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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Sunday - July 25, 2010

From: Galveston, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Wildlife Gardens
Title: Wildlife plants for backyard on Galveston Island
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

Can you help me select native plants for Galveston Island that can be used in a backyard to attract native wildlife?

ANSWER:

The Houston Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT) has lists of native plants recommended for the Houston area (your near neighbor) in its Native Plant Information Pages. These include recommendations for birds and butterflies as well as other wildlife. Here are some recommendations from those lists but you can find others and then look them up in our Native Plant Database to find more information about them. On each species page you can check the GROWING CONDITIONS to see if they are compatible with your site. You can also check the BENEFITS section to see what is attracted to the plant.

Here are trees, shrubs, vines, and herbaceous plants that will attract birds, butterflies and other insects:

Lobelia cardinalis (cardinalflower)

Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly milkweed)

Aquilegia canadensis (red columbine)

Salvia lyrata (lyreleaf sage)

Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii (wax mallow)

Lonicera sempervirens (trumpet honeysuckle)

Amorpha fruticosa (desert false indigo)

Cercis canadensis var. texensis (Texas redbud)

Aesculus pavia (red buckeye)

Ilex vomitoria (yaupon)

Morus rubra (red mulberry)