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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| Building a Rain Garden in Dallas July 07, 2016 We are designing a rain garden to catch overflow from two large rain cisterns. We need it to be filled with plants that can live with dry and wet conditions. The garden is about 500 to 1,000 square ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Need suggestions for plants for bioswales in Philadelphia, PA August 24, 2015 Hello, Are there a handful of species you would recommend for inclusion in bioswales throughout the US? I realize plants need to be selected based on climate, but I'm wondering if there are two or... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
July 27, 2015 Hi, thanks for all your help in the past! I have a generous spot in my spacious back yard that is begging to be filled. The top soil is 4" sandy loam, below which is black clay.With frog strangler r... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Rain garden plants at the April Plant Sale March 31, 2015 In answering the question about "rain garden" plants on March 20, 2010, you offered a list of plants. Which of these will be offered at the spring sale coming up on April 10-12? Thanks. View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| plants for a rain garden's moist area in Central Texas January 15, 2015 I am looking for local natives to plant in the wet portion of a rain garden/bioswale. Can you help, please? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Growing Texas star hibiscus in Central Texas August 11, 2014 Hi there, I purchased a beautiful Texas Star Hibiscus that I want to plant in my yard. Unfortunately, my yard being in Travis Heights, I hit a lot of caliche when digging. To plant some other nativ... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
| Groundcover for a wet hillside in the San Juan Islands July 30, 2014 I live on Orcas Island in WA state. We have a place on the water and want to plant something that is no taller than 2-3 feet, lower if possible, on a hillside. The hillside gets lots of sun, yet als... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Plants that will withstand spray from fountain and heat from concrete June 10, 2014 Working on a property in Plano, I have an area around a fountain, surrounded by concrete, in full sun, that receives a lot of water that is blown from the fountain (which is treated with chlorine tabl... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Raingarden Plants for Brownsville, TX March 14, 2014 I'm a Landscape Architect in South Texas and I'm implementing raingardens and vegetated swales in my projects. What native plants could be used in these gardens/water runways. They would need to res... View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer |  | |
| Rain garden plants for Central Texas February 06, 2014 Do you have a list of rain garden plants for Central Texas? View Mr. Smarty Plants' Answer | ||
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