Mow strips around and through the lot to stimulate new growth of grasses and legumes. Early spring or early fall is the best time for mowing. Be careful not to mow too much of the area. Glade features include exposed bedrock, native prairie grasses and wildflowers. They are more common in the southern half of Missouri and usually are found on the south or west sides of slopes, but can occur on any aspect.
Glades occur on almost any type of bedrock, including limestone, sandstone, igneous and dolomite.
Glades are home to many uncommon animals, such as collared lizards, eastern narrowmouth toads and roadrunners. Some of the more common glade animals are speckled king snakes, fence lizards and six-lined race runners. In southwest Missouri, glades are home to endangered plants, such as Missouri bladderpod and geocarpon. Glades in the St. Louis area harbor the beautiful Fremont's leather flower, which is only known from Missouri and Kansas. A healthy glade will frequently have more than 100 species of plants, including pale purple coneflower, Missouri black-eyed Susan and Missouri evening primrose.