MDC offers native plant sale and garden walk-around on May 13 in Kansas City

Kansas City, Mo. – Gardeners can view native plants in a landscape setting and purchase wildflowers, too, when the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the Missouri Prairie Foundation (MFP) host a native plant sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 13, at the Anita B. Gorman Discovery Center in Kansas City. In conjunction with the sale, Discovery Center staff will also offer guided tours of the center’s native plant garden.

Eight native plant vendors will be on hand that are part of MFP’s Grow Native! program. Visitors will be able to purchase seeds and seedlings of trees, wildflowers, shrubs, grasses, and vines. Native plants are hardy to Missouri climate and soils, and they are far more beneficial to wildlife such as butterflies and songbirds than non-native plants. They add beauty and interesting structure to home and business landscape gardens. Plants can also be ordered online in advance from vendors and picked up at the event. For a complete list of vendors and their website addresses for shopping or ordering, visit https://short.mdc.mo.gov/4Ut. Vendors will contribute a portion of their proceeds to MFP’s prairie conservation programs.

Discovery Center staff maintains an extensive native plant garden. Several wildflowers will be in bloom in mid-May. Experts will give Wildflowers: Walk Around tours of the garden during the event starting at 10 a.m. Tours will also begin at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 2 p.m. Bring a camera to take wildflower photos or perhaps pick out some varieties to purchase from vendors. Staff will be available to answer native plant gardening questions.

Registration is not required for the plant sale or the walk around tours. All ages are welcome. For more information about the Gorman Discovery Center, visit https://mdc.mo.gov/discoverycenter. To learn more about using native plants in landscaping and gardens, visit Keeping Nature Near - Grow Native!.