Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

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.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Share

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

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!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
1 rating

Friday - July 02, 2010

From: Bastrop, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Shade Tolerant, Herbs/Forbs, Wildflowers
Title: Flowering plants for shady garden in Bastrop
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

We live in Bastrop, 8 miles west of the Historical district. We have a small flower garden in a shady spot around 25 feet from the back patio of our home. We'd like to find out what native plants, flowering and perennial could we plant in this garden. We use only organic preparations on the plants. Thanks for your help!

ANSWER:

Please visit our Texas-Central Recommended page where you will find a list of commercially available native plants suitable for landscaping in Central Texas.  You can use the NARROW YOUR SEARCH option in the sidebar to select any criteria you would like.  For instance, you could choose 'Herb' from the GENERAL APPEARANCE area, 'Perennial' under LIFESPAN and 'Shade - 2 hrs or less' under LIGHT REQUIREMENT.  If your flowerbed receives more than 2 hours of sun per day, you can look for plants that grow in part shade.  You could also change the LIFESPAN to 'All durations' and choose 'Shrub', 'Grass/grasslike' etc.  Here are a few suggestions from the list and you can look for more:

Aquilegia canadensis (red columbine)

Coreopsis lanceolata (lanceleaf tickseed)

Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly milkweed)

Glandularia bipinnatifida var. bipinnatifida (Dakota mock vervain)

Wedelia texana (hairy wedelia)

Calylophus berlandieri ssp. pinifolius (Berlandier's sundrops)

Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii (wax mallow)

Nolina texana (Texas sacahuista)

Here are photos from our Image Gallery:


Aquilegia canadensis

Coreopsis lanceolata

Asclepias tuberosa

Glandularia bipinnatifida var. bipinnatifida

Wedelia texana

Calylophus berlandieri ssp. pinifolius

Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii

Nolina texana

 

 

 

More Herbs/Forbs Questions

Plants native to Galveston that would survive in Austin
December 01, 2008 - What plants are native to the Galveston, Texas region? Can any of those plants survive in the Austin area?
view the full question and answer

Native plants for sandy soil and not much water
April 14, 2008 - I am planning a new garden at home and would like to grow native plants that can handle sandy soil and don't need much water. I do not water my gardens.I would prefer plants that can have more than o...
view the full question and answer

Dealing with aphids on milkweed plants in Alloway, NJ.
July 11, 2012 - I planted milk weed for the Monarch butterfly. Every year it gets orange aphids that seem to suck out the juices and eventually kill the plant sooner than I like.
view the full question and answer

Problems with non-native artichoke from El Paso, TX
May 25, 2014 - I have a five year old artichoke plant in the ground that gets sun and some shade, has plenty of fertilizer and compost. Gets enough water. It has been beautiful in years past and last year had 10 a...
view the full question and answer

Blueberries & Raspberries for Walla Walla WA
October 17, 2011 - Which blueberry and raspbery plants grow best and suvive winter in Walla Walla Washington
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.