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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Wednesday - September 02, 2015

From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Wildflower Center
Title: Souce for Glass Mulch in Austin
Answered by: Anne Van Nest

QUESTION:

Is there a special reason that broken glass is used in the courtyard flower beds? It's beautiful, wondering where to purchase some.

ANSWER:

Recycled, tumbled glass can be used as an attractive mulch. Because it is tumbled it is safe to use and being a recycled product, it is environmentally friendly.

The city of Austin used to offer their glass to for free for use as glass mulch. It wasn’t color separated or screened. This is where the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center got our glass for some of our flower beds.

Also previously, Garden-Ville used to offer glass rock in bulk for purchase that they had gotten from the city of Austin. Currently, Garden-Ville only has reference to small bags of glass pieces. Give them a call (1-800-375-8375) to see what they have in stock now.