Events

Rosen Ag Center, Morningside University, 1800 Sioux Trail, Sioux City, IA 51106

Two and a half years since its establishment, the Cargill Outdoor Classroom Educational Prairie has served as a wildlife oasis at Morningside University. The prairie's creation stems from the University's mission of lifelong learning and dedication to ethical leadership and civic responsibility. Through extensive research, self-grown and transplanted natives, and routine maintenance, the Educational Prairie has integrated itself within the agriculture department as a model student-led project.
In its current state, over two dozen native species of local ecotype are present within the hillside garden, with various blooms throughout the summer and fall. The Educational Prairie is the product of community support that aims to provide learning opportunities for all students alike, in the hopes of sharing the collective benefit of native plants in the greater Siouxland area. Host: Jose Lopez
 

Troop 208 Native Prairie Garden
Sertoma Park, 3233 Singing Hills Blvd., Sioux City, IA 51106
This garden is the result of an eagle project done by a member of Troop 208 in Sioux City. The garden is located at Sertoma Park and features a variety of prairie plants endemic to the Loess Hills. This site was picked because it had a wonderful opportunity to educate the public about the benefits and beauty of native plants. It is also a good example of how a native plant garden looks in its infancy. Host: Noah Elder, Eagle Scout, Troop 208

You planted native. Your neighbor has opinions. Maybe your HOA does too. If you’ve ever felt like the hardest part of native plant gardening is the conversations, not the gardening, you’re not alone.

Wild Ones is thrilled to share this upcoming free webinar as part of the 2026 Less Lawn More Life Challenge. Join Lorraine Johnson for a practical conversation on navigating HOA rules, addressing neighbor concerns, and fostering community conversations about native plant gardening and ecological landscapes.

2801 S. Cecelia Street, Sioux City, IA 51106

Tom & Cheri Stewart have created an ever-expanding, backyard native garden paradise that is both beautiful and ecologically significant. In 2022, Stewart’s Hilltop Garden was awarded Sioux City's Yard-of-the-Year.
Come walk through the gardens and enjoy the pollinators who are also visiting!
Then relax on a garden bench while enjoying some refreshments.
Or shop the native plant sale at the Hilltop Garden and pick up a few natives for your own yard. Proceeds from the plant sale go towards funding native plant gardens and educational programs in the Siouxland region. Hosts: Tom & Cheri Stewart

https://loesshills.wildones.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2026/07/2026-Summer-Plant-Sale-List.docx

We are excited to offer garden walks in Vermillion this year. The properties are located near each other to allow you to visit all three yards during your visit.

Anna Kantenbach’s Garden
Saturday, August 8, 2026, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm (Central Time)
513 Thomas Street, Vermillion, SD 57069 When we moved to SD in 2020, I happened to see a little metallic green bee while out on a walk along the river. That bee sparked my curiosity and led me to native plants to support native bees of all kinds. The side garden began when we had to remove a large maple tree and the mulch provided a perfect way to prepare the area for something other than grass and weeds. The next year, I expanded the garden across the driveway, making a border that would add color and interest but keep some lawn space for kids. This year, the front border was extended even more.
Host: Anna Kantenbach

Tom and Sandi King’s Gardens
Saturday, August 8, 2026, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm (Central Time)
109 S. Yale St., Vermillion, SD 57069
We have lived at this address for over 35 years, when what started out as a rental became our permanent home. The house was originally built in 1867 below the bluff near the former channel of the Missouri River and was moved to its present location following the 1881 flood. I have always envisioned it as our “little house on the prairie” so that style of garden is a perfect fit. One of my influences was my grandmother’s Harvey Dunn print The Prairie is My Garden.
Out front to the north, you will see a mix of newly planted native species (with labels!) nestled in a deep bed of wood chips alongside canna lilies, vintage peonies, iris, hydrangeas, and a few daylilies. To the south is a recently reorganized bed with grandma’s bleeding heart, sedum, peony and vinca vine as well as groupings of potted plants. This area will contain more native species next season. The backyard is surrounded by a privacy fence, deck, and screened area that were mostly created with reclaimed or salvaged lumber, plus a vintage brick patio and walkway, original to the property.
The back garden hosts our veggie patch interplanted with annual flowers, and surrounding the house is an eclectic mix of perennials and native species. Potted plants are placed throughout to add color and interest. Our plantings are designed to encourage birds and pollinators to visit and stay, and they tend to look a little "wild" toward the end of the season but that's part of the plan.
Hosts: Tom and Sandi King

