Category: Native Plants

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June 9 Chapter Meeting (in-person & virtual),”Gardening for Bats” with Erin Cord

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Join NPSOT-Williamson County on Thursday, June 9, 2022, when our featured topic will be Gardening for Bats with Erin Cord.   Free and open to the public. The meeting begins at 7:00 PM.

About our topic:  Erin will go over some bat basics and then talk about how you can help bats right in your own backyard by creating a bat garden!

Purple coneflower, Echinacea purpurea
Purple coneflower, Echinacea purpurea

About our speaker:  Erin Cord is the Community Engagement Manager for Bat Conservation International. She has been with BCI for almost 3 years and absolutely loves all things bats!  Erin got her undergraduate degree in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Delaware and her Masters in Wildlife Management from the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M Kingsville. Erin currently lives in Austin where she works to make her own yard a native plant and wildlife oasis.

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

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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.

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Native American Seed April 23 Field Trip Report

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— by Erin Buhl

On April 23rd we had our field trip to Native American Seed in Junction, Texas. The area was very dry and windy, and is part of a multi-county area of Central Texas currently experiencing drought level D4 – Exceptional, the most severe. The group included around 33 people from our chapter and the Austin Chapter, as well as some from the Master Naturalists group.

photo of group
Bill Neiman (top left) sharing a few words with the field trip participants. Photo by Vicky Husband.

The field trip started at the Hacienda House where Bill Neiman, the owner and founder of the company, spoke to us about his youth and how he got started in the business after initially doing a lot of landscaping work using exotics. Bill’s philosophy about the importance of native plants is summarized on the company’s website on their pages What We’re About, and Sensible People… Why Native Plants are the Right Choice, and I encourage you to read both articles.

Prairie Verbena (Glandularia bipinnatifida)
Prairie Verbena (Glandularia bipinnatifida). Photo by Erin Buhl.

Next, we made our way down to see the fields. Despite the dry conditions and difficulty of irrigating the fields, the beauty of the native flowers in spring shone through as you can see in these photos. Our tour guides, George and Emily, freely shared of their knowledge and answered our many questions. Some of the plants we saw that were currently in bloom were Prairie Verbena (Glandularia bipinnatifida), Mealy Blue Sage (Salvia farinacea), Winecup (Callirhoe leiocarpa), and Huisache Daisy (Amblyolepis setigera). We were too early in the year to see the field of Standing Cypress (Ipomopsis rubra) in bloom, but were told it is an amazing sight.

Mealy Blue Sage (Salvia farinacea) with Winecup interlopers (Callirhoe leiocarpa).
Mealy Blue Sage (Salvia farinacea) with Winecup “interlopers” (Callirhoe leiocarpa). Photo by Erin Buhl.
Huisache Daisy (Amblyolepis setigera).
Huisache Daisy (Amblyolepis setigera). Photo by Erin Buhl.

Eventually we made our way up to the equipment area and the seed collecting barn. The equipment and time needed to sort the seed from the chaff and ensure its purity and viability are surprising. The business has to take seed and farming equipment that is made for general use (corn, soybeans, etc.) and convert it to their purposes with so many different species of natives that they are growing. They are providing a unique and essential service to the entire state of Texas and I encourage everyone to support their business for your native seed needs.

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Field Trip on Saturday, June 11, 2022, Hidden Springs Preserve Plant Survey #5, 8:30am

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— by Kathy Galloway

  • What:   Hidden Springs Preserve Field Trip
  • When:  8:30am-11:00am, Saturday, June 11, 2022
  • Where:  978 CR 224, Florence, TX.
  • Our field trip is open to the public, but the preserve is not open to the general public.  See important details later in this post.

The Native Plant Society of Texas Williamson County chapter’s Field Trip Committee has been offered an opportunity to do a multi-year plant survey at the preserve. This visit will be Plant Survey #5 of 12.

Be prepared for extensive walking on uneven, open terrain.  Wear sturdy walking shoes, a hat, and sunscreen, and bring water, field guides, and something to take notes on and with. A restroom is available in the ranch house.

Please plan on arriving by 8:20am – there is a padlock on the front gate, and it will be locked shortly after 8:40am.  Reservations are not required.  Please feel free to contact Kathy Galloway (contact form here) beforehand if you have any questions.   We will follow the latest CDC instructions for Covid safety.

People at all levels of plant knowledge can help on survey field trips. The trips are a great way to see native plants in their habitats and learn with other members.  Beginners are welcome!  Read more about survey field trips at this link.

Directions:

  • Take IH-35 north to Exit 266 (Florence/Killeen/195).
  • Turn left and follow SH 195 toward Florence.
  • Go through Florence, take the TX 138 exit (you will be near the City of Florence’s water tower with the bison on it), and then turn left onto TX 138.
  • Continue straight through the four-way stop at the intersection with Business 195, and after a little over two miles, turn right onto CR 224.
  • After about half a mile, at the fork in the road, bear to the left and stay on CR 224. Note that a car GPS system may indicate that you should bear to the right – this is incorrect.
  • After another half a mile, look for a green metal gate on your right (north side of street). There is a large wooden sign “Hidden Springs” sign between two flagpoles behind the fence. The address is 978 County Road 224, Florence, TX, but there is no number on the gate. (The gate is across the street from 981 CR 224.)
  • When you arrive, directions will be given as to where to park.

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