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Thanks for a Great Fall Plant Sale!

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— by Beth Erwin

Our Fall 2020 series of plant sales at the farmers markets in Georgetown was a huge success.  Big thanks go to the Georgetown, Sun City, and Wolf Ranch Farmers Markets for allowing us to be guests for a day.  Our hard-working, enthusiastic team of volunteers worked for months getting ready for the sale and followed through right to the end.  Believe or not, we are already working on the Spring 2021 sale!  We are extremely grateful for our plant producers for providing us great native plants to sell.  Between sales, check with Wright’s Nursery in Briggs if you are seeking more native plants.

Many of our customers were seeking native plants for shade, and plants with some level of deer resistance.  We are planning to have more shade tolerant plants in the next sale.  As for deer resistance, we will work on that, too.  There is an excellent article on dealing with deer in the landscape in the most recent issue of the NPSOT members newsletter, Native Plant Society of Texas News.  Check it out at this link.

Lots of customers downloaded and printed the plant availability list and brought it to the sale.  Several of you commented on how much you liked having it.  We will keep that going.

We appreciate the customer feedback and really enjoy talking and listening to you at the sales.

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Online Chapter Meeting Nov 12: “Managing a Native Landscape in an Urban Institutional Environment” with Justin Hayes

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[Post updated 11/3/2020 to add the Zoom link and 10/27/2020 to add more information about the topic. PD]

Join NPSOT-Wilco’s online chapter meeting on Thursday, November 12, 2020, at 7:00 pm, when guest speaker Justin Hayes will present Managing a Native Landscape in an Urban Institutional Environment.

You must register in advance to attend the meeting.  You’ll find instructions later in this article.

About the topic:  Now that I have managed the Dell/Seton Medical campus for 4 years, there have been many successes and failures. New techniques made and old techniques brought back into use. I will go through many of the different ways we manage, as well as I will try to include a good amount of pictures that show what my crew and the University are doing to increase sustainability and still have an award winning landscape.

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About our speaker: Justin Hayes has been in the landscaping industry for 20 years. Starting at the University of Texas at Austin in 2008 as a gardener, he worked his way up to crew leader and eventually supervisor of the SITES Gold certified Dell Medical District landscape.   He and his team won the Texas Turf Association’s “Best Turf in Texas” contest in 2012 for their work on the campus’ University Avenue landscape.

He received his National Organic Farmers Association (NOFA) Organic Land Care Accreditation in 2017. In addition, he is Grow Green certified as well as Level 3 certified through the Native Plant Society of Texas.

In June 2020, Justin took over a larger part of campus in which the more sustainable methods from the Medical District will be implemented. Justin is now on his 3rd year of serving on the Employee Engagement Council.

Register to Attend

You must register in advance to attend, using the link below. After registering, you’ll receive an email with instructions on how to join the meeting.

NPSOT-Williamson County meetings are free and open to the public. In this time of public health risk, our in-person meetings and field trips are canceled until further notice.

Check our blog announcements, calendar and Facebook for developing plans for virtual meetings and virtual field trips.

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Give a tree a new home on Thursday, October 22!

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— by Beth Erwin

This Thursday, October 22, is our last of our three Fall NPSOT-Wilco Plant Sale days.  We will be on 8th Street in downtown Georgetown, across from the Georgetown Library and Red Poppy Café from 10-2, in the Georgetown Farmers Market.

Our first two sales were very successful, but I have to admit I am disappointed.  You see, it is the best time of the year to plant trees.  And we have a wonderful selection of healthy native trees, grown right here in Central Texas.  And nobody is buying them.  So we are going to put them on sale.  Trees in 3/5-gallon pots that were priced at $30 will be $22 Thursday.

Folks, we need to be planting native trees.  Now some of you will say, “I won’t live long enough to see it grown.”  Don’t worry about that!

Recent studies reveal that we have lost nearly 3 billion birds since 1970.  We planted two trees in our grandchildren’s backyard this past year.  Within 5 days, a pair of cardinals had built a nest in one and laid three eggs.  Birds need trees.  Insects and other critters need trees.  Humans need trees.  Trees take in the carbon dioxide we produce in abundance and give us back oxygen.  They reduce the greenhouse effect.  They clean pollutants out of the air.  Their roots help clean the water percolating through the soil as it works its way to our aquifers.  They act as sound baffles.  They hide us from the neighbors.  They give us shade from the merciless Texas sun.

Has oak wilt killed your live oak trees? Are you weary of ornamental pear trees that smell like a wet dog or worse when in flower, split apart in a strong wind, and ruin your landscape plants with leaves that never decay?  Tired of crepe myrtles that are virtually useless to wildlife?

Come see us Thursday or contact us at the link shown below.  All our plants are hard-working native Texas plants.  They are the plants you should have in your plot of ground, here in the heart of Texas.

  • Read details about the Oct 22 sale and see our plant list at this link.
  • Reach me (Beth Erwin) with any questions or requests using the contact form at this link.
  • See you at the sale!
  • Beth Erwin

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