Clark Christensen’s Garden
Saturday, August 8, 2026, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm (Central Time)
1140 Valley View Dr., Vermillion, SD 57069
In my smallish backyard, the native plant garden is located next to the deck and screened-in porch. It is easily visible indoors from the kitchen window. It features a variety of forbs, grasses, and shrubs, along with a bird bath and bird feeder to attract wildlife. A curved brick path leads through a prominent garden gate to a raised bed vegetable garden, a small toolshed, and a three-bin composter. My front yard has a more conventional layout, featuring a Sugar Maple, a Northern Red Oak, and a Black Hills Spruce. Host: Clark Christensen

Metzger Gardens, 1250 Tucker Hill Dr, Hinton, IA, 51024
The Metzger native gardens were started in Spring of 2020 by Danielle & James and are ever-expanding with each passing year. Each garden has a name and was designed by Danielle using plants mostly from Loess Hills Wild Ones native plant sales.
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Most of the rock borders for the gardens were transported from Danielle’s father’s farm located in Buena Vista County. Danielle has a love for grasses and sedges. Her favorite wildflowers are the varied species of Purple Coneflower (Echinacea) and Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa). Her love of the Monarch Butterfly is what sparked and ignited her joy of native gardening.
Refreshments and restrooms will be available. Hosts: Danielle, James & Lilly Metzger

A Garden Smorgasbord
1088 Pachsama Ct., Sioux City, IA 51108
Welcome! Our gardens began in 2002, soon after moving into our new home. Vegetable beds were first, flower bed followed and continued to evolve.
I admit to being a plant collector - I like most everything! I have been incorporating native plants into my established beds and have just started a native garden in front of my she-shed (all are first year plantings). My efforts to get a few patches of natives started in the brome grass has been challenging. I keep sowing seeds each fall, hopefully some will take off. Enjoy!
Hosts: La Vone Sopher and Randy Bradley

Native plants are the foundation of habitat, but wildlife need more than food to thrive. Join ecologist and Certified Wildlife Biologist Shaun McCoshum, PhD, to explore how nesting sites, shelter, water, soil conditions, and other often-overlooked resources can transform a yard into a functioning ecosystem that supports biodiversity year-round.

Registration link coming soon.

3131 Norman Dr., Sioux City, IA 51104
Rex was raised in Sloan, Iowa, a Missouri River floodplain farming community. As a child, he was always interested in the hills visible across the valley.
The Rex & Maria’s home is situated in the Loess Hills on the “Northside” of Sioux City, where they moved in August 1993. The home is built on a hill with the front door at street level. There is a triple-terraced yard in the back, and the lowest level abuts a powerline easement (no alley). This area was full of volunteer trees, shrubs, and a big weed patch. Rex cleared that space in the first couple of years that they lived there.
Early attempts to reintroduce “prairie” to the yard began with tilling up the weeds and drilling some prairie grass seed (Little Bluestem, Side-oats Grama) in the lowest terrace. These seeds did not “take well,” due to inconsistent moisture. A few of the “side-oats” sprouted and remain, however.
Through the encouragement of the Loess Hills Chapter of Wild Ones, I obtained my first tray of native plants in May 2019 and got my first prairie garden started. There have been a lot of failures and a few successes in this process. But through it all I have learned year by year and have adjusted my methods.
I have four main gardens of prairie plants now, plus 3-4 mini-gardens. The top two gardens are easy to reach. The others in back have steps and steep slopes. Currently, I have no handrails there. I do not recommend these areas for people with balance issues or trouble climbing steep, uneven grassy areas. Enjoy the gardens and some refreshments at this stop. Hosts: Rex and Maria Rundquist

