Native Plants Work
Grow Native! is the native plant marketing and education program of the Missouri Prairie Foundation.
Indian pink by Reva Dow, southern blue flag iris by Mervin Wallace, native bee on Eastern redbud by Ed Spevak, grasses and goldenrod by Frank Oberle, Polyphemus by Linda Williams.
What is the Lower Midwest?

Grow Native! Events
Jefferson City Native Plant Sale – Binder Park Sports Complex
Jefferson City Native Plant Sale – Binder Park Sports Complex
MPF Webinar: Fabulous Fish of Missouri's Prairie Streams
MPF Webinar: Fabulous Fish of Missouri's Prairie Streams
St. Louis County Native Plant Sale – World Bird Sanctuary
St. Louis County Native Plant Sale – World Bird Sanctuary
Columbia Native Plant Sale – Bradford Research Center
Columbia Native Plant Sale – Bradford Research Center
Kansas City Native Plant Sale – Anita B. Gorman Discovery Center
Kansas City Native Plant Sale – Anita B. Gorman Discovery Center
Brews and Blooms at Civil Life Brewing Co.
Brews and Blooms at Civil Life Brewing Co.
Springfield Native Plant Sale – Bass Pro Shops Sportsman’s Center®
Springfield Native Plant Sale – Bass Pro Shops Sportsman’s Center®
MPF Field Trip: Valley View Glades Natural Area Hike
MPF Field Trip: Valley View Glades Natural Area Hike
NATIVE PLANTS WORK
Choose native plants and put them to work for you:
- Beautify your surroundings and fill your landscape with life!
- Sustain the hundreds of species of pollinators of the lower Midwest
- Feed monarch butterflies and help ensure that their awe-inspiring migration forever remains a wonder of planet Earth!
- Support native songbirds
- Manage stormwater and protect streams
- Store carbon with deep-rooted natives
- Build healthy soil
- Provide drought-tolerant forage for livestock and use natives in other ways on farms
- Provide native edibles for people–pawpaws, elderberries, persimmons, walnuts and more!
- Create and enhance habitat for wildlife
Find out more on our Learn page.
Top Stories
News
More Sites Added to Native Gardens of Excellence Program in 2025
Three additional sites have been inducted into the Grow Native! Native Gardens of Excellence program, which showcases well-maintained native gardens and plantings in the lower Midwest. The newly inducted gardens are: Laura Ingalls Wilder Home and Museum Monarch Garden...
Certified Pro Spotlight – Cody Hayo with Pretty City Gardens and Landscapes, St. Louis, MO
Today we are spotlighting Grow Native! Certified Pro Cody Hayo, who became certified in 2022. Cody is the owner of Pretty City Gardens and Landscapes, LLC, a Grow Native! professional member in St. Louis, Missouri. The team at Pretty City serves a fairly tight area in...
Grow Native! Announces Launch of New Publication
The Grow Native! program announces a brand new digital resource, free to all. Native Plants for Stormwater Management Projects: Species Selection for the Lower Midwest, by Daniel Shaw and Rusty Schmidt, provides descriptions and photos of 160 native plants and 14...