Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
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Smarty Plants Question Topics
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
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| Seeds to plant a short grass prairie near Houston February 21, 2015 I want to plant a prepared area 20x40 with strong midday sun in Houston. I would like a short prairie meadow with lots of flowers. Where do I get the seeds and is this the time to plant them as I wo... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Native Plants for Year Round Interest February 16, 2015 I'm involved in a paradigm shift from traditional bedding plants (petunias, zinnias, begonias, etc.) to native plants. I realize that native plants have natural life cycles where they look pretty bad... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| wildflowers with interesting seed heads for winter interest January 09, 2015 I am looking to establish a wildflower meadow this year, and I want to include wildflowers that have interesting seed heads for winter interest. What would be your recommendation? Thanks! View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Planting a meadow garden in Pennsylvania November 16, 2014 I live in Saxonburg PA near Pittsburgh PA. I want to put a meadow garden in my back yard. We are building a home so there is no established yard yet just trees and weeds. Where do I start . What... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Making a pollinator garden August 11, 2014 Hello, I have a ditch right by my house and I want to turn it into a pollinator garden using native plants. My problem is, right now it's so full of weeds that we have to mow those down so soon. For ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Restoring a native prairie July 28, 2014 Can you recommend a consultant to help my husband and me re-establish a native prairie on approximately 25 acres near Fredericksburg, TX? Does the Wildflower Center have such a consulting service? ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Wildflower Meadow for Poth, TX January 22, 2014 I recently cleared some underbrush from a virgin pasture, with large oaks and mesquites scattered through it, and was wondering if it was too late to plant wildflowers? If not, what varieties of wildf... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Revegetation of school site with meadow plants from Austin December 23, 2013 We are revegetating a hill country school site (typical calciferous soil stripped of vegetation & minimal topsoil) with a native seed mix equal to Native American Seed "Meadow Mix". We have an abund... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Grasses for a prairie in southeast Texas September 30, 2013 We have a small place (about 100 acres) in Colorado County, Texas, on the Colorado River north of the town of Weimar. We are gradually clearing (bulldozing) the woods of cedars. One particular spot ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Use of cedar/juniper mulch in wildflower meadows August 31, 2013 What to do with freshly shredded cedar/juniper mulch? We have a pile of freshly ground cedar mulch that we can either keep in a large pile until it has composted(but the neighbors are complaining), or... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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