I am an amateur gardener so hopefully someone with better experience/advice will post.
Many of the southern plants can be grown as annuals up here. Datura is a good example. Other southern plants like Canna's are popular but the tubers need to kept inside over the winter.
Growing season is from late April to late October.
Trees and shrubs take a couple growing seasons to get established. By the third year they really begin to take off. Annuals and Perennials are fine the first year.

I just moved to Indiana from Kansas. When gardening in KS, I found that I needed drought tolerant plants. KC gets a bit more rain than where I lived, but the rain isn't as plentiful as it was in Indiana (my state of origin). When I originally moved out to KS, I took many divisions from plants I had in my garden in Indiana. Many of them didn't do well, due to the dry hot summers. Daylilies, salvia, sedum, daisies, coneflower, coreopsis, iris, mexican evening primrose, bee balm, and lambs ear all did well for me. I had to baby my hostas, ferns, monkshood, helleborous, bleedingheart, scabiosa, etc... We went 6-8 weeks without rain during the hottest part (90/100+ degrees) of the summer for all three years I lived in KS. I would start with heat and drought tolerant plants and then try additional plants that might be worth having to baby a bit.

aprilk.

Welcome to KC! What part of the city are you moving? I personnally feel the Kansas side is much better. :-D Kansas City is considered zone 5 on the old map and zone 6 on the new map. We really get the best of many things, we just have to keep our tropicals in pots so we can bring them in during the winter months.

P.S. Don't forget to buy a winter coat when you get moved!

AprilK I'm a bit colder and further north, but just wanted to give you some words of encouragemnet. You will be amazingly cold your first winter, but then your blood will actually change a bit, and you will handle the cold much better after that. My dear sister, who grew up in Wisconsin, moved to Miami about twenty years ago, and now when she comes up here, she freezes. She never used to be so wimpy!! When my DH and I lived in Texas for eight years, we also experienced this. We got acclimated to Texas heat, and froze our tuccusses off the first year back up north, but we re-adjusted, and now think nothing of it. I know it's not encouraging to know you'll feel really cold the first winter, but you will adapt, so don't lose heart.

I agree with above posters that you are moving into a really nice area for gardening.
Happy Gardening!!

Welcome to KC! I agree that Kansas is the best side of the city.

I picked up a book at a local store called "Gardening in the Midwest" or something like that. It was written by someone from the East Coast that moved to KC. You may want to look for it on Amazon as it has good advice.

Something to remember is that the soil contains more clay than you are probably used to so you don't need to water as often as you think you would. Maybe once a week if it doesn't rain.

The soil also contains a lot of limestone near the surface, so it is a little alkaline rather than the acidic soils that seem to be common elsewhere.

We get snow every year, but it doesn't stay more than a week usually. This means that it does not stay below freezing for months or even weeks at a time. Your house will have a furnace that will dry out the air in the winter. Most furnaces have humidifers on them to compensate for that. I don't grow tropicals, so I don't know how much humidity they need.

Our last freeze is usually mid-to-late April and we have not had our first one yet (crossing my fingers). We can be sure it will get here by Thanksgiving though.

It often gets HOT in the summer. We get up to 100 or so during July/August.

There are lots of things that will grow here and a lot of people that garden. It is just a new adventure!

Hi, and welcome to KC. I'm on the Kansas side, but venture off to the Missouri side on plant huntings very often. LOL

The county extension offices on both sides of the state line offer good gardening advice, don't forget to give them a call when you need gardening help. Their phone lines are open from March to October, staffed by Master Gardener volunteers. You can also get good advice from the local garden centers. Just don't go there during the Spring rush.

The native "soil" does contain lots of clay, so start a compost pile as soon as you get here. The summers can be brutal for man, beast and for plant life. It wasn't too bad this year, though. Winters aren't that bad. Lack of snowfall is sometimes a problem during Winter, so you may have to occasionally water your outdoor plantings. Invest in a snow thrower if your back can't take snow shoveling. And also some good snow shovels. Expect an ice storm yearly. Whether in March or October, expect to lose electricity. And tornado warnings during the Spring and Summer.

