Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

The first question that needs to be answered is "Who is legally responsible for the land in question?" If it is not you, then you will need to get permission from the landowner to do any sort of landscaping on it. The next question is "What sort of vegetation would you like to see on it--trees, shrubs, grasses, wildflowers?"

The Native Plant Library on the Wildflower Center web page has several articles in PDF format to download that you might find useful for landscaping your plot. Here are a few of the titles you will find there: "Landscaping with Native Plants", "Wildflower Meadow Gardening", and "Large Scale Wildflower Planting". Another article on our web page that might prove useful is "Restoration: The basics on how to repair your land" by Steve Windhager, Director of Landscape Restoration at the Wildflower Center.

Once you have decided what sort of plants you want to grow there, you can search our Native Plants Database for suggestions for plants. For instance, if you select Combination Search from the options, and then select "Shrub" from Growth Form, "Wet" under Growing Conditions and "Texas" under Select State you will get a list of shrubs (most with pictures) with growing conditions, growth form, distribution, etc., that will grow in wet areas in Texas.

Although there are none currently scheduled, the Wildflower Center periodically offers classes on native landscaping and restoration. Watch our web site for announcements.