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.
rate this answer
Wednesday - June 17, 2009
From: Yellville, AR
Region: Southeast
Topic: Vines
Title: Non-poisonous, fragrant flowering plant and vine for Arkansas
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
I would like to find a non poisonous flowering plant that smells good, that has small to moderate plant growth, that will do well in sandy soil area, shade to full sun either way. Also would like to find a non poisonous flowering good smelling vine type plant that won't grow too big. I'm putting it in a big pot at the end of my house to cover the trailer hitch. I've all ready built a rock wall and thought some type of vine plant would look great growing over it. ThanksANSWER:
Please visit our Recommended Species page and select Arkansas from the map or the pull-down menu. This will give you a list of more than 120 species of native plants that are commercially available for landscaping in Arkansas. You can use the NARROW YOUR SEARCH option to choose plants that fit some of your criteria. For instance, you could choose 'Herb' or 'Vine' under General Appearance. You can also find more choices by doing a COMBINATION SEARCH in our Native Plant Database, choosing Arkansas from the Select State or Province option and making similar choices to the ones you made in the General Appearance and other categories.For your first request, I am not sure exactly what type of plant you are looking for—a woody plant such as a small shrub or a perennial herbaceous plant. Here are a few suggestions in each category and you can look for more yourself from the list of Arkansas recommended species or in the results of your COMBINATION SEARCH. For each individual plant you can check under "Growing Conditions" to see its light requirements and a description of the soil types it grows best in. You can also check it against the toxic plant databases below—it is easiest to check using the scientific names. We don't have any ready reference to whether the plants have a fragrance. If you see a plant in these recommendations that you particularly like, you could google its scientific name with 'fragrance' and perhaps learn if it has one—pleasant or otherwise.
HERBACEOUS
Conoclinium coelestinum (blue mistflower)
Aquilegia canadensis (red columbine)
SHRUBS
Ceanothus americanus (New Jersey tea)
Hibiscus moscheutos (crimsoneyed rosemallow)
Hypericum prolificum (shrubby St. Johnswort)
Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii (wax mallow)
Spiraea tomentosa (steeplebush)
None of the species above appears on any of the toxic plant databases listed below.
For the vines, either Lonicera sempervirens (trumpet honeysuckle) or Clematis pitcheri (bluebill) would seem to be a good choice. Unfortunately, Clematis spp. are poisonous if eaten. Lonicera sempervirens does not appear in any of the databases below.
You can check to see if a plant is toxic in the following toxic plant databases:
Poisonous Plants of North Carolina
Cornell University Plants Poisonous to Livestock
University of Pennsylvania Poisonous Plants
Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System
More Vines Questions
Native plants for hanging baskets in Abilene
June 10, 2008 - I live in the DRY West Texas heat in Abilene. I'd like to put some hanging plants along my back fence. Preferably something that would attract butterflies. We have a pool in our back yard and almost ...
view the full question and answer
Flowering Shade Plant for California
February 21, 2016 - I have a house north facing that has a "flower bed" in front that unfortunately is shaded 100% of the time. There are roses in the bed currently (they came with the house) but they do poorly. We are...
view the full question and answer
Identity of vine growing in Naples Florida
September 15, 2014 - I live on country/residential property outside of Naples, Florida. This year I have had dozens of seedlings of some type of vine popping up all over. I have posted on a couple plant blogs looking for ...
view the full question and answer
Is Convolvulus equitans poisonous?
August 22, 2015 - Hello,
Can you tell me if convolvulus equitans is poisonous? If so, can you tell me how poisonous and which parts are poisonous? I am considering putting this in my backyard but I have a dog and an...
view the full question and answer
Deer Resistant Vine for California
July 24, 2013 - What can I plant to cover a retaining wall in Redwood City, CA that will grow down on it (no dirt below) that deer will not eat? I have just about given up. I have tried jasmine and Gelsemium and regu...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |