Large, showy flowers can range from white to a light pink. Requires moist soil, like in the base of your rain garden. Taller plants may need to be staked.

Tolerates very dry conditions. Birds love the seeds. Can be aggressive.

Good in dry, poor soils. Butterflies love the Blazing Stars! But rodents also like to eat the corms.

Though the flower may not be showy, the silvery-leaves, brown winter seedheads, and strong up-right stature make a beautiful statement, especially when massed together or planted in grasses. Great wildlife benefits for bees, butterflies, birds, and mammel

Can be used as a ground cover in consistently moist areas. A good early summer bloom for a shadier garden. Packera is one of the plant genera in our area that attracts the largest number of different bee species.

Likes some shade. Soil must be well drained. Plant multiple and allow for disturbed soil for better chance of reproduction. Spreads slowly. Sticky stems trap insects and the plant's enzymes break down the insect bodies.

Native to the southern half of Missouri and Southeast Kansas. May be used as a ground cover with a long, early summer bloom. Often found in rocky and acidic soils and prefers partial to full sun but tolerates lots of conditions.

Wonderful choice for a shorter liatris. Butterflies love the Blazing Stars!

Rain garden plant - likes wet places. Also called rattlebox because of the square shaped fruit that rattles when dried.

The leaves curl when you touch them, but be careful, it will poke back (hence the name).

Delicious edible red berries ripen in June. Supports several insects, birds, and mammals. Red fall leaves.

The Carya genus supports 200 butterfly and moth species (including rare Hickory Hairstreak Butterfly), nuts are eaten by lots of wildlife (including humans), and Tracy's favorite feature is that bats can roost under the shaggy bark.

A fantastic tree for wildlife - insects, birds, mammals (including bats). Even humans can eat the nuts (which the tree takes 40 years to produce). Large, slow growing, strong tree. Plant this tree for the next generation.

Great texture for the garden. Stays more compact in full sun conditions. May be cut back after blooming or groomed into a short hedge. Prefers moist sites but also grows in rocky sites.

Very interesting flowers ranging in color from white to purple; an early source of pollen for bees (mostly bumblebees). The plant disappears in summer, but will return again the following spring. Can be difficult to establish.