Heartland Harvest Garden
Welcome to America’s premier edible landscape—where the trees, shrubs, and flowers are part of the story of where our food comes from. In the heartland of America, this signature garden captures the spirit of Kansas City. Here, our rich soils and prime farmland make agriculture a shining star.
Seasonal display beds inspire home gardeners and chefs to discover new color, creativity, and plants with each visit. Four season food productions is on display in the Potager Menu Garden.
There are several unique displays within the Heartland Harvest Garden. As you explore the fruits and vegetables, grains and nuts and so much more you may often find yourself saying, “Oh that’s the plant where that (food) comes from!” You will see a wide range of edible varieties from heirloom and modern to even some plants on trial for the future. The produce, herbs, and other edibles from this garden are used for our special events, eaten by staff and volunteers, or donated to the community.
A visit to the Missouri Barn’s silo observation deck is a must, where you can overlook the whole garden and see its quilt patterns.
Heartland Harvest Garden Highlights
The Missouri Barn and Silo, designed by Maurice Jennings Architects, is built of cedar wood with room for 200 under its eaves.
Visitors may grab a snack or beverage here as they take in views of the Quilt and Children’s Gardens. The silo, modeled after traditional Missouri barn silos, is 45 feet tall. Visitors may climb to the top for some of the best views in the Garden.
The most traveled path into the Heartland Harvest Garden passes through two greenhouses. The right and left houses feature plants from our tropical and arid collections.
Larger specimens will stay in place throughout the year. New additions will be added to the greenhouses during seasonal festivals! A living wall of succulents is a feature of the arid collections house.
A potager garden is a kitchen garden in the French country style. Seasonal plantings of vegetables, herbs, and flowers are mingled in a beautifully designed space that is both romantic and practical. Look for a tapestry of colors and shapes featuring edible plants.
A central walk bisects rows of grapes, ending at a wine cask fountain set under a beautiful rose and grape-clad arbor. The vineyard provides space for small garden gatherings. We suggest a stopping for a picnic lunch, or enjoying a glass of wine from the The Marketplace. The firepits in this area during Festival of Lights make it a popular place to warm up on chilly nights.
Chateau Villandry, located outside Paris, France, inspired this formal garden within the Heartland Harvest Garden.
The Villandry is a massive kitchen garden in the formal French style that combines beauty with the utility of fruits and vegetables. The renewal of plants each season makes not only for dynamic visual interest but provides the ecological benefit of crop rotation which helps to reduce disease and pest pressure. The Villandry is made up of four different quadrants, each with its own theme each year.
