Horticulturally, we have it good in the Midwest. No other place on earth has such an extreme continental climate, and yet it’s home to plants of every size and hue – hundreds of varieties of trees, shrubs, vines, perennials, ground covers, bulbs, and annuals.

Alan Branhagen, the director of horticulture at Kansas City’s Powell Gardens, examines the region’s native flora and the best way to make many of those plants a part of your landscape in a discussion of his new book Native Plants of the Midwest: A Comprehensive Guide to the Best 500 Species for the Garden. Native plants promote a healthy ecosystem, improving air and water quality, reducing the need for pesticides, and providing vital food and reproductive sites for birds and butterflies that non-native plants can’t offer.