Hey Barb! There's a lot of good info on natives available. Have you tried Sally Wasowskis's book "Gardening with Native Plants of the South"? The Virginia Native Plant Society has an excellent brochure titled "Native Plants for Conservation, Restoration and Landscaping". Our MG definition of a native plant is any plant that was on this continent before Europeans arrived, easy to say but can at times be hard to determine. Lots of plants have been naturilized so long they seem native. Then there are the plants that collectors took back to Europe and played with genetically and they have been reintroduced here. Many of these reintroduced plants are now too aggressive, the Rudbeckia cultivar "Goldsturm" comes to mind. I guess technically you could call it a native but it's over aggressive and often doesn't bear the seeds that are one of the drawing points of the native plant. Native plants are often crucial host plants for butterflies and moths. These insects need specific plants in order to complete their life cycle, some are very specific such as the Monarch. Without native host or nectar plants many insects can't survive. Too often nectar plants such as Butterfly bush (Buddelia) or Lantana are planted without consideration of the caterpillars. Be aware that putting in plants that" attracts butterflies" or is a "butterfly magnet" should be offset by ensuring that host plants are also located nearby. Unfortunately the host plants are often not as showy or pretty as the nectar plants and are not planted as much as they should be.Try to plant more host plants than nectar plants, those caterpillars are hungry! Mixing native plants in with nonnatives and keeping a garden attractive to the average eye can usually be done with the 60-40 rule. Use 60% natives and 40% other, hopefully well mannered nonnatives. You may find that eventually the non's give up the ghost and the natives just get better looking. When buying plants at the big box stores keep in mind that they contract their plants from all over. They're looking for the best deals not necessarily the best plants. Although if you're fortunate you'll find one that actually has a knowledgeable person running the plant department. Try submitting requests, one of our local big boxes is starting to respond to our MG's asking for better plants and pointing out the problems with some that they bring in. So don't give up on them, just be wary. Good grief. I guess I got on a roll here!

I absolutely love my yard - a half acre which has a prairie/savannah in the front and prairie/savannah/woodland in the back. I do have to do some work to control weeds - it's going into its sixth year, but that has gotten less. My biggest problem is with the Canadian Goldenrod - a weedy, aggressive native. I burn every year and try to get out and zap with Roundup in early spring. There is more work involved than I originally thought, but no more work than keeping up any yard - you have to control weeds. However, the pleasure I get from my yard is incredible. So many butterflies, birds, grasshoppers, bees and all sorts of critters - if you love wildlife, the only way to go is with a native yard. You can check out my Web site at www.pleasantprairienaturenews.20m.com Here is a link that might be useful: my Web site

I don't really understand what you are looking for, except tall flower stalks. Esssentially all the native prairie grasses are bunch grasses that grow in clumps. I have seen some attractive plantings of switch grass, especially those that use varieties with bluish foliage. The airy seed head is the main appeal, but the plants are very large and would overwhelm most other grasses and wildflowers. Wild ryes have attractive seed heads, but are otherwise pretty nondescript. I think prairie dropseed is the most attractive native grass for small plantings, though it doesn't seem to be what you are looking for. Little bluestem has a more vertical growth pattern and better year-round appeal (especially varieties with lots of color). June grass might be a good choice for you because it has beautiful seed heads. River oats also has has very cool dangling seed clusters that look great all winter. A mixture of the above species would look better than a mass planting of any single species. A good source for plugs of Missouri native grasses is Missouri Wildflowers, south of Jefferson City. Here is a link that might be useful: Missouri Wildflowers Nursery

I don't get bent out of shape concerning what people plant in residential gardens & I don't crusade the idea of going native to anyone who will listen. I figure if I make my own yard look good with natives, thats the best way to sell the idea but I'm not out to change the world. If someone asks, I'll answer. I'm not an average homeowner. I like the prairie and we removed the lawn and went that direction but then I keep in mind the perspective that I like gardening more than most who live around here. I'm not a sports fan which also places me in another minority, I'd rather be outside gardening during the game or when the Thunder plays. The toothpaste is out of the tube concerning our problem invasive species such as honeysuckle, Bradford Pear & privet. The popularity of the non-invasive plants you mentioned such as day lily, roses and hosta and several other popular landscape plants we could list is not the problem when you consider the amount of land covered in concrete and high maintenance lawns. I consider lawns to be a much more serious concern than whether people prefer native as opposed to conventional garden plants. Water waste is one of my biggest bug-a-boo's with sprinkler systems becoming very common, widespread chemical use on lawns that runs down the street into streams and air pollution. I find myself doing the math of what I see going on here and know is going on elsewhere. There are strict restrictions on ranchers and farmers, officials regularly check to see if they are in compliance while homeowners are free to spray their lawns with abandon. This makes no sense. I don't like seeing the city expand and watching builders scrape off the native prairie and then replace it with bermuda lawn grass and formal landscaping along with regular mowing, spraying and sprinkler systems. Fire suppression is a bigger cause of problems than introduced plants where I live. Eastern Red Cedar is out of control and is taking over thousands of acres of prairie at alarming rates inevitably creating deciduous forests of both native and non-native woody plants. In my opinion, it makes no difference whether they are native trees & underbrush or not at this point. Why should it? That land cannot be restored back to prairie, habitat is lost forever and it seems there is no stopping this aggressive transformation, no end in sight. When its dry, these infested places turn into infernos that explode. After the fire is finally out, the trees are what come back, not the grasses. Its a problem of balance and funds. Fracking is a major concern. We have earthquakes here all the time now, I heard we have more than California or anywhere else in the world right now. I also worry about the fact that we are depleting the aquifer faster than it can replenish itself with large scale farm irrigation. We have a vote coming up concerning something called 'Right to Farm'. Its about halting regulations on farming practices. I'm not sure what its all about since I haven't had time to look into it but it sounds ominous. Has anyone heard of this?