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.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
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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Tuesday - May 25, 2010
From: Tobyhanna, PA
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Shade Tolerant, Herbs/Forbs
Title: Annual flowers for rocky area near driveway in Pennsylvania
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
What type(s) of annual flowers can I plant along a driveway in northeast PA? The soil is very rocky and the area is mostly shady receiving only morning and some late afternoon sun.ANSWER:
In our Native Plant Database do a COMBINATION SEARCH and select 'Pennsylvania' from the Select State or Province area, then choose 'Herb' under Habit (general appearance), 'Annual' under Duration (lifespan), and 'Part shade...' under Light requirement to find plants that meet your criteria.
Here are a few examples from that list:
Bidens cernua (nodding beggartick)
Coreopsis tinctoria (golden tickseed)
Gaillardia pulchella (firewheel)
Rudbeckia hirta (blackeyed Susan)
Viola sororia (common blue violet)
If you think you could use perennials rather than annuals, you will find a larger number of choices available if you substitute 'perennial' instead of 'annual' for your search term.
Here are photos from our Image Gallery:
More Shade Tolerant Questions
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June 02, 2010 - I live in Houston and I used your database tool to search for shade plants. I am particularly interested in plants that bloom and support native pollinators. My search returned salvia coccinea. Will t...
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Disagreement with HOA on raised beds placed beneath mature oak from Tequesta FL
April 05, 2014 - I have mature 30 year old oak trees on my property and I put a raised bed under each with very good soil and I used pavers for retaining the soil about about 1.5 ft high. I planted a perennial begonia...
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My Garland TX yard has become so shady over the years that I have a hard time with grass. A few years ago I noticed dollar weed in the grass which seemed to cre...
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Plants for erosion of shaded slope in Bethesda MD
April 07, 2010 - I have an eastern facing heavily shaded slope in Bethesda, Md. that needs a few good native plants to keep it from eroding. Ferns are not doing well on it. They do much better in the flats. So, anythi...
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Ground cover for shady slope in Illinois
May 31, 2010 - Dear Mr. Smarty:
I have a shady sloping area that I am trying to cover with low fast growing, perennials that will keep maintenance to the minimum and prevent erosion. Grass would be very difficul...
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