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Homeowners share their Climate-Friendly Yard Makeovers

Two years ago, three homeowners were chosen to transform their yards with expert help as part of the Climate-Friendly Yard Makeovers project. This Saturday, you can tour the transformed gardens that are now attracting pollinators and helping biodiversity thrive.

The makeovers are a demonstration project of Missouri Organic Recycling (MOR) and its partners that first started in 2022.

The project aims to show how a typical yard can become climate friendly by adding native plantings, prairie patches, pollinator gardens, bioswales, berms, food forests, and vegetable gardens.

The three makeover winners received free landscape consultation and a detailed native-plant plan from an experienced native plant consultant, plus volunteer help with the installation. The homeowners purchased plants from native plant nurseries, and MOR provided free compost, mulch, and financial support.

Tour the Climate-Friendly Yard Makeovers

See all three gardens in one day and learn strategies you can implement in your yard.

The tours will be held Saturday, June 15 between 9 AM and 2 PM.

Stop #1 – Seeds of Life Garden – Lee’s Summit, MO

The Seeds of Life Garden features two garden lots with a demonstration community garden, water retention berms and swales, and abundant native trees, shrubs, and edible fruits.

Learn how to make a lasagna garden bed, how swales can redirect rainwater, how to use a fire pit to make biochar, how to design with mature trees, and what native shrubs provide food for animals and humans.

  • Address: 245 SE Topaz, Lee’s Summit, MO
  • Time: 9:00 – 10:00 am

Stop #2 – Krystle’s Food Forest – Raytown, MO

At Krystle’s Food Forest, a 3-lot yard was overgrown with invasive shrubs and plants from years of neglect. Invasive honeysuckle and winter creeper were removed and transformed into a food forest.

Learn how to remove invasives, create healthy soils in your yard, use native plants to restore soil and retain water, create pollinator gardens and raised beds, and plant a food forest.

  • Address: 8001 Blue Ridge Blvd., Raytown, MO
  • Time: 10:30 – 11:30 am

Stop #3 – Jennifer’s Front Yard Gardens – Kansas City, MO

For Jennifer’s front yard, the goals was to create a full and layered formal garden that worked well with existing trees and lawn by adding 29 varieties and 700 plants for a driveway prairie, sidewalk grove, and a lush sidewalk woodland.

Learn the process of planting and establishing native plant design, how to remove invasive plants, how to use swales to create better water distribution, and how to create a native plant front yard garden that invites pollinators, produces flowers to cut, and native plants to share.

  • Address: 3130 NE Vivion Rd., Kansas City, MO
  • Time: 1:00 – 2:00 pm

Missouri Organic Recycling is hosting the Climate-Friendly Yard Makeover Tour event.

To learn more about the demonstration makeover garden sites, visit the Missouri Organic Recycling blog.

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Stan Slaughter
4 months ago

Participants in the tour will receive a coupon for $10 off any $50 dollar purchase of Missouri Organic products. All three of these properties have exclusively used MOR products to produce these fantastic
results. I look forward to seeing each of you there.

Dawn
Dawn
4 months ago

Do you think they will do this again? Because I have a crazy yard with what we call ‘the ampitheater’ and 10-12′ bowl so big two sycamores fit in it and then flat areas and steep areas… I could really use some ideas at least! Ive even thought of offering it to some landscaping class. (but dont know of any)