Tag: landscaping

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July 13 Chapter Meeting: “Hot Stuff” and Annual Chapter Meeting 

(Updated July 13) Free native plants at tonight’s meeting include Flame Acanthus, Illinois Bundleflower, Skeletonleaf Goldeneye, Chili Pequin, Autumn Sage, and Scarlet Pea.  

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.  Our speaker presentation begins after a short business meeting, which for this month is also our annual meeting where we’ll announce chapter board election results.

==> If you attend in person, we’re at the Georgetown Public Library, 2nd floor.  If you attend in person, you are giving consent to be videoed for Zoom and YouTube (if the meeting is to be posted on YouTube). Come early (6:30 PM) to check out the seed swap board, get expert advice or visit.

==> To attend via Zoom instead of in person, register at https://npsot-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcsduitqjksGtJBWCUo-vtjag1wLUKDGh9F#/registration

About our topic: Beat the heat! Learn about natives for the hottest part of the year.

image of the sun

At every meeting, we give away a book — about native plants or the meeting topic — to one randomly chosen 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 info about upcoming topics on our page Wilco Home.

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Xeriscaping with Texas Native Plants

— by Randy Pensabene

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Xeriscaping with Texas Native Plants
by Randy K. Pensabene, NPSOT-Williamson County

“Xeriscaping” (pronounced zer-i-skaping, not “zero-skaping”) is a term coined in the 1980s. A fundamental principle of Xeriscaping, is that people living in dry climates should landscape using “appropriate plant selection,” meaning they should use plants suited to dry, arid landscapes rather than plants that need lots of water to survive.

Watering of today’s landscapes and lawns accounts for approximately 50-75% of residential water use. Instead of the typical water-guzzling landscape, you can elect to have a beautiful and functional low-water, drought-resistant landscape with native plants.

The native plants that evolved in this area survive and thrive in our soil, heat, droughts, flooding rains, and freezes. They also provide year-round nectar, seeds, fruit, nuts, and habitat necessary for our native wildlife to survive. Texas native plants provide the host plants our butterflies depend on and the food required to sustain our native bird populations and fuel our migrating birds.

Click on this link to learn more about the benefits of landscaping with native Texas plants and a list of low-water, drought-resistant landscape plants recommended for Williamson County and surrounding areas.

photo of non native lawn and plants
Typical Landscaping using high-water non-native lawn and plants
photo of drought tolerant TX native plants
Xeriscape using low-water, drought-tolerant native Texas plants
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For NPSOT members, Nov 17, preview “Native Plant Society of Texas Native Plant Database”

** ARCHIVED POST – LINKS AND IMAGES MAY NOT WORK**

From Meg Inglis, NPSOT Executive Director:

When: Thursday, November 17, 2022, 12 – 1 pm, via Zoom
What: NPSOT Native Plant Database demo

Claire Sorenson, Jon Lienhard and Stephanie Long saw a need and then took the initiative to create a Native Plant Society of Texas Native Plant Database. Their prototype uses Austin-area native plant information. Please join our demonstration of the database and give feedback. The session is free and open to all Society members!

Register at this link

You must log in to your Native Plant Society account to successfully register for the meeting. When you “Click to register online”, a “Log In” screen pops up. If you do not already have a login for the Native Plant Society – or if you have forgotten your login – fill in your email address and click “Recover Account.”

Immediately after registration watch for a registration confirmation email with Zoom meeting and Dropbox folder links. If you do not see the email, please check your junk mail.

** ARCHIVED POST – LINKS AND IMAGES MAY NOT WORK**