The local paper, The KC Star, has a gardening-related stories in their Friday editions. There's a free monthly newspaper called The Kansas City Gardener that contains gardening advice plus a calendar of local gardening activities. Look for copies at garden centers, local libraries and some of the grocery stores.

The local tv weather forecasters are pretty good about warning of frost advisories. Most warn you if you need to cover your plantings or bring potted plants indoors for an expected freeze.

By all means, bring your plants with you. Lots of tropicals/temperennials do well outside during the summer here. Just set aside an area in your basement or garage to overwinter them. As BruceLofland mentioned, our last frost date is mid-April, our average first frost date is mid-October. Our first hard freeze usually occurs in December. If you're going to grow hydrangea macrophyllas, this is the time when they'll need to be caged for winter protection.

Avoid planting Bradford Pear trees, they're susceptible to breakage during ice storms. Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) isn't banned here.

Hope your move goes smoothly. You'll like it here, lots of friendly folks. Welcome.

I'm not from around KC but do know that Missouri has some good resources on the web through the Missouri Department of Conservation and also the University of Missouri Extension Center. If you call the Extension Center they can send you free publications on just about any gardening topic you can think of. (That's probably for Missouri residents only) They might be able to send you a list of publications available. Some are available online. I'll put the link below. The conservation department has lots of info too. Best of luck on your move. Maybe you'll be able to do some plant trading to fill up your new yard.

Here is a link that might be useful: MU Horticulture publications

This would be another good site to learn about some common Missouri Plants. Maybe you'll find a few that you already have that you could bring with you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Missouri Grow Native

I moved here A little over a year ago and the # 1 thing I can tell you is AMMEND the soil !! I learned this after the fact and am having to do a lot of replanting. We have very heavy soil. There are a lot of gardens you can visit to see what grows well: Kaufmann gardens, Deanna Rose Farmstead, Overland Park arboretum, Powell Gardens. The K state web site has a list of plants they call Prairie star plants (star performers) and Powell gardens has a plants pick list also. Yes, every one seems to like the Kansas side, but I think the MO.side has a much nicer and varied topography. I wish I had moved there. It is so flat and boring here in Overland Park.

If you want to bring the tropics north, I suggest you get Musa Basjoo (hardy banana) 5gal+ Trachycarpus Fortunei (very cold hardy palm 10F or less for fans, -10F or less for trunk to survive and grow new fans (use some simple protection methods i.e. oak leaves, snow, dangle some x-mas lights around it etc.))Sabal Minor palm which might be almost native (not too far off) in your area. And maybe some cannas, yuccas, other tropical things that can grow there. KC isnt that harsh, you will enjoy the challenge.

Pat

I really must, must chime in here and say that the best part of the city, without a doubt, is MISSOURI! Please don't buy a house in Johnson County, KS without at least looking in Missouri, especially the Plaza/Brookside area! That said, I'd agree that it is vital to ammend your soil and look into native plants. There is a wide variety of things that do well here...I hope you delight in the change and come to love KC(MO) as much as I do. Welcome!!

My husband is from Kansas and he moved to St. Louis about 5+ years ago. I have never understood it but he says the Kansas side is so much different from the Missouri side. I don't get it. When I go down there it all looks the same to me :o) His family is mostly from Johnson County/Oletha and some in Overland Park (is that in MO? Or is that KS too?). Anyway, I guess you have to be from KS to understand it. It is enjoyable to go down there though. I will have to visit some of the gardens that the poster above mentioned.

Oh, and St. Louis is zone 6 too. You will be able to plant some shade plants I am sure too in KS, such as hydrangeas and hostas. Two of my faves :o) Oh, and I am not sure if peonies grow in FL but those are sun loving plants here.

Carrie

Thank you all for the incredibly helpful responses. My in-laws live in Overland Park, but we're looking to move to (hopefully) a home in the Brookside area. It's difficult to try to find a home from afar, but it certainly lifts my spirits to see that I'm moving to such a friendly area.

