Things To Do > Gardens, Habitats and Trails > Gardens

The gardens and habitats around Lakeside Nature Center are a vital part of our mission to conserve native Missouri plants. Enjoy these unique areas year-round, from dawn to dusk.

For information on what plants are in these gardens, go to What’s Growing.

Native Gardens

1. North Sun Garden
2. Debby Barker &
Lou Clairmont Sun Garden
3. Sun Garden
4. Rain Gardens
5. Shade Garden
6. Pollinator Garden
7. Pond

Native Gardens

Dry Shade Gardens

Columbine in the *Dry Shade Garden in Spring. Photo © John Whiteman*

These plants receive sun only in the early morning and rainfall doesn’t reach every portion of the bed.

Pollinator Garden

*Wasp on Tropical Milkweed Bloom. Photo © Tom Schroeder*

The pollinator garden is devoted to plants that attract butterflies, moths, birds, bats and especially bees, which feed on the flower’s nectar.

Pollinators affect 35 percent of the world’s crop production, increasing outputs of 87 of the leading food crops worldwide, as well as many plant-derived medicines. At least one-third of the world’s agricultural crops depend upon pollination provided by insects and other animals.