Spring · WEDNESDAY, MAY 13
Three generations of figuring out what grows in Wichita Falls.
My grandfather opened Smith's in 1948 with a produce stand and a stubborn opinion about peach trees. Seventy-seven years later, we're still answering the same questions — what will live in this soil, what blooms when, what won't quit in August — and we've got the photographs and the receipts to prove most of our answers.
Come walk the yard. Bring a picture of whatever's failing. We can usually help.
— Katherine
This week · WEDNESDAY, MAY 13
Pride of Barbados
Caesalpinia pulcherrima
"If you want one plant that says 'this is North Texas in August,' this is it. Orange-red blooms when nothing else is doing anything but suffering. We treat it as a die-back perennial — it'll freeze to the ground in a normal winter and come right back. Plant it where you'll see it from the kitchen window."
— Katherine
- Blooms
- Jun – Oct
- Zone
- 8 – 11
- Sun
- full
- Soil
- well-drained · likes our heat
- Mature size
- 8 – 12 ft (returns from roots after a hard freeze)
Since 1948
A Wichita Falls institution.
Smith's Gardentown Farms · 4940 Seymour Highway. Photographed in midsummer.
Recognition · 76 years in
A few people have noticed.
We don't grow plants to win awards. But we're grateful for the recognition we've received from our peers, our community, and the State of Texas.
And more
- 2025 Top 100 Independent Garden Centers in America Garden Center Magazine Multiple years running
- 2022 SBA Family Business of the Year U.S. Small Business Administration · Dallas/Fort Worth District
- 1999 Texas Family Business of the Year Baylor University · Hankamer School of Business
- Since 1988 Better Business Bureau Accredited Business A+ Rating · BBB North Texas
The Dirt
What we've been writing about.
Plant care notes, opinions, occasional rants — most of it from Katherine, all of it written in Wichita Falls.
- AUG 7, 2024 Understanding USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: A Guide for Gardeners Do you know what zone you live in? I’m referring to the USDA Plant Hardiness Zones, a useful tool for gardeners to determine which plants wi…
- JUL 29, 2024 Debunking the Myths: The Benefits of Tropical Milkweed for Monarchs Every year, as monarch butterflies embark on their incredible migration, gardeners and nature enthusiasts are faced with a recurring debate:…
- NOV 16, 2023 To Rake or Not to Rake: The Great Leaf Debate Introduction:
- NOV 16, 2023 Battling the Dreaded Mealybug: A Comprehensive Guide to Treatment and Prevention Introduction:
- GUIDE Vegetable Garden Planting Guide When and what to plant in the North Texas vegetable garden, season by season.
- GUIDE Seed Starting Guide Indoor and outdoor seed-starting basics for a successful North Texas garden.
Wichita Falls–Tough
The plants we'd plant in our own yards.
We're in Zone 7b, sometimes 8a — heavy clay soil, summers that hit 105°, the occasional February that drops to 11° and reorganizes everyone's landscape. After 77 years of selling plants here, we know which ones make it.
We've put a Wichita Falls–tough tag on every plant in the yard we'd put in our own beds. If you want a no-fuss list, that's where to start.
Come see us
Today · open 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
We're at 4940 Seymour Highway, on the south side of Wichita Falls. Pull all the way back to the greenhouse — there's plenty of parking.
Call us at (940) 692-7100 if you want us to set something aside, or just come on out. We open at 9.
— The Smith family + the five cats