Garden Design and Maintenance

Favorite Native Plants for Sun
Patty Ragsdale of Happy Apple’s Farm describes her favorite native plants for sunny environments.

Favorite Native Plants for Shade
Learn about native plants that thrive in the shade with Stephen Van Rhein of the KCMO Parks department.

Favorite Native Plants for Wet Areas
David Dods, environmental scientist, describes his favorite native plants for wet areas.

Starting Native Gardens from Scratch
Tips on site selection and a review of multiple turf removal options for your lawn to garden conversion.

Prepping Native Seeds for Planting
Learn how to process those native seeds that need special treatment before planting.

Winter Weeds and Other Spring Needs
The keys to a successful garden opening, including weeding, mulch, cutback, native bulbs and spring ephemerals.

Container Gardening with Native Plants
Learn with April Anderson about how you can incorporate natives into any small or large space using containers.

Adding Natives to Existing Gardens
Native plant pairing ideas for your hostas, daylilies, boxwoods, and more.

Replace Your Lawn with Sedges
Roberta Vogel-Leutung describes her favorite techniques for replacing your lawn with sedges.

Site Assessment for Garden Success
Learn how to evaluate your location and find plants well-suited to various growing conditions.

Supporting a Healthy Soil System
Hillary Noonan discusses which actions support a healthy system and which actions disrupt it. You’ll never look at the ground beneath your feet the same way again.

Natives as Ground Covers
Elliott Duemler discusses native groundcover and provides recommendations for a variety of situations.

Addressing Drainage Issues with Native Plants
Learn how to manage excess stormwater – using plants that beautify your space and enhance wildlife value.

View Resources

Conferrin’ with the Flowers: A Year of Native Garden Maintenance
Learn what to do all year round to keep your garden healthy.

Supporting a Healthy Soil System 2.0
Hilary Noonan discusses Supporting a Healthy Soil system; moving from the “why” we need healthy soil to “how” we do it in our landscapes.

View Resources