Thank you again, each of you for taking the time out to answer my multitude of questions.

I'm sure you'll be hearing from me again.

Why of COURSE the Missouri side is the best!

You're moving here from Miami? And you've never seen snow? Brace yourself!! You're going to have quite a gardening shock. Actually, snow isn't the worst thing for your garden -- ice is. And we get ice.

Send me an e-mail if you end up in Brookside, we might be neighbors! I love it here so much, I would never live anywhere else. Good luck finding a great house with a nice big yard!

aprilk, welcome to the KC area. There is one plant that is a must in your KC garden that you cannot possibly grow in Florida. A peony is truly Queen of the Garden. By choosing several peonies that bloom at various times you can have about 9 weeks of bloom. The Heartland Peony Society is located in KC and has a plant sale almost every fall (the only time of the year they should be planted). The website is for the society is http://www.peonies.org/

Just sticking my nose in as a CA transplant to the midwest. I have no gardening advice, but will say that the weather is whacky. One day it was freezing, now it's in the 60's and snow next week? @@

I looked around at everything planted here and couldn't recognize a darn thing except for some ornamental grasses and a couple of Hostas. Made me feel like a complete gardening dunce...

But I will say two things. The cold weather so far is not as harsh as I expected it to be. I have a rhodie in my eastern facing front yard that is doing fine with just a layer of mulch. The Hostas died immediately with the first freeze, but everyone around me swears that they'll return in the spring. The up and down nature of the weather here is a lot weirder to deal with than when it's actually cold. Make sure that if you're working outside, wear gloves though. Your body might not feel cold, but the weather is tough on your hands. I found this out the hard way.

I will also say that if you want books, bulbs or whatnot, to find some good online sites. I've wandered my way through many a nursery recently and can't find bupkis...I'm used to being in zone 9, where I could find plants and garden year 'round. So my winter is consisting of spending my time researching what is going to go into the ground come Spring.

Btw, I've discovered that if you jump up and down on a half frozen bag of mulch, it's not that tough to spread! LOL Keep it in the garage and not on the driveway and that wont' be an issue.

My neighbors must think that I'm certifiable by this point.

Be certain to look at the free Kansas City Gardener for groups in the area also for all the free lectures. Many months the Garden Center Association has 9:30am Saturday lectures at the Missouri Conservation Department Discovery Center. Not only can you come early and have a cup of coffee and good goodies but you can meet other people interested in gardening. The center also has many publications that they give away. A really good book on bird houses. If you have children there are also classes and activities that they may enjoy.

Have fun and if you see someone out in their garden just say hi, most KC people like to discuss what they have and love showing it off.

April,

Have you made the move yet? Please keep us updated.

As it turns out, we actually haven't managed to move yet. But we are still hoping to soon. Of course, the fact that I'm picking ripe tomatoes and peppers out of my garden now has me more than a little concerned about the snow and ice and brrrrrrr. cold.

It's going to be quite an adjustment, but I still thank each and everyone of you for your help and advice. I'm lurking on this board a lot to learn.

I live in Wichita, which is three hours from Kansas City. The flowering shrubs that do really well in my garden are peonies (these get huge!), rhodies, and azaleas.
Bulbs I'm having great success with are grape hycianths, snowdrops, daffodils (which almost grow like weeds here), alliums (purple sensation), and crocus.
I also have a Crepe Myrtle and Magnolia bush that are huge and add TONS of color to the back yard. The Magnolia is blooming right now - it's usually the first thing to blossom. I also have a holly bush that produces wonderful red berries in the fall.
Hostas do well out here, but I'm stuggling to keep my ferns from dying.
I had to relearn gardening all over again too as I'm from California originally. I never really had to second guess whether or not anything I planted back home was going to make it. In Kansas, I anxiously await to see what made it through the winter and where I need to rethink my gardening ideas.
I don't think many of your tropical plants will make it outdoors. They might survive if you make them indoor plants. I do know that Elephants years do well out here if planted in shade only.

Hope that helps!

