Landscaping in St. Louis is clay, mature trees, and rain that falls faster than the yard can move. Storms limb the canopy and then wash beds toward brick foundations. Shade is deep. Humidity rots a crown that stays in the splash zone. Grade is the first plant. A downspout that ends at the wall will wet a basement no matter how full the garden looks. Hail is not the story. Water and wood are.
Soil sloping into a limestone or brick foundation beats any shrub. Even a narrow side yard needs a path for water that is not the neighbor's window well. Fence lines hold leaves against masonry. Heaved walks are a trip. If the basement is already damp, or a window well fills, say that before flowers. A tree on the roof is urgent. A bed redesign can wait until the limb is down and the water leaves the house.
Choose plants for shade, clay, and a long humid season. Mulch on the trunk rots bark. River wind topples a weak new tree. Fall planting races a freeze that still arrives. Spring planting races mud. Mosquito water in saucers and clogged gutters is part of the yard, not a separate universe. Salt still burns the parkway edge. The parkway tree may be in the lateral, and the strip may not be yours to redo.
Irrigation has to be blown out before a freeze or it becomes a broken line. Containers on a stoop are not a rebuild. Edging decides what stays keepable. If you are only planning, say so. If water is at the wall tonight, say that louder. Granules in a gutter are a minor clue here; leaves packed in a scupper on a flat-roofed building are the real blockage. Say if the roof edge is part of the flood.
Lead with drainage, a limb on the building, or a yard that holds water after every river storm. St. Louis rain will find the low spot. Call the number on this page.