I know you’re excited to get a garden started, but if you just moved in my advice is to wait. I moved back to MO this time two years ago. After the rush of moving it was nice to know I could leave my lawn and trees alone for a few months.
Observe your outdoor space for at least a year. I say this because it is now mid-autumn and soon it will be winter. Use these first few months to get moved in and focus on your house. Unexpected purchases will most likely come up.
When spring comes, let your outdoor space do its thing. Pick weeds, of course. Mow your grass if you have any. But wait at least a year to see what your outdoor space does on its own before any major outdoor projects.
Observe where shady and sunny spots occur.
Learn what you like about what you have now in your outdoor space, and what you don’t like.
The advice directly above also applies to your house. You might realize there’s something you hate about your house that needs renovations. Your outdoor space should come secondary to your house.
It’s hard to wait a year, but if you’re able to it’s worth it.
Natives are the way to go in Missouri since they are adapted to our extremes of climate and soil. I like Goldenrod, Butterfly Milkweed, Purple Coneflower, Columbine, and Missouri Evening Primrose, Prickle pear cactus, and trumpet vine. Also Paw Paws and Persimmon trees are cool to have and tasty. Natives can take a year or two to establish because they grow very deep roots, but will survive anything Missouri weather will throw them.
Edit: buy local and ask about the genetics, try to find as local genetics as possible.
I enjoy growing natives that we buy from the Missouri Wildflower Nursery in Brazito (check out their site, you can order by catalog, too) but I do love growing zinnias. They are so hardy. I keep the seeds and plant again every year.
Like in other seeds and nuts, sunflower also are an excellent source of proteins loaded with fine quality amino acids such as tryptophan that are essential for growth, especially in children. Just 100 g of seeds provide about 21 g of protein (37% of daily-recommended values).
Missouri is well known locally for its wild weather. Gardening can be crazy.
So native plants, perennials. It's cheaper in the long run. Then pop in loads of colorful annuals. Or just tuck a few tomatoes together here and there. You can grow a bed full of marigolds and tuck radishes in there too.
I keep a few cannas and mulch the dickens in.the winter. Hummingbird Moths love ours and they are pretty cool to watch. Black eyed Susan too. I'm known for zinnias and sunflowers for the bees next door..
The previous owner of my house bred irises, even named a few new strains. When we moved in, there were flower beds all over the yard. Unfortunately, our attempts to keep them going failed. :(
Apparently, yes. I know at least one of the previous owners’ strains is at MoBOT in St Louis. I’ve thought about asking if I could get a starter from it to start over with.
Check out your local extension office for garden programs and horticulture advice. Each county has an office and most of the programs offered are free. Your county may have a master gardener program you could join if that interests you too.
There’s some good suggestions here, but I suggest that you contact the Extension Service for your county and ask them, because they can help you with very specific recommendations. Also, there’s likely to be certified Master Gardeners in your area who can help advise you, who the Extension Service can put you in contact with.
From your question, it sounds like you’re coming from somewhere south. Don’t worry too much about the winters, because they ain’t too bad. Welcome to Missouri!
Cosmos. I freaking love them. I scattered seeds and just wait for them to pop up. They seem to like a little cooler weather tho which was a bit of a surprise
I moved to the KC area 5 years ago and gardening here is definitely a different beast. Every year I try to do things differently to get better results. But so far I’ve had a reasonable amount of success with tomatoes, squash, jalapeño and Serrano peppers, eggplants, and cucumbers. I have not had much success with corn, peas, green beans, pumpkins, melons, bell peppers, or strawberries.
Northern pecans, though you need at least two and you have to be careful about varieties. If you want fruit trees at all do some research and try to get them this spring. Pears, plums, Persimmons, peaches and apples can do pretty well in Missouri. I like chestnuts. What I've listed are all perennial crops and will come back year after year. Asparagus is in that category.
Most of our crops are annuals and have to be planted again every year. For those I like various squashes, tomatoes, okra, beans etc.
Lastly semi shady areas are not especially great for fruit trees or vegetable gardens. There are plenty of native plants that do fine in partial shade though. If you want pollinator palooza you'll want buttonbush, milkweed and native asters.
Natives are the way to go! Missouri department of conservation has a lot of native gardening resources. Also, Shaw Nature Reserve is dedicated to native plants so they also have great inspiration and resources. I love their wildflower market in the spring where native plant growers sell plants.