Heather

Well, what can I say that has not already been said about the forthcoming move to KC?

As a transplant myself but from a little further afield than Florida (came to Missouri 2/14/02 from England, just call me romantic)I have read with some interest the comments about the soil being heavy with clay on the KS side. The soil on and around our farm (East of Indpendence MO) is a deep rich black and grows most things as if there is no tomorrow. Roughly a 45 minute drive to downtown KC.

The hostas as mentioned before come back every year without fail and are bigger and bushier every time.

Our vegetable garden last year was increased to approximately 2/3 of an acre and the harvest was astounding!

Five varieties of corn, carrots, parsnips, onions, beans, peas,peppers,zuccini,garlic and summer squash the only thing we didnt do well on was potatos. The branches on our fruit trees were in danger of breaking with the weight of the fruit. One cherry tree alone gave us OVER 45 gallons. I stopped counting at 45!

We have two freezers on the farm which were filled, plus my mother and brother-in-laws.

I hope to learn about the different aspects of gardening through trial and error and by reading as many books as I can get my grubby hands on.

Steve the UKtransplant

Gardening in the Heartland by Rachael Snyder would be a book you would get lots of information from. She was the editor of Flower and Garden for many years and has loads of experience with our climate and soil. I hope you like KS. The thing I like the most is the changing seasons.

Seeing as there are so many of us around the KC area I did wonder if anyone would be interested in a get together?

Seed/plant exchange, food provided by yours humbly (as long as we dont get hundreds turning up) ;-), fresh air, a virgin 8 acre yard to give ideas and tips on, and hopefully some nice weather to go with it.

Steve the UKtransplant ... get it? ... transPLANT ... weird sense of humor these Brits

I've seen a couple of meets/exchanges on the get-together forum so I know there are a couple currently in the works for the KC area. I'm always interested in seeing what others are doing and I'll never turn down food! ;-)

Steve/UK transplant: would love to meet you, see your farm, sounds like a lovely place. I will bring dessert! Maybe my mom will come too. She is a transplant from Ireland and a great gardener, you would probably have a lot in common.

April: good luck with your move! I am from Ft. Lauderdale, moved here in the early 90's and I really like KC. The climate does take some adjustment but the four seasons are so distinct here and move by so fast that you won't have time to get sick of the current weather. Spring is stunning here and mild autumn weather can last into November, which makes winter that much shorter.

One thing you will notice about KC is that complete strangers will smile at you here, all the time!! People will chat with you in elevators. They are polite in grocery stores. Growing up in South Florida, I was not used to that. People are much grumpier in Florida. Oh and another thing; no one honks their horn here while driving unless it is for some glaring offense.

We used to live in Brookside, loved it there but moved to OP for the schools. I liked being near the Plaza and the whole organic Brookside vibe but after just one year, I am spoiled with our OP house and its closet space and nice bathrooms and of course, attached garage, which is a huge relief in the wintertime when you have kids.

Gardening wise, I think you will love the variety of plants that grow here, make that thrive here! All those old fasioned perennials and shrubs that you read about in magazines and garden books can be grown here. If you like growing vegetables then KC is perfect for you!

Your plumbago, bougainvilla etc. can be grown as container plants and will do very well in the summer if you give them LOTS of water to help with drying out. I personally have given up on over wintering due to bug infestation but plenty of other gardeners have success with that.

I think you will really enjoy gardening in dirt rather than sand!!! Best of luck to you and keep us posted!

Here is a site anyone around KC area might be interested in lots of good "local" 411 there.. www.savvygardener.com
I live rather south of there but have lots of relatives up that way.."Savvygardener.com Timely Tips for Kansas City-area Gardeners"
Enjoy,
Gina *BabyBlue*

Here is a link that might be useful: Savvygardener.com

HI April

you here yet?

I think one thing you should try, if you have the room, are old fashioned lilacs. The fragrance is incredible.

You might try visiting Powell Gardens (East of Lee's Summit on Highway 50) for ideas of more native plants that take our extremes.

