Tag: selecting plants

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February 9 Chapter Meeting (in-person and virtual): “Native Host Plants for Texas Moths” with Jim & Lynne Weber

[Updated 1/25/2023 with news about elevator. PD]

Please note:  We received notice that the elevator at the library is out for several weeks. It may not be available for our February 9 meeting.

Join NPSOT-Williamson County on Thursday, February 9,  2023, when our featured topic will be Native Host Plants for Texas Moths with Jim & Lynne Weber.  Free and open to the public. The meeting begins at 7:00 PM.  Please note: This month our speakers will be joining us via Zoom.

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About our topic:  Want to attract beautiful and beneficial pollinators like moths to your garden? Learn about the special relationships that exist between several native plant species and the moths that use them! Explore why native plants are essential to healthy ecosystems, the role of nectar and host plants, and how these insects find the desired host plant species upon which to lay their eggs. This talk will leave you with the knowledge and resources needed to encourage and appreciate a wider diversity of caterpillars, butterflies, and moths in a Texas native plant garden.

About our speakers:  Both Lynne and Jim Weber are recently retired from 30+ year, accomplished careers at IBM. They are certified Texas Master Naturalists and Lynne is a past president of the Capital Area chapter. The Webers are dedicated naturalists who have been studying Texas natural history since they moved to Austin in 1989. They have served on the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve (BCP) Citizens Advisory Council (CAC) as well as on the boards of the Big Bend Natural History Association, the Big Bend Conservancy, and the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute. They are long-time members of NPSOT (Austin chapter). Their volunteer work includes conducting Golden-cheeked Warbler and Colima Warbler surveys, leading guided hikes, restoring native habitat, mapping and removing invasive plants, and they are stewards of an 8-acre preserve that is part of the BCP.

The Weber’s nature photography and writing appears on Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/webersaustin/) and on their monthly blog (http://naturewatchaustin.blogspot.com) as well as in several nature publications. They have co-authored Nature Watch Austin (2012), Nature Watch Big Bend (2017), Native Host Plants for Texas Butterflies (2018, a 2021 NPSOT Carroll Abbott Award Winner), and Native Host Plants for Texas Moths (2022), all published by Texas A&M University Press. The Webers are currently at work on a fifth book, tentatively entitled Naturalist’s Austin: A Field Guide to the Flora and Fauna of Central Texas, highlighting nearly 700 species of plants and animals in the region.

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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!

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

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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.

  • 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.  When in person, we normally meet at the Georgetown Public Library.  Exceptions are noted in our meeting announcements, on our calendar, and in 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.
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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.

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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**