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
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Saturday - July 28, 2012
From: Southwick, MA
Region: Northeast
Topic: Managing Roadsides, Plant Identification
Title: Identification of blue wildflower on roadsides in Massachusetts
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
What is the blue wildflower planted on roadsides and highways in Massachusetts?ANSWER:
Since I'm a long way from Massachusetts (in Austin, TX), I'm at a bit of a disadvantage in naming the blue flowers along Massachusetts' roadways, but I have several suggestions:
- You can do a COMBINATION SEARCH in our Native Plant Database by choosing "Massachusetts" from Select State or Province, "Herb" from Habit (general appearance), "July" from Bloom Time and "Blue" from Bloom Color. You can then look through the thumbnail photos on the list.
- You could also browse the flowers by color on the Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut Wildflowers database.
- You could contact someone at New England Wild Flower Society in Framingham, MA. They are very likely to know.
More Managing Roadsides Questions
Wildflowers being mowed in Canyon TX
June 03, 2012 - Can I receive a letter from someone there to put up in our neighborhood? I live in an area very close to Palo Duro Canyon. A developer out here mows down the wildflowers along the one lane road. It ...
view the full question and answer
Planting wildflowers on roadsides in Dallas
July 23, 2011 - Am interested in leading Y Princess group in community effort to plant wildflowers along roads in Dallas area. Do you have any advice on how to approach the problem or sources for the seeds?
view the full question and answer
Suggestions for street trees for Texarkana TX
July 23, 2013 - Texarkana, TX, is going to replace a few and add some new street trees downtown. The engineers specified crape myrtle. When I asked if they would consider native trees instead, I was told they thought...
view the full question and answer
Native plants for roadside in Gallatin TN
February 19, 2012 - What native plant would you suggest that we try to establish on 100 feet of road frontage which gets full afternoon sun? The soil is mostly clay, and it's on a rather sleep hill about 10 feet high. ...
view the full question and answer
Prairie Paintbrush and Managing Roadsides
April 26, 2005 - I have been visiting a piece of land beside I-35 for quite a few years now. It is home to tons of different plants, but it really has a fantastic show of Prairie Paintbrush - the multicolored ones, n...
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |