MDC offers free Naturescaping workshop on March 14 in Blue Springs

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News from the region
Kansas City
Published Date
03/03/2020
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Kansas City, Mo. –  Native wildflowers, shrubs, and grasses add unique beauty to landscape gardens for homes and businesses. They are hardy and adapted to Missouri climate and soils, and they provide food and shelter for native butterflies and songbirds. A free Naturescaping Workshop will be offered from 8 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. on Saturday, March 14, at the Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) Burr Oak Woods Nature Center in Blue Springs. A native plant sale from 1 to 4 p.m. will follow the workshop and is open to the public on a walk-in basis.

With planning and some care, native plants are attractive additions to lawns and gardens. Experts will help workshop participants match plant species with planting locations according to sunlight or shade, soil types, and moisture requirements. They will talk about arranging plant types in landscaping, such as varied plant heights or bloom times.

Songbirds and pollinators such as butterflies and moths benefit from native plants. The birds often feed on insects that use native plants as a food source, such as butterfly caterpillars. Adult butterflies and moths often feed on nectar from flowers.

The Naturescaping Workshop is open to adults. Registration is required. Burr Oak Woods Nature Center is located at 1401 N.W. Park Road. Participants can choose between sessions that will also include topics such as bees, trees, wild edibles, composting, the Seed Savers program, and beneficial reptiles and amphibians.

All visitors are welcome to attend the afternoon native plant sale. Representatives from the Missouri Wildflower Nursery and Green Thumb Nursery will offer plants for sale while supplies last.

To register for the Naturescaping Workshop, visit MDC’s event signup pages at https://short.mdc.mo.gov/Zsz. Registration is requested by March 11. For more information, call 816-228-3766.

Information about using native plants in landscaping is available at https://mdc.mo.gov/trees-plants/native-plant-restoration.