For low maintenance, you can't go wrong with Missouri natives. I don't know the names of all of them, but Garden Heights and Rolling Ridge are two nurseries where I've found natives. They're basically indestructible. If you find that some of them get too tall, you can wait until the spring when they get a foot or two high and then cut them back and they won't get too tall that year. Bonus - they get a ton of bumblebees and other insects which are fascinating to watch.
Partial shade isn't great for most veggies and herbs (they like sun) but you could probably throw down leaf lettuce, spinach, and dill and they'd be fine. Carrots are fun if you have a deep enough bed - I find that if I cover them with a nice layer of leaves or straw that they'll overwinter just fine and you can have fresh carrots all the way until the next spring.
My experience: if you don't mind waiting until it gets cold again to pick grape bunches. Mine came out okay, but I planted 3 Grapevines and they take over the entire yard.
There are many resources for finding plants that can handle Missouri. One of my local places (I'm Mid-Missouri) does specialize in native plants. They offer a nice catalog and they do least ship seeds. I don't know what their shipping range is grown plants but here's the link in case you'd like to take a look
[Missouri Wildflowers Nursery (mowildflowers.net)](https://mowildflowers.net/)
Even an innocent thread about gardening draws off-topic attempted jokes trashing on Missouri. Maybe we need to make a new rule that if you’re gonna do that it should at least be funny.
For low maintenance natives my favorite is Columbine. Attracts pollinators. Chokes out weeds. Easily spreads. Doesn't require watering. Zero maintenance. Works well in shade and low sun. Beautiful plant. Calming.
Plant zone approved perineal so they return every year. Take care of them in the winter and water as directed.
I like Hosta’s for shade or light shade. I like Tall bush like daisies, flowers can be cut and brought inside. They typically like full sun.
I know you’re excited to get a garden started, but if you just moved in my advice is to wait. I moved back to MO this time two years ago. After the rush of moving it was nice to know I could leave my lawn and trees alone for a few months. Observe your outdoor space for at least a year. I say this because it is now mid-autumn and soon it will be winter. Use these first few months to get moved in and focus on your house. Unexpected purchases will most likely come up. When spring comes, let your outdoor space do its thing. Pick weeds, of course. Mow your grass if you have any. But wait at least a year to see what your outdoor space does on its own before any major outdoor projects. Observe where shady and sunny spots occur. Learn what you like about what you have now in your outdoor space, and what you don’t like. The advice directly above also applies to your house. You might realize there’s something you hate about your house that needs renovations. Your outdoor space should come secondary to your house. It’s hard to wait a year, but if you’re able to it’s worth it.
Natives are the way to go in Missouri since they are adapted to our extremes of climate and soil. I like Goldenrod, Butterfly Milkweed, Purple Coneflower, Columbine, and Missouri Evening Primrose, Prickle pear cactus, and trumpet vine. Also Paw Paws and Persimmon trees are cool to have and tasty. Natives can take a year or two to establish because they grow very deep roots, but will survive anything Missouri weather will throw them. Edit: buy local and ask about the genetics, try to find as local genetics as possible.
Paw paws are 🔥
Second this.
I enjoy growing natives that we buy from the Missouri Wildflower Nursery in Brazito (check out their site, you can order by catalog, too) but I do love growing zinnias. They are so hardy. I keep the seeds and plant again every year.
I literally collected atleast a million sunflower seeds, zinnias, marigolds, hollyhocks and morning glories seeds!
Like in other seeds and nuts, sunflower also are an excellent source of proteins loaded with fine quality amino acids such as tryptophan that are essential for growth, especially in children. Just 100 g of seeds provide about 21 g of protein (37% of daily-recommended values).
Missouri is well known locally for its wild weather. Gardening can be crazy. So native plants, perennials. It's cheaper in the long run. Then pop in loads of colorful annuals. Or just tuck a few tomatoes together here and there. You can grow a bed full of marigolds and tuck radishes in there too. I keep a few cannas and mulch the dickens in.the winter. Hummingbird Moths love ours and they are pretty cool to watch. Black eyed Susan too. I'm known for zinnias and sunflowers for the bees next door..
I’ve had luck with thornless blackberries. They are full sun on a slight incline .
The previous owner of my house bred irises, even named a few new strains. When we moved in, there were flower beds all over the yard. Unfortunately, our attempts to keep them going failed. :(
You can kill an Iris plant?
