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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| Managing a wet area in Austin November 18, 2013 I suspect that my backyard lies at the very top of a creek watershed. However, all of the water flowing through it gets blocked by a solid stone wall. Whenever we get a significant rain event, part ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Native Plants for a water collection pit in Bronson, FL August 22, 2013 I live near Gainesville, FL in a low rural area with many cypress swamps around & bought this 5 acres 2 years ago. About 15 years ago a pit was dug on my 5 acres to give the rainwater somewhere to go... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Plants for freestanding water in Oklahoma July 28, 2013 I have an overflowing gutter and the ground below becomes a muddy hole. I'd like to put a basin or pot in/or above the ground with a rain chain. Are there any plants--shrubs or otherwise that flouris... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Rain garden for Washington MO March 08, 2013 I have a 40' tall bald cypress at the bottom right corner of my sloped yard (slopes from 2 sides, has 3 gutter runoffs directed towards it from 50-70' away). Can I put a series of retaining walls up... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| School Rain Garden in Iowa January 08, 2013 Could you recommend plants for a rain garden to be installed on a middle school campus in the Council Bluffs Iowa area???? Many thanks! View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Plants for a ditch in PA June 09, 2012 I have a property in the suburbs about 20 miles south of Philadelphia, PA. There is a small creek running across the property. The "ditch" holding the creek is about 5 feet across, but the creek i... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Plants for a pond edge in IN June 08, 2012 Hello, I live in Southern Indiana. I care very much about reinforcing native plants for my region & not planting anything invasive. I had a pond built last year & need some suggestions for native ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Pond Plants for Eureka Springs AR May 16, 2012 I have a 1 acre pond that we are cleaning up. This area will be used for recreation and fishing. We plan to put native rock around some of the edges and need perennial plants that do well in rocky are... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Raingardens in Indiana May 09, 2012 I need to have annual native plants to add to a demonstration rain garden to fill in while we wait for the perennial plants to mature. The only plant I can think of is annual phlox. Do you have any ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Construction problems on site in Mansfield OH April 28, 2012 Last year we had a rectangular above ground pool put in the person who "leveled" for use did a terrible job and basically dug a huge hole for us to put our pool in. The back side of the pool is abou... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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