Fruits, vegetables, nuts, herbs, and other edible plants that grow well in Midwestern gardens:

Almond (zones 6-9)
Apple (zones 3-9)
Apricot (zones 5-9)
Aronia (zones 4-9)
Asparagus (zones 4-9)
Basil (annual)
Beans (annual)
Bitter melon (zones 5-10)
Blackberry (zones 5-8)
Blueberry (zones 3-9)
Borage (annual)
Cabbage (annual)
Chamomile (zones 4-10)
Cherry (zones 4-9)
Chestnut (zones 5-9)
Chives (annual)
Chokecherry (zones 2-6)
Crabapple (zones 3-9)
Cranberry (zones 3-8)
Cucumber (annual)
Currant (zones 3-8)
Eggplant (annual)
Elderberry (zones 2-9)
Filbert (zones 4-8)
Ginger (6-10)
Gooseberry (zones 3-8)
Grape (zones 4-10)
Hazelnut (zones 4-9)
Hickory (zones 4-9)
Highbush cranberry (zones 2-7)
Hops (zones 4-10)
Jerusalem arthichoke (zones 2-9)
Jujube (zones 6-10)
Kale (annual)
Lettuce (annual)
Lotus (zones 5-10)
Maple (zones 3-6)
Marjoram (annual)
Melons (annual)
Mint (zones 4-10)
Mulberry (zones 5-10)
Nanking cherry (zones …

The best way to learn how to plant and maintain a vegetable garden is to find an experienced gardeners to help you. If that isn’t possible, the second best way is to learn from a book. There are hundreds of great vegetable gardening books available, but I consider these three to be the best for beginners:

The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible, by Ed Smith. My favorite vegetable gardening book focuses on organic gardening techniques designed to produce high yields with a minimum of labor and expense, and to improve the long …

The native tallgrass prairie was once the dominant ecosystem of much of the Midwest region and gardeners can recreate some of the beauty of this lost “sea of grass” by planting native grasses. Not only are they beautiful, they are also hardy and drought tolerant, and many provide food or shelter for birds and other wildlife. Many native grasses make excellent forage for deer, cattle, and other large mammals as well.

The following species are well suited to ornamental use in gardens, as well as large scale habitat restorations:

Tallgrass Species

Big Bluestem …