npsot_bluebonnet_full_color

Work day at RGVNPC – July 26

Come out and volunteer with us at the Rio Grande Valley Native Plant Center on South Padre Island. Bring your garden tools, water, and snacks. While mosquitos are not usually […]

Work day at RGVNPC – July 29

Come out and volunteer with us at the Rio Grande Valley Native Plant Center on South Padre Island. Bring your garden tools, water, and snacks. While mosquitos are not usually […]

Work day at RGVNPC – July 30

Come out and volunteer with us at the Rio Grande Valley Native Plant Center on South Padre Island. Bring your garden tools, water, and snacks. While mosquitos are not usually […]

Work day at RGVNPC – July 31

Come out and volunteer with us at the Rio Grande Valley Native Plant Center on South Padre Island. Bring your garden tools, water, and snacks. While mosquitos are not usually […]

Contest Deadline

Last day to submit an entry for one of our 2024 contests. If you want to enter one of your photos, videos, or your chapter newsletter, visit the Membership Portal […]

Q3 State Board Meeting – Aug 3

Chapter members are welcome, but not everyone may vote. Voting members include chapter presidents, executive officers, and state standing committee chairs. Native Plant Society of Texas members receive an email with a registration link about one week prior to the State Board meeting. Please watch for it and come to the meeting!

Gardening for Monarchs & Other Wildlife Using Native Plants

As part of the National Wildlife Federation’s Monarch Stewards Certification Program, the Federation is offering Gardening for Monarchs & Other Wildlife with Native Plants in your Ecoregion. This interactive two-day workshop will be hosted online (via Zoom) on August 7th (9:00 am-4:30 pm CST), and August 9th (9:00 am-4:30 pm CST), with plenty of breaks […]

$55

Gardening for Monarchs & Other Wildlife Using Native Plants

As part of the National Wildlife Federation’s Monarch Stewards Certification Program, the Federation is offering Gardening for Monarchs & Other Wildlife with Native Plants in your Ecoregion. This interactive two-day workshop will be hosted online (via Zoom) on August 7th (9:00 am-4:30 pm CST), and August 9th (9:00 am-4:30 pm CST), with plenty of breaks […]

$55

Pollination: What’s Next?

For the Rio Grande Valley Chapter's August meeting, we welcome Mike Heep from Heep's Native Plant Nursery, who will share the detail of Fruit and Seed Formation that we often […]

Mike Munsil “Native Plants in a Permaculture Environment”

Mike will define permaculture and briefly introduce its principles and ethics. He will then discuss the contrast in viewpoints between those who focus on permaculture and those who focus on native plants. Mike will introduce the concept of food forest, providing a list of edible native plants in Texas. /*! elementor - v3.22.0 - 26-06-2024 […]

Rainwater Harvesting – August 14

Robert Mace, Executive Director & Chief Water Policy Officer, with The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment Coming Soon! Register here for this virtual event.

Water Wednesdays: Xeriscape – August 14

Join Water Wednesdays on August 14, 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM to hear from NPSOT's own Deedy Wright on Xeriscaping. This is a FREE virtual event, but registration is required. To register for this event: REGISTER Coming Soon! Register here for this virtual event.

Executive Committee Meeting

Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT) Executive Committee meetings occur monthly and any member may attend. Contact the Executive Director prior to the meeting at state@npsot.org for Zoom and applicable document links. Please be prepared to follow the Visitor’s Executive Meeting Protocol.

Chapter Leader Forum: Resources for Battling Invasive Plants

Topic: Resources for Battling Invasive Plants Description:Join Leah Fenley, Deedy Wright, and Ashley Hurlbert to discover the resources available to youon the Invasive Plant Committee’s webpage. Do a walkthrough of […]

Bay Area Sierra Club Meeting: P is for Prairie

On August 21, the Bay Area Sierra Club will host Rowena McDermid, Environmental Education Specialist at the Environmental Institute of Houston, University of Houston-Clear Lake.

Time to Restore: Connecting People, Plants, and Pollinators

The Time to Restore project, led by the USA-NPN and covering Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, seeks to generate better information about nectar availability and seed timing to help those working on pollinator restoration know what to plant and when to harvest seeds. Help shape this important project! In this free, two-hour virtual workshop, […]

Dear NLCP Committee Members,  This Monday begins our first meeting of 2024. We will meet at 7:00pm on the 2nd and 4th Monday of the month on this Zoom link:  https://npsot-org.zoom.us/j/87628189964?pwd=NUdBV3ZTSzFVMjJjTnpycjlQTGRJQT09.  We're […]

Receive the latest native plant news

Subscribe To Our News

Subscribe to emails from the Native Plant Society of Texas.

Receive emails when new posts are added 4-6 times per month, or receive an email once a month.

Or join us on social media

About the Region

New Braunfels, the location of our Fall 2024 Symposium, straddles both the Edwards Plateau Ecoregion and the Blackland Prairie ecoregion. Interstate 35 divides the city of New Braunfels; its path through the city closely parallels the boundary of these two ecoregions, with the Edwards Plateau on the west side and the Blackland Prairies region to the east. 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 four host chapters (New Braunfels, Lindheimer, Guadalupe, and the Hill Country chapters) are located in one or both of the ecoregions above. However, the eastern portion of Guadalupe County also falls within the Post Oak Savanna ecoregion. Annual rainfall averages 35 to 45 inches, with higher averages to the east. A wide variety of hardwood trees are found, including several species of oaks, elms, and in the Bastrop area, loblolly pine (Pinus taeda). Grasses and forbs dominate in the open savannas, with most common grass being little bluestem. Ranching, agriculture, and fire suppression have allowed woody species to encroach on the once-open savannas.

Source: Wildflowers of Texas by Michael Eason