A wonderful ground cover for your shade garden. The heartshaped leaves come up in the spring and quickly cover the ground. They prefer rich, moist, but well drained soil.
Great for a woodland edge. Bulbous plant that dies back after seeding in summer but will come back the following spring. May not bloom the first few years. Bulbs traditionally eaten by Native Americans.
Native to the Ozarks, this short cutie can tolerate dry, part-shade and would be excellent for a rock garden boarder as its leaves stay semi-evergreen in winter. Attracts butterflies and hummingbirds.
Wild plums often create dense thickets unless thinned. Thickets can provide shelter for birds and mammals. May have thorns. Fruit is edible but not as sweet as cultivated varieties. Fruit production may be better with multiple trees.
A quick-growing ground cover that spreads indefinitely by runners. And yes, these are real, edible strawberries! Fruit is small, but very flavorful. May go dormant in summer heat. Supports lots of wildlife.
An annual Lobelia with a sweet little bluish-white flower. Highly toxic to humans and other mammals (making it deer and rabbit resistant). Seeds are small and need soil contact and sunlight to germinate.
Dioecious vine (each plant only has male or female flowers). Climbs by twining around close objects. Rhizomatous roots may also creep along the ground. Thicker patches may provide shelter for nesting birds.
A shorter aster for your rain garden. Spreads through rhizomes, better suited for larger gardens. A study in KC showed that Symphyotrichum is one of the plant genera in our area that attracts the largest number of different bee species.
Seeds are great for birds. Divide every few years to reduce spread. A study in KC showed that Helianthus is one of the plant genera in our area that attracts the largest number of different bee species. Can get really tall and spread widely.