A good nursery for Gardeners is Blue Ridge Gardens on Bannister Rd (SE KC). They are true gardeners and prices are reasonable.

If you like fresh food and are nearby stop by the Brookside Farmers Market (63rd and Wornall) on Saturday mornings.

I live in south KC and would be happy to help if you drop an email.

Keith

We'll here we come too. Coming up to Kansas (Olathe) from Dallas Texas. Our daughter lives there and we are going back to the Midwest to be closer to family. Living in Dallas has certainly opened our eyes up to many other varieties of plants and trees that were not up in the midwest. We lived in St Louis for 12 years and then to Texas for 8. Now it is time to get back to our "roots" no pun intended. Our "soon to be" backyard is a blank canvas so we re interested in the best shade tree species available. Also the nursery that takes care of it's customers with variety, service (including after the sale) and fair pricing. I know Kansas City (area) people are great and friendly....We are looking forward to the move. We will miss the crepe myrtle down here See yalllll

Wayne P.

Welcome to Kansas! For trees in the KC area I have been real happy with Suburban on 135th just east of State Line Road. (yes in Missouri). For other items I tend to visit Family Tree Nursery and have recently started to enjoy Heartland Nursery off of I-470. Feel free to email me if you need directions or have questions.

Colonial Nursery is pretty good for trees in the KC area South of Blue Springs on 7 Hwy.

Steve/UKtransplant

Think:
Peonies
Hydrangeas
Ornamental Grasses
Daffodils

Think of it as the best of both worlds.. you had tropical before, now you get to experience different plants. :)

I'm a 9th year transplant to MO from Pasadena, California. I have to say, I love love love Missouri! Although to tell the truth, I absolutely hated it when we moved here, couldn't stand the dead of winter, couldn't stand the heat in summer... now you couldn't PAY me to move, unless of course it's to Eureka Springs LOL.

There are tons and tons of wonderful things that grow here. Many of the plants that are "perennial" in your yard down in FL will be annuals here, but there are many other wonderful plants to discover.

Hostas have become one of my favorites. We couldn't grown them for love nor money in So Cal and now I have tons and tons of them. I've learned so much more gardening in the "weather" of a real four season state than I could in a place where there were only two seasons.

As for winter... that's when I study my gardening books and knit.

Holly

Oh BTW... nurseries and plant places to hit...

Blue Ridge Nursery is AWESOME!
Powell Gardens
Overland Park Arboretum
Lennington Gardens Daylily Farm
Comanche Acres Iris Farm

Powell, OP Arboretum, and Comanche have websites.

There is also a peony farm in the very southern part of the city, about an hour out of KC proper, but I can't remember the name at this time. I think it starts with an H and it has a website as well.

Holly

butterbean,

I have never heard of Lennington Gardens Daylily Farm. Where is it located?

When moving to K.C., don't forget to check out Arnold's Greenhouse in LeRoy, Ks.! They have a super selection of plants! Sher (Who lives just a couple of miles from there!)

Lenington Gardens is in Kansas City, east of downtown and close to Independence. 7007 Manchester Ave. A friend of mine and her dad have known the owners for years and years.

Holly

Welcome to Kansas City...now don't listen to all that silliness of Kansas side is better. Clearly Missouri has wonderful features (plaza, brookside, midtown, crossroads district, art (first friday events), loose park, river market, nelson, soil service center....i could go on for days! The best part? We love our Kansas neighbors and look for any chance for a good ribbing! :o)

I am a new home owner and have been AMAZED by the generosity and friendliness of veteran gardeners in KC. You'll easily find friends to help - i have. Search Missouri Native (grow native - maybe grownative.com --> sorry i can't recall, you'll have to search) online...there are great resources to purchase as well as identify plants in this area.

Wow! I can't believe all the responses still coming in on this. We're moving the last week of July. We were looking for a house but worried about trying to find the "perfect" spot so we're going to be renting short term while we find a spot. I'm trying to find a house so I can at least get my hands in the dirt every once in a while.

The movers won't bring my plants, so two cars will be chock full of houseplants on the drive up!

