Gardens

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.
For information on what is blooming and when, go to What’s Blooming and visit the gardens often to see the changes.

Dry Sun Gardens

Receiving full sun for most of the day, these gardens only receive water from rain. These gardens are planted with species that appeal to butterflies, moths and their caterpillars. Remember if you want to have butterflies, you must first feed the caterpillars.

Rain Gardens

These gardens are located at a low spot in the terrain and contain plants that do well in soil that is often wet from runoff.

Dry Shade Gardens

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

Pollinator Garden

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.