Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

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.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Share

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.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

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!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
Not Yet Rated

Saturday - October 18, 2008

From: Wallace, SC
Region: Southeast
Topic: Wildflower Center
Title: Purchase of herbs from Wildflower Center
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

Can I purchase herbs from the Wildflower Center?

ANSWER:

If you are searching our Native Plant Database, and want to Narrow Your Search, the first qualification for the plant you are searching for is "Herb," which means herbaceous in habit, usually losing leaves and/or dying back to the ground in the Winter. In that sense, yes, you can purchase herbs from the Wildflower Center. The Fall Plant Sale is going on now, with a number of herbaceous plants for sale, and there is another Plant Sale in the Spring. During the rest of the year, a few plants are available at the Store, but other than the sales and those at the Store, we do not sell plants.

If, when you say "herb," you mean plants like rosemary, lavender, sage, etc., then the answer is no, you cannot buy them at the Wildflower Center. They are all non-native to North America, and at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center we specialize in plants native to North America and to the area in which they are being grown. The reason for this is that plants adapted to an area by millennia of growing there will be more able to cope with the conditions, thus requiring less water, fertilizer and maintenance. 

 

More Wildflower Center Questions

Source for Crushed Limestone Used at the Wildflower Center
July 01, 2011 - Dear Mr. Smarty plants, Do you know where I can find the pulverized limestone that you have at the entrance around the front of the building? It's right around where you have Clematis texensi...
view the full question and answer

Souce for Glass Mulch in Austin
September 02, 2015 - Is there a special reason that broken glass is used in the courtyard flower beds? It's beautiful, wondering where to purchase some.
view the full question and answer

Hungry turtles trample pond in Houston Texas
October 17, 2011 - I have a very large back yard pond (actually, a former swimming pool) that's home to a bullfrog, four Red-eared slider turtles, and scads of gambusia (little mosquito eating fish). I'd like to add n...
view the full question and answer

Does the Wildflower Center sell Endangered Plant Species?
January 25, 2010 - Do you guy's sell endangered plants in Austin? Such as the Basin Bellflower, or the Texabama Croton?
view the full question and answer

Sale of plants at the Wildflower Center
March 20, 2004 - Does the Wildflower Center sell plants?
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.