I'm currently studying for the MO bar exam and wish I was out playing in the dirt instead. :(

Glad to see I'm going to be around such friendly people.

April,

You're welcome to come over to my house and help me with my garden chores! ;-)

Are you looking for a job as an attorney in KC? I work for a law firm and can give you a contact if you are interested.

Welcome to KC. You will love gardening in Missouri. It will be exciting to learn about all the new plants you will be growing in our area. Finding the first sign of growth in the spring...on that plant you were worried about if it would make it through the winter...that is a joy!

Consider looking for a house on the northside of the Missouri river on the Missouri side. It's a quick and easy drive into KC and the prices are very reasonable. North Kansas City, Gladstone and Liberty are all wonderful. Liberty is a city of about 40k with an old fashioned city square and borders KC. It has great schools and good medical facilities.

My daughter is also studying for the bar. Good luck.

And here comes another transplant. In late September, I'll be moving to Lawrence, Kansas from Conroe, Texas, which is just outside Houston. Thanks to April for starting the thread - I'm learning a lot! And I'm so excited that so many of the plants that I love here will grow there. And really excited that I'm going to be able to grow peonies and more old-fashioned garden plants than I've been able to here on the Gulf Coast/Piney Woods cusp! My husband-to-be is house-hunting for us since he's already in Lawrence and chief among my instructions are that the house's yard has to be suitable for great gardening. In other words, lots of room!

One question for any Lawrence gardeners: what is the most specific zone designation for Lawrence? (For instance, here in Conroe, I'm specifically 8b/9a.) Thanks, and I can't wait to get my hands in some Kansas prairie dirt!

Green Thumb, thanks for the offer of a contact - but I'm all set job wise. Very gracious of you though!

We found a townhome in Waldo over the weekend, so maybe I can talk the property managers into letting me change out some of the plants in the front. I mean, what can it hurt?

midsummer - welcome to the area. Conroe's a beautiful area. I went to camp there when I was much younger... and close to Brenham... ahhh Bluebell. What I miss the most about Texas.

midsummer,

The new map shows Lawrence in zone 6, however the old map shows Lawrence in zone 5.

http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/hzm-sm1.html

With all of these KC gardeners it sounds like we need to ahve a tour or a gathering this fall!

I used to live near Kansas City. It was a great experience gardening. I had a lot of things that I could grow for a half zone farther south if I babied them. I was pretty surprised. ( They were doing allright as long as I could keep my sheep out of them! ) I lived near Powell Gardens. That is a great place for you to see in person what will grow there. Good luck!

If you like peonies the Heartland Peony Society will be having its every other year sale this October 1, 2005. The always have a wide selection of plants from the pricey think Bartzilla & Garden Treasure to more inexpensive landscape variety. In the past it has been held at the Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church, 9300 Nall.

Midsummer,

Welcome to Lawrence!

Lawrence is in zone 5b, which hasn't meant a lot lately. We have had mild winters for several years now, so the minimum temperature has been higher. Two things to beware of in winter: freezing and thawing cycles and ice storms.

Summers are also varied. This year we already have had three weeks of over 90 degs weather. Last year was a lot milder. The local saying is: "If you don't like the weather, just wait five minutes. It will change."

The local gardening scene is very active, with many people with beautiful yards. The Extension Office is very helpful (call them with any questions; they really like to help). Good local nurseries: Sunrise Gardens, Clinton Parkway Nursery, and Vinland. It is also amazing what big box and grocery stores carry nowadays.

The soil is good ol' clay. Very heavy, needs lots of compost, and on the sweet side (not for acid lovers), but that's because it's real soil, not the sandy loam of gardening fairy tales :).

Best wishes in your new garden!

Thanks so much, everyone! Here's another question:

Here in the sub-tropics, I can establish plants in early fall because our mild winters don't affect them adversely.

Can I assume I won't have that luxury in Lawrence? I have some family plants I'd like to bring to the new yard, but since it will be the first week in October before I'm able to get them in the ground, I'm thinking I would do better to have Texas family bring them when they visit in the spring. Any thoughts?

