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.
Yards of the future — which native plants will be used?
Author: Bill Ward A recent report from the Office of the State Climatologist states that for our part of Central Texas, “the intensity of the 2009 drought is greater than that of most but not all of the major historical droughts of the past 110 years.” No surprise; it’s been
Yards of the future – what native plants will be used?
**ARCHIVED POST ** A recent report from the Office of the State Climatologist states that for our part of Central Texas, “the intensity of the 2009 drought is greater than that of most but not all of the major historical droughts of the past 110 years.” No surprise; it’s been
Plant blue mistflower for butterflies
One of the best butterfly magnets for Texas gardens is blue mistflower.
September 2009
NICE! Plant of the Month (Dalea frutescens) Family: Legume Family (Fabaceae) Other Common Names: Black Prairie Clover Type: Perennial shrub, deciduous. Natural Habitat: SE Oklahoma, Central Texas west to New Mexico; Mexico. Dry rocky limestone soils, on hillsides among brushy vegetation. Growth: 1-3 ft high, rounded and spreading. Deer Resistance:
Future of Benny Simpson research plots
**ARCHIVED POST ** Representatives of the Native Plant Society of Texas met recently with Texas AgriLIFE Extension representatives to discuss a partnership under which the Society would undertake to clean up the site of the Benny J Simpson Native Plant Collection and provide oversight and funding for the collection in
People, Prairies: Partners
Wichita Falls will be the site of the annual Native Plant Society of Texas symposium October 15-18, 2009
Plant black dalea in hot, dry gardens
Black dalea (Dalea frutescens) is a highly drought-resistant little shrub with small purple and white flowers
Black dalea – NICE! for hot, dry gardens
Our prolonged drought and brutal heat wave have just about worn down my enthusiasm for writing about native plants in the garden. Even long-established native plants are suffering, while it is getting more and more necessary to forgo irrigation throughout much of the Hill Country, because most of the aquifers
Bluebell Gentian, Favorite Wildflower of the Drought
Author: Bill Ward It is difficult to find anything to like about this exceptional drought we continue to suffer, but in this part of the Hill Country, at least it seems to have brought out more bluebell gentians than I’ve seen in a long time. The showy blue-purple blooms of
“Texas Native Plant Week” signed by the Governor
Author: Bill Ward Effective September 1, 2009, there will be an official Texas Native Plant Week, celebrated annually the third week in October. During the 2009 Texas legislative session, Representative Donna Taylor of Austin authored a bill entitled “An Act relating to a recognition week to celebrate Texas native plants”
Bluebell gentian, favorite wildflower of the drought
The showy blue-purple blooms of the bluebell make it a favorite wildflower. Supposedly, those eye-catching flowers have led the plant to extinction in certain places where people could not resist picking them all.
SUN award to Debbie Reid
**ARCHIVED POST ** The Boerne Chapter of the Native Plant Society recently presented Debbie Reid with the SUN Award (Standing Up for Natives Award). Reid has been one of this area’s most innovative and influential stewards of native plants and the general ecosystem.
