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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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Tuesday - May 04, 2010

From: Ephrata, PA
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Plant Identification from Ephrata PA
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

I've come across a low plant with bright green leaves and a distinct burgundy on the leaf. I've been told it's called Throw Me Over The Fence, but I believe it must be called something else. I believe it gets red berries in late summer.

ANSWER:

Sorry, we couldn't find anything with that particular common name, and your description could be too many different plants, including non-native, which we don't deal with. If you would like for us to try to identify it, go to our Plant Identification instructions for sending pictures, follow the instructions completely, and we'll see what we can figure out.
 

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