I read through this thread last night, but was unable to post to it. Rather than read through it again, I'll touch base on a few things that stood out in being a native of Kansas City.

Welcome to Kansas City AprilK and to the rest of you that have migrated here, or plan to soon.

The Brookside area is a lovely area with lots of beautiful well established gardens and fully mature trees that are loaded with robust color and foliage.

As for the Kansas vs. Missouri thing, grins, I grew up in Kansas and moved to the Missouri side in my early 20's. I moved back to Kansas only for a short while back in the 90's, 8 months to be precise, and I could not WAIT to buy a home again north of the river on the Missouri side. I've been in Clay County now for over half of my life and love it. Both states have their pros and cons, and much of it is more about the neighborhoods you select than it is what state you live in. There are "some" differences in politics and it shows in some of the ways laws are governed; especially Family Law.

Also, a thing to keep in mind whenever seeking to move here, you should consult with your insurance agencies to get quotes on both homeowners insurance and auto rates; the amounts you pay might make the difference you spend in a mortgage or rent payment. Plus, the insurance companies are privy to high and low crime areas; it's a great way to weed out some of the less safe districts. The higher the crime rate, the higher the insurance premiums. One final note on location; if you are considering living on one side of the state line while working across the border, you will pay taxes to both states.

Ok, all that said for the "transplants" (pun intended), now for some garden talk.

I noticed multiple references to Peonies and wanted to mention a personal negative experience I had with them. I suggest that you do not plant them near the foundation of your home unless you enjoy ants. Peonies are a magnet for ants and if not tended to properly; they will invade your home. The previous home I purchased had a beautiful peony garden across the front of the home's foundation; very mature and robust. Once I got in the home, there was a constant issue in having to deal with sugar ants trying to invade my home.

Finally, once I learned that the peonies were the root cause of the ants being along the foundation of the home; I moved them away from the home's base and planted them along the outside property lines where they drew the ants away from the home; doing so resolved the problem. While I love peonies; the flowers are short term on many species.

Right now, with it being the end of summer and heading into autumn; we are beginning a new planting season here in Kansas City. The autumn is a great time for planting bulbs that require a hard freeze to bloom the following season. Irises, tulips, lilies, daffodils, hyacinths, crocus, etc... Again, many of these flowers have a short lived flowering life and provide the best show of colors when planted according to bloom span noted on planting guides; early spring, mid spring, late spring, early summer, mid.. etc.... You will want to layer bloom cycles to where you have a constant show of color. Just be careful not to over-crowd your garden and divide your plants, once well established, to keep them from choking each other out.

Many of the above mentioned are full sun to part sun plants, and while they will still grow in the shade, they are less likely to bloom. Hyacinths do well in the shade, as well as Lily of the Valley. Beware though, the Lily of the Valley plant can be invasive given the right conditions and is also known to be deadly to children if ingested; not sure if it is the same for pets, but most likely would be so.

For shade gardens, my favorites are ferns and hostas. When I plant my ferns, I loosen the clay soil by digging the hole double the size of the plant and filling in around the roots with cypress mulch or peat humus before adding dirt back in to fill. I've had the best luck with ferns I plant along the foundation of my home in a well shaded area; North side, and east side. I have not had as much luck in planting the ferns around trees; they seem to lose out in a battle against the tree roots. Hostas seem to do much better for me around the trees in lightly filtered sun locations; but primarily shady gardens.

As I have 18 trees in my yard with this newer place I acquired a few years ago, I'm getting ready to try my hand with coral bells, columbine and some other shady hummingbird magnets. My full sun location in my yard is limited to about 10 feet wide by about 30 feet long. The area borders my driveway and my mailbox, which makes me think twice about filling the area with bee balms and other plants that will draw bees as well as butterflies and hummers.

Lawrence, KS has pretty much the same planting specs as the Missouri side does.

Sorry for the long winded post, but I love gardens, and hope you all find Kansas City a very welcoming community.