorable times to discover nature’s most amazing wonders with your preschooler. You and your Garden Bud will explore together in ways that spark curiosity and inspire a lifelong love for nature. For ages 4 to 6. 10 to 11:30 a.m. Jordan Education Wing, Ridgway Visitor Center. $18 per child (includes one adult). Advance registration required; www.mobot.org/classes or (314) 577-5140. For a complete list of youth and family programs at the Garden’s family of attractions, visit www.mobot.org/classes.

Dec. 9
Holiday Nights. The Gardenland Express show is festively lit with twinkling lights for Thursday evening viewing! Enjoy the holiday flower and train display and the custom creations decking the walls of the Holiday Wreath Auction. Dine in the Sassafras cafe, serving a full dinner menu; a cash bar will also be available. Shop for unique holiday gifts at the Garden Gate Shop. 5 to 8 p.m. Ridgway Visitor Center (please note: Garden grounds are closed). $5 adults and children; free Garden members.

Dec. 11 & 12
Christmas Carols in the Garden. Listen to festive holiday carols, visit Santa in his sleigh, meet Rudolph, smell chestnuts roasting on an open fire and enjoy a gingerbread house display. Don’t forget to see the choo-choos and blooms inside the Gardenland Express holiday flower and train show! 1 to 5 p.m. Ridgway Visitor Center, Kemper Center for Home Gardening and Spink Pavilion. Activities included with Garden admission; Gardenland Express show is an additional $5 per person (free for Garden members).

Dec. 11 & 12
Story Tram. Join Mrs. Claus for a tram ride as she reads “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” told from Garden founder Henry Shaw’s perspective. A cookie and small gift are included. 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. $15 per person ($10 Garden members), in addition to Garden admission. Space is limited; purchase tickets in advance at www.mobot.org.

Dec. 16
Holiday Nights. The Gardenland Express show is festively lit with twinkling lights for Thursday evening viewing! Enjoy the holiday flower and train display and the custom creations decking the walls of the Holiday Wreath Auction. Dine in the Sassafras cafe, serving a full dinner menu; a cash bar will also be available. Shop for unique holiday gifts at the Garden Gate Shop. 5 to 8 p.m. Ridgway Visitor Center (please note: Garden grounds are closed). $5 adults and children; free Garden members.

Dec. 18 & 19
Christmas Carols in the Garden. Listen to festive holiday carols, visit Santa in his sleigh, meet Rudolph, smell chestnuts roasting on an open fire and enjoy a gingerbread house display. Don’t forget to see the choo-choos and blooms inside the Gardenland Express holiday flower and train show! 1 to 5 p.m. Ridgway Visitor Center, Kemper Center for Home Gardening and Spink Pavilion. Activities included with Garden admission; Gardenland Express show is an additional $5 per person (free for Garden members).

Dec. 18 & 19
Story Tram. Join Mrs. Claus for a tram ride as she reads “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” told from Garden founder Henry Shaw’s perspective. A cookie and small gift are included. 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. $15 per person ($10 Garden members), in addition to Garden admission. Space is limited; purchase tickets in advance at www.mobot.org.

Dec. 18
Great Green Adventures: Trees with Winter Coats. Why do some trees keep their leaves or needles over the winter, while others lose them? Get to know some of the trees in the Garden by their bark, needles and berries. Ages six to 12 with an adult. Great Green Adventures are held the third Saturday of every month at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Meet outside the Children’s Garden entrance. $3 per child.

Dec. 24
The Missouri Botanical Garden closes early at 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

Dec. 25
The Missouri Botanical Garden is closed on Christmas Day.

Dec. 29
Kwanzaa: Festival of the First Fruits. Kwanzaa is a Swahili term that means “first fruits,” and this contemporary African-American holiday centers around the feast table of the harvest. A Kwanzaa ceremony highlights a day of storytelling, craft and jewelry displays, and authentic African drumming and musical performances. Noon to 4 p.m. Ridgway Visitor Center.

Dec. 31
The Missouri Botanical Garden closes early at 4 p.m. on New Year’s Eve

Click here for hours, admission, directions, and parking information.

Please note: The Linnean House conservatory will be closed through December for renovations and repairs. Built in 1882, this structure is the oldest continuously operating greenhouse west of the Mississippi River. Thanks to a gift from the Mabel Dorn Reeder Foundation, the Garden will make improvements such as a new all-glass roof, new windows and more. The Linnean House is scheduled to reopen in Spring 2011.

Email Web Comments: Rob Thurman