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
Friday - March 19, 2010
From: Sweetwater, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Grasses or Grass-like, Herbs/Forbs
Title: Plants for yard in Sweetwater, Texas
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
What plants or grass would you suggest for an area that that is located on the east side of our house - full sun morning through noon, then it's shaded the remainder of the day.. Thanks!!ANSWER:
Mr. Smarty Plants suggests that you visit our Recommended Species page and select the Texas High Plains from the map or from the pull-down menu to find a list of commercially available native plants that are recommended for landscaping in your area. You can limit that list by various criteria—in your case, in the NARROW YOUR SEARCH column, choose "Part Shade" from the LIGHT REQUIREMENT option.
From that list, here are some grasses that should do well:
Bouteloua curtipendula (sideoats grama)
Pascopyrum smithii (western wheatgrass)
Poa arachnifera (Texas bluegrass)
Sorghastrum nutans (Indiangrass)
Here are some shrubs/small trees:
Diospyros texana (Texas persimmon)
Rhus microphylla (littleleaf sumac)
Zinnia grandiflora (Rocky Mountain zinnia)
Finally, here are some showy herbaceous perennials or annuals:
Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly milkweed)
Gaillardia pulchella (firewheel)
Glandularia bipinnatifida var. bipinnatifida (Dakota mock vervain)
Melampodium leucanthum (plains blackfoot)
There are many more that you can see on the Texas-High Plains Recommended list.
Here are photos of the above from Image Gallery:
More Herbs/Forbs Questions
Survival of wildflowers after Hurricane Irene in Perkasie PA
September 03, 2011 - Mr. Smarty Plants,
We have (had) a beautiful row of wildflowers and sunflowers along the one side of our house. Now that Hurricane Irene has passed, most of the flowers are matted down from the wind...
view the full question and answer
Tropical Texas landscape from Houston
March 04, 2013 - Do you know of any public (or at least photographed) place in Texas that has been landscaped entirely with native "tropical-looking" (i.e. evergreen but NOT conifer and NOT succulent/arid) species? ...
view the full question and answer
Plant Identification from Pearland TX
August 10, 2013 - I am looking for a native plant; was told it was called Hummingbird Weed. Came from Coryell County. I let mine freeze and cannot find more. It has long spikes with small red trumpet-shaped blooms on ...
view the full question and answer
Plants for a Shady Woodland in MA
June 09, 2013 - Hello, I am looking for natives to plant in full shade or part shade. My house is in the mountain woodland area of Mt. Washington, MA. I am looking for grasses, flowers and shrubs. Also I am looking f...
view the full question and answer
Germinating Milkweed Seeds
January 23, 2015 - When is the best time to plant milkweed seeds outside? I was told when the overnight temperature hits 70 F. (our garden is in Lakeway, Texas). So around late May? Is this when the seeds germinate i...
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |