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The Joys and Benefits of Backyard Beekeeping

Chapter Meeting Join us for a talk by Aaron Word on “The Joys and Benefits of Backyard Beekeeping.”  Aaron is the spouse of member Annie Word, who just completed the Level 1 course of the Native Landscape Certification Program.  He and Annie have been volunteering at Mercer Botanic Gardens, working with the beekeeper at the Gardens, and planting natives in […]

Regenerative Agriculture Efforts at Swift River Pecans, North Central Chapter Meeting – June 1

Fort Worth Botanic Gardens in the Rose Room 3220 Botanic Garden Blvd, Fort Worth, Texas 76107 6:15 pm Socializing & snacks 6:30 pm Business meeting and announcementsGuest speaker presentation follows our business meeting. Regenerative Agriculture Efforts at Swift River Pecans Presented by Troy Swift  Troy Swift, retired from the aerospace industry and now works full-time on his […]

Living Soil: The World Beneath Our Feet – Williamson County Chapter Meeting – June 8

Join NPSOT-Williamson County on Thursday, June 8, 2023, when our featured topic will be Living Soil: The World Beneath Our Feet with Jim Williams.  Free and open to the public. Attend via Zoom or in-person. The meeting begins at 7:00 PM. Our guest speaker's presentation follows a short business meeting. About our topic: Most of the […]

The Fibonacci Sequence in Nature and Native Plants – June 12

Monday, June 12 — Clear Lake Chapter Meeting — This presentation will explain the origins of the Fibonacci sequence, which can be found in our everyday experiences, and inspire viewers to have a greater appreciation for geometry, nature, and native plants.

NB NPSOT Chapter Meeting

Paradise Lost and Found, from Construction Lot to Blooming Garden - by Eric Strickland

June 27, 2023 – Cross Timbers Chapter Meeting with “Pollinators and Native Plants – What it means for our future” by Ricky Linex

Mount Pleasant Historical School 213 Raymond George Way, Weatherford, Texas, United States

What:  Chapter Business Meeting followed by Educational Presentation When:  June 27, 2023 at 6 p.m.  Where:  Mount Pleasant Historical School, 213 Raymond George Way, Weatherford TX 76086 Please join us for a short business meeting.  Are you trying to select the best pollinator plants for your landscape? Join us as Ricky provides a big picture view of the importance […]

Crossroads of the Eclipses: How Plants and Dark Skies are Connected in the Texas Hill Country

St. Joseph's Halle 212 W. San Antonio St., Fredericksburg, Texas, United States

This month’s speaker, Dawn Davies with Hill Country Alliance, will share information about how dark skies and plants are connected. The annular solar eclipse of 2023 and the total solar eclipse of 2024 will place the Texas Hill Country at the crossroads of two remarkable celestial phenomena. Central Texas will become the epicenter of great […]

Hot Stuff – Williamson County Chapter Meeting – July 13

Join NPSOT-Williamson County on Thursday, July 13, 2023, when our featured topic will be Hot Stuff.  Free and open to the public. The meeting begins at 7:00 PM.  Attend in person or via Zoom (register ahead). Our speaker presentation begins after a short business meeting, which for this month is also our annual meeting where we’ll announce […]

Native Plants for Central Texas Raingardens – July 18

Tye Preston Memorial Library 16311 S. Access Road, Canyon Lake, Texas

Join the Lindheimer Chapter for a presentation from Shannon Brown about Native Plants for a Central Texas Raingarden. This in-person meeting will also be available over Zoom, click here for details on how to join. Shannon Brown founded Ecosystem Regeneration Artisans (ERA) Landscaping to unite talented land stewards on projects that realize the vision of […]

Texas Native Grapes – July 20, 2023

Texas has more species of wild native grapes than any other state. Join us to learn about Texas's major native grape species, their characteristics and distribution, and methods used to cultivate them in home gardens and vineyards.

Reduce Water Use in Your Landscape – July 25

Fredericksburg, TX — Have you been wondering if your landscape is using too much water? Or is it taking too much of your time? Do you want to get rid of invasive plants that are taking over your yard? Have you been thinking about putting in a low-water use, native xeriscape, but hiring the job […]

Native Trees of the Piney Woods, Collin County Chapter Meeting – Aug 2023

“Native Trees of the Piney Woods” We will be discussing the overall makeup of the fascinating, extremely diverse Piney Woods ecoregion,and take an armchair hike into the woodlands of East Texas to look at some of the moreinteresting trees found there. This is a hybrid meeting, with in-person attendees meeting in Laughlin Hall at the Heard […]

