Tag: native plants

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Balcones Canyonlands, “Wildflower Wander” & other guided hiking trips

News from Friends of Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge:

In April, we are holding a new event, the Wildflower Wander, to help people learn about wildflowers, as well as learn about identifying plants and the importance of native plants.   Here is the event registration page and information for Wildflower Wander:   https://www.friendsofbalcones.org/event-5211236

We also have a number of other fun April events. (See the full calendar here.)

  • Saturday, April 1, 10 AM
    • Wildflower Wander – Explore the Beauty of Wildflowers at Doeskin Ranch!
    • Register here
  • Sunday, April 2, 9 AM
    • Martin Tract Guided Hiking Tour – Adventure behind-the-scenes at the wildlife refuge with a hike on the Martin Tract!
    • Register here
  • Saturday, April 8, 7:30 AM
    • Birding Walk with Sherry Bixler – Meet our feathered friends with a birding walk at Doeskin Ranch!
    • Register here
  • Friday, April 14, 7:00 AM
    • Warbler Vista Guided Hiking Tour – Have a relaxing start to your Friday with an early morning walk through Warbler Vista!
    • Register here
  • Friday, April 21 through Sunday, April 23
    • Songbird Festival – Small group birding tours through Hill Country – the Texas Hill Country has long been a favorite spot known for its unique terrain and bountiful wildlife. Migrating birds also consider the Texas Hill Country a favorite as it serves as an important waystation where they can rest, nest and gather strength for their journey.
    • Multiple days & registration opportunities here
  • Saturday, April 22, 1:00 PM
    • Earth Day Guided Hiking Tour at Doeskin (Indiangrass Trail) – Celebrate Earth Day by taking in views at the top of Rim Rock, and the flora and fauna along Indiangrass trail!
    • Register here
  • Saturday, April 29, 8:00 AM
    • Igau Tract Guided Hiking Tour – Adventure behind-the-scenes of the Refuge for the day, with an 8-mile hike on our Igau Tract!
    • Register here

(This is not a NPSOT event.)

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NPSOT-Williamson County Spring 2023 Native Plant Sale (LIVE and ONLINE!)

  • [3/9/2023: updated to show ONLINE sale’s first list available]
  • [3/16/2023: updated for LIVE sale’s first list.]
  • [3/18/2023: ONLINE store link added]
  • [3/23/2023: added note online sale is over]
  • [3/29/2023: updated LIVE sale’s plant list]

— by Randy Pensabene

Announcing the NPSOT-Williamson County Chapter’s Spring Native Plant Sale. Our fabulous native plant sale will be both LIVE and ONLINE! The LIVE in-person sale, and the plant pickup for the ONLINE sale, will be Saturday, April 1, from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, at Williamson County’s Champion Park group pavilions, 3830 Brushy Creek Road, Cedar Park, TX 78613. It is free and open to the public, with no park fees.

The LIVE sale will include everything we usually offer in the spring: a vast array of large and small native flowers, grasses, groundcovers, vines, shrubs, ornamental trees, and shade trees. The ONLINE sale will include only 3/5-gallon native shrubs, ornamental trees, and shade trees.

We will bring a few extra 3/5-gallon plants to the LIVE sale, but to be sure you get what you want, please reserve your big plants through the ONLINE Native Plant Sale and pick them up at the LIVE Native Plant Sale. Ordering your large container plants through the ONLINE sale ensures that we bring what you want, and that your plants are reserved and waiting for you.

As the sale date gets nearer, we will provide plant lists for what we will have for each sale. The links to the online store and the live plant sale list are below. If we update either list before the sale, we’ll update this blog post and publish a new blog post to alert subscribers. Updated lists will have the new date in the upper left on page 2.

  • The ONLINE SALE is OVER. ONLINE Native Plant Sale– Begins the morning of March 18 and runs through midnight March 22 (Pickup Saturday, April 1, 11:00 am to 2:00 pm).
    • ==> ONLINE STORE LINK

IMPORTANT: See our page Spring 2023 Native Plant Sale for important details about both the LIVE and ONLINE sales. All information about both sales will be found on that page, including important dates and instructions that are not in this blog post. Click this link to read the entire page of information.  

We’ll update this post if we update any information in the sale page, and we’ll publish a new blog post to alert subscribers. (If you would like to subscribe, go to Get News.)

image of a bluebonnet
Bluebonnet, Lupinus texensis
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November 10 Chapter Meeting (in-person and virtual): “Fibonacci Sequence in Nature and Native Plants” with Diana Wilson

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

— by Susie Hickman

Join NPSOT-Williamson County on Thursday, November 10, 2022, when our featured topic will be The Fibonacci Sequence in Nature and Native Plants with Diana Wilson. Free and open to the public. The meeting begins at 7:00 PM.

This month:  1) we meet at the Round Rock Library and 2) this month’s presentation will NOT be recorded for YouTube.

Common Sunflower, Helianthus annuus

About our topic:  Ten years ago a client introduced Diana Wilson to the Fibonacci sequence and requested his future home and arboretum be designed with concepts related to this mathematical sequence. This exposure to Fibonacci geometry and number pattern created a life long interest to study and discover this amazing mathematical mystery in nature and native plants.

About our speaker:  With 30 years of experience as a registered Landscape Architect, chapter member Diana Wilson is a dedicated proponent of native plants, sustainable  development, resource protection, and preservation. Diana has extensive experience in park planning, site design and planting design. She has executed all phases of development for projects from local and regional planning to large-scale capital projects involving budgets exceeding $9 million. Diana is currently the Director of Planning with Burditt Land Place which is an integrated planning and design firm founded in the disciplines of community planning, landscape architecture, architecture and natural systems.

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

——————-

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.

  • When:  We meet the second Thursday of each month from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. A short business meeting begins at 7:00 PM followed by our guest presentation.  (For in-person meetings, doors open at 6:30 PM. Check out the seed swap board, get advice from expert members, or just visit.)
  • Where:  In person and via Zoom.  THIS MONTH WE MEET AT THE ROUND ROCK LIBRARY.  (When in person, we normally meet at the Georgetown Public Library.) If we are at a different physical location for any given month, the exception is announced in our blog, on our calendar, and on Facebook.
  • Monthly Meeting Guest Speakers: See past and upcoming topics at this link.
  • Recordings: Find video recordings of previous meetings and field trips on our YouTube channel at this link.

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