Dave Raymond’s Garden Walk
2701 41st St., Sioux City, IA 51104
My native plant journey began in fall 2022, three years after we moved into this house. I had become frustrated with trying to maintain a traditional grass lawn in compacted clay soil without an irrigation system. I realized that I was wasting my time and money trying to keep grass alive on life support (water and chemicals) and that the traditional lawn serves no purpose other than to impress the neighbors and alienate nature.
I wanted a yard that is not just a big green carpet, that attracts, feeds, and shelters birds, butterflies, and other creatures and that does not pollute or poison the land and animals. I needed plants which had evolved to live in this region, with this climate, soil, and animals.
I made my first garden bed in the back yard and added some perennial “nativars” from the big box garden centers. I saw a Facebook post about the Wild Ones Fall Plant Sale and picked out a couple of goldenrods, blazing stars, and little bluestem. I remember thinking that my parents would have thought I was crazy to buy “weeds” to plant in a flower bed.
I bought more plants at the 2023 Spring and Fall Wild Ones plant sales. In 2024 I became a Wild Ones member and received a grant of plants at the Spring Plant Sale. Native plants became my new hobby. I enjoy learning about them through books, videos, websites, and organizations like Wild Ones. My yard is on the map with Homegrown National Park and is certified with National Wildlife Federation.
Since adding native plants, we see larger numbers and varieties of birds, butterflies, moths, bees, wasps, beetles, flies, spiders, frogs, and toads. A few native plants have shown up in my yard on their own. Last winter I was able to supply many varieties of seeds for the seed library.
My yard is still very much a work in progress, but I hope that people will see some beauty in it and want to add at least some native plants to their own yards. I would love to see the City of Sioux City support native plantings. Host: Dave Raymond

Naturelady’s Garden Walk
4007 Glen Oaks Blvd., Sioux City, IA 51104
Having worked in conservation for more than four decades, it is only natural that I try to bring a little nature to my own yard. I grew up on a farm in northeast Iowa, and my mother was my mentor and role model. She initiated the Master Gardener program in my home county and was integral in establishing a local herb club. My official native gardens began in 2021, when I planted the narrow strip on south side of my house, just adjacent to my neighbor. I was tired of mowing that small area and dodging the air conditioning unit. The dozen small wild strawberry plants quickly took root, as did the sedges and wild onions. I am happy to say I have not mowed that area for five years!

I expanded my native beds to surround my back deck. Each year I add new species from the LHWO plant sales. The steep slope that was difficult to mow is now covered with sun-loving native plants. I retain my non-native favorites like iris, bleeding heart, daisies, and peonies to remind me of my grandma and mom, but I strive to have 75-80% native plants. My yard is on the map with Homegrown National Park, and I keep expanding my beds so that I have more pollinator habitat and less lawn. I do not use any herbicides or pesticide—diversity is key in my mind—but I will hand dig dandelions to keep my neighbors happy.
My front yard includes a magnolia tree with a native shade garden underneath to create a soft landing for insect larvae and wildlife. In 2025 Glen Oaks Boulevard was torn up and resurfaced. I took that opportunity to plant native buffalo grass in the hell strip between the sidewalk and the curb. The buffalo grass takes time to establish, so I must be patient (and so do my neighbors)!
I enjoy being part of Loess Hills Wild Ones and the Sioux City Garden Club and advocate for native plants and pollinator gardens as much as possible. The Sioux City Garden Club celebrated its 100th anniversary this year and I proudly have one of their bur oak trees planted in my front yard.
I am happy to host this garden walk, and I hope members from both clubs and any interested people will get some ideas and inspiration from my yard while enjoying some camaraderie and refreshments.
This garden walk is co-sponsored by the Sioux City Garden Club. Host: Dawn Snyder

Sioux City Railroad Museum Garden Walk
Sioux City Railroad Museum, 3400 Sioux River Rd, Sioux City, IA, 51109
La Vone and Dotty welcome you to the native plantings at the Sioux City Railroad Museum. We are in our sixth year, so we still have some sleeping, creeping & leaping going on!
This 31-acre site was previously an industrial area of the Milwaukee Road "Shops" where steam and later diesel engines, and train cars were maintained and repaired from 1920-1965.
The Siouxland Historical Railroad Association attained the site in 1995 (which had been a junkyard for 15-20 years) and began the lengthy process of restoring historic buildings and developing educational displays. It is now on the National Register of Historic Places, earning the honor in 2016.
Our seven gardens are named for buildings on site such as Engineer's Tool Shed or Car Shops Garden, or a feature of significance such as the Wig Wag Garden or the Grand Scale Train Platform. They each contain a large variety of native plants for partial shade, shade, partial sun, full sun.
Hosts La Vone Sopher & Dotty Zales, who designed and installed the gardens, will be available to answer your questions. Light refreshments will be served.

Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center Garden Walk
Saturday, August 29, 2026, 10:00 am to Noon (Central Time) 4500 Sioux River Rd., Sioux City, IA 51109
The Nature Center turned 30 in 2025, and the gardens have undergone many changes over the years. New native plants were added in 2021 with the help of Loess Hills Wild Ones (LHWO) and Sioux City Garden Club grants and many volunteers. It has been exciting to see the transformation of our three-tiered gardens over time. The nature center and LHWO volunteers assisted with the planning, planting, and maintenance of our garden beds.
The rear of the Nature Center houses a water feature and native plants. This area has been under repair for a few years, and the staff will share future plans for the renovation of this popular area. Take time to stroll our trails and visit our indoor exhibits while you are here!
Host: Kari Sandage, Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center

Board Members and any other member interested in helping to plan events for LHWO.  Meet for our annual planning session.

What does it really take to turn a conventional lawn into a thriving native meadow? Join Owner & Principal, New Directions in the American Landscape (NDAL), Sara Weaner Cooper for a candid look at her family's ongoing lawn-to-meadow transformation featured in The New York Times and BBC. Drawing from three years of hands-on experience, Sara will share the methods, lessons learned, successes, and challenges of converting turfgrass into a dynamic native plant community. Participants will gain practical insights into site preparation, planting, management, and the ecological principles that guide successful meadow establishment, along with realistic expectations for how these landscapes evolve over time.

Registration link coming soon.

Members Only Plant Sale Preview Event.  Members get reduced pricing and first choice of plants today only. 

If you're not a member, Join Us (Click Here)

Fall Grant Awards will be announced at 5:30 p.m.

Proceeds from the sale are used for numerous native plant gardens and projects in the region, including individual and community grants to assist with native plantings.

Tour the beautiful Hilltop Gardens and shop for native wildflowers and grasses at the Fall Public Native Plant Sale.

Proceeds from the sale are used for numerous native plant gardens and projects in the region, including individual and community grants to assist with native plantings.

Join us to clean-up a section of Lincoln Way along Sioux City's South Ravine Park.  We'll meet at the gravel parking lot at S. Ravine Park which is just East of the intersection of Lincoln Way and S.  Lewis Boulevard in Sioux City, IA.  

Hi-visibility vests and large orange plastic bags for collecting trash will be provided.  Bring your own drinking water, trash picker, garden gloves, and wear sturdy walking shoes.   

And then afterwards, join us for refreshments at the Stewart's Hilltop Gardens. 

This is always a very worthwhile event.  We hope you will join us for a little productive outdoor recreation and refreshment rewards afterwards.

Bats are among the most important and misunderstood wildlife in our communities. Join experts from Bat Conservation International to explore how native plants, healthy insect populations, and thoughtful landscape design can help support bats. Learn about the ecological role of bats and discover practical ways to create habitat for North America's night flyers right in your own backyard.

Registration link coming soon.

Join us for our Annual Meeting with a recap of our 2026 Events, 2027 Elections, and a Potluck.   We'll also talk about our wildly successful Seed Share Library.

 LHWO will provide Sneaky's Chicken, beverages, and table service! 

Bring a side dish to share!

Monarch butterflies depend on a network of habitats stretching across North America, and home landscapes can play an important role in their survival. Join experts from Monarch Joint Venture to explore the science behind monarch conservation, including the importance of milkweed, nectar resources, and regionally appropriate habitat. Learn practical ways to support monarchs through native landscaping and help sustain one of the world's most remarkable migrations.
 

Registration link coming soon.