NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY OF TEXAS
Kerrville Chapter

Website:  www.npsot.org/kerrville
APRIL NEWSLETTER - 2006

NATIVES ON THE GROW

Dedicated to the understanding, preservation and enjoyment of the native flora of the Hill Country 

A SPRING WILDFLOWER CALENDAR

 A Spring Wildflower Calendar will be presented at the Native Plant Society, Kerrville Chapter meeting on Tuesday, April 4. The meeting will be held at Riverside Nature Center at 2:00 pm. Sandra Magee will discuss familiar and some not-so-common wildflowers that bloom in the spring in the Texas Hill Country.  The presentation will cover examples of our earliest bloomers in February to late spring wildflowers that bloom in May and June.  There will be many graphics in the presentation which will illustrate the wildflowers that are discussed. 

 Sandra Magee is a Texas Master Naturalist and has given presentations on Texas Wildflowers for Master Naturalist training classes.  She is active in Native Plant Society of Texas chapters.  She and her husband Scott Magee moved to their Medina property from Houston in 2002.  She is especially interested in Identifying, planting and propagating native plants and grasses on their property which is located north of Medina.

 

Everyone is invited to attend this meeting so you will be able to identify the many beautiful Hill Country wildflowers that are now blooming.

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The Kerrville Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas holds monthly meetings on the first Tuesday of the month (September through June) at Riverside Nature Center, 150 Francisco Lemos St. in Kerrville.  These meetings are free and open to the public.  If you have any questions about the Native Plant Society of Texas, or this program, please call Cynthia Johnson at 895-5173.

 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 

Spring is such a magical time of the year. Pink and blue wildflowers appear overnight decorating the garden with color and seeming to compete for attention. Mother Nature seems to be in high gear. One day a plant, in this case a crossvine ,Bignonia capreolata, is  noticed for its lush evergreen leaves.  Very soon after, it is covered with red flower buds and shortly trumpet shaped flowers appear. It’s like magic!  Wildflowers nestled in their little patches begin to spike up preparing for later bloom. Do take the time to stroll your garden this time of year to notice and enjoy all the changes Mother Nature offers as a gift.  

Then there is the tree story. Fruit trees are the first to bloom –cherry, pear, peach and one of my favorites - the Mexican Plum, Prunus mexicana. Its’ sweet fragrance perfumes the air of the whole garden. Bees and butterflies of several species love it, not only for its nectar but it is also a larval plant for the butterflies.  Trees start to leaf out in all their beautiful shades of green. Eve’s necklace, Sophora affinis ,decorates its branches with feathery ruffles of lime green soon to blossom with pink flowers. The Lacey Oak, Quercus glauoides, has new leaves of beautiful peach color which look like flowers blooming..  The Live Oak trees, Quercus fusiformus,  go through their amazing metamorphosis from green to gold to bare branches and on to new little leaves all in very short order . So be assured when your oak tree looks dead, it’s only that quick deciduous spring change. 

Pruning should be complete by this time. It is definitely not the time to prune cactus or cholla as those of us who are Gazebo Gardeners found out from Larry Fagarason, Past President of the Cactus and Succulent Club . Both cactus  and cholla bloom in the spring on the pads that are presently on the plant. Pruning should be done after the plant blooms. Unfortunately we had let the cactus garden get a little out of hand and we all had a lesson from Larry on how to go about pruning cactus and succulents. Thank you Larry.                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Julia Campbell 

EARTH DAY 

Earth Day is approaching.  This year it will be on Saturday, April 22. This is the biggest event of the year for our chapter and the Native Plant Sale is our fund raising event. We will be needing lots of volunteers on this day so please sign up for the time and place of your choice.  See Selma Gibson (896-1229) for the volunteer signup. 

Helpful hints about membership dues 

Membership dues cannot be accepted locally.  They must be sent to the State Office which is now in Fredericksburg at the following address. 

Native Plant Society of Texas
P.O. Box 3017
Fredericksburg, TX 78624 

The membership form is available at chapter meetings and the NPSOT website www.npsot.org.

When completing the form please indicate the Kerrville chapter name because our chapter gets refunded a portion of the dues for our chapter expenses. 

If you are renewing your membership, please send your renewal to the address above and include your membership ID to ensure we credit the correct account.
Also include any address, phone or email changes.
(You will find your membership ID printed on the mailing label of the state newsletter.) 

Membership Categories and Annual Dues:

 

Benefits of Joining the Native Plant Society of Texas

Goals:

    To educate both its members and the general public and to foster a greater awareness and understanding of our native flora;
    To preserve rare and endangered species and their habitats;
    To encourage landscaping with appropriate native plants, for their beauty, ease of maintenance, and water-conserving qualities;
    To protect, conserve and restore native plants threatened by development;
    To encourage the responsible propagation of native plants;
    To promote an appreciation and understanding of current, historical and potential uses of native plants.

Calendar 

Monday, March 27

   Organization:  Master Naturalists – Hill Country Chapter
    Location: Riverside Nature Center, 150 Francisco Lemos St.
    Time:  7:00 PM
    Topic:  Geologic Setting of the Canyon Lake Gorge
    Speaker:  Dr. Bill Ward 

Tuesday, March 28

    Organization:  Native Plant Society of Fredericksburg
    Location: Gillespie County Historical Society Bldg., 312 W. San Antonio St.
    Time:  7:00 PM
    Topic: Plants of the Old Tunnel Wildlife Management Area
    Speaker: Mike McBride 

Tuesday, April 4

    Organization:  Native Plant Society-Kerrville Chapter (See above) 

Tuesday, April 4

    Organization:  Native Plant Society – Boerne Chapter
    Location:  Cibolo Nature Center, Highway 46 east of Boerne
      Time:  7:00 PM

    Topic: Presentation on Kew Gardens Seed Bank Project

    Speaker: Minnette Marr, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

 

Saturday, April 8: Kerr County 150^th Birthday Celebration – Various activities at locations in Kerrville and surrounding area. Riverside Nature Center offers Kerr County at 150 - A Natural Cause to Celebrate from 10:00am to 3:00pm, featuring speakers and activities for the whole family.  See http://www.protopage.com/kerr150 for details. 

Tuesday, April 18

    Organization:  Native Plant Society – Bandera Chapter
    Location: Medina Community Library Meeting Room
     Time:  2:00 PM

    Contact Susan Tracy, 830 589 7124, for more information. 

Saturday, April 22

    Native plant sale, informative programs, star party and other activities at Riverside Nature Center, 150 Francisco Lemos, Kerrville.  8:00AM – 3:00PM - See above. 

WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBER 

 Karen Patrick  

Thanks to all those that renewed their memberships.

See membership information above. 

DOOR PRIZES

Door prizes will be available at our April meeting.  Each member or guest who signs in at the Welcoming Table will receive a free ticket for a door prize.  Be sure to pot up those native plants for donations for the meeting!   

REFRESHMENTS

Refreshments for April will be provided by Ernest Tremayne and Edna Platte.  Be sure to give them a BIG Thank You! 

Please send any suggestions or comments on this newsletter to the Editor:  John Quinby at jsquinby@hctc.net or 367-4612. 
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