April 11 Chapter Meeting: “Drought-Tolerant Native Plants: Nothing Works Like Natives” with Randy Pensabene

[4/14 handout updated, replaced handout link. 4/3 added link to handout.]

Join NPSOT-Williamson County on Thursday, April 11, 2024, when our featured topic will be “Drought-Tolerant Native Plants: Nothing Works Like Natives” with Randy Pensabene.  Free and open to the public. The meeting begins at 7:00 PM.  Our guest speaker’s presentation begins after a short business meeting.

NEW Randy has provided a handout ==> (link replaced Apr 14) click this link to download the handout.

==> This month, if you attend in person, we’re at the Georgetown Public Library, 2nd floor, 402 West 8th St, Georgetown, TX 78626. Come early (6:30 PM) for expert advice, to check out the seed swap board, or just to visit.

==> To attend via Zoom register at https://npsot-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcpcu2grz8jGdfflwPsKx6VTsZgWNdwZbDm#/registration

About our speaker: Randy Pensabene is past president of the Native Plant Society of Texas, Williamson County Chapter, and is involved in  the chapter’s native plant garden projects and native plant sales. She has also converted her yard from the typical hedges and non-natives to a beautiful low-water, National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat using Texas native plants. She enjoys sharing her enthusiasm for our Texas native plants and teaching others about their beauty, drought-tolerance, and benefits. 


At every meeting, we give away a book — about native plants or the meeting topic — to one randomly chosen in-person attendee!


Have an idea for a speaker?  Let Program Leader Susie Hickman know via  email to wilco-chapter@npsot.org.

NPSOT-Williamson County meetings are free and open to the public. We hope you attend!  Meetings may be in person, virtual, or both, so be sure to check details in the meeting announcement. Meetings are announced on our website, our calendar and Facebook. See upcoming topics on our page Wilco Home or on our Calendar.

Wildflower Wanders at Balcones Canyonlands

Wildflower Wanders are hikes in Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge planned by the Friends of BCNWR. Wildflower Wanders help people learn about identifying plants and the importance of native plants.  The hikes below are coming up soon, planned as a balance of walks that are easy, combined with some that are harder. Register at the links. (Though these hikes are not NPSOT events, the particular hikes below are led by NPSOT-Wilco members Gary Bowers and Cindy Chrisler.)

See the Friends of BCNWR’s events calendar here.

Trip Report: Spring Tree Walk, March 17

— by Cindy Chrisler

Gary Bowers led five hearty NPSOT members on today’s field trip at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock.  This was the second field trip in a series of four to observe the same trees in all seasons of the year. 

This trip showed many trees and shrubs in bloom, including Mexican Buckeye, Possumhaw, Rusty Blackhaw, and Green Hawthorn.  Other flowers were also spotted, such as Large Buttercup, Texas Baby Blue-eyes, and the ubiquitous Texas Bluebonnet. Many other trees, shrubs, and forbs are poised to bloom in the next few weeks for a spectacular show. 

The next field trip in this series is scheduled for June 29. 


See photos from this field trip and others in our album=>