Rusty and Mrs. Buttplate have enjoyed gardening for many years. The Garden section of this site was created to share experiences and sources of knowledge needed to coax Mother Nature into providing you with a peaceful corner to restore your soul. Every author, book and nurseryman are enthusiastically endorsed based on personal experience. Happy gardening.

Texas Native Plants
And The Authors Who Love Them

   This couple has turned native plant landscaping into an industry. Sally was an early public proponent of the kinder and gentler approach to the suburban landscape. Her husband Andy has become an authority in his own right through his support of Sally's writing with his photography. Any book bearing their names is worth having. In recent years they have expanded their horizons both east and west of Texas.
      The Wasowski's have given the Buttplates a deeper understanding of nature through native plant landscaping than other forms of gardening had afforded them. Native plants require knowledge and sensitivity to foster. The reward is a much lower level of effort and economic expenditure, and a higher intangible benefit from the kindness to the environment.

    The font of knowledge in native plant landscaping is again moved forward with this book. Very well illustrated it is also well written. Rusty says buy a copy.

    The headquarters in Austin, Texas combines native plants with local culture, reflecting the specifics and peculiarities of Central Texas Hill Country ecosystems. Walking through the Center, you'll find native plants in gardens and natural areas, an unparalleled rainwater collection and storage system, recycled building materials, American folk art, environmentally conscious construction, and engaging educational facilities -- all designed to help us learn to live a little more gently on the land.

The Benny J. Simpson Memorial Database
Texas Native Trees and Plants.

    Benny J. Simpson, co-founder and former president of the Texas Native Plant Society and life-long Horticulturist, pursued his more than 40-year career at the Texas A&earch and Extension Center in Dallas. Simpson began working at the research and extension center in Dallas in 1954 when it was the Texas Research Foundation, a private agriculture organization. In 1972, Simpson began his native plant work when Texas A&heperations of the center. Simpson died in 1997, leaving behind a wealth of invaluable information about Texas native plants. Simpson was legendary for his plant investigations in the wild, primarily the Trans-Pecos and far West Texas. Benny's official titles were "research scientist" and "ornamental horticulturist." He called himself a "plant hunter" and collected seeds and cuttings that he then devoted years to adapting for use in the landscape. For 20 years Simpson roamed his native Texas searching out wild trees and shrubs. Plants that are not only beautiful, but also might be able to grow in the waxy black soil of North Central Texas and survive the extremes of heat and cold that are tortuous to so many plants.

Native Plant Society of Texas

The organization that has sponsored research on the benefits of preserving our native habitats.

Attracting Hummingbirds

Oklahoma Web-Site about attracting hummingbirds with plants in your landscape.