Fredericksburg Chapter

Harbingers of Spring

View this presentation on  Fredericksburg Texas Native Gardening live

Kathy has made all her slides available.  Download the slides to create a  pocket guide and identify these plants as you work in the garden. Before too long, you will be a pro at deciding which are the natives around you.

Winter Rosettes and Seedlings for Identification

The Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT) Fredericksburg chapter opened its new season Tuesday, January 27. The meeting was cancelled due to extreme winter weather However, Kathy Saucier, our resident Certified Wildscape instructor,  presented her challenge to oub observational skills live on our YouTube at 3:00 Friday, January 30.

A close look under the fallen stems and leaves of last year’s wildflowers and grasses reveals that many new plants have already germinated and are showing their first and second sets of leaves. However, do we want each one!

Saucier opens her  presentation with rosette photos of both native and invasive plants as they begin to stretch toward spring. Each is followed  with a picture of the the fully developed plant in bloom.

Now for the decision in your garden and field. Which are weeds that are more easily dealt with now. Which are the flowers we enjoy fully that we need to transplant while they are young.

Saucier is a Fredericksburg home-grown naturalist. She explored the natives in north Texas, but since she grew up in the Hill Country, she began using natives from this region in her own garden during the 1980s. It was a natural step to being involved with NPSOT in 1992 and teaching classes in NPSOT’s Native Landscaping Certification Program. She and her husband now reside in their new home on the 120-year-old Leyendecker family farm in southwest Gillespie County. She has identified more than 220 Texas natives on their 40 acres and added another 70 native species to it as well. This diversity of native plants provides habitat for more than 70 species of birds and 250 invertebrates (butterflies, moths, spiders, bees, beetles, etc.).

Prickly White Poppy rosette

NPSOT Fredericksburg holds its monthly meetings on the 4th Tuesday of the month at St.Joseph’s Halle (212 W. San Antonio St., Fredericksburg). Meetings are free and open to the public.

We invite you to attend in person or via online streaming at  Fredericksburg Texas Native Gardening  

Come early at 6:30 pm to meet us and enjoy a snack. The short business meeting and program begins at 7:00.

About the Region

2026 Fall Symposium Logo

This low-elevations region of Texas extends inland from the barrier islands, about 60 or so miles, and stretches from Brownsville to Louisiana. In total, it covers about 9.5 million acres, with a high point of 150 feet in elevation. More than 1000 species of plants can be found in this region. On the southern end, species more common in Mexico (such as Sabal mexicana) and Central America occur.

The barrier islands provide us with dune systems, and clay flats to the inland side, which have species found in these areas alone. Many plants here, such as Ipomoea pes-caprae (beach morning glory), can be found throughout tropical regions of the globe. I’ve encountered the same species on the beaches of Guam.

Once inland, vast marshes and wet prairies occur. Occasionally, oak (Quercus fusiformis) groves can be found. Common grasses include species of Bothriochloa, Paspalum, and Sporobolus; eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides); and switchgrass (Panicum species). Many rivers and creeks cut through the Gulf Prairies, and along these riparian areas various species of trees, Sabal minor, and other plants adapted to clay soils can be found. Due to overgrazing, farming, and fire suppression, woody species such as mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) and huisache (Acacia farnesiana), and invasive species such as chinaberry (Melia azedarach), Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius), and Chinese tallow (Sapium sebiferum) have increased and displaced our native flora.

Source: Wildflowers of Texas by Michael Eason