After months of planning, a small section of the Columbia Public Library grounds is being transformed into a native plant garden. This enhancement to our landscaping will add beauty to our neighborhood and also serve the library’s educational mission as a demonstration of how residents and businesses can add native plantings to their yards and grounds.
The garden is located on the corner of Garth Avenue and Crestmere by the library’s south parking lot. It will include some prairie species like little bluestem and prairie blazing star, as well as some woodland, shade-tolerant species like crested iris and wild sweet william under our existing trees. A pathway welcomes visitors to walk through the garden and take a closer look.
Using native plants in landscaping helps improve biodiversity and habitat for native insects, small animals and birds. Plants that evolved in this part of the country are well adapted to our climate and therefore usually require fewer extra inputs to flourish, making them a more sustainable and energy efficient choice. The Missouri Prairie Foundation notes that, “Choosing native plants beautifies yards and other spaces, supports nature’s web of life, manages stormwater, stores carbon, and improves soil health.”
This project is partially funded by a grant from the University of Missouri College of Education & Human Development. A contracted landscaping crew did the site prep work in fall 2025, and volunteers through a few different organizations are helping plant the garden in early April of 2026. Thank you to the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture, Missouri Conservation Corps, Missouri Master Naturalists Boone’s Lick Chapter and other individual volunteers for their help! This garden is a project of the Daniel Boone Regional Library Sustainability Committee.
As the garden grows, we will document that process to share with the public. And, we will plan programming centered around the garden in the future. Stay tuned to our website, email and social media channels for photos, video and event news!
Interested in learning more about native plant gardening?
The library has many resources to offer.
- Check out the videos from the Native Landscaping Learning workshops that took place in Columbia in 2023.
- Find out about the native plant landscaping at the Southern Boone County Public Library in Ashland, named a Garden of Excellence in 2021.
Library Book Lists
- Learn more about native plants of the Midwest
- Find favorite gardening books from local experts: Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture CommunityMade list
- Native Landscaping for Garden Pest Control
- Get the whole family involved: books about gardening with and for children
Other Great Resources
- Grow Native! From the Missouri Prairie Foundation
- Wild Ones Mid-Missouri Chapter
- CoMo Wild Yards Program
- Missouri Department of Conservation Field Guide
- Missouri Botanic Garden Plant Finder
- Homegrown National Park a project from renowned biologist Doug Tallamy
- We Are the Ark a project out of the UK to “weave a patchwork of safe havens for nature”