News and announcements from our committee chairs, board members, and chapter leaders. Subscribe to our mailing list to stay up to date. For chapter news, visit Chapters. If you are looking for a calendar of events, see our Events Calendar.
Mountain cedar – does it deserve such disdain?
There are a couple of myths about “mountain cedar” or Ashe juniper (Juniperus ashei) that seem to be part of the conventional wisdom.
Denton will host symposium
Our annual symposium in Denton will be the observance of the 30th Anniversary of the founding of our Society.
Lindheimer muhly, a native accent grass
Landscapers who use natives have shown that many native grasses can be some of the most effective and easy-to-grow yard plants.
Lindheimer muhly — the NICE! grass for 2010
Author: Bill Ward From its beginning in 2000, the Boerne Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas wanted to promote native grasses as good landscape plants. As its symbol, the chapter chose the grass commonly called inland seaoats (recently changed to broadleaf woodoats). Over the years, several grasses have
“Boerne Bean” finally gets some respect — it’s a new species
Several years ago when Jan Wrede and I were crawling down a narrow little side canyon off Cibolo Creek, she exclaimed, “Oh, there’s a Boerne Bean!” She was referring to a bean-like vine that trailed across the limestone ledges and up into the trees. “What’s that? Never heard of it,”
June 2010
NICE! Plant of the Month (Malvaviscus Drummondii) Family: Malvaceae Other Common Names: Texas Mallow, Drummond’s Wax Mallow Type: Big, large-leafed deciduous perennial shrub; woody only near its base. Natural Habitat: From southern portion of the Texas Hill Country east to Florida and the West Indies; south into Mexico. Native in
‘Boerne Bean’ – it’s a new species!
Alfonso Delgado-Salinas and Bill Carr have published a paper introducing a new species, which they named Phaseolus texensis
A nice bloomer during the hot summer
The bright-red flower of Turk’s cap is not the regular “mallow-like” open five-petal bloom.
Sustaining mother nature with native plants
Growing native plants concerns a lot more than conserving water. Native plants in the garden also are helping sustain nature in a time when the wild is disappearing.
Turk’s cap, a NICE! bloomer during the hot summer
Author: Bill Ward Operation NICE! (Natives Instead of the Common Exotics!) plant for June is Turk’s cap (Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii). This Kendall County native continues to flower through the summer heat and on into the fall, and it is fairly drought-resistant. It has been used as a garden plant
Tree of Heaven or Tree from Hell?
Author: Bill Ward A “new” population of exotic trees at Cibolo Nature Center took me by surprise last Friday. Where I expected to find a few tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) saplings, we found 147 plants and some of the trees were huge. Last fall during our annual survey of
Esperanza, a NICE! hope for summer blooms
Author: Bill Ward Operation NICE! (Natives Instead of the Common Exotics!) recommendation for May is the long-blooming esperanza (Tecoma stans). This native-Texas shrub is readily available in local nurseries and does well in Hill Country gardens. As the common name “esperanza” (Spanish for “hope”) seems to suggest, this plant is
