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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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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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Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

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topicquestion
Bees knees squeezing
May 28, 2010
Barbara, Do the knees of bees help them squeeze if they please their wobbly, bobbly, knobbly balls of pollen?
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How and when to harvest bluebonnets.
April 30, 2010
A previous answer mentioned harvesting bluebonnet seeds by pulling up the whole plant when the seed pods turn brown. Two clarifications - when do the seed pods turn brown as these plants are hard to ...
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Pot on a pillar in a pond in Pflugerville
April 26, 2010
No question: Just a thanks to Barbara. You can't imagine how hard I laughed when I read the interpretation that I was going to plant Maximilians in a pot on a pedestal in the middle of a pond!!! S...
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Will shoes pick up American Beautyberry fruit and stain carpets?
March 21, 2010
Do the berries from American Beautyberry fall on the ground so your shoes pick up the berries to stain the carpet in my house?
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Need bug repelling plants in Arlington, VA
February 08, 2010
What kind of plants are best bug repellents, and need little or no maintenance. I'm a city girl and don't like bugs (spiders)
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Is there an automated image download function for the NPIN Image Gallery?
November 03, 2009
Hi, I have a database/web technical question. Do you provide an interface to retrieve photos from your website programatically? Thanks!
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Is common yarrow a Texas native?
October 16, 2009
Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, Is common yarrow Achillea millefolium a Texas native? Please enlighten me.
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Disappearing sunlight in Phoenix, AZ
September 29, 2009
I live in a condo in Phoenix, AZ with a north facing patio that goes out about 10 feet and is 20 feet wide. During the summer months there is a span of 1 foot in the front that goes the 20 foot length...
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Why is my Weeping Fig crying leaves?
July 27, 2009
I have a weeping fig that I bought Memorial day in Birmingham, Al. It has 8 or 9 trunks growing altogether. It sits on a porch with eastern exposure, only about 2 hours of sun. It has been losing l...
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Can tulip tree sap be used to make syrup in Bunker Hill IN?
July 10, 2009
I was just wondering if tulip tree sap could be used to make syrup. I saw the sticky stuff on the leaves and decided to taste test it and it was very sweet, unfortunately I later found out that I was ...
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topicquestion

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