Sustainability at DFW Airport, North Central Chapter Meeting – Aug 3

Speaker: Sarah Ziomek Fort Worth Botanic Gardens in the Rose Room 3220 Botanic Garden Blvd, Fort Worth, Texas 76107 6:15 pm Socializing & snacks 6:30 pm Business meeting and announcementsThe presentation will follow our business meeting. This meeting is hybrid; in person with a virtual Zoom option. Register in advance for the Zoom meeting:https://npsot-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAkcemurj8tG9DucyK4JODmWo4OE_3HMPTW After registering, […]

Native Orchid Conservation Across Texas – Williamson County Chapter Meeting, August 10

Join NPSOT-Williamson County on Thursday, August 10, 2023, when our featured topic will be Native Orchid Conservation Across Texas with Adam Black.  Free and open to the public. The meeting begins at 7:00 PM.  Our guest speaker’s presentation begins after a short business meeting. About our topic: From the Pineywoods to the Chihuahuan Desert, various species […]

Small Scale Land Restoration – A Case Study – Aug 15

Tye Preston Memorial Library 16311 S. Access Road, Canyon Lake, Texas

Join the Lindheimer Chapter for a presentation from Meg Inglis, the Executive Director of the Native Plant Society. This in-person meeting will also be available over Zoom, click here for details on how to join. "When my husband and I built our home on two acres near Dripping Springs we decided to use native plants […]

August 2023 Austin Chapter Meeting – Native Prairie Association of Texas: Dowell Ranch Prairie Restoration – August 15

  Please join us for our August Chapter meeting with our guest speaker Kirsti Harms. Kirsti Harms, Executive Director of the Native Prairies Association of Texas (NPAT) is a longtime Austinite. She served on NPAT board leadership from 2008 to 2017. After retiring from her day job at the Texas Department of Transportation’s Travel Information […]

Urban Permaculture – August 17

Permaculture is coined from permanent culture and integrates a holistic perspective in the design of sustainability in food, housing and community. Carol will provide an introduction to urban permaculture and review the work of Urban Harvest Permaculture Design Certification Program to bring forward the reconnection to ecological wisdom principles. She will highlight native plants, layers of a food forest, and plant guilds to restore nature and strengthen food access. 

Mimic a Natural Woodland in Your Own Yard – Aug 22

St. Joseph's Halle 212 W. San Antonio St., Fredericksburg, Texas, United States

This month’s meeting of the Fredericksburg Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT) will focus on creating a landscape that mimics a natural woodland habitat. In its native state, a natural woodland is an open meadow dotted with dense clumps of trees, shrubs, vines, and ground covers.

Event Series Northeast Texas Chapter Meeting

August Program – Northeast Texas Chapter – Daniel Duncum: Native Trees NOT Typically Found in Local Nurseries / Followed by Chapter Business Meeting- August 24

August Program: TBD Location: 706 West Cotton Street, Longview, TX 75604 You probably haven’t seen Gum Bumelia or Eastern Hop Hornbeam in your local garden center, but they are some of the native trees that grace our east Texas woods. Learn about these and other native trees that are rare gems in the nursery trade. […]

August Chapter Meeting – Craig Hensley

Speaker: Craig HensleyNative Plants, Butterflies, and other Pollinators: Making Connections Native plants and pollinators, including butterflies, fit together hand in glove. Without one you don’t have much of the other. Join TPWD Texas Nature Trackers Biologist Craig Hensley for a look at a variety of native plants that attract pollinators, whether for nectar, pollen or […]

Native American Seed, George Cates – Aug 28

Hill Country Chapter NPSOT Chapter Meeting George Cates was born and raised in North Texas (Sherman). As a kid he enjoyed competitive sports, especially soccer, and spending the summers on his grandparent’s small ranch in Manchaca, TX. There, he developed his love of and respect for nature, through fishing, hunting, camping, and exploring with his […]

Boerne Chapter Meeting

Boerne Chapter Meeting 6:00pm Social Time; 6:45pm Announcements and Presentation. Cibolo Nature Center Auditorium

Show and Tell – Collin County Chapter Meeting – September 2023

Important update: Our September 5th chapter meeting has been changed to virtual only. We will not be meeting at the Heard. We are still in need of presenters, please consider "showing and telling" about your native plants. Our chapter’s annual “Show and Tell” meeting will be on September 5th @ 6:30 pm. Members and other attendees are […]

Amy Martin highlights her new book Wild DFW, North Central Chapter Meeting – Sept 7

Amy Martin highlights her new book; Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth: https://wild-dfw.com/ Meet Amy Martin, get a signed copy of her new book Wild DFW. Hear how she grew up in east Texas and has been a journalist all her life covering a range of subjects “infused with a deep spirituality and concern […]

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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