Fredericksburg Chapter

View: Creating a Pollinator’s Garden

View on Fredericksburg Texas Native Gardening YouTube channel

If you want to create a pollinator garden, but don’t know where to start, this month’s speaker at Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT), Fredericksburg Chapter will share tips and resources for going from a blank slate to recognized pollinator garden. Holly Simonette, owner of Enchanted Fredericksburg Ranch & Glassblowing and communications director of the Fredericksburg Chapter of Native Plant Society of Texas, will discuss how she and her husband, Paul, created a beautiful pollinator garden/picnic area out of the destruction from Winter Storm Uri. She will be speaking at the next meeting of the NPSOT Fredericksburg Chapter on July 23 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Joseph’s Halle.

“We made mistakes when we started our pollinator garden, but we’ve had lots of successes, ,” said Simonette. “I’m going to share them all so people can be more successful and save time and money when they create their own pollinator gardens.”

“If we all take a piece of our property and convert it into a Texas native plants pollinator garden, we can provide food and habitat for so many insects and birds that are critical to our local ecosystem and crops,” said Deborah Simmons, president of the Fredericksburg Chapter of NPSOT. “Holly is going to share what she has learned from creating a pollinator garden that is recognized by the Hill Country Master Naturalists and NPSOT.”

The Simonettes are restoring their 22-acre ranch to native Texas wildflowers, shrubs and grasses. The Pollinator Garden Assistance and Recognition Program (PGARP), a partnership between the Hill Country Master Naturalists and NPSOT, recognized their pollinator garden in September 2022. The garden is open to the public Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. and by appointment. Find more information about PGARP here.

The Fredericksburg NPSOT chapter holds its monthly meetings on the 4th Tuesday of the month at St. Joseph’s Halle (212 W. San Antonio St., Fredericksburg). There is a social time with snacks at 6:30 p.m. and the meeting starts at 7 p.m. The public is invited to attend in person and via YouTube online streaming. More information is online at Facebook , Instagram, and https://npsot.org/chapters/fredericksburg/. Meetings are free and open to the public.


About the Region

Fall Symposium 2025 Logo - Teach for the Future

Salado, the location of our Fall 2025 Symposium, lies at the intersection of two ecoregions: the Edwards Plateau (Limestone Cut Plain) and Blackland Prairie (Northern Blackland Prairie).

The Edwards Plateau area is also called the Hill Country; however, this general term covers a much larger area extending farther north. Spring-fed creeks are found throughout the region; deep limestone canyons, rivers, and lakes (reservoirs) are common. Ashe juniper is perhaps the most common woody species found throughout the region. Additional woody species include various species of oak, with live oak (Quercus fusiformis) being the most common. Sycamores (Platanus occidentalis) and bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) border waterways. This area is well known for its spring wildflower displays, though they may be viewed in spring, late summer, and fall, as well. According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, average annual rainfall in the Edwards Plateau ranges from 15 to 34 inches.

The Blackland Prairie extends from the Red River south to San Antonio, bordered on the west by the Edwards Plateau and the Cross Timbers, and on the east by the Post Oak Savannah. Annual rainfall averages 30 to 40 inches, with higher averages to the east. This region is dominated by prairie species. The most common grass species include little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) and Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans) in the uplands and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) in the riparian areas and drainages. Common herbaceous flowering plants include salvias, penstemons, and silphiums. This area has suffered greatly from overgrazing and agricultural use. Few intact areas remain, though many of the plants can be found along county roadsides throughout the region.

Our fall Symposium host chapter, the Tonkawa Chapter, includes both of these ecoregions.

Source: Wildflowers of Texas by Michael Eason