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Native Plant Society of Texas

Houston plans wildscaping workshop

NPSOT Archive

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Houston’s annual Wildscape Workshop & Native Plant Sale will be Saturday, September 7, from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM at the Houston Zoo Brown Education Center. The native plant sale is free of charge and open to the public from 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM. Registration for the workshop includes entry to the zoo.

There will be educational programs, refreshments, boxed lunch, a nature book sale and door prizes all day.

Subjects and speakers are:

  • Life in the Soil by John Ferguson – Nature’s Way Resources
  • Bring Back the Monarchs by Cathy Downs – Native Plant Society of Texas
  • Plants for Wildscapes Landscapes- Featuring Plants of the Sale by Mark Bronstad – Doremus Nursery Plantsman
  • More Remarkable Plants of Texas by Matt Warnock Turner, author
  • Attracting Birds to Your Backyard by Gary Clark – Naturalist and author, with photographs by Kathy Adams Clark

Dee Howell will emcee. Matt Warnock Turner and Gary Clark will be available to sell and sign their books.

Entry to the zoo, a $13 cost, is included with registration. Early registration is $35 per person, $30 for Houston Chapter members, and $40 late registration after August 28. The registration form can be found at the Houston Chapter website. Call 281-558-3710 or email if you have questions.

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**ARCHIVED POST AUTHOR: rkamper

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