UPDATED, July 10 Chapter Meeting: Annual Chapter Meeting plus “Native Texas Plants Database Overview/Demonstration” with Randy Pensabene and Gary Bowers

Updated July 7, 2025 due to location change. News! Due to the severe rains in Central Texas, the July 10 meeting will be at the Georgetown Public Library, 2nd floor. A water main break and road closures are affecting the previously announced location which was the Georgetown Parks & Rec Admin Building.

—-

Join NPSOT-Williamson County Thursday, July 10, 2025, for our annual chapter meeting and a Native Texas Plants Database Overview/Demonstration focusing on Williamson County with Randy Pensabene and Gary Bowers. Free and open to the public. The meeting begins at 7:00 PM.  

  • Results of the chapter board election will be announced. (Link to election details.)
  • Membership anniversary pins will be presented to recipients attending in person. (If not attending this meeting in person, the pins will be provided another way after the meeting.)
  • A presentation featuring NPSOT-Williamson County Chapter’s new Texas native plants database (more info below).

==> News! This month, if you attend in person, we’re at the Georgetown Public Library, 2nd floor, 402 West 8th St, Georgetown, TX 78626Georgetown Parks & Rec Administration Building, 1101 N College St, Georgetown, Texas 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/vKF9n7OAQhS6FikdcS7oVQ#/registration

About the featured topic: Randy Pensabene and Gary Bowers will present a new plant database website developed by the Williamson County Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT-Wilco). Designed specifically for residents of Williamson County, the site offers a clear, concise, and user-friendly way to discover recommended native Texas plants for home landscapes.

image from plant database
Sample image from database. June 2025.

About our guest speakers:

Randy Pensabene is a 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.

Gary Bowers grew up in northeastern Tennessee and has always had a keen interest in nature and the outdoors — though he harbors a special passion for trees. Since moving to Central Texas in 2012, he has discovered the wonderful variety of Texas native plants. Gary is a past president of the NPSOT-Williamson County Chapter and has also served the chapter as an instructor for the chapter’s Native Landscape Certification Program (NLCP), a field trip leader, and more. Gary works as a software developer in order to pay for new plants.


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.

Native Plant Rescue Project News

After almost two years of being part of the Native Plant Society of Texas and the Williamson County Chapter, the Native Plant Rescue Project (NPRP) has formed its own independent nonprofit in order to better serve the Central Texas region.

We have so appreciated our time together and the relationship between NPSOT and NPRP, and we will continue to partner together in the future!

To find out more information regarding the Native Plant Rescue Project, visit their website www.nativeplantrescueproject.org. Contact NPRP at info@nativeplantrescueproject.org.

Ashley Landry, Founder, Native Plant Rescue Project
Nancy Copperman, President, NPSOT-Williamson County

project results

Plant Sale Thank You

— by Beth Erwin

Thank you to all who attended our Fall 2024 in person sale this past Saturday and those who purchased plants in our Fall online sale.  Our Plant Sale Committee works very hard to ensure that our sales are informative, educational, and very well organized.  Our teams of cashiers, ticket writers, setup, sales, hold area, and everything else that needs doing are outstanding.  Special thanks to the members of the Round Rock High School Plant Club that work every sale with us.  Their eagerness and enthusiasm for the sale and plants is infectious and makes us wonder how we ever did it without them.

 The growers that produce our plants work hand-in-hand with us to make sure we have high quality plants to offer our customers.  Collectively, we want everyone to succeed and embrace growing native Texas plants.  We were proud to have more species in this sale sourced specifically from plants growing in Williamson County.  This is largely courtesy of our Plant Rescue team with seeds also coming from member landowners.

Comments, questions and suggestions are welcome.  (Send comments to wilco-chapter@npsot.org.) So are volunteers!  We hope to see you at our Spring 2025 Native Plant Sale, a mere 20 weeks away, on March 29, 2025. 

Beth Erwin, Plant Sale Committee Chairman

image of a plant sale
Nov 2, 2024 Native Plant Sale at Williamson County Southwest Regional Park. Photo by Cindy Chrisler.


See more photos in our album=>