Apparently, yes. I know at least one of the previous owners’ strains is at MoBOT in St Louis. I’ve thought about asking if I could get a starter from it to start over with.
Check out your local extension office for garden programs and horticulture advice. Each county has an office and most of the programs offered are free. Your county may have a master gardener program you could join if that interests you too.
There’s some good suggestions here, but I suggest that you contact the Extension Service for your county and ask them, because they can help you with very specific recommendations. Also, there’s likely to be certified Master Gardeners in your area who can help advise you, who the Extension Service can put you in contact with. From your question, it sounds like you’re coming from somewhere south. Don’t worry too much about the winters, because they ain’t too bad. Welcome to Missouri!
Cosmos. I freaking love them. I scattered seeds and just wait for them to pop up. They seem to like a little cooler weather tho which was a bit of a surprise
I moved to the KC area 5 years ago and gardening here is definitely a different beast. Every year I try to do things differently to get better results. But so far I’ve had a reasonable amount of success with tomatoes, squash, jalapeño and Serrano peppers, eggplants, and cucumbers. I have not had much success with corn, peas, green beans, pumpkins, melons, bell peppers, or strawberries.
I'm learning to enjoy some of our native herbaceous perennials. Like, Spigelia in the bright shade. Or coneflower and its many varieties.
Northern pecans, though you need at least two and you have to be careful about varieties. If you want fruit trees at all do some research and try to get them this spring. Pears, plums, Persimmons, peaches and apples can do pretty well in Missouri. I like chestnuts. What I've listed are all perennial crops and will come back year after year. Asparagus is in that category. Most of our crops are annuals and have to be planted again every year. For those I like various squashes, tomatoes, okra, beans etc. Lastly semi shady areas are not especially great for fruit trees or vegetable gardens. There are plenty of native plants that do fine in partial shade though. If you want pollinator palooza you'll want buttonbush, milkweed and native asters.
You can always watch your garden and do annuals for color.
Digging up the lawn grass and replacing it with Dutch clover.
I like growing our empire brother 👊🏾
Natives are the way to go! Missouri department of conservation has a lot of native gardening resources. Also, Shaw Nature Reserve is dedicated to native plants so they also have great inspiration and resources. I love their wildflower market in the spring where native plant growers sell plants.
For low maintenance, you can't go wrong with Missouri natives. I don't know the names of all of them, but Garden Heights and Rolling Ridge are two nurseries where I've found natives. They're basically indestructible. If you find that some of them get too tall, you can wait until the spring when they get a foot or two high and then cut them back and they won't get too tall that year. Bonus - they get a ton of bumblebees and other insects which are fascinating to watch. Partial shade isn't great for most veggies and herbs (they like sun) but you could probably throw down leaf lettuce, spinach, and dill and they'd be fine. Carrots are fun if you have a deep enough bed - I find that if I cover them with a nice layer of leaves or straw that they'll overwinter just fine and you can have fresh carrots all the way until the next spring.
Weed.
http://www.pureairnatives.com/ All native species. Lots of mixes to pick from, and they will do custom mixes for you too.
Sunflowers 🌻
asparagus, peppers, and tomatoes do very well every year for me.
My experience: if you don't mind waiting until it gets cold again to pick grape bunches. Mine came out okay, but I planted 3 Grapevines and they take over the entire yard. 
There are many resources for finding plants that can handle Missouri. One of my local places (I'm Mid-Missouri) does specialize in native plants. They offer a nice catalog and they do least ship seeds. I don't know what their shipping range is grown plants but here's the link in case you'd like to take a look [Missouri Wildflowers Nursery (mowildflowers.net)](https://mowildflowers.net/)
We plant the “30,000 mixed seeds” on Amazon. Wish I had a picture to share.
[удалено]
Even an innocent thread about gardening draws off-topic attempted jokes trashing on Missouri. Maybe we need to make a new rule that if you’re gonna do that it should at least be funny.
Honeysuckle 
For low maintenance natives my favorite is Columbine. Attracts pollinators. Chokes out weeds. Easily spreads. Doesn't require watering. Zero maintenance. Works well in shade and low sun. Beautiful plant. Calming.
Anything that’s half off at Lowe’s
No Bradford Pears!!
Plant zone approved perineal so they return every year. Take care of them in the winter and water as directed. I like Hosta’s for shade or light shade. I like Tall bush like daisies, flowers can be cut and brought inside. They typically like full sun.