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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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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Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

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Monday - January 24, 2011

From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Wildflower Center
Title: Source for Signs at the Wildflower Center
Answered by: Mike Tomme

QUESTION:

Hello. Where can we buy the black, metallic plant identification tags used at the Wildflower Center? Thanks in advance.

ANSWER:

These signs are made on-site at the Wildflower Center and are not available for sale.

The volunteers at the Wildflower Center use a special computer program to layout the design of the sign. This same program then drives a flat table engraver which actually carves the letters into the sign blank. The blank has a black outer coat and a silver colored middle section so the result of the engraving is a